Needle-free Vaccine Zydus Cadila Approved, 1st For Children – Free PDF Download

What has happened?

• Zydus Cadila’s Covid vaccine ZyCoV-D on Friday received emergency use authorisation from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and it will be administered to people 12 years and above, the Ministry of Science and Technology said.
• With this, ZyCoV-D became the 6^th vaccine to be approved for use in India after Serum Institute’s Covishield, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, Russia’s Sputnik V, and the US-based Moderna and Johnson and Johnson.
• In a statement, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced that the “world’s first and India’s indigenously developed DNA-based vaccine for Covid-19”
• Will be administered not only in adults but also in children above 12 years.

Zydus cadila

• The Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical company Zydus Cadila had on July 1 applied for emergency use authorisation of ZyCoV-D with the DCGI.
• The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on Covid-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation deliberated on the application on Thursday & recommended granting emergency use authorisation to the three-dose vaccine.
• ZyCoV-D has been tested in phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trials involving over 28,000 participants in all.
• According to trial data so far, the vaccine has been able to bring down symptomatic cases of Covid-19 in those who received doses by nearly 67% compared with those who did not get a vaccine.
• This is based on 79 to 90 RT-PCR confirmed cases of Covid-19 from those vaccinated in the phase 3 trials, Zydus Cadila managing director Dr Sharvil Patel said.
• ZyCov-D has been developed with the support of the central government’s Department of Biotechnology and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

How it works?

• ZyCov-D is a “plasmid DNA” vaccine — or a vaccine that uses a genetically engineered, non-replicating version of a type
• of DNA molecule known as a ‘plasmid’.
• The plasmids in this case are coded with the instructions to make the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
• Vaccination gives the code to cells in the recipient’s body, so they can begin making the spiky outer layer of the virus.

• The immune system is expected to recognize this as a threat and develop antibodies in response.

3 dose

• While most of the Covid-19 vaccines available now are given in two doses, with a couple of single-shot ones too,
• ZyCoV-D will be given in three doses, with an interval of 28 days between the first, second and and third shots.
• Two doses of the vaccine seem to be enough to prevent people from developing severe symptoms of Covid-19 and to prevent death, while 3 doses keep even moderate symptoms at bay, according to trial data.

No needle

• The other unique thing about the vaccine is the way it is given.
• No needle is used — instead, a spring-powered device delivers the shot as a narrow, precise stream of fluid that penetrates the skin.

Production capacity

• Zydus Cadila is setting up a new facility to manufacture up to 120 million doses a year.
• This would mean up to 40 million people can be vaccinated with three shots of ZyCov-D in a year.
• The company will be producing 10 million doses every month then on, and hopes to supply 50 million doses to the country by December.

Q) Which of them is not true about the important characteristics of the vaccine to be effective?

1. It must be easy to use with low side effects
2. It must show at least 55% of efficacy
3. It must be available at low cost
4. It must provide long-lasting immunity

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