Covishield vaccine: All you need to know about Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19

New Delhi, Jan 01: An expert panel on COVID-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on Friday recommended to grant emergency use authorisation for the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, being manufactured by Serum Institute of India.

The Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, has tied up with AstraZeneca to manufacture Covishield.

The Oxford vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus), that has been genetically changed so that it is safe and impossible for it to grow in humans.

Storage:

It is stable, easily manufactured, transported and stored at domestic fridge temperature (2-8 degrees C), so can be easily administered in existing healthcare settings, allowing for the vaccine to be deployed very rapidly.

Covishield: Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine gets recommendation for emergency use, DCGI to take final call

Oxford University's collaboration with AstraZeneca has been crucial to the successful development of the vaccine and vital for its global manufacturing and distribution across the world.

AstraZeneca already has international agreements in place to supply three billion doses of the vaccine, with access being built through more than 30 supply agreements and partner networks.

Efficiancy:

As announced on November 23, the primary efficacy endpoint based on a pooled analysis showed that the vaccine was 70.4 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 occurring more than 14 days after receiving two doses of the vaccine.

Cost:

Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive officer of SII, had told Hindustan Times that Covidshield will be priced in India at Rs 500-600.