India Approves ‘Covishield’ and ‘Covaxin’ for Emergency use

New Delhi, 3/1: The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has announced on Sunday that, it has approved coronavirus vaccines of Oxford-AstraZeneca, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and Bharat Biotech.

The approval was given on the basis of the recommendations of the coronavirus subject expert committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

Dr. VG Somani of DGCI said, “The Indian data was also found to be comparable with overseas clinical studies. Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine ‘Covaxin’ is safe and gives a robust immune response. Covaxin, too, has been approved for restricted use in emergency situations. After adequate examination, CDSCO has decided to accept the recommendations of the Expert Committee, and accordingly, vaccines of M/s Serum and M/s Bharat Biotech are being approved for restricted use in emergency situations.

“Asserting that no vaccine with even the slightest safety concern would not be approved, the DCGI said the vaccines that have been approved for emergency use are 110 percent safe. “We’ll never approve anything if there’s slightest of safety concern. Vaccines are 110 percent safe. Some side effects like mild fever, pain and allergy are common for every vaccine,” Somani added.