Bharat Biotech's nasal vaccine to be priced at Rs 800 per dose in pvt markets, Rs 325 per dose for govts

New Delhi, Dec 27: Bharat Biotech's intranasal Covid vaccine has been approved by the Union Health Ministry as a booster dose for those aged 18 years and above. According to reports, the intranasal vaccine is priced at Rs 800 (excluding GST) for private hospitals and clinics and at Rs 325 (excluding GST) for the government.

It will be used as a heterologous booster and will be available first in private hospitals. The needle-free vaccine will be available at private centres. iNCOVACC will also be available on the CoWin platform and will be rolled out in the fourth week of January.

A press release from the vaccine maker said Bharat Biotech Nasal Vaccine will cost Rs 800 + 5 percent GST. However, hospitals can add their own charges to this.

It is being told that the government has fixed the price of the nasal vaccine and approved it as a booster dose. At the same time, the price of the vaccine has been fixed at Rs 325 at government centres. The company wanted to keep the price of this vaccine at Rs 1200 at private centres.

The nasal vaccine -- iNCOVACC (BBV154) -- received approval of the Drugs Controller General of India in November for restricted use in an emergency situation for those above 18 as a heterologous booster dose. The approval for the vaccine comes amid a spurt in Covid cases in China and some other countries.

Currently, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Serum Institute's Covishield and Covovax, Russian Sputink V and Biological E Ltd's Corbevax are listed in the CoWin portal. On September 6, the vaccine maker announced that its iNCOVACC (BBV154), has received approval from Drugs Controller General of India under Restricted Use in Emergency Situation for ages 18 and above.

All you need to know about BBV154

Protective Efficacy of candidate vaccine ChAd-SARS-CoV-2-S: Mice, Hamsters and macaques were immunized with a single dose of ChAd-SARS-CoV-2-S conferred superior protection against SARS-CoV-2 challenge. Post-challenge with SARS-CoV-2, viral clearance was observed in both lower and upper airways in all these animal models.

Thus, intranasal immunization of ChAd-SARS-CoV-2-S can create an immune response in the nose, which is the point of entry for the virus-thereby protecting against disease, infection, and transmission.

Key Attributes:

An intranasal vaccine stimulates a broad immune response - neutralizing IgG, mucosal IgA, and T cell responses.

Immune responses at the site of infection (in the nasal mucosa) - essential for blocking both infection and transmission of COVID-19.

• The nasal route has excellent potential for vaccination due to the organized immune systems of the nasal mucosa.
• Non-invasive, Needle-free.
• Ease of administration - does not require trained health care workers.
• Elimination of needle-associated risks (injuries and infections).
• High compliance.

The intranasal vaccine is stable at 2-8°C for easy storage and distribution and has been designed for efficient distribution and easy pain free administration.