Govt Panel Okays Oxford Vaccine In India, DCGI To Take Final Call On Rollout

New Delhi: A day ahead of the scheduled dry run for vaccination in all the states, a government-appointed panel of experts on Friday cleared the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII).

The panel will now forward its recommendation for final approval to the regulator Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), NDTV reported quoting sources.

The expert panel recommending the affordable Oxford vaccine to the drugs regulator is a big development for India in the fight against the pandemic on the first day of the New Year, as the country has the second-biggest number of COVID-19 infections after the US. The government plans to vaccinate 30 crore people in the country in six to eight months.

The 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 Covaxin.

The two groups had made presentations before the panel on Wednesday. Pfizer had sought more time to present their data.

The Centre is looking to start giving vaccine shots from this month, once the vaccine is cleared for a final time by the DCGI.

Also Read: Oxford Vaccine Will Protect 95 Per Cent: AstraZeneca CEO