Editorial: Boost for vaccine coverage

The availability of intranasal vaccine will strengthen the fight against the pandemic and broaden vaccine coverage.

India’s strength as an international vaccine hub has received a further boost with the development of the world’s first intranasal Covid-19 vaccine. Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech has earned honours with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) granting approval for iNCOVACC, the intranasal vaccine developed by the company in partnership with Washington University.

The product development and clinical trials were partly funded by the central government. This is a major milestone for the country’s Covid vaccination programme, which was rolled out in January last year. As most people have already received the primary dose, approval for booster doses will make the vaccine more relevant. The new vaccine has been designed for easy and pain-free administration through nasal drops. Bharat Biotech has rightly initiated the development of variant-specific vaccines for future preparedness. Unlike Covaxin which is an inactivated vaccine, the intranasal vaccine uses a viral vector platform that utilises a recombinant adenovirus as a vector. The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost-effective in low and middle-income countries.

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Though the pandemic has subsided considerably in India, there should be no let-up in the research for the development of vaccines. The role of vaccination in controlling the virus cannot be overestimated. It must be pointed out that a patchy and ineffective inoculation drive is cited as one of the key reasons why China is witnessing a resurgence of the virus, with Chinese vaccines not proving to be as effective as those manufactured in India or the West. The intranasal vaccine, once introduced in the market, will help fill the gaps in the present vaccination coverage in India.

At present, there is considerable public hesitancy about taking the booster which was introduced in April this year. Around 15 crore doses in the age group of 18-59 years and nearly 7 crore in the 60-plus category, along with healthcare and frontline workers, have been administered in the country so far. These figures are far from encouraging despite the Centre’s initiative to make this dose available free of cost to all eligible adults at government centres for a 75-day period (mid-July to September) as part of the celebrations to mark 75 years of Independence. Factors such as iNCOVACC’s efficacy, safety, pricing and availability will determine the public response.

The fact that the vaccine has shown successful results in Phases I, II and III of clinical trials should help dispel fears and apprehensions. On their part, the health authorities need to conduct the vaccine awareness campaign with renewed vigour. It would be wrong to assume that the pandemic is over. We must remember that vaccines have largely averted severe infections in the past year and a half and will continue to do so in future. The availability of intranasal vaccine will further strengthen the fight against the pandemic and broaden vaccine coverage.