Vaccines against the lethal coronavirus are the only way to fight the risks of virus infection. The Centre placed a purchase order with the Ahmedabad-based firm on Monday for one crore doses of Zydus Cadila’s three-dose Covid vaccine ZyCoV-D in the fight against the COVID-19 virus.
According to official sources, the Union Health Ministry has given the green light to begin preparations for the introduction of ZyCoV-D vaccine doses, which are planned to be included in the national anti-coronavirus inoculation programme this month. Zydus Cadila’s three-dose vaccination against COVID-19 is the world’s first DNA-based Covid vaccine. The vaccine makers have indicated that this vaccine will most likely be given to adults first as part of the country’s vaccination campaign.
ZyCoV-D is the first vaccine approved by India’s pharma agency for use in children aged 12 and above. It is a needle-free three-dose vaccine that will be given 28 days apart, with each dosage consisting of injection in both arms.
The vaccine in all probability will be given to adults initially because of limited production capacity.
All involved frontline workers and vaccinators will receive brief training on how to use the needle-free pharma jet application in actual field circumstances before administering the vaccine jab to adults.
According to official sources, each ZyCoV-D vaccination shot costs roughly Rs 358 for the Centre, excluding taxes. The cost of a disposable painless jet applicator, which must be used to administer each dose, is also included in this pricing.
On August 20, the pharma regulator approved ZyCoV-D emergency use authorization.
Meanwhile, the NTAGI (National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation) is building a comprehensive child immunisation programme, which includes developing a priority list of comorbidities, in preparation for the launch of ZyCoV-D and Covaxin.