Oxford’s AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine gets approval in India: Sources

By Team Newsable | First Published Jan 1, 2021, 5:45 PM IST

The Serum Institute of India, the local manufacturer of the vaccine, has already stockpiled nearly 50 million doses and a majority of them will be administered to India.

India is set to give its first-ever approval to a coronavirus vaccine, say sources.

Reports said that India's drug regulator is all set to approve a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University for emergency use.

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If approved, India will become the third country after the United Kingdom and Argentina to give the go-ahead to the vaccine.

India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, whose experts were meeting for the second time this week, could also approve a vaccine locally developed by Bharat Biotech, reports said.

More than 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have already been stockpiled by its world's largest vaccine maker, the Serum Institute of India. The shots could start to be transported from cold storage to Indian states as early as Saturday.

SII did not immediately respond to an email request seeking comment.

The government had on Wednesday said that Pfizer Inc had sought more time to present data for emergency authorisation of a vaccine it has developed with Germany's BioNTech.

(With inputs from agency)

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