Today, the centre approved two additional vaccines and one antiviral medicine to help battle the COVID-19 pandemic. Corbevax and Covovax are the two most recent vaccinations approved by India. During an emergency, the antiviral medication Molnupiravir can be utilised.
In a tweet, the minister said, “Congratulations India. Further strengthening the fight against COVID-19, CDSCO, @MoHFW_INDIA has given 3 approvals in a single day for: – CORBEVAX vaccine – COVOVAX vaccine – Anti-viral drug Molnupiravir For restricted use in an emergency situation”.
The announcement by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday came a day after the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) recommended granting emergency use authorisation (EUA) to the COVID-19 vaccines Covovax and Corbevax with certain conditions.
It also had recommended granting restricted emergency use approval to the drug Molnupiravir for treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 and who have high risk of progression of the disease.
With this approval, the number of Covid vaccines which have received emergency use authorisation in the country has increased to eight.
So far six COVID-19 vaccines — Serum Institute’s Covishield, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D, Russia’s Sputnik V and the US-made Moderna and Johnson and Johnson — have received emergency use authorisation from the Indian drug regulator.
CORBEVAX Covid vaccine: CORBEVAX vaccine is India’s 1st indigenously developed RBD protein sub-unit vaccine against COVID19, Made by Hyderabad-based firm Biological-E.
COVOVAX Covid vaccine: The Nanoparticle Vaccine, COVOVAX, will be manufactured by Pune-based firm Serum Institute of India.
Molnupiravir covid pill: Molnupiravir, an antiviral drug, will now be manufactured in the country by 13 companies for restricted use under emergency situation for the treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 and who have a high risk of progression of the disease.
