Kovid Vaccine Update: India will have another option for vaccine in next 2-3 days like Indian drugmaker Cipla Ltd has received regulatory approval to distribute COVID-19 vaccine from partner Moderna Inc in the country.
With this, Moderna’s vaccine will be the fourth authorized for use in India after AstraZeneca and partner Serum Institute of India’s Covishield, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Sputnik V developed by Russia’s Gamalya Institute.
With concerns about delta coronavirus cases rising globally, it is essential to know how effective the mRNA vaccine is against the new variants.
COVID-19 mRNA vaccines have demonstrated high efficacy in clinical trials – Moderna’s vaccine was found to be 94 percent effective in Phase 3 trials in the US – but requires an ultra-cold storage system.
A new CDC study reports that a single dose of either Pfizer or Moderna’s COVID vaccine was 80% effective at preventing infection. Two weeks after the second dose, this number rose to 90%, according to a study on vaccinated health care workers.
Moderna also announced Tuesday that a new study showed that its vaccine produced promising protection in a laboratory setting against the delta variant and others currently underway.
“As we seek to defeat the pandemic, it is imperative that we be proactive as the virus evolves. We are committed to studying emerging forms, generating data and sharing it when it becomes available. These new data are encouraging and reinforcing our belief that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine should remain protective against newly discovered variants,” Moderna chief executive officer Stefan Bansel said in a statement.
The government has also reiterated in the recent Health Ministry briefing that Pfizer may come to India soon. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in June that his firm was in the final stages of getting approval for its COVID-19 vaccine from the Indian government, adding that when approved, the pharma giant will deliver India within this year. Will supply one billion doses.
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