India may approve third covid vaccine soon, expert committee to consider Sputnik V today

A healthcare worker administers a dose of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine (Bloomberg)Premium
A healthcare worker administers a dose of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine (Bloomberg)
 1 min read . Updated: 12 Apr 2021, 10:56 AM IST Staff Writer

The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) will be meeting today to take up Sputnik V application for emergency use authorisation in India

India may get a third vaccine for the novel coronavirus very soon. As more and more states flag shortage of Covid-19 vaccine doses, the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) will be meetin today to take up Sputnik V application for emergency use authorisation in India, new agency ANI reported.

TRENDING STORIESSee All

Top government sources told ANI that by end of the third quarter of this year, India will be getting vaccines from five additional manufacturers. India currently manufactures Covishield and Covaxin.

Also Read | The silent rise of India’s private ports

"India currently has 2 COVID-19 vaccines being manufactured locally: Covishield and Covaxin, and we can expect five more vaccines by Q3 2021. These vaccines are Sputnik V vaccine (in collaboration with Dr. Reddy's), Johnson & Johnson vaccine (in collaboration with Biological E), Novavax vaccine (in collaboration with Serum India), Zydus Cadila's vaccine, and Bharat Biotech's Intranasal Vaccine. Safety and efficacy are the Union government's primary concerns while granting emergency use authorisation (EUA) to any COVID-19 vaccine in the country." ANI quoted the source as saying.

Out of almost 20 COVID-19 vaccines in various clinical and pre-clinical stages, Sputnik V vaccine will get the nod first. It is expected that Sputnik is likely to get the EUA within the next ten days.

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has tied up with a host of Indian pharmaceutical players such as Panacea Biotec, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Gland Pharma for the production of vaccine doses. Dr Reddy’s shares were up 2% today.

India is currently facing the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic with the number of new cases increasing each day. Today, the country hit a new coronavirus infection record with 1,68,912 new cases, the highest single-day rise so far, taking the total tally of cases to 1,35,27,717, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

MORE FROM THIS SECTIONSee All

.The active cases have surpassed the 12-lakh mark, while the death toll increased to 1,70,179 with 904 daily new fatalities, the highest since October 18, the data updated at 8 am showed.


Subscribe to Mint Newsletters
* Enter a valid email
* Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Click here to read the Mint ePaperMint is now on Telegram. Join Mint channel in your Telegram and stay updated with the latest business news.

Close