India-made nasal vaccine being made available for booster shots to keep Covid at bay

Amid a sharp increase in demand for the precautionary vaccine dose in the country since last week following fears over the Covid wave in China spreading to other countries, the Union Health Ministry has approved Bharat Biotech’s intranasal Covid vaccine as a booster dose.

The India-made vaccine will be included in the vaccination programme as a booster or 3rd dose for those above 18 years of age and will be introduced on the Co-WIN platform on Friday evening.

The intranasal vaccine, BBV154, had received approval for restricted use as a booster dose in an emergency situation for those above 18 in November by the Drugs Controller General of India.

Those who have been inoculated with Covishield and Covaxin can take it as a heterologous booster dose.

Manufactured by Bharat Biotech, the two-drop nasal vaccine was approved amid a spurt in Covid cases in China and some other countries.

The vaccine will be available at private centres. It will be introduced on the Co-WIN platform on Friday evening, the Health Ministry said.

The vaccine is needle-free and offers ease of administration since it does not require trained healthcare workers.

Covid boosters are also said to be extremely helpful for risk groups – the elderly or those with immunity compromising diseases.

Data from the Cowin website shows a dramatic increase in registration for the precautionary dose since December18, amid the new surge in China and appeals by authorities to get vaccinated. Around 4,000 people took the precautionary dose on December 18, which shot up to 57,000 on December 22.

Meanwhile, overall cases in India at present continue to be relatively low, , at fewer than 200 fresh cases a day.