DCGI's SEC to meet today to examine Bharat's Biotech's application on intanasal Covid vaccine as booster jab

New Delhi, Jan 04: The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) will meet today to examine Bharat Biotech's application for the use of its intranasal Covid-19 vaccine as a booster shot, ANI reported citing sources.

The intranasal vaccine will be administered to those who have already taken their two-dose vaccine.

An intranasal vaccine as a booster dose would be easier to administer in mass vaccination campaigns and has the potential to prevent transmission.

Already conducted phase-2 with Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and with BBV154 (Bharat Biotech's nasal vaccine). Using a combination of one intra-muscular and the other nasal is an innovative approach of heterologus, PTI sources said.

Meanwhile, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation approved the extension of Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin's shelf life up to 12 months from the date of manufacture, the vaccine-maker said in a press release.

Covaxin is approved for use under the 28-day multi-dose vial policy from Drugs Controller General of India and the WHO Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL).

Covaxin Open Vial is stable at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius for 28 days and not required to be discarded immediately in a day or at the end of immunisation session.

Bharat Biotech said it believes in doing a bit to care for the environment. The multi-dose vial policy saves money for procurement agencies by reducing the cold chain logistics and management thereby reducing the carbon footprint, costs related to open vial wastage, cold chain distribution, cold chain storage and biomedical waste disposal among others.