The government possesses on Thursday said that the aboriginal-developed, DNA-based needle-free vaccine covid-19 vaccine by Zydus Cadila shall be added in the ongoing nationwide anti-corona drive vaccination.
Discussions are moving forward between the Central Government and Zydus Cadila over the final pricing of the Covid-19 vaccine named “ZyCov-D,” the pharma giant has reportedly proposed a Rs 1,900 for its three-dose jab, which is for those over 12 years of age.
The central government is still negotiating for depletion in price, concluding decision on this is most likely to be taken by the end of this week, as per the sources.
“The company has suggested a price of Rs 1,900 inclusive of taxes for its three-dose jab.
Negotiations are going on, and the company has been advised to review every aspect concerning the cost of the vaccine.
Speculations are also going on about the difference in pricing of “ZyCoV-D “compared to “Covaxin” and “Covid shield “since this is a 3-dose vaccine, it has a needle-free jet injector which is used for operating the vaccine that costs Rs. 30,000.
The jet injector is supposed to be used for running almost 20,000 doses. It has been suggested that two shots of vaccine are to be stated on days zero (0), twenty-eight (28), and fifty-six (56).
According to the sources, several rounds of meetings have been taken so far between the two, and the latest one was on Thursday.
The price of the vaccine at which the government will obtain it is a great matter of concern; Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, at a press meet on Thursday, said that the government is in conversation with the producers.
“Since this is a three-dose vaccine and comes with a needleless delivery system, it would have a differential pricing than the existing vaccines which are being used in the COVID vaccination program,” he said.
ZyCov-D is the first vaccine to be utilized in the age group 12-18 other than adults.
Children are priority
Earlier in August 2021, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved Zydus Cadila’s DNA based vaccine for emergency use for adults and children aged 12 years and above.
As the vaccination is approved, now the vaccines are waiting to be introduced in the national vaccination program.
Dr NK Arora, Chairperson of the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NTAGI), once said they initialize the children’s vaccination drive.
The priority population will be the ones with comorbidities as they have maximum chances of getting infected.
They have planned to set up multiple centres in each state so that people do not need to travel long distances or wait too long.
Almost a 10-million a month capacity by October (CHECK), the Zydus vaccine will build on to India’s overall supply of the jabs.
The vaccine has been made in collaboration with the government’s Department of Biotechnology under the ‘Mission COVID Suraksha.’
The NTAGI have also planned to complete this drive at the same pace as with the adult population.
Now, the main aim is to bring back the children to their regular school life. The online classes can be considered for professional courses.
Still, they cannot be a full-time alternative for school and college, as children learn a lot from their surroundings, which helps them become independent and more productive.
As per Dr Arora,’ They are working to identify the highest risk category with severe diseases and who may need hospitalization.
They have targeted completing the list in the next two weeks and can be circulated later to the general public.
