Zydus Covid vaccine for 12+ to soon become part of inoculation drive: Govt
1 min read . Updated: 30 Sep 2021, 04:38 PM IST
PremiumThe govt appealed all public to avoid crowds, maintain physical distancing and use face masks as the festive season approaches
Zydus Cadila’s Covid-19 DNA vaccine will soon be introduced as part of the country's inoculation drive, said Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Thursday.
He further said that the vaccine will be priced differently than jabs being used currently and talks are being held with the manufacturer on its pricing.
This comes days after news agency Reuters had reported all children aged 12 or older in India will become eligible for Covid-19 vaccinations from October.
The world's first DNA-based Covid-19 vaccine, ZyCoV-D is the only one approved for children in India. It is a three-dose vaccine that will be administered first on day zero, day 28th and then on the 56th day.
It is a needle-free vaccine administered using The Pharma Jet, a needle free applicator - ‘Tropis’, which ensures painless intradermal vaccine delivery.
Last month, the Drugs Controller General of India gave Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) to Zydus Cadila's indigenously developed needle-free Covid-19 vaccine, ZyCoV-D, which is to be administered to beneficiaries in the age group of 12-18 years in the country.
Total vaccination in India
A total of 69% of the country's adult population has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and 25% has taken both doses, the central government has said.
Further, 67.4 lakh doses (approximately 0.88%) have been administered at vaccination centres not tagged as rural/urban, the government said.
Covid situation in country
As many as 30 districts are continuing to record over 10% weekly Covid-19 positivity rate, while 18 districts across the country are seeing between 5 and 10%, the government said.
In addition to this, it clarified that the number of Covid tests being conducted in India has not declined. “Nearly 15-16 lakh tests are being done every day," it said.
Addressing a press briefing, Bhushan appealed to everybody to avoid crowds, maintain physical distancing and use face masks as the festive season approaches.
“Celebrate festivals maintaining Covid-19 appropriate behaviour," said Bhushan.
The government also said that increased population density raises chances of Covid-19 spread and it will be prudent to avoid non-essential travel.
It said that 59.66% of the total Covid-19 cases last week were reported from Kerala and the state has over 1 lakh active cases.
