Bharat Biotech gets DCGI nod for intranasal Covid booster dose

New Delhi: The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Friday gave its permission to Bharat Biotech for conducting trials of intranasal booster doses against Covid-19. The trials will be conducted at nine locations in the country.

An intranasal vaccine as a booster will be easier to administer in mass vaccination drives. Bharat Biotech has said the nasal vaccine, BBV154, stimulates immune responses at the site of infection -- the nose -- and is very effective in blocking infection and transmission of Covid-19. It has also underlined how easily a nasal vaccine can be administered and the fact that it would not need trained healthcare workers.

The Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer had last month sought the drug regulator's approval to conduct phase-III trials of the nasal vaccine. The trials will evaluate BBV154 nasal vaccine for both the second dose primary schedule and booster dose schedule. Intra nasal vaccines are easier to administer in mass immunization campaigns and help reduce and stop viral transmission.

The fresh approval comes soon after Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and Serum Institute of India's Covishield were cleared for sale in the market. This, however, doesn't mean the two vaccines will be available at shops soon. While people would be able to buy them from hospitals and clinics, details on this are awaited.

For emergency use, safety data has to be given the Drugs Controller General of India, or DCGI, within 15 days but for market approval the data has to be given to the regulator within six months.