Intranasal vaccine gets clearance as booster option in Covid fight

This is the second heterologous booster to be included in the vaccination programme after Corbevax in August. Incovacc received the nod from the country’s apex drug regulator as a primary dose in September and as a booster dose in November.

The intranasal vaccine triggers an immune response in the mucosal membrane in the nose and mouth. “Being an intranasal vaccine, BBV154 may produce local antibodies in the upper respiratory tract, which may provide the potential to reduce infection and transmission,” according to Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, which also manufactures Covaxin.

Meanwhile, as part of its anti-Covid drive, the Government will conduct a mock drill at hospitals across the country Tuesday. Besides, officials said that from Saturday, two per cent of international travellers arriving in the country will be screened at random.

Also, in a meeting Friday with Health officials, states were asked to ramp up testing from the current 79 per million, and increase the share of RT-PCR tests. They were also urged to focus on sewage, pan-respiratory virus and facility-based sentinel surveillance. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya urged states to create awareness for following Covid-appropriate behaviour, especially in view of upcoming festivals.

Earlier this week, the Union Health Secretary had asked states to send all positive samples to the INSACOG network laboratories for genome sequencing.

According to officials, Incovacc is effective for Omicron variants that replicate in the upper respiratory tract before entering the lungs.

The company had earlier said that the vaccine was found to be “safe, well-tolerated and immunogenic” when compared to its own Covaxin in a phase III trial of nearly 3,100 participants across 14 sites in India. It has also conducted a trial with 875 participants to verify whether Incovacc can be administered as a booster to those who have received Covaxin or Covishield as the primary vaccine.

To induce immunity, officials said, the vaccine uses a modified chimpanzee adenovirus that cannot replicate in the body to carry the Covid spike protein. It was developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with Washington University-St Louis. While the US University developed the vector that carries the spike protein and evaluated it in pre-clinical studies, Bharat Biotech handled product development and manufacturing capability.

Incovacc’s inclusion in the vaccination programme comes against the backdrop of rising Covid cases globally. Although the number of cases in the country has continued to decline, with only 153 reported a day during the week ending December 22, there has been an increase in several other countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, USA, France, Greece and Italy. Globally, 5.9 lakh cases were reported on an average every day over the past six weeks.

So far, 22.2 crore third doses have been administered in India, with the booster coverage at 27 per cent across age groups, according to data from the Health Ministry. The coverage was higher at 40 per cent among those above the age of 60 years and 22 per cent among those between the ages of 18 and 59 years.

During a high-level review meeting Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged the older, vulnerable population to get their third dose.

A senior official said, “What we have learnt in the last couple of years is that we cannot stop the spread, we can control it in a way that the system does not get overwhelmed. The reason for preparedness at a time when cases in the country are low is that we are looking at scenarios elsewhere.”