Covid-19 vaccine Govt's expert panel clears Oxford COVID-19 vaccine for India
New Delhi/IBNS: A government-appointed panel of experts on Friday cleared the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, which will be sent for approval to the regulator Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
The Serum Institute of India (SII) is making the vaccine Covishield developed by Oxford University and pharma major AstraZeneca, while Bharat Biotech has partnered with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for its indigenous Covaxin.
Pfizer had sought more time to present their data to the panel of experts, said reports.
The Centre is looking to start giving vaccine shots from this month, once the vaccine is cleared for a final time by the DCGI.
Meanwhile, the dry runs of the vaccines will be held at specified locations in each state on Saturday.
In the dry runs, participants will receive dummy COVID-19 vaccines to test the mechanisms ahead of the actual vaccination drive.
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan on Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review preparedness at session sites across the country for COVID-19 vaccination trial run on Saturday.
Earlier, the dry runs were held in four states on Dec 28 and 29.
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