India may grant Pune’s Serum Institute of India (SII) with the emergency use authorisation of Oxford and AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine if the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company gets such an approval from the UK Government, a top official from the Centre’s vaccine expert group has indicated.
“We expect emergency authorisation for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to be sought in the UK. If so, it will give an opportunity for the Indian regulator also,” Dr Vinod Paul who is also member (Health) of the Niti Aayog said to a news agency here.
The Oxford vaccine is already in its third and final phase of clinical trials in India, and if all things go as planned, the COVID-19 vaccine may be ready for distribution by January or February 2021.
An emergency authorisation of the coronavirus vaccine would ensure its proper administration based on the priority list, starting with frontline workers, senior citizens, people with comorbidities and so on, he explained.
Earlier this week, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine produced a strong immune response in older adults, raising hopes that it can protect the age groups most at risk from the virus.
The most likely candidate to get licensure in India would be the Oxford-Serum Institute vaccine, with Phase 3 data likely to be available by late January or early February 2021. The first batch of COVID-19 vaccine doses would be available by March-April, 2021, he said.
Being the largest manufacturer of vaccines in the world, India was in a good place with respect to access to vaccines, he said.
Vaccine maker SII’s CEO Adar Poonawalla on Thursday had said the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine should be available for healthcare workers and elderly people by around February 2021 and by April for the general public.
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chaired a review meeting on Covid-19 vaccination. Countries such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Qatar, Bhutan, Switzerland, Bahrain, Austria and South Korea have shown keen interest in partnering for vaccine development of Indian vaccines and use thereof, according to the PMO.
Modi also reviewed the aspects of emergency use authorisation and for manufacture and procurement of the vaccine.