New Delhi: Nearly a week after Centre approved Bharat Biotech’s needle-free intranasal Covid vaccine for booster dose, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) chief Dr N K Arora said that the nasal vaccine, iNCOVACC, cannot be administered to those who have already taken a precaution or booster dose. Speaking to NDTV during an exclusive interview, the COVID panel chief said that the “nasal vaccine is recommended as the first booster. For example, if a person has already received a precaution dose, it is not recommended for that person. It is for those who have not yet taken a precaution dose.”
Arora, who has been closely involved with the rollout of vaccines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic further stated that, as part of the vaccination programme, CoWIN portal will not accept a fourth dose if a person has already taken a booster dose.
The nasal vaccine is recommended as a first time booster dose and cannot be taken after a person has already taken the precautionary dose.
“Let us assume you want to take another fourth dose. There is a concept what is called as ‘antigen sink’. If a person is repeatedly immunised with a particular type of antigen, the body stops responding, or responds poorly. And that is why initially mRNA vaccines are given with a gap of six months. Later on, people are taking at three-month gap. But it has not helped too much in that case. Therefore, at the moment taking a fourth dose is of no value,” Dr Arora said.
He added, “The nasal vaccine provides a very interesting way of immunisation….The entry point (of the vaccine) is the respiratory system – nose and mouth where the immune system builds roadblocks so that the virus is not allowed to enter so easily into the system…This is going to help in fighting not just Covid, for all the respiratory viruses and infection this is a platform that is going to be very useful in fighting them.”
iNCOVACC has been specifically formulated to allow intranasal delivery through nasal drops. The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost-effective in low- and middle-income countries, it added.
iNCOVACC® is now available on CoWin.#bharatbiotech #nasalvaccine #incovacc #vaccine#covid19 #CovidVaccines #covid19vaccine #india #bbv154 #boosterdose #intranasalvaccine #safety #immunogenicity #leadinnovation #infectiousdiseases #sarscov2 #covid #health #cowin @CDSCO_INDIA_INF pic.twitter.com/IOe4YQYeh7
— BharatBiotech (@BharatBiotech) December 27, 2022
“We have achieved the goals we set for ourselves during this pandemic. We have developed COVAXIN and iNCOVACC, two Covid vaccines from two different platforms, with two different delivery systems. The vectored intranasal delivery platform gives us the capability for rapid product development, scale-up, easy and painless immunization during public health emergencies and pandemics,” said Bharat Biotech Executive Chairman Dr. Krishna Ella.
As a needle-less vaccination, Bharat Biotech’s iNCOVACC will be India’s first such booster dose. India will now have more options when it comes to third doses or precautionary doses.
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