Intranasal Covid Vaccine

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The National drug regulator DGCI has given the green signal to the country’s first intra-nasal Covid vaccine for emergency use in adults Called iNCOVACC.

• Manufactured by Bharat Biotech the company behind Covaxin.
• The new vaccine has been approved for primary immunisation.
• It can be administered only to the unimmunised.
• Those who have already received the first and second doses of other vaccines will not be eligible to get iNCOVACC as the “precaution” third dose.

The approval by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) is significant: 

• iNCOVACC will be delivered through the nasal route, which would potentially trigger an immune response in the mucosal membrane. 
• It has been designed to not only protect against infection but also reduce transmission of the virus.
• The vaccine uses a modified chimpanzee adenovirus, which cannot replicate in the body, to carry the Covid spike protein to induce immunity.

Benefits of Intranasal Vaccine

• iNCOVACC has the double benefit of enabling faster development of variant specific vaccines and easy nasal delivery that enables mass immunization to protect from emerging variants of concern.
• Being an intranasal vaccine, BBV154 (iNCOVACC) may produce local antibodies in the upper respiratory tract, which may provide the potential to reduce infection and transmission.”
• Stable at 2-8°C, which makes it easy to store and distribute, the vaccine will be manufactured at multiple sites in the country, including Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana.
• Delivered through a nasal drop, the vaccine will do away with the need for needles and syringes that are currently required for all available Covid vaccines.
• It will also reduce dependence on trained personnel to administer the shots

Drugs Controller General of India

• Drugs Controller General of India is the head of department of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization of the Government of India.
• Responsible for approval of licences of specified categories of drugs such as blood and blood products, IV fluids, vaccines, and sera in India