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Covishield Vaccine developer Serum Institute of India has said that the approval for the COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covovax’ would strengthen immunization initiatives across India and various lower and middle income countries across the world.
SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said in a statement : “The approval of Covovax by DCGI is a significant milestone in strengthening our immunization efforts across India and LMICs. We are proud to deliver a highly-effective protein-based COVID-19 vaccine of more than 90 per cent efficacy rate, based on clinical data demonstrating a favorable safety profile.”
“We are certain that as the repertoire of the COVID-19 vaccine increases, we will be poised strongly to save the lives of millions of people against the pandemic,” Poonawalla.
He was responding to Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s announcement that the Central Drug Authority, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, has approved the SII’s vaccine Covovax for restricted use in emergency situations.
Covovax is produced by Pune-based SII under licence from US-based vaccine maker Novavax Inc.
The Covovax/Novavax vaccine has recently received Emergency Use Listing (EUL) with the World Health Organisation (WHO), Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in Indonesia and the Philippines.
