Niti Ayog Member, Dr. Vinod Kumar Patil has said, "Over 200 crore doses will be made in the country in 5 months for the people of India. The vaccine will be available for all as we move forward."
Different vaccine candidates have come up with their samples and are awaiting approval for administration. According to the reports, 216 crore doses of vaccines will be made available for the Indians between August to December. As per the data shared by the Health Ministry Officials, 75 crore doses of Covid shield and 55 crore doses of Covaxin will be produced to cater to the people.
The report further stated that 30 crore doses of Biological E will be produced, 5 crores of Zydus Cadila, The Serum Institute of India will produce 20 crore doses of Novavax, and Bharat Biotech will produce 10 crore doses of the nasal vaccine. Gennova mRNA will produce 6 crore doses of vaccine and 15.6 crore doses of Sputnik V will also be made available for the Indian population by the end of this year.
However, Biological E, Zydus Cadila, Gennova, and the Hyderabad-based company Bharat Biotech's nasal vaccine are under stages of trials. The Serum Institute's Novavax is going through the 2/3rd phase of clinical trials, while Sputnik V should be available in India by next week. The other two vaccines Covidshield and Covaxin are already in circulating in the Indian market.
Here's a guide to understanding the different vaccines which are already available and those which will be available
Covid-19 Vaccine in India
Covaxin Vaccine:
Hyderabad Bharat Biotech along with the National Institute of Virology and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to produce the Covaxin. It is a vaccine made up of inactivated coronavirus or dead coronaviruses, clinically made safe to inject as a vaccine. According to reports, it has an efficacy of 81% if the doses are completed within a period. It is being used in the Vaccine Drive in India currently.
Covidshield Vaccine:
The University of Oxford with AstraZeneca has made this vaccine and The Serum Institute of India is producing it in India. This vaccine doesn't have antigens but they use the body's cells to produce antigens. This vaccine is also being used in the inoculation drive in India and is available to the people.
Zydus Cadila:
This vaccine is produced by Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical firm Zydus Cadila. It will soon be undergoing the phase 3 clinical trials. The vaccine ZyCoV-D will be the second vaccine developed by Indians if approved. The supply of the vaccine in the market is expected by the end of this year.
SPUTNIK V:
SPUTNIK V is a Russian vaccine developed by Gamaleya Institute. It is the third vaccine that has been approved to use for circulation in the vaccine drive. The first batch of vaccines have already reached Indian and the second bath will be arriving too. Reports say it is 91,6 % effective to fight the virus and will be given in two doses to people in a gap of 21 days. This vaccine is effective against the UK variant of the virus.
Biological E:
Hyderabad-based company Biological E Limited has developed protein subunit BECOV2A vaccine. Subunit vaccines are considered safe is also easy to produce. It will be undergoing phase 3 trials and would supply 30 crore doses if approved for administering in the drive. It will be given in two doses in a gap of 28 days.
Novavax:
A US-based pharmaceutical firm Novavax has developed a vaccine in collaboration with the Serum Institute of India. The vaccine candidate has shown 96.4 % effectivity against the original strain of SARS- CoV-2 but is yet to get approval in the US and is undergoing trials in India. The Serum Institute of India will be producing it as Covavax in India and is expected to be available in India soon.
Nasal Vaccine:
Bharat Biotech has developed an intranasal vaccine BBV154 which is said to create an immune response to stop infection and transmission of the virus. This vaccine candidate is undergoing phase 1 trials in India. The company claims that this vaccine will have lesser side effects as there will be no use of a needle to administer it to people and will be cost-effective.
Gennova mrNA:
Gennova Pharmaceutical of Pune is making India's first mrNA vaccine. This vaccine is alike the RNA vaccines Pfizer and Moderna. The firm has received approval from DCGI (Drugs Controller General of India) to do human trials. The trials will begin after the firm submit the redo animal toxicity study and is expected to undergo the phase 1 trials soon.
