Indian government is currently holding talks with the US pharma giant Johnson and Johnson for their single dose Covid-19 vaccine, said Dr VK Paul, member Niti Ayog (health) at a press briefing on Friday.
“We are in talks with Johnson & Johnson regarding their single-dose vaccine. Their vaccine is being produced outside,” Paul said.
The NITI Aayog member also informed reporters that the vaccine will be produced at Indian biopharmaceutical company Biological E (Bio E), based out of Hyderabad. “As per the plan, this vaccine will also be produced in Hyderabad's Biological E.”
Johnson and Johnson recently announced that their vaccine generates a strong and persistent response activity against the new Delta coronavirus variant and also against other highly prevalent SARS-CoV-2 viral strains. Adding that the vaccine was far more effective in neutralising Delta variants than it was in fighting Beta variants.
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"We believe that our vaccine offers durable protection against Covid-19 and elicits neutralizing activity against the Delta variant. This adds to the robust body of clinical data supporting our single-shot vaccine's ability to protect against multiple variants of concern," said Paul Stoffels, managing director, at Johnson and Johnson.
{{/usCountry}}"We believe that our vaccine offers durable protection against Covid-19 and elicits neutralizing activity against the Delta variant. This adds to the robust body of clinical data supporting our single-shot vaccine's ability to protect against multiple variants of concern," said Paul Stoffels, managing director, at Johnson and Johnson.
{{/usCountry}}As per the latest data collected so far on the shot, the immune response induced by the J&J vaccine has lasted for eight months "Current data for the eight months studied so far show that the single-shot Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine generates a strong neutralizing antibody response that does not wane; rather, we observe an improvement over time. In addition, we observe a persistent and particularly robust, durable cellular immune response."
India has approved four vaccines so far, including two foreign made vaccines-Moderna and Sputnik V. The newly emerging Delta plus variant has been a cause of concern for experts around the world. India has so far recorded 56 cases in 12 states, the government said on Friday.