‘Big boost’: Bharat Biotech’s nasal Covid-19 vaccine gets green light

Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 nasal vaccine was cleared for use in adults on Tuesday. The BBV154 intranasal vaccine received emergency use authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) after it was proven to be safe, well-tolerated, and immunogenic in subjects in controlled clinical trials.

Lauding the achievement, health minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya called it a 'big boost to India's fight against Covid-19'. "This step will further strengthen our collective fight against the pandemic. With the science-driven approach and Sabka Prayas (collective effort), we will defeat Covid-19," he said in a tweet.

BBV154 is a recombinant, replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilised spike protein. It has been formulated to allow intranasal delivery.

BBV154 is believed to produce local antibodies in the upper respiratory tract which may provide the potential to reduce infection and transmission, news agency ANI reported.

In addition, the nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost-effective in low and middle-income countries, experts told news agencies.

According to the health ministry, India has so far administered 213.72 crore doses of Covid vaccines. Of these, 17 crore are booster doses as per data available on Tuesday.