New COVID-19 Cases Reach 20,000s... India Grants Emergency Approval for AstraZeneca Vaccine

England, Argentina, and El Salvador,
Clinical Trials Also Underway with Local Pharmaceutical Company Serum Institute

On December 30th last month (local time), two women in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh in central India, held models of the novel coronavirus and vaccination syringes in their hands and took a New Year's celebration photo. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] The Indian government has officially approved the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. This is the first time that emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine has been approved in India.

According to Bloomberg and other sources on the 2nd, Prakash Javadekar, India's Minister of Information and Broadcasting, stated, "The use of the AstraZeneca vaccine was approved yesterday."

In India, the decision to introduce medicines is made based on the recommendation of an expert panel under the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), which is part of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), a government agency.

Local media reported that the expert panel made the decision to approve the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine the day before and recommended the matter to the drug regulatory authorities.

Countries that approved the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine before India include the United Kingdom, Argentina, and El Salvador. Following this approval, India plans to begin vaccinations as early as next week. The priority vaccination target group set by the Indian government includes about 300 million people such as healthcare workers, police officers, military personnel, and those aged 50 and above.

India's Serum Institute (SII), the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, has been conducting clinical trials of the AstraZeneca vaccine locally. SII is reported to have already produced 50 million doses in preparation for approval. SII plans to increase production to 100 million doses per month by March.

Meanwhile, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India reached 10,305,788 (according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) on this day, an increase of 19,079 from the previous day. The daily new confirmed cases, which approached 100,000 in September, have recently decreased significantly to around 20,000.