Biological E will manufacture Johnson and Johnson COVID Vaccine in India

Biological E is to produce Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine along with its own vaccine. This is to boost the overall vaccine production of the country.

Background

A new Vaccine partnership was unveiled at the first Quad Summit. The four Quad countries namely India, Australia, US and Japan decided to pool their resources. They also decided to roll out 1 billion COVID-19 vaccines by 2022.  According to the plan, the United States International Development Finance Corporation is to assist the Biological E.

What is the plan?

The Biological E of India is to produce 600 million Johnson and Johnson Vaccine doses annually. It is to produce the Johnson and Johnson Vaccine along with its own vaccine. However, the manufacturing units of the vaccines will be different. Also, the Johnson and Johnson vaccine production is to be funded by the US.

Biological E has plans to produce 75 million to 80 million doses of its own vaccine in Hyderabad. The drug was developed by Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Johnson and Johnson Vaccine

It has been approved by United States Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organisation. In India, Johnson and Johnson has sought for permission to conduct clinical trials.

It is an adeno virus vector based COVID-19 vaccine. It is a single dose vaccine. The other adeno virus based vaccines such as Moderna and Pfizer are two dose vaccines.

Current Scenario

According to COVAX, India is unlikely to resume its major exports of COVID-19 vaccines till October, 2021. This is because it is diverting its shots for domestic use.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2021