Covid vaccines may get license soon, precaution advised by Health Min

New Delhi: The wait for the Covid-19 vaccine may end soon as the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) is likely to give its approval for its emergency use.

Commenting on the status of vaccines, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said: "Three Covid-19 vaccines, developed by Bharat Biotech, Serum Institute of India and Pfizer are under active consideration of India's drug regulator and there is hope that early licensure is possible for all or any of them."

However, the Health Ministry has advised some precautions that need to be taken even after the vaccination for the cure of Covid-19.

"Most of the vaccines are of two or three doses that are to be administered in three to four weeks. It's very significant to note that even after vaccination, Covid-19 precautions must be taken and it has also been advised by WHO," Bhushan said, adding that vaccination does not mean that people become carefree.

Commenting on cold chain infrastructure augmentation, he said: "At present, we have 85,634 equipment for storage of vaccine at about 28,947 cold chain points across the country."

Notably, over the last four days, the Indian arm of US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Pune-based Serum Institute of India and Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical firm Bharat Biotech have applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking emergency use authorisation for their vaccines.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the mobile technology will be used for mass inoculation against the pandemic.

He also called for the timely roll-out of 5G or 5th generation mobile networks that can deliver multi-Gbps peak data speeds.

Speaking at the India Mobile Congress, Modi said: "It is also with the help of mobile technology that we will embark on one of the world's largest Covid-19 vaccination drive." He however did not provide details.