Written By: Satata Karmakar | Updated : June 30, 2021 9:58 AM IST
As India battles the toughest medical war against the novel coronavirus, the country's drug regulator DCGI on Tuesday granted permission to Mumbai-based Cipla to import Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for restricted emergency use in India. Moderna's vaccine will be the fourth COVID-19 jab to be available in India after Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik. "An application was received from Moderna through their Indian partner Cipla following which Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine has been granted restricted emergency use authorisation by the drug regulator. "This new permission for restricted emergency use potentially opens up a clear possibility of this vaccine being imported to India in the near future," NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr. V K Paul said at a press conference.
Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine (mRNA-1273) was developed by the pharmaceutical company in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in the US. The vaccine is sold under the brand name 'Spikevax' in the US.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine has shown the efficacy of around 94.1% in protecting the body against coronavirus infection. Additionally, the WHO said that based on the evidence collected so far, the new variants of SARS-CoV-2, including the B.1.1.7 and the 501Y.V2, do not alter the effectiveness of the Moderna mRNA vaccine.
American biotechnology company Moderna said on Tuesday that its Covid-19 vaccine showed promise in a lab setting against coronavirus variants, including the highly contagious Delta variant first identified in India. According to the reports, The results came from Vitro neutralization studies of sera from eight participants one week after they received the second dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.
The vaccine produced neutralising titers against all variants tested, including additional versions of the Beta variant, scientifically named B.1.351 which was first identified in South Africa; three lineage variants of B.1.617 which was first identified in India, including the Kappa (B.1.617.1) and the Delta variant (B.1.617.2); the Eta variant (B.1.525) which was first identified in Nigeria; and the A.23.1 and A.VOI.V2 variants first identified in Uganda and Angola, respectively, according to Moderna. "These new data are encouraging and reinforce our belief that the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine should remain protective against newly detected variants," said Chief Executive Officer of Moderna Stephane Bancel.
Based on the reports from the clinical trials, anyone who is above 18 can take Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. However, some people should refrain from taking the jab. Anyone who is allergic to the ingredients of the vaccine must consult the doctor before getting vaccinated with Moderna's jab. Also, someone who had a severe or immediate allergic reaction after getting the first dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, must not take the second jab without consulting the doctors.
Some of the common side effects of the vaccine are:
The single-day rise in fresh cases was recorded below 40,000 after 102 days, bringing India's COVID-19 infection tally to 3,03,16,897, while the daily fatalities remained below 1,000 for the second consecutive day.
(With inputs from Agencies)
