J&J Vaccine May Be Approved Soon in India
35 lakh doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by United States pharma giant Johnson & Johnson have reportedly reached the apex vaccine testing laboratory in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh.
Currently in India only six vaccines have been approved for use. They are : Covishield, COVAXIN, Sputnik V, Moderna, Janssen, and Zydus Cadila's ZyCoV-D. COVID-19 vaccine developed by United States pharma company Johnson & Johnson uses a single shot. This vaccine is named Janssen. Janssen had been granted Emergency Use Approval by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on 7 August. People living in mountains, rural villages, homeless people, etc are having a tough time travelling to hospitals to get 2 doses of vaccines. Because of the Janssen vaccine, many such people will be able to quickly get the vaccine and there will be no need to travel 2 times. The vaccine can be stored at 2-8°C and is 85.4% effective in preventing severe COVID infection. If the person is infected then it is 93.1% effective in preventing hospitalization. Earlier, there had been concerns about a blood clot risk and the European Medicines Agency has said that it is a very rare side-effect. In India it is being manufactured in collaboration with Hyderabad-based company named Biological E which makes vaccines.
Earlier, it was reported that Janssen will be rolled out by October. Around 35 lakh doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson have reached CDL (Central Drugs Laboratory) in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh. This is India’s top vaccine testing laboratory. An official of the Union Health Ministry said that 35 lakh doses have been sent to the lab for testing. It will take around two to three weeks for testing at CDL. The official added, "As per the rules, after completing the testing for foreign vaccines, the vaccine will be administered to 100 participants first. After analyzing those 100 participants for seven days, the CDL will approve the vaccine for the full country.”
