In talks with J&J over production of its single-shot COVID vaccine in India: Govt

New Delhi: 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.

"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.

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.