UK govt clearing the Oxford vaccine against coronavirus is great news for India. An expert panel on Covid vaccine is likely to meet in a few days to decide on granting emergency use approval to the Oxford vaccine in India. So why is this vaccine best bet for India:
The vaccine has proved to be 90% effective in trials
It is being manufactured by Pune based Serum Institute, which so availability is assured.
The vaccine will be cheaper than Pfizer and Moderna vaccine
Serum CEO Adar Poonawalla has said that the drugmaker will sell it to govt at ₹250 per vial of two doses. In market, it's likely to cost ₹1000 per vial.
And most importantly, the Oxford vaccine can be stored at 2 to 8 degree whereas the Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at -70 degrees, which will be impossible in India.
So India can now expect to start vaccinations soon after the govt nod as Serum has said that most of the 50 million first doses will be available for India.