Moderna Inc's mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Likely To Be Available At Few Major Govt Hospitals By Mid-July

In a positive development, United States (US)-based pharmaceutical major Moderna Inc's messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine is likely to be available in India at a few major Government hospitals by the middle of July, reports Economic Times.

It should be noted that while Moderna Inc's vaccines may reach India this week itself, it would then take another week or so for distribution to the hospitals where it can be stored easily.

The development comes shortly after the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI)'s nod for domestic pharmaceutical major Cipla to import the doses from the US. The vaccine follows a two-dose regime separated by 28 days. It has demonstrated a strong efficacy of 90 per cent.

The nod for Moderna Inc's vaccine's usage in India is the first such approval given under the revised guidelines issued in April which enabled fast-track authorisation of COVID-19 vaccines that have been approved by the WHO or the regulatory authorities of the US, the UK, European Union and Japan.

It should be noted that under the revised guidelines, Cipla will have to submit the safety data of the first 100 beneficiaries to the drug regulator before the Moderna vaccine is allowed to be used in the government’s immunisation drive.