NTAGI chief says nasal vaccine not for those who already got booster dose

India's vaccine task force chief has said that Bharat Biotech's intranasal Covid-19 vaccine cannot be administered to those who have already taken the booster, but is only for those who are yet to take it. The announcement comes amid the introduction of the intranasal vaccine, which has been priced at Rs 800 per dose in the private market and Rs 325 if obtained through government channels. In an interview with NDTV, Dr N K Arora, Chairman of the Covid Working Group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) clarified the same about iNCOVACC, which was introduced on the Co-WIN platform last week.

"It is recommended as the first booster. For example, if a person has already received a precaution dose, it is not recommended for that person. It is for those who have not yet taken a precaution dose," Dr Arora was quoted as saying.

The NTAGI chief has been involved with the vaccine process from its inception to the rollout of the doses, to booster shots up until now.

The NTAGI, established in 2001 by an order of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), is India's primary advisory body on immunization. It provides assistance to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on vaccine and immunisation services in order to control vaccine-preventable diseases in the country. Dr Arora also clarified that the Co-WIN application has no provision for accepting the nasal vaccine as a fourth dose.

Elaborating on the same, he added that when a person is repeatedly immunised, the body stops responding or the response is not too effective. It is the same with the nasal vaccine as taking it at this point will not be of any value, the expert explained.

The nasal vaccine dosage is very simple, the NTAGI chief said. The dose is supposed to be four drops in each nostril and a total of 0.5 ml is to be given.

The nasal vaccine was approved by the DGCI in November for restricted use in an emergency situation for those aged 18 and above.

The vaccine was developed in partnership with scientists at Washington University and is manufactured by Bharat Biotech. The Government of India partly funded product development and clinical trials. It uses a version of the chimpanzee adenovirus to take the spike protein to the lining of the nose. China has developed a similar vaccine, and iNCOVACC is the second such vaccine to get approval, while more are at various stages of development in different countries.