Vision 2023: Bharat Biotech’s nasal vaccine

Bharat Biotech’s intranasal Covid-19 vaccine iNCOVACC finally made its debut on the CoWina pp on Saturday evening. However, the Hyderabad-based company is yet to announce the pricing for the vaccine and its availability for use. A decision is expected to be made in 2023.

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya had announced that the government had cleared inclusion of iNCOVACC in the Covid-19 immunisation drive. He had also said that the vaccine would be available in private hospitals to start with and that it would be added to the CoWin app by Friday evening.

The vaccine, which was developed in collaboration with Washington University at St Louis, is a recombinant replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilized spike protein.According to Bharat Biotech chairman & managing director Dr Krishna Ella, iNCOVACC was ideal for Covid-19 because it offers mucosal immunity. The nasal drops vaccine is easy to use as it has to be administered into the nostrils with the help of a dropper. According to the Bharat Biotech website, the vaccine requires the administration of four drops in each nostril with a gap of 30 seconds to keep the head tilted back to ensure proper absorption by the mucosal lining. The vaccine is also easy to store and distribute.