Covovax, Corbevax, and Merck's COVID-19 pill cleared in India
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on Tuesday granted emergency use approvals to two COVID-19 vaccines—Covovax and Corbevax. It also cleared the antiviral drug molnupiravir to treat the coronavirus. The announcement was made by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in a post on Twitter. This comes as India prepares for a possible surge in COVID-19 infections in the coming months.
Why does it matter?
The key approvals are a major step forward in India's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. India has notably bolstered its efforts against the viral disease in the wake of the threat posed by the new Omicron variant of coronavirus. There are also fears over a fresh surge in infections. The government also recently announced vaccinations for teenagers and booster doses for select groups.
Corbevax India's 3rd indigenously developed vaccine
Corbevax is India's first indigenously developed RBD (receptor-binding domain) protein subunit vaccine against COVID-19, Mandaviya said. It has been made by the Hyderabad-based firm Biological E. It is now the third COVID-19 vaccine developed in India after Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN and Zydus Cadila's ZyCoV-D. Meanwhile, the nanoparticle vaccine Covovax will be manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India which also produces Covishield.
What do we know about molnupiravir?
Molnupiravir is an oral antiviral pill developed by the American firm Merck & Co. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had recently granted emergency use authorization to the drug. In India, the drug will be manufactured by 13 companies for restricted emergency use to treat adult patients with COVID-19 who are at risk for severe disease, Mandaviya said.
Other vaccines in India
India now has a total of eight COVID-19 vaccines for adults. These are Covishield, COVAXIN, ZyCoV-D, Russia's Sputnik V, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson's Janssen, Corbevax, and Covovax. Two of these—COVAXIN and ZyCoV-D—have also been cleared for use among children.
COVID-19 situation in India
India reported 6,358 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, marginally down from Monday's tally of over 6,500. Active cases in the country currently stand at 75,456. Further, the country's Omicron tally has surged to 653, up from Monday's count of 578. Of them, at least 186 have recovered. India has so far administered more than 142 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses.
