New Delhi: The nasal vaccine, manufactured by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, could be a game-changer if it provides mucosal immunity, said a senior epidemiologist of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.
According to senior epidemiologist Dr Sanjay Rai, this vaccine could be a great achievement for the human race if this nasal vaccine provides mucosal immunity. “There are 33 vaccines all over the world but none is effective in preventing the infection. We are hoping that this vaccine will provide mucosal immunity that can prevent further infection,” Dr Rai, while speaking to news agency ANI, said.
Ahead of the beginning of the Budget Session from Monday, Dr Sanjay Rai said that he expects that the primary concern of the time would be to boost the public health system at all primary, secondary and tertiary levels.
“This is not the last pandemic, we must prepare for future pandemics and to handle that, we need to strengthen the public health system,” Dr Rai said as quoted by ANI.
Notably, Bharat Biotech, the firm that manufactured India’s first Covid vaccine, Covaxin, has received the approval of Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for intranasal booster dose trials.
Earlier this month, the Subject Expert Committee of Drugs Controller General of India had granted ‘in-principle’ nod to the Hyderabad firm for conducting the ‘Phase III superiority study and Phase III booster dose study’ for its intranasal Covid vaccine BBV154.
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