New Delhi: The Indian government has approved nasal vaccine for Covid-19 amid scare of a new wave of the pandemic. The vaccine will be used as a heterologous booster. Nasal vaccine will be available first in private hospitals. The new vaccine will also be included in national Covid-19 vaccination program from today, official sources were quoted as saying.
The intranasal vaccine by Bharat Biotech will be available on CO-WIN portal. The Union Health Ministry has approved the vaccine BBV154 to be included in the vaccination programme as booster dose for people above the age of 18.
The iNvaccine developed by Bharat Biotech had received Drugs Controller General of India's (DCGI) approval back in November for restricted emergency use in age group of 18 plus as heterologous booster dose.
The inclusion of the needle-free vaccine comes amid concerns and alert in India as cases of Covid-19 surge in several countries around the world. The unprecedented surge in neighbouring China has caused alarm in India with centre and state governments stepping up testing and genome sequencing.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting on the Covid-19 situation in the country and has urged the public to wear masks and avoid crowded places. The emergence of the Omicron BF.7 sub
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