After Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines likely to get emergency use approval in India

New Delhi: With Moderna getting the drug controller’s nod for emergency use, the path for other COVID-19 vaccines candidates such as Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson is likely to get easier.

The government on Tuesday (June 29) said that it is continuously pursuing the new vaccines to ramp up the inoculation drive in the country.

"Our efforts to invite and to have other internationally developed vaccines specifically Pfizer and J&J also continue. Those processes are on. We are also looking at increasing the production of availability of vaccines that are being manufactured in our country," NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr V K Paul said at a press conference.

Johnson & Johnson also expressed confidence in making its single-dose vaccine available soon in India.

“As per DCGI's recent announcement, now no requirement of conducting bridging clinical studies of COVID vaccines is required in India. We're in discussions with Government of India and exploring how best to accelerate our ability to deliver our single-dose vaccine to India,” a spokesperson of J&J India was quoted as saying by ANI.

Earlier today, Pharmaceutical company Cipla, according to sources, got Drugs Controller General of India’s (DCGI) nod to import Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for restricted emergency use in India.

Cipla had sought DGCI's permission for importing and marketing authorisation of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine earlier on Tuesday.

There are currently two homegrown vaccines for the coronavirus in India, Covishield and Covaxin, along with Russia's Sputnik V. Moderna will be the fourth vaccine to be in use in the country.

Moderna through a separate communication had informed that the US Government has agreed to donate a certain number of doses of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA-1273, through COVAX to the Government of India for use in India and had submitted the dossiers through e-mail.

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