India's First Intranasal COVID-19 Vaccine To Be Launched On Republic Day: Check Prices, Doses of iNCOVACC
India's first intranasal COVID-19 vaccine produced by Bharat Biotech is launched today. The vaccine has been named as iNCOVACC and will be available for mass use from 26th January 2023 in India. The Executive Chairman of Bharat Biotech, Krishna Ella said that a primary two-dose schedule and a heterologous booster dosage for iNCOVACC have been approved. "Our nasal vaccine will be officially launched on January 26, on Republic Day," Ella said, participating in the 'Face-to-Face with New Frontiers in Science' segment of the IISF, organised at the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT).
This is not only India's first intranasal vaccine but also the world's first such vaccine against COVID-19 which will be administered through the nose.
The vaccine maker company Bharat Biotech has stated that the cost of iNCOVACC will be Rs 325 per dose for bulk purchases by the federal and state governments and Rs 800 per dose for commercial vaccination clinics. Regardless of the first immunization dose, the vaccine will be administered as a booster shot to everyone above the age of 18. Two doses will be given, separated by 28 days.
The world was hit by the worst virus attack in 2019. The first case of the SARS-CoV-2 causing COVID-19 infection was logged by China in September 2019. However, it only took a few days for the deadly COVID virus to spread across the countries, wreaking havoc and threatening the global healthcare system. Taking cognizance of the worsening global situation and the high transmissibility rate of the virus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) named it COVID-19 Pandemic.
Now what came next was how to tackle the virus spread. To which the global health body and many other experts clearly said that maintaining safety precautions, and getting vaccinated against the virus is important to keep the complications of the infection at bay. Vaccines are important as they may not protect you completely from catching the virus but definitely protects you from suffering the worst outcomes of the infection, including hospitalization.
