Along with many other companies, Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical firm Zydus Cadila is also very close to developing an effective vaccine against Covid – 19 virus. The company is targeting to manufacture one crore doses per month. The name of the Zydus Cadila Vaccine is “ZyCoV-D”. What makes this special is that it is also being tested on adolescents.
ZyCoV-D is going to be yet another indigenously developed Corona vaccine in India after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Biological E’s Corbevax. However, ZyCoV-D is different from both Covaxin and Corbevax because it is a plasmid DNAVaccine. This vaccine works against the major viral membrane protein responsible for the entry of coronavirus into a human body cell. In this post, we are going to discuss important aspects of the Zydus Cadila Vaccine for combating Coronavirus i.e. ZyCoV-D.
Zydus Cadila Profile
Zydus Cadila is an Indian Pharmaceutical giant. The company is answering the pharmaceutical need of Indian customers for many decades. The firm Zydus was started way back in the year 1952. Currently, Zydus Cadila is manufacturing vaccines and medicines for many diseases. Apart from this, the firm has collaborated with many leading global organizations like WHO to deliver many effective pharmaceutical products. All and all, we can say that Zydus Cadila is a very prestigious brand. We can totally trust their Corona vaccine and efficacy data.
Zydus Cadila Vaccine Availability Dates
Currently, the vaccine is under phase 3 efficacy trials. This is the final trial and it is expected that the company will soon get emergency use authorization from the government. In a recent interview, the director of Zydus Cadila said “As soon as we see strong efficacy which correlates to the vaccine’s strong immunogenicity in Phase 2, we will file for emergency use authorization. We hope to produce a good quantity of the vaccine from July onwards to make sure it is available to the people”.
So, going by his statement, we can say that vaccines will be available for the use of the general public from the end of July month or August. However, you should note that there might be a bit of delay as well because it will take some time for the government to procure this vaccine. The good news is that Zydus Cadila has the capability to produce around 1 crore doses per month. So, once the approval is given, the production can be ramped pretty soon.
Zydus Cadila Vaccine Doses
There are a lot of interesting facts and figures coming out about the doses of Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D. We have compiled these facts in the following list.
- Three doses vaccine – Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D is going to be a three doses vaccine. It is so because ZyCoV-D is a plasmid DNA Vaccine. It works differently as compared to Covishield or Covaxin. The plasmid DNA is small, circular, and extrachromosomal bacterial DNA. So, for better effectiveness, this vaccine needs three doses. However, some experts have also criticized that three doses are too many and some people might not take all three doses.
- Pain Less Vaccine – ZyCoV-D is a vaccine that requires a needleless application. So, if you are a person who has a fear of needles then this vaccine is just for you.
- Vaccine for Adolescents – Zydus Cadila is also testing ZyCoV-D on Children of age 12 to 18 years. It has already recruited around 28000 children to test the vaccine. The vaccine will be made available for children around the country. It is expected that ZyCoV-D is going to be the first vaccine for children in India.
- Vaccine of Children – The director of Zydus Cadila has stated that the company will also develop ZyCoV-D for children aged 5 to 12 year after adolescent. So, we can say that Zydus Cadila will be the first company to provide the Corona vaccine for the person of all age groups.
Zydus Cadila Vaccine ZyCoV-D Efficacy
The final efficacy data of ZyCoV-D is not yet published by Zydus Cadila as the vaccine is still under clinical trials. When asked about the efficacy, Mr. Patel (Director of Zydus Cadila) said “The Phase III trials of our vaccine will be truly representative of the efficacy of the vaccine against many of the known variants [of the virus], as different variants have surfaced in this wave [of the pandemic]. So the trial outcomes will have more representative efficacy data than any other vaccine,”
Zydus Cadila Vaccine ZyCoV- D Registration
The government has not yet procured ZyCoV- D vaccine. So, not much information on the registration is available. However, there are some important things that we can predict.
- It is expected that the registration for the vaccine will take place through the Cowin app. All three vaccines that are approved so far by the government (Covishield, Covaxin, and Sputnik V) are made available through Cowin. So, we can expect this vaccine to be available through Cowin only.
- In addition to Cowin, we can expect that the registration will also take place through Aarogya Setu and Umang app.
- Please note that the aadhar number or other photo ID proof is necessary to register for any covid – 19 vaccine in India.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question 1. – What is the gap between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Dose of ZyCoV- D by Zydus Cadila?
Answer: Well, the Official information regarding the same is not yet available in the public domain. As it is a three-dose vaccine the gap between the doses is expected to be less as compared to Covishield. According to unconfirmed news, three doses will be administered at day 0, day 28, and day 56.
Question 2. – Is ZyCOV – D Vaccine by Zydus Cadila is a made in India vaccine?
Answer: Yes, Zydus Cadila Vaccine (ZyCoV – D) is a made in India vaccine.
Question 3. – What is the cost of Zydus Cadila ZyCOV – D Vaccine?
Answer: The cost of the vaccine is not disclosed yet. But, Pankaj Patel (Chairman, Zydus Group) has confirmed that the price of Zydus Cadila ZyCov – D Vaccine is not going to be more than the prices of Current Vaccines. Currently, both Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech are supplying their vaccines to the government of India at Rs. 150/- per dose.
Question 4. – At what temperature can we store Zydus Cadila ZyCoV – D Vaccine?
Answer: We can store ZyCoV – D at a temperature between 2o C and 8o C.
Question 5. – What is verafin? Are ZyCov – D and Verafin are same?
Answer: Verafin is an oral tablet developed by Zydus Cadila to counter mild symptoms of Corona. Please note that Verafin is not a vaccine like ZyCov – D. Even though both are developed by Zydus Cadila they are completely different products.
Question 6. – What is the side-effect of the ZyCoV – D Corona vaccine?
Answer: According to Zydus Cadila, the ZyCoV – D will have no or minimum side effect. As it can be applied without a needle, users will not have to worry about pain.
