India okays Corbevax as booster for Covishield, Covaxin recipients: What you need to know
India has approved Biological E's Covid-19 vaccine Corbevax as a booster dose for those above 18 years and fully vaccinated with either Covishield or Covaxin.
This is for the first time that a precaution dose that is different from the one used for primary vaccination has been allowed in the country.
Why was it approved? The sources told PTI that the Union Health Ministry's approval is based on the recommendations made recently by the Covid Working Group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI).
The decision has been taken based on scientific evidence, global practices and the recommendations of domain knowledge experts, reported India Today.
What is Corbevax? India's first indigenously developed RBD protein subunit, Covid vaccine Corbevax is currently being used to inoculate children in the age group of 12 to 14 years.
The health department approved Corbevax for restricted use in emergencies among adults on December 28, 2021. On June 4, 2022, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved CorbeVax as a heterologous Covid booster dose for adults.
Who is eligible? Corbevax will be available as a precaution dose after completion of 6 months or 26 weeks from the date of administration of the second dose of either Covaxin or Covishield vaccines for anyone over 18 years of age.
How to get the booster dose? The health ministry said that all necessary changes in regard to the administration of the booster doses of Corbevax vaccine are being made on the CoWIN portal and it will be live from Friday (August 12) onward.
So, you can go to the portal, check which centres near you are administering Corbevax, and plan accordingly.
Free booster doses: As part of the Covid-19 vaccination's Amrit Mahotsav campaign, people eligible for booster doses will get precaution doses free of charge at all government vaccination centres. The campaign which started on July 15 will be active till September 30.
Is it safe? The Covid Working Group (CWG), in its July 20 meeting, reviewed data of the double-blind randomised phase-3 clinical study which evaluated the immunogenicity and safety of booster dose of Corbevax vaccine when administered to Covid negative adult volunteers of age 18-80 years previously vaccinated with two doses of either Covishield or Covaxin, reported PTI.
Covid vaccination in India: India has so far administered more than 2 billion Covid vaccine shots, including 113 million booster doses. The government has said that about 89% of Indians above the age of 12 have had two doses. India has so far reported 44 million coronavirus infections and 5,26,879 related deaths.