COVID-19 vaccine 'Covishield' to be made in India by Dec 2020, will be priced at Rs 1,000

The Serum Institute of India which had entered into a partnership with the Oxford University and Astra Zeneca in efforts to produce a vaccine for COVID-19, has announced that the vaccine will be named 'Covishield' in India. This comes after a study in Lancet Journal remarked that the first two trial phases of the potential vaccine has shown promising results. Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla has stated that the company aims at producing 3 to 4 million doses till the end of December 2020. 

Speaking to a media outlet, Poonawalla informed that Serum Institute of India is currently seeking clearance from the Indian government for Phase 3 trials of the potential vaccine. He also informed that 'Covishield' will be priced at Rs 1,000 or even less per dose. However, he expressed that the vaccine might be available for free after the government purchases it and distributes it through several immunisation programmes. Poonawalla highlighted that the production of the vaccine will be split into two parts - one for India and one for the rest of the world.

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Meanwhile, NITI Aayog member VK Paul has stated that the vaccine regulatory facilitation will be ensured and is already being undertaken "If resources need to be supplemented, that will also be actively considered. The government of India will leave no stone unturned to ensure that people of India and the international community have access to an Indian vaccine as early as possible,” PTI quoted Dr Paul. 

Oxford's potential COVID vaccine 

In what might be a major breakthrough in the battle against the novel Coronavirus, Oxford scientists stated that early trials of the potential vaccine have shown promising results. The potential vaccine named - ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine - has been developed by Oxford in partnership with English drugmakers AstraZeneca. In a preliminary report published in notable Lancet Journal, scientists have stated that during the randomised trials, individuals which received a shot of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine showed 'no adverse effects' and a single dose elicits an increase in spike-specific antibodies by day 28. 

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"ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 was safe, tolerated, and immunogenic, while reactogenicity was reduced with paracetamol. A single dose elicited both humoral and cellular responses against SARS-CoV-2, with a booster immunisation augmenting neutralising antibody titres. The preliminary results of this first-in-human clinical trial supported clinical development progression into ongoing phase 2 and 3 trials," the study published in Lancet read. 

However, it also highlighted that a small number of participants might be a limitation for the student. Nevertheless, it informed that the developers are now recruiting older age groups with comorbidities, health-care workers, and those with a higher risk for SARS-CoV-2 exposure to further assess the potential vaccine. "We will also evaluate the vaccine in children, once sufficient safety data have been accumulated in adult studies. Phase 3 trials are now underway in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK and will evaluate vaccine efficacy in diverse populations," the study concluded.

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