The single-shot vaccination developed by Johnson & Johnson and produced by Biological E in Hyderabad is expected to be available by October.
On August 7, the vaccine was approved for use in India by the apex drug regulator, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), making it the fifth vaccine to get Emergency Use Approval (EUA).
While Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik V and Moderna were approved earlier, Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoVD was approved after J&J.
The vaccine batches are expected to go for the final testing at the apex laboratories — Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL), Kasauli and National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune — by next week.
“The inspection of batches and documents is on. Soon, they will be released for undergoing safety and quality testing,” said a government official privy to the development.
“The vaccine is likely to be available for immunisation drive by next month, if everything goes smoothly,” he said.
Another source in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare confirmed that the roll out of the vaccine is “very near”. “We are awaiting the nod on some usual procedures from the DCGI. Once he gives the go ahead, it will take less than a month for the vaccine to hit the market,” the second official from the ministry said.
A Johnson & Johnson India spokesperson said: “Our teams are working around the clock to develop and broadly activate our manufacturing capabilities to supply our Covid-19 vaccine. We believe Biological E. will be an important part of our global COVID-19 vaccine supply network. While we look forward to meeting our delivery commitments, it is premature for us to speculate on the timing of our vaccine deliveries.”
