Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Thursday said that Zydus Cadila’s Covid-19 DNA vaccine will soon be added to the country’s vaccination drive. He further said that the price of the vaccine will be different from the vaccines currently being used and the price is being negotiated with the manufacturer. This information came to light when, a few days ago, news agency Reuters had said in the report that all children of 12 years of age and above in India will start getting Covid-19 vaccination from October.
The world’s first DNA-based Covid-19 vaccine, ZyCoV-D is the only vaccine approved for children in India. It is a three-dose vaccine, which will be administered on day zero, then on day 28 and then on day 56.
This is a needle free vaccine, which will be administered using The Pharma Jet, a needle free applicator – “Tropis”. This will lead to intradermal vaccine delivery without any pain.
Last month, India’s Controller of Drugs approved the emergency use (EUA) of Zydus Cadila’s indigenously developed needle-free Covid-19 vaccine, ZyCoV-D, to be administered to people in the age group of 12 to 18 years.
Total Vaccinations in India
The central government has said that a total of 69% of the country’s adult population has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and 25% have received both. In addition, 67.4 lakh doses (approximately 0.88%) have been administered at vaccination centers not tagged as rural/urban.
status of covid-19 in the country
The government said that 30 districts are recording a weekly Covid-19 positivity rate of more than 10%, while 18 districts across the country are showing between 5 and 10%. Apart from this, it also clarified that the number of Covid-19 tests being conducted in India has not declined. “About 15-16 lakh tests are being conducted every day,” the government said.
Holding a press conference, Bhushan appealed to everyone to avoid crowds, maintain physical distancing and use face masks as the festive season approaches. Bhushan said, “Celebrate the festival by maintaining covid-19 appropriate behavior.”
The government also said that increasing congestion increases the chances of spreading Covid-19 and in such a situation it would be prudent to avoid non-essential travel. It said that 59.66% of the total Covid-19 cases last week were reported from Kerala and the state has over 1 lakh active cases.
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