The government on Thursday said that Zydus Cadila’s needle-free Covid-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D will be introduced into the nationwide vaccination drive very soon and will be priced differently than the jabs being used currently.
Addressing a press conference, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the government is in talks with the manufacturer regarding the pricing of the vaccine. The differentiation in pricing is largely because it is a three-dose vaccine with a needleless delivery system, he added.
“As far as the price of the vaccine at which the vaccune will be procured is concerned, we are in conversation with the manufacturer. Since it is a three-dose vaccine and comes with a needless delivery system, it would have a differential pricing than the existing vaccines that are being used in the Covid vaccination program,” Bhushan was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.
ZyCoV-D is the first DNA plasmid vaccine in the world for human use, developed indigenously by the company against the Covid-19 virus. It received the Emergency Use Authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on August 20 and can be administered to people aged 12 years and above.
