As Covid cases rise, Serum Institute wants Covovax to be added as booster vaccine on CoWIN app

With the daily case count reaching 3,641, India has clocked its fastest weekly covid surge since January 2022, when the third wave hit. As precautions are advised instead of panic, people have been urged to get the third booster dose of the covid vaccine, which only 16 per cent Indians have taken so far.

With the demand for the third dose expected to rise, Covishield maker Serum Institute has asked for its new vaccine Covovax to be added to the CoWIN portal.

How is this vaccine different?

• Manufactured using technology taken from US-based Novavax, Covovax is being touted as a heterologous booster for all Indians who have taken two doses.

• This means that whether a person has taken two doses of Serum's Covishield or Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Covovax will act as a third dose for both.

• It has also been cleared by the World Health Organisation and the US Food and Drug Administration, while India's drug controller general had allowed restricted use of Covovax.

• The deal for manufacturing the vaccine had been signed between Serum and Novavax back in August 2020, to create a vaccine candidate for India, as well as middle and lower-income countries.

Booster dose need of the hour

• More than 63 weeks after the booster dose was introduced, around 22 crore protective doses have been administered in India, as compared to 95 crore second doses.

• Even a 75-day free booster drive launched last year wasn't able to encourage enough people to get the third dose.