The decision on the use of Corbevax is yet to be taken even after the center placed an order of 50 million doses. West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have already received doses but are awaiting signals from the center for its usage. Corbevax was approved in December last year by The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and was later approved for adolescents aged 12-18 years in February this year.
The decision that whether the vaccine is appropriate for adults, adolescents, or pregnant women is yet to be taken by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI). The nation is awaiting the decision whether the vaccine would be given to the ones in the age group of 12 to 14 years, there are around 7 crore children in this age group and at present, the children in the age group of 15 to 18 years are eligible for vaccine shots.
Biological E’s Corbevax is yet to be included in the vaccination drive still the company had started manufacturing in December. A member of NTAGI stated that there has been no preprint or peer-reviewed papers.
Vaccination of over 90% in the country has been of either Covishield or Covaxin. The center has received 50 million doses of Corbevax at a rate of Rs145 per dose that too without the taxes. In June 2021 the government released an advance of ₹1,500 crores for the procurement of Corbevax.
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