Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine ‘70% Effective, Serum Institute Chief Adar Poonawalla Says India Could Give Nod By Year-End

Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) is set to seek emergency regulatory approval of the AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine trials which showed 70% effectiveness in preventing people from getting infected. It hopes to get a go-ahead by the year-end. Data raises hopes for a faster rollout of the vaccine in India, as the AstraZeneca data exceeds the 50% primary efficacy endpoint set by the Indian drug regulator DCGI as part of its draft guidelines for COVID-19. Serum Institute chief, Adar Poonawalla added that the company has so far stockpiled around 4 crore doses, and will have around 10 crore doses by January. A majority of these will be marked as priority for India. Covishield will be available in the market at Rs 500-600 per dose, and at Rs 220-300 ($3-4) for the government, he added. Two doses of the vaccine will be required. Competing vaccines from Pfizer & Moderna are expected to be priced higher. Though the efficacy of the vaccine is much lower than around 95% achieved by both Pfizer & Moderna, the vaccine holds more promise for India due to its price, simpler supply chain and scalable platform. Vaccine can be stored in normal refrigerated temperature (2-8°C) and does not require the build-up of a sub-zero cooling chain, which makes it easier to transport, store and distribute even in remote areas, unlike the other two.