Zydus Cadila's Covid vaccine ZyCoV-D, meant for adults and children aged 12 years and above, was today approved for "restricted use in emergency situation" by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
ZyCoV-D showed an efficacy rate of 66.6 per cent in a late-stage trial of over 28,000 volunteers nationwide, CDSCO tweeted today. It must be stored at temperatures of 2 degree centigrade to 8 degree centigrade.
The vaccine is needle-free and is to be administered intradermally in three doses -- the second and third ones on the 28th and 56th day, respectively, after the first.
ZyCoV-D uses a section of genetic material from the Covid virus that gives instructions as either DNA or RNA to make the specific protein that the human immune system recognises and responds to, Reuters reported.
Zydus Cadila, registered as Cadila Healthcare, developed the vaccine in partnership with the Department of Biotechnology. It is the second home-grown shot to get emergency authorisation in India after Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.
The company has said ZyCoV-D was effective against the new coronavirus mutants, especially the Delta variant. It plans to manufacture between 100 million and 120 million doses annually and has begun stockpiling them.
