With swine flu cases soaring again, Pune’s Serum Institute of India launched its much awaited intra-nasal vaccine, Nasovac, on Wednesday.
With swine flu cases soaring again, Pune’s Serum Institute of India (SII) launched its much awaited intra-nasal vaccine, Nasovac, on Wednesday. Priced at Rs160 per dose, experts say the nasal spray may prove to be effective as it takes the same respiratory route as the H1N1 virus.
Besides, its needle-free administration is also said to be an advantage. Tried on more than 300 human subjects, Nasovac, which should be sniffed once from each nostril, is said to be safe for children over three years old. The vaccine has been approved by the Drug Controller of India (DCGI).
SII, however, is not recommending the vaccine for pregnant women and lactating mothers. “No study across the world recommends any flu vaccine for pregnant and lactating women.
As far as Nasovac is concerned, the discretion of the doctors is what counts. They can prescribe it if they feel it is safe,” said Adar Poonawalla, owner and executive director, SII. He also announced that doses worth Rs3 crore will be donated to the poor and underprivileged.
According to Poonawalla, the nasal spray has been priced economically as compared to the injectable vaccines available in the market. “We are also in the process of launching an injectable swine flu vaccine, which may hit the market in another four months,” he added. SII has so far manufactured half a million doses of Nasovac.
The state health authorities are considering purchasing the nasal spray after much reluctance from the medical professionals to take the injectable vaccine imported from a French company. Barely 5% of the 34,300 imported doses have been administered so far across the state.
Medical professionals appear more keen on the nasal spray, which they feel will have negligible or no side-effects. “We will meet soon to decide if we need to place orders for the nasal spray,” said Dr DS Dakhure, director, Directorate of Health Services (DHS).
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