Serum Institute of India, a corona virus vaccine manufacturer in India, has sought approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for a booster dose. The company has sought permission to use Covishield as a booster dose i.e. the third dose.
The company said that sufficient doses of Covidshield vaccine are available in the country and there is a demand for booster doses amid the threat of variants of the new corona virus.
In his application to DCGI, Serum Institute’s Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs Prakash Kumar Singh said that the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has already approved the AstraZeneca ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine as a booster dose. He has said in the application that the world is battling an epidemic and many countries have started applying booster doses of corona.
Recently, Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla had said that Serum Institute can make a booster dose of Covishield to deal with Omicron variants. According to Poonawalla, the booster dose can be given after 6 months of the second dose. On the other hand, Japan has started applying booster doses to deal with Omicron. Britain has also started giving booster doses to all its citizens aged 18 to 39.