New Delhi: Russia’s Sputnik V got approval from the Subject expert committee (SEC) for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA), making it the third Covid-19 vaccine to get clearance in India. Moreover, a plea has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Centre’s decision on COVID-19 vaccination only to prioritized age groups above 45 years and sought doses for all citizens.
According to sources, the SEC approved Dr Reddy’s application for EUA to Sputnik V.
The decision comes after the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI)’s SEC met today to take up Sputnik V application for EUA in India.
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, last week sought the government’s approval for the vaccine to be used in India. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) partnered with Dr Reddy’s in September 2020 to conduct clinical trials of Sputnik V in India.
DCGI had then sought additional data from drugmaker Dr Reddy’s Laboratories on its Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine trial.
India is currently manufacturing two Covid-19 vaccines, — Serum Institute of India’s locally-made Oxford Covid-19 vaccine ‘Covishield’ and Bharat Biotech’s indigenously manufactured Covaxin.
On Sunday, government sources said that by end of the third quarter of this year, India will be getting vaccines from five additional manufacturers.
The Russian vaccine has an effectiveness of 91.6 per cent. Russia registered Sputnik V for public use in August, the first country to do so, though the approval came before the start of the large-scale trial in September.
The EUA of Sputnik V comes at a time when India is facing the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic with the number of new cases increasing each day.
Meanwhile, the plea filed by political activist and columnist Tehseen Poonawalla said there has been a steep increase in daily COVID-19 cases in the country, with 1.31 lakh new cases as of April 9.
This has necessitated an ever-increasing need to allow vaccination for COVID-19 to all age groups and especially to all persons with co-morbidities such as respiratory illnesses and terminal illness, who, despite being vulnerable to the virus, have not been given the option to be protected by the vaccine.
“This arbitrary bar on the age-groups coupled with the sudden rise in the number of infections due to COVID-19 disease…necessitates immediate steps to be taken to ensure that vaccination is not only available to persons aged above 45 years but to all such persons, even below the age of 45-years, who are employed in work that requires them to go outside every day as well as all persons with any of the co-morbid conditions as vulnerable groups,” the plea said.
“The bar on availability of approved vaccines to persons below the age of 45 years, despite having co-morbid conditions, is arbitrary, unreasonable and ultra vires Article 21, which guarantees a right to life, not being a mere animal existence but including within it the right to dignity and appropriate healthcare as well as Article 14, which envisages a right to equality to all the citizens,” it said.
The petition has sought directions to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to make effective changes in its policy to ensure vaccination for COVID-19 to all citizens of the country.
The Drugs Controller General of India had approved the use of two vaccines for immunization — Serum Institute of India’s (SII) Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
In a boost to India’s vaccine drive, the Centre had eased the age limit on vaccination, allowing all those above 45 years in age to get the shots from April 1.
The vaccination phases in India have so far covered all people above the age of 60, those above 45 with comorbidities, medical professionals and frontline workers.
Meanwhile, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a meeting of Governors of all states on Wednesday.
According to the sources, it will a virtual meeting with the focus on ‘Covid-19 and Vaccination’.
“The process of vaccination and spike of Covid Cases are a matter of concern for central government as well as state governments. In this meeting, the result of ‘Tika Utsav’ would also be discussed,” said sources.
India is witnessing the second wave of coronavirus pandemic currently, Country’s COVID-19 tally hit a record daily high since the outbreak of the pandemic with over 1.60 lakh new infections being reported on Monday.
To combat the rising new infections, India accelerated its Covid-19 vaccine programme with the launch of four-day-long ‘Tika Utsav’ on Sunday. As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Notably, nearly 30 lakh vaccine doses were administered on day 1 of Tike Utsav pushing the cumulative coverage to 10.45 crore.
India’s average Covid vaccine doses per day have also crossed the 40 lakh mark and continue to be the highest globally.
