The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on June 4 approved Corbevax as a precaution dose for those aged 18 and above.
According to the the ICMR study, administering of Covaxin booster dose will enhance the vaccine effectiveness against the Delta variant infection and give protection against the Omicron variants BA.1.1 and BA.2.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has also granted emergency use authorisation (EUA) to Cadila for its ZyCoV-D for an additional dose of 3mg with a two-jab inoculation schedule 28 days apart for those aged above 12 years.
Covaxin, one of the main vaccines administered to adults, is currently being administered to children in the age group of 15-18 years.
The findings of the study, conducted in February this year after isolating the Omicron variant, have been published in the Journal of Infection on April 5.
The WHO said in a statement late on on Saturday that the Covaxin suspension was in response to the outcomes of its post EUL (emergency use authorisation) inspection, held between March 14-22, and the need to conduct process and facility upgrades to address recently identified GMP (good manufacturing practice) deficiencies.
Bharat Biotech on April 1 announced the temporary slowing down of production of its covid-19 vaccine Covaxin across its manufacturing facilities, having completed its supply obligations to procurement agencies and foreseeing the decrease in demand.
Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech on Friday announced the temporary slowing down of its Covid vaccine Covaxin's production across its manufacturing facilities.
With cases remaining on the higher side, both in hospitalisation and mortalities, USA will soon launch Omicron-specific vaccine in March
Covaxin is India's indigenous Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by Bharat Biotech, which has been developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV)
The DCGI approval came after the SEC on COVID-19 of the CDSCO on January 19 recommended granting regular market approval to the SII's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for use in adult population subject to certain conditions.
Dr Krishna Ella and Suchitra Ella, the couple behind Bharat Biotech, which developed India's first indigenous vaccine for Covid-19, have been awarded Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in the country.
Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech had submitted complete information on chemistry, manufacturing, and controls, along with the pre-clinical and clinical data while seeking regular market authorisation for Covaxin.
The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country have reached 158.74 crore so far, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
Citing the study results, Bharat Biotech noted that more than 90 per cent of all individuals boosted with Covaxin showed neutralising antibodies.
COVAXIN Booster Dose Data Shows Promising Results
As per the findings, Indicative studies have shown that 3 doses of Wuhan-strain based vaccines may provide only partial protection from infection with this variant
Adding another feather in the cap of India’s vaccination drive, the much-awaited inoculation of teenagers in the 15-18 years age group kicked off across the country on Monday (January 3). About 42 lakh children in the age group were inoculated on the first day of Covid vaccination.
The vaccine used for inoculating children is Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, according to a set of new guidelines issued by the Union health ministry.
No serious adverse event was reported. 374 subjects reported either mild or moderate severity symptoms with 78.6 per cent getting resolved within one day.