Amid calls for wider availability of Covid booster shots, an expert panel of the government has recommended Covaxin and Covishield for full use. Both the vaccines were cleared for emergency use a year ago.
The approval will boost India fight against Covid as the vaccines are expected to be widely available soon at hospitals and clinics registered with the government portal CoWIN.
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India has started giving booster shots to health workers, frontline workers and senior citizens with illnesses. The recommended period, however, between the second and the third dose is currently nine months.
The move to give full approval to vaccines will perk up India's booster drive. The recommendation by the expert panel of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has been sent to the top drug regulator DCGI.
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The vaccines are unlikely to be available at the chemist shops anytime soon and people will still need to register on CoWIN platfomr for the third dose, reports quoting government sources said.
According to reports, 300 million doses of Covishield are presently stocked with the Serum Institute of India. Covishield accounts for 90% of vaccinations in India.
Both the SII and Covixin maker Bharat Biotech had asked govt to give full approval to their vaccines.
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