COVID-19 Vaccine In India Is Free-Injections, Can Be Given Through Nose

Photo by Azwini Chairry (Monty) on Unsplash

JAKARTA - India has approved a locally developed COVID-19 vaccine to encourage the domestic pharmaceutical industry. This vaccine is needle-free and given through the nose as emergency use.

The new inoculation was developed by Bharat Biotech, another intravenous vaccine maker that was given the green light by the World Health Organization last November.

Indian drug regulators granted emergency authorization for new products on Tuesday 6 September. This vaccine is likely to be used as a major dose by people who are not vaccinated or partially vaccinated aged 18 and over, but not as a booster.

"This move will further strengthen our collective struggle against the pandemic," Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Twitter as quoted by Channel News Asia.

Bharat Biotech conducted the third phase of trials in 14 locations across India and found that its safety was "very comparable" to other vaccines, the company said in a statement.

Development data will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals and released to the public, the statement added.

"Despite the lack of demand for a COVID-19 vaccine, we are continuing the development of products in intra-nasal vaccines to ensure that we are ready with platform technology for infectious diseases in the future," said Bharat Biotech chairman Krishna.

It is still unclear when the product will be available for public use.

The announcement comes two days after China launched its world's first inhalable COVID-19 vaccine, Convidecia Air, which was administered by nebulizer.

India was hit by a major spike in COVID-19 cases last year. Makes its health care system almost collapse.

Oxygen supplies are running out and patients struggle to get medicine from pharmacies running low.

More than 200,000 people died in a few weeks, according to official figures. But experts believe the actual death toll is several times higher.