Zydus Cadila’s 3-Dose Vaccine Approved, Adolescent Can Get Vaccinated

The Drug Control General of India (DCGI) has granted Emergency Use Approval (EUA) to  Gujarat-based Zydus Cadila’s 3 dose Covid vaccine ZyCov-D. This is the first vaccine that can be administered to adolescents aged 12-18 as well. This is the second natively-made vaccination from India after Bharat Biotech-ICMR’s Covaxin. At present, there are six vaccine brands available in India. The Zydus Cadila vaccine is the first "needle-free" vaccine for the COVID-19 virus.

Pankaj R Patel, Chairman, Cadila Healthcare Ltd., called it “a historic milestone” since ZyCov-D vaccine is “the world’s first DNA vaccine being offered for human use and supporting the world’s largest immunisation drive”.

Renu Swarup, Secretary, DBT and Chairperson, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), said that: “The Indian Vaccine Mission Covid Suraksha was launched under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package 3.0 being implemented by BIRAC, (and) is aimed at developing safe and efficacious Covid-19 vaccines for public health. This is an important milestone in our indigenous vaccine development mission and positions India on the global map for novel vaccine development.”

Some information about the new ZyCov-D vaccine:

• First needle-free (intradermal) vaccine with lesser pain, to overcome hesitancy 
• It can be used for adolescents aged 12-18 years
• It is a three-shot vaccine with intervals of 28 and 56 days before the second and third shot, respectively.
• May be available in the market from next month, i.e., September 2021
• Trials: Phase 1 began in July 2020, Phase 2 in August 2020. Phase 3 trials with 28,000 volunteers including 12-18 age group. Primary efficacy was found to be 66%