3 lakh intranasal Covid-19 vaccines dispatched to hospitals: Bharat Biotech

Bharat Biotech’s executive chairman Krishna Ella stated on Sunday that the company had distributed 3 lakh intranasal Covid-19 vaccines to hospitals while at an event marking a bilateral agreement between the University of Wisconsin-Madison Global Health Institute and the Ella Foundation for the establishment of the first-ever UW-Madison One Health Centre in Bengaluru, India, which is said to operate by the end of 2023.

“We dispatched three lakh doses of the world’s first intranasal COVID-19 vaccine to some hospitals two days ago,” stated Ella while at the event, adding that some other countries and international agencies have also approached the firm for the intra-nasal vaccine.

The vaccine, a first of its kind, is now available on CoWIN, costing Rs 800 for private markets and Rs 325 for the central and state governments. It is accessible to anyone over the age of 18, According to Bharat Biotech International Limited

Back in December, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) approved the circulation and administration of the nasal vaccine, which is a recombinant replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion-stabilised SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

The nasally-administered vaccine, named iNCOVACC, will be the first needle-less vaccine in India. The vaccine was supposedly designed keeping in mind customers in low and middle-income countries.

The iNNOVACC Covid-19 intranasal vaccine has proven to be safe, well-tolerated, and immunogenic in subjects undergoing phase III controlled clinical trials, according to Bharat Biotech International Limited. The vaccine was reportedly tested for with the help of 4,000 volunteers and no side effects have been found so far.