6 months after 2nd Covid shot best time for booster: Bharat Biotech chief Krishna Ella

Aditi Tandon

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 10

Bharat Biotech chief and the developer of India’s first indigenously made Covid 19 vaccine, Covaxin, Krishna Ella on Wednesday said six months after the second dose was the best time for a booster adding that the company was working to see if their under development nasal vaccine could serve as a booster as it would be easy to scale up.

Ella said negativity and politics over Covaxin which Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to take “hurt the product and delayed its WHO emergency use listing approval.”

“When the PM took the vaccine it was called a BJP vaccine. People’s negative projections of Covaxin hurt the product. Politicians should take up different battles, not on the front of science,” Ella said at a television channel’s event today.

Noting that he was happy India was the fourth country worldwide to manufacture a Covid vaccine, Ella said, “Negative perceptions about Covaxin delayed approvals and publication. But I am happy we finally won the game. Negativity also put WHO in an awkward position. WHO wanted to review Covaxin much more extensively. Covaxin was the only shot to go through so much WHO scrutiny.”

Ella said although a million pregnant Indian women had received Covaxin and its safety among them is proven, the WHO had sought results of Covaxin safety among pregnant women in a clinical trial mode. The WHO is yet to approve Covaxin for pregnant women.

“We will do the science, although the highest number of pregnant women worldwide has been vaccinated in India and a million of them are on Covaxin with proven safety,” he said.

Ella also said Biotech was hoping for early emergency use approval to Covaxin for children aged 2 years and above. “We are the only global company to have developed a safe vaccine for children aged 2 years and above. Safety is established and subject experts have recommended approval. We hope the drug regulator will soon approve the shot as China is moving aggressively, having applied for approvals to a vaccine for 3 years and above. We need permissions not just for Indian children but also to remain globally competitive. I think supply level constraints are holding back approvals,” said Ella.

On Biotech’s nasal Covid vaccine, he said phase-2 trials are complete and safety established. “In three months we hope to make progress. Nasal vaccine can serve as a booster as it would be easy to scale up,” he said.