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AstraZeneca's logo is reflected in a drop on a syringe needle. /Reuters
India's drug regulator on Friday approved a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University for emergency use, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The decision clears the vaccine's rollout in the world's second-most populous country which, after the United States, has the highest number of COVID-19 infections.
India wants to start administering the vaccine soon, most likely by Wednesday, said one of the sources, both of whom declined to be named ahead of an official announcement expected later in the day.
Britain and Argentina have already authorized the AstraZeneca vaccine for urgent public use.
India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) is also considering emergency-use authorization applications for vaccines made by Pfizer with Germany's BioNTech, and by India's Bharat Biotech.
Countries with relatively basic health infrastructure have high hopes for a shot that, unlike Pfizer's, can be stored and transported under normal refrigeration, rather than super-cooled to -70 degrees Celsius (-94 Fahrenheit).
India has reported more than 10 million COVID-19 cases, though its rate of infection has come down significantly from a mid-September peak. The country hopes to inoculate 300 million of its 1.35 billion people in the first six to eight months of 2021.
Source(s): Reuters
