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* India aims to vaccinate 300 mln people in 6-8 months
* Country has 2nd highest number of COVID-19 infections
* SII had applied for 2 full-dose regimen, 28 days apart
(Adds details)
By Krishna N. Das
NEW DELHI, Jan 2 (Reuters) - India has approved the COVID-19
vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University,
paving the way for a huge immunisation campaign in the world's
second most populous country.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told
reporters on Saturday the vaccine had been given the green light
on Friday, confirming what sources close to the matter had told
Reuters.
It is the first COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for
emergency use by India, which has the highest number of
infections after the United States, and comes on the day the
country is running a nationwide mock drill for vaccine delivery.
Javadekar said at least three more vaccines were waiting to
be approved - local company Bharat Biotch's COVAXIN, Zydus
Cadila's ZyCoV-D and Russia's Sputnik-V.
"India is perhaps the only country where at least four
vaccines are getting ready," he said.
"One was approved yesterday for emergency use, Serum's
COVISHIELD." he said, referring to the fact that the
AstraZeneca/Oxford shot is being made locally by the Serum
Institute of India (SII).
India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO)
is expected to announce the dosage and other details about the
shot later. SII had applied for a two full-dose regime about 28
days apart.
The AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, which was granted its first
approval by Britain on Tuesday, is cheaper and easier to use
than some rival shots - major advantages in tackling a pandemic
that has claimed more than 1.8 million lives worldwide.
However, it has been plagued with uncertainty about its most
effective dosage ever since data published in November showed a
half-dose followed by a full dose had a 90% success rate while
two full shots were 62% effective.
India's regulator has also received an emergency-use
application for the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer Inc
with Germany's BioNTech - the first shot to secure
regulatory approval in the West.
India has reported more than 10 million COVID-19 cases,
though its rate of infection has come down significantly from a
mid-September peak.
The country hopes to inoculate 300 million of its 1.35
billion people in the first six to eight months of this year.
SII, the world's biggest producer of vaccines, has already
stockpiled about 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford
shot, which will be sold to the government at about 250 rupees
($3.42) per dose and 1,000 rupees on the private market.
($1 = 73.1200 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Kim Coghill and Mark
Potter)
