Vikrant Shekhawat : Jan 03, 2021, 02:21 PM
Pune: Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla on Sunday said the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine ''Covishield'' is ready to roll out in the coming weeks. Poonawalla'' remarks came soon after after India's drugs regulator, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved Covishield for restricted emergency use."Happy new year, everyone! All the risks @SerumInstIndia took with stockpiling the vaccine, have finally paid off. COVISHIELD, India''s first COVID-19 vaccine is approved, safe, effective and ready to roll-out in the coming weeks," Poonawalla tweeted."Thank you Hon. Sri @narendramodi Ji, Hon. Sri @drharshvardhan Ji, @MoHFW_INDIA @ICMRDELHI @DBTIndia #DCGI_India @UniofOxford @AstraZeneca @gavi @GaviSeth @gatesfoundation and @BillGates for your support," he added. In a significant development, eleven months after the first case of deadly coronavirus was detected in India, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) V.G. Somani on Sunday approved Serum Institute of India's 'Covishield' vaccine and Bharat Biotech's 'Covaxin' for emergency use, paving the way for their roll-out and administration to millions.Addressing the media, the Drug Controller General of India VG Somani said both firms submitted data on their trial runs and both have been granted permission for "restricted use".On January 1, Covishield was recommended for emergency use while COVAXIN was recommended for restricted use on January 2. Now a final approval on the use of both the vaccines awaits DCGI nod.Hailing the scientific community, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "It would make every Indian proud that the two vaccines that have been given emergency use approval are made in India!.