COVID-19 vaccine: J&J doses may not come before November, Zydus Cadila expected next, Covaxin expansion priority

The next vaccine that the government is expecting to arrive after Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik is Zydus Cadila’s DNA vaccine

The government is expecting first doses of the single-shot vaccine of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to arrive in November or December, a top government source said, after the government had last week granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the foreign vaccine manufacturer.

The next vaccine that the government is expecting to arrive after Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik is Zydus Cadila’s DNA vaccine which may get the approval from the drug regulator soon. “We expect two crore doses monthly from Zydus Cadila,” the source said.

The vaccine from Biological E is also expected with an initial lot of seven crore doses in one go as the firm is doing at-risk production after the Centre extended it a Rs 1,500 Cr advance. The firm will soon apply for comparative studies and their data is good,” the source further said. Gennova’s vaccine is also expected in October.

The government source said the priority right now was expanding the capacity of Bharat Biotech with its three plants becoming functional now.

“In August, we will be getting 3 crore doses of Covaxin, which will go up to 4 crore in September and 6-7 crore from October,” the government source said.

He said Bharat Biotech had suffered as the first batch of the manufacturer had failed. Serum Institute of India will supply nearly 15 crore doses of Covishield every month and is keen to start export of the vaccine. The government has told Serum that vaccinating Indians is a priority for now.

The government is meanwhile banking on only 1 crore doses of Sputnik V in all as the local manufacturers are facing a lot of trouble in producing the second dose of the vaccine, whose component is different from the first.

Regarding the approval of Covaxin by WHO, the government source said a last dossier will go to the World Health Organization in a couple of days and WHO could soon call an Expert Committee meeting to give clearance.

Check our complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic