The iNCOVACC (BBV154) or intranasal covid-19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech is going to be available at government hospitals for ₹325 for every dose and in private settings for ₹800. One will also be able to get hold of the vaccine on the CoWin platform, and this will be available in the last week of January. It is a fact that the Bharat Biotechs Covid 19 nasal vaccine has been sanctioned by the Union health ministry for those who is 18 years old or more.
One can consider iNCOVACC as the first intranasal vaccine on the planet for covid-19 which has got approval for a heterologous booster dose as well as a primary two-dose schedule.
Clinical trials
Clinical trials were conducted for assessing iNCOVACC as a primary dosage. The conduction of phase III trials was performed on approximately 3,100 subjects across the country in as many as 14 trial sites. On the other hand, heterologous booster dose studies have been conducted in 9 trial sites throughout India.
Bharat Biotech has asserted that the recipients of this vaccine showed significant Mucosal IgA antibody levels. These antibodies present in the upper respiratory tract might be beneficial when it comes to minimizing transmission and infections.
Needle-less Bharat Biotechs Covid 19 nasal vaccine
iNCOVACC, being a needleless vaccine, is going to become the first type of booster dose in India. There will be more options available now in the country in terms of precautionary doses or third doses. The manufacturing platform of this particular vaccine comes with the dual advantage of allowing quicker development of vaccines that happen to be variant-specific as well as effortless nasal delivery that allows mass immunization for safeguarding against emerging variants of the virus.
The Bharat Biotechs Covid 19 nasal vaccine happens to be a recombinant adenovirus vectored vaccination along with a pre-fusion-stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The evaluation of this particular vaccination candidate was performed in clinical trials during phases I, II, and III with successful outcomes. This nasal spray which has been formulated specifically allows intranasal delivery via nasal drops. It is a fact that the system of nasal delivery has been developed and designed to be affordable in countries where the income is not so high.
The Bharat Biotechs Covid 19 nasal vaccine has come up in collaboration with Washington University located in St. Louis. It is Bharat Biotech that conducted product development linked with large-scale manufacturing scale-up, preclinical safety assessment, delivery, and formulation device development which consisted of human clinical trials. Nevertheless, the Department of Biotechnology actually funded clinical trials and product development.
It is possible to store this vaccine mentioned here easily given that it is stable at somewhere between 2°C and 8°C. This vaccination has been designed for effective distribution as well as pain-free administration for the convenience of the patients.
