Expert panel suggests regular market authorisation for Covishield, Covaxin

The two COVID-19 vaccines, cumulatively administered to over 90 percent beneficiaries in the country so far, were granted emergency use authorisation in January 2021.

Moneycontrol News

January 20, 2022 / 09:52 IST

Covishield and Covaxin, the two COVID-19 vaccines granted emergency use nod last year, have been recommended for regular market authorisation by a government expert panel.

The recommendation was made by the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), whose views are factored-in by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) before taking the final decision.

"SEC of CDSCO has recommended for upgrade of Covishield and Covaxin status from restricted use in emergency situations to grant of new drug permission with conditions in adult population. DCGI will evaluate the recommendations and give its decision," CDSCO said.

SEC of CDSCO has recommended for upgrade of covishield and covaxin status from restricted use in emergency situations to grant of new drug permission with conditions In adult population ,DCGI will evaluate the recommendations and give its decision.
— CDSCO_INDIA_INFO (@CDSCO_INDIA_INF) January 19, 2022

The SEC recommendation comes a year after Covishield and Covaxin were granted permission for restricted use. They were cleared for emergency use by the DCGI on January 3, 2021.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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