US pharma giant Johnson and Johnson single dose Covid-19 vaccine became the fifth vaccine to gets Emergency Use Approval(EUA) by the government of India. Health Minister Mansuk Mandaviya tweeted, “India expands its vaccine basket! Johnson and Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine is given approval for Emergency Use in India. Now India has 5 EUA vaccines”.
So far, four vaccines have been given Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) in India – AstraZeneca’s Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik V and Moderna. On August 5, Johnson & Johnson applied for Emergency Use Authorisation for its single-dose Covid vaccine in India. The US drug major claims that its vaccine, in clinical trials, proved to be 85 per cent effective in preventing severe disease. The vaccine also showed protection against the Delta variant and other emerging strains. The pharma company stated that it is an important milestone that paves the way to bringing the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine to the people of India, and the rest of the world, through a collaboration with Biological E. Limited. It further stated that Biological E will be an important part of Johnson and Johnson’s global supply chain network, helping to supply its COVID-19 vaccine Janssen through extensive collaborations and partnerships with governments, health authorities and organisations such as Gavi and the COVAX Facility.
Earlier on Monday, the company had said that it remained committed to bringing its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine to India and looks forward to ongoing discussions with the Indian government. In February 2021, the US FDA authorised Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use.
