<p><span>Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) said it has shipped Covaxin to 11 cities across India on Wednesday, a day after Serum Institute of India began its delivery of Covishield.</span></p>.<p><span>The two vaccines were accorded emergency use authorisation by the central drug regulator for the Covid-19 vaccination programme to commence from January 16, with healthcare and other frontline workers covered initially.</span></p>.<p><span>Hyderabad-based BBIL which developed the indigenous Covid-19 vaccine in PPP mode in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology, has received a government purchase order for 55 lakh doses. </span></p>.<p><strong><span>Also Read | </span><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/india-wants-pfizer-to-do-local-safety-study-for-approval-938660.html">India wants Pfizer to do local safety study for approval</a></strong></p>.<p><span>BBIL officials said that 16.5 lakh Covaxin doses among this order are being extended as Bharat Biotech's “donation to the government of India.” </span></p>.<p><span>Covaxin is presented in multi-dose vials and can be stored at 2 to 8 degree celsius.</span></p>.<p><span>On Wednesday, Bharat Biotech announced “the successful air-shipment of the first batch of vaccines'' (each vial containing 20 doses) to Gannavaram (Vijayawada), Guwahati, Patna, Delhi, Kurukshetra, Bangalore, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Chennai and Lucknow. </span></p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/coronavirus-live-news-Covid-19-latest-updates.html" target="_blank"><strong>CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH</strong></a></p>.<p><span>While some shipments have arrived in respective cities, others will be delivered later on Wednesday evening, BBIL officials said.</span></p>.<p><span>Covaxin is a highly purified and inactivated two-dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, manufactured in a Vero cell platform.</span></p>.<p><span>The first indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine is presently in Phase III clinical trials, with the participation of about 26,000 volunteers across India.</span></p>.<p><span>According to its makers, Covaxin has shown characteristics like long term persistence of immune responses to multiple viral proteins, “as opposed to only the spike protein, and has demonstrated broad-spectrum neutralizing capability with heterologous SARS-CoV-2 strains.”</span></p>
<p><span>Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) said it has shipped Covaxin to 11 cities across India on Wednesday, a day after Serum Institute of India began its delivery of Covishield.</span></p>.<p><span>The two vaccines were accorded emergency use authorisation by the central drug regulator for the Covid-19 vaccination programme to commence from January 16, with healthcare and other frontline workers covered initially.</span></p>.<p><span>Hyderabad-based BBIL which developed the indigenous Covid-19 vaccine in PPP mode in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology, has received a government purchase order for 55 lakh doses. </span></p>.<p><strong><span>Also Read | </span><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/india-wants-pfizer-to-do-local-safety-study-for-approval-938660.html">India wants Pfizer to do local safety study for approval</a></strong></p>.<p><span>BBIL officials said that 16.5 lakh Covaxin doses among this order are being extended as Bharat Biotech's “donation to the government of India.” </span></p>.<p><span>Covaxin is presented in multi-dose vials and can be stored at 2 to 8 degree celsius.</span></p>.<p><span>On Wednesday, Bharat Biotech announced “the successful air-shipment of the first batch of vaccines'' (each vial containing 20 doses) to Gannavaram (Vijayawada), Guwahati, Patna, Delhi, Kurukshetra, Bangalore, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Chennai and Lucknow. </span></p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/coronavirus-live-news-Covid-19-latest-updates.html" target="_blank"><strong>CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH</strong></a></p>.<p><span>While some shipments have arrived in respective cities, others will be delivered later on Wednesday evening, BBIL officials said.</span></p>.<p><span>Covaxin is a highly purified and inactivated two-dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, manufactured in a Vero cell platform.</span></p>.<p><span>The first indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine is presently in Phase III clinical trials, with the participation of about 26,000 volunteers across India.</span></p>.<p><span>According to its makers, Covaxin has shown characteristics like long term persistence of immune responses to multiple viral proteins, “as opposed to only the spike protein, and has demonstrated broad-spectrum neutralizing capability with heterologous SARS-CoV-2 strains.”</span></p>