New Delhi, December 2: ZyCoV-D, COVID-19 vaccine developed by Indian pharmaceutical giant Zydus Cadila, will be initially used in seven states. The vaccine will be administered in Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal initially. ZyCoV-D has been approved by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for restricted use in emergency situation in the age group 12 years and above.
The central government had places an order for one crore doses of the vaccine at Rs 265 per dose which the pharma giant will supply by this month. A needle-free applicator will also be supplied along with the vaccine at Rs 93 per dose, excluding GST. The Union Health Ministry has directed the seven selected states to identify districts where high number of people are yet to receive the first dose of coronavirus vaccine to introduce ZyCoV-D.
It has also asked the state government to identify and train vaccinators to use Pharmajet injectors. Pharmajet is a a needle-free applicator used in vaccination for ensuring painless intradermal vaccine. ZyCoV-D is the first DNA plasmid coronavirus vaccine in the world that has been developed for human use. According to reports, the vaccine does not pose any problem associated with vector-based immunity. The DNA Plasmid platform enables generation of new constructs rapidly which deal with viral mutations .
Currently, India is using Covishield, Covaxin among others for its vaccination drive against coronavirus. According to the data by the Union Health Ministry, a total of 123 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the country so far. Out of this, 79.13 crore beneficiaries have been vaccinated for first dose while 45.82 crore have been given second dose as well.
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