Homegrown vaccine maker Bharat Biotech will launch its intranasal COVID-19 vaccine iNCOVACC, the first of its kind in India, on January 26, the company's chairman and managing director Krishna Ella said here on Saturday. Interacting with students at the India International Science Festival in Bhopal, Ella also said that the homegrown vaccine for the lumpy skin disease in cattle, Lumpi-ProVacInd, is likely to be launched next month.
"Our nasal vaccine will be officially launched on January 26, on Republic Day," Ella said, participating in the 'Face-to-Face with New Frontiers in Science' segment of the IISF, organised at the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT). In December, Bharat Biotech had announced that it would sell the intranasal vaccine for Rs 325 per shot for procurement by the government and Rs 800 per shot for private vaccination centres.
Bharat Biotech received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) earlier this month to sell the nasal vaccine in India. The vaccine is also available on the CoWIN platform.
How does a nasal vaccine work?
The nasal vaccine dose is administered through the nose rather than through the arm. The aim is to deliver the dose directly into the respiratory pathways. Virus normally enters the body through the nose and the nasal vaccine helps the body's immune system to produce proteins in the blood and nose that help in virus defence.
(With inputs from PTI)
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