US, China approve single-shot COVID-19 vax; India to get 3-4 vaccines in some weeks

Most COVID-19 vaccines currently in use work with two shots or doses. Experts believe that availability of single-shot vaccines may help speed up the vaccination process.

By: Longjam Dineshwori | | Updated: March 2, 2021 8:00 am

India has capped the price of vaccine at Rs 250 per shot at private hospitals.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, which can provide protection against the coronavirus with just one shot. Most COVID-19 vaccines currently in use work with two shots or doses. It would be the third vaccine given emergency approval in the US, after Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Both the earlier vaccines require two doses to achieve about 95% efficacy against COVID-19. The FDA approved the emergency use authorization of the J&J vaccine for adults aged 18 and older on Saturday (February 27). Meanwhile, there are also reports that China has rolled out a single dose COVID-19 vaccine. Also Read - Sputnik V gets a nod from Indian authorities for emergency use: Sources

Chinese state media, Global Times, reported on Sunday that the country has given conditional approval to its first Ad5-nCoV COVID-19 vaccine, which works with just single-dose. The protective effect of the vaccine can be achieved after 14 days of inoculation and last at least six months. The second dose can be taken half a year after the first one, and this can increase immune response by 10 to 20 times, the report said. Also Read - India set to welcome third Covid-19 vaccine - Sputnik V

Including this, China has so far approved five COVID-19 vaccines. The four others are developed by Sinovac, Sinopharm, CanSinoBio and Wuhan Institute of Biological Products. Also Read - Tika Utsav: PM Modi begins the ‘vaccine festival’ to curb the surge of coronavirus

The Ad5-nCoV vaccine is a recombinant adenovirus vector vaccine jointly developed by CanSino Biologics and researchers from the Institute of Military Medicine under the Academy of Military Sciences. It is the world’s first COVID-19 candidate vaccine to enter clinical trials, the report said, adding that the Phase-I clinical trials of the vaccine started on March 16 last year.

India, which began the world’s largest anti-covid vaccination drive on January 16, will also have 3-4 vaccines in weeks to come, All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Dr Randeep Guleria on Saturday. This means people in the country will have a choice of three or four coronavirus vaccines and pick one they want to protect themselves from the disease. However, Dr Guleria told a news channel that all these vaccines will not be available together in one centre, but one centre will be giving only one vaccine at a time.

From Monday (March 1), India will start vaccination people aged over 60 and those over 45 with chronic illnesses. With the expansion of the vaccination programme, the Health Ministry has capped the price of vaccine at Rs 250 per shot at private hospitals while it will be administered free in all government hospitals.

Published : February 28, 2021 9:10 pm | Updated:March 2, 2021 8:00 am

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