10 things To Know About Zydus COVID-19 Vaccine, Also Available for 12 to 18 Year Olds

Zydus Covid Vaccine: The COVID-19 vaccine from Zydus Cadila is expected to be approved this week. After reviewing the data and examining the information provided by the firm earlier this month, the Subject Expert Committee will make a recommendation to the Centre. 

After SII's Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Russia's Sputnik V, and the US-made Moderna, the ZyCoV-D would be the fifth vaccine allowed for use in the country, if approved. Here are ten things you need to know about the vaccine.

1. Zydus Cadila, located in Ahmadabad, has requested an emergency-use authorisation for their ZyCoV-D three-dose COVID-19 vaccine. If approved, the vaccine will be the world's first DNA vaccine, with a primary efficacy of 66.6 percent.
2. Last week, the company registered an application with the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to obtain approval for its COVID-19 vaccine.
3. ZyCoV-D, which is based on DNA plasmids, will be a three-dose vaccine. It's a needle-free injector-administered intradermal vaccination. The needle-free approach, according to the company, can result in a considerable reduction in side effects.
4. ZyCoV-D can be stored at two to four degrees Celsius and does not require refrigeration, making it easy to transport to even the most remote corners of the country.
5. The vaccine candidate has received funding from the National Biopharma Mission (NBM) and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a PSU within the Department of Biotechnology.
6. Apart from adults, the vaccine is being tested on children between the ages of 12 and 18. This step will be taken particularly in light of fears about a possible third wave, as children are thought to be vulnerable to the virus.
7. The vaccine has a 66.6 percent efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19 patients and a 100 percent efficacy against moderate disease.
8. Zydus claims to have undertaken the largest COVID-19 vaccination clinical trial in India, with over 50 centres.
9. According to The Times of India, if the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) finds the vaccine company's phase 3 data adequate, the vaccine's emergency use authorisation could be issued this week.
10. If permission is granted, provision of the vaccine is scheduled to begin between August and September, as per officials. Dr NK Arora, Chairperson of the Covid-19 Working Group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), had stated that the Zydus Cadila vaccine for children aged 12 to 18 years will be ready by the end of September.