Covid-19: Zydus Cadila vaccine price to be finalised by next week, supplies begin from mid-Sept, says MD Sharvil Patel

A day after emergency use approval was granted to the Zydus Cadila Covid-19 vaccine, the pharma major has said that the price of the vaccine will be decided by next week. Managing Director of the pharma major Sharvil Patel was quoted as saying by ANI that there will be more clarity about the price of the vaccine by next week. On the question of mass supply of the vaccine, Patel said that the supply of vaccines will begin by mid-September. Patel further said that the company is aiming at increasing the production of the vaccine up to 1 crore doses per month from the month of October with the help of the new production plant.

Patel emphasised that the company’s vaccine has been found to be 66 percent effective against the lethal disease in the third phase clinical trials. Significantly, Patel also said that the vaccine has also been found to be effective against the delta variant of Coronavirus which is understood to have caused the ferocious second wave of Coronavirus in the country.

Zydus Cadila is the second indigenous Coronavirus vaccine that has been granted emergency use approval in the country after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. More importantly, the Zydus Cadila vaccine is the first vaccine that has been granted approval to be administered to children aged 12 years and above. The Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila emerged as the first vaccine for children due to the fact that the company was the first in the country to begin clinical trials on children. In the phase 3 clinical trials, the Zydus Cadila vaccine has been found to be 66 percent effective against prevalence of Coronavirus.

Despite getting the clearance for emergency use against children aged 12+ and adults, it remains uncertain if and when the government will actually roll out the vaccination drive for adolescents below 18 years. Currently the government vaccination programme is running on the bank of Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccine. A few private hospitals are also administering Russia-developed Sputnik V vaccine against Coronavirus.