The official said that once approval is given, supply of the vaccine is expected to start by August-September. If it gets the nod, ZyCov-D, a locally developed DNA vaccine candidate would be the fifth vaccine against coronavirus to get EUA in India. Currently, Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V are being administered under the national Covid-19 immunisation programme. Cipla has also got an EUA to import Moderna’s anti-Covid jab but it is yet to be available in the country.

ZyCoV-D is a three-dose, intradermal vaccine which is applied using the PharmaJet needle-free system. It can be stored at 2-8 degree Celsius and has shown good stability at temperatures of 25 degree Celsius for at least 3 months. While Zydus Cadila has indicated it will initially manufacture one crore doses per month and later increase production, the vaccine’s availability will be a boost to supplies as well as offer cover to children of 12-18 years, particularly in the wake of concerns about a potential third wave as children are seen to be vulnerable to the virus.