The govt. has already been holding nationwide drills ahead of the
mass inoculation drive. The approval is expected to kick off one of the world´s
biggest vaccination drives in the country of 1.3 billion people. Indian PM Modi
tweeted that the fast-track approvals were ‘a decisive turning point to
strengthen a spirited fight’. India on Sunday allowed the emergency usage of
two coronavirus vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and by
local pharmaceutical firm Bharat Biotech; said the country's drug regulator. ‘The
vaccines of Serum Institute (AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine) and Bharat Biotech are
being approved for restricted use in emergency situations;’ the Drugs
Controller General of India, V.G. Somani; said at a briefing. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi tweeted that the fast-track approvals were ‘a decisive turning
point to strengthen a spirited fight’ that ‘accelerates the road to a healthier
and Covid-free nation’. India is the world´s second most-infected nation with
more than 10.3 million cases and almost 150,000 deaths, although its rate of
infection has come down significantly from a mid-September peak of more than
90,000 cases daily. The approval is expected to kick off one of the world´s
biggest vaccination drives in the country of 1.3 billion people. The government
has already been holding nationwide drills ahead of the mass inoculation drive
and 96,000 health workers have been trained to administer the shots. Somani
added to reporters after the briefing that the drug regulator would ‘never
approve anything if there is the slightest safety concern’. ‘The vaccines are
100 percent safe;’ he said; adding that side effects such as ‘mild fever; pain;
and allergy are common for every vaccine’. The Serum Institute of India, the
world´s biggest manufacturer of vaccines, has said it is making between 50 and
60 million doses a month of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine. Serum Institutes chief
executive Adar Poonawalla tweeted after the approvals that the vaccine would be
‘ready to roll-out in the coming weeks’.
by: mhmaamay mhmamay
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