Covaxin's open vial stable at 2-8°C for up to 28 days: COVID vaccine maker Bharat Biotech

Bharat Biotech on Monday said that an opened vial of its COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin is stable at 2-8°C for up to 28 days and does not need to be discarded immediately in a day or at the end of the immunization session. The Indian pharma giant also informed that it has adopted the multi vial policy to reduce biomedical waste.

"Health care workers do not have to worry about opening a vial and its wastage. If patients are not available, they can simply store the opened vial at 2 to 8°C, and use it the next day or store it for up to 28 days," Bharat Biotech said.

On its multi-dose vial policy, the vaccine maker said that the 20 dose vial saves money for procurement agencies by reducing the cold chain logistics and management. "Thereby reducing the carbon footprint, costs related to open vial wastage, cold chain distribution, cold chain storage, biomedical waste disposal etc," it said.

Bharat Biotech submits Phase 3 clinical trials data for a booster dose.

Bharat Biotech has submitted a phase III clinical trial application to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for a booster dose of its intranasal Covid vaccine that can be given to Covaxin and Covishield vaccinated people. This development comes amid growing demand to authorise booster dose after the cases of COVID-19's Omicron variant was reported in India.

In August, Bharat Biotech had received a regulator's nod for phase 2.3 trials of a nasal vaccine against coronavirus. "BBV154 is an intranasal replication-deficient chimpanzee adenovirus SARS-CoV-2 vectored vaccine. BBIL has in-licensed technology from Washington University in St Louis, USA," a press release from the Ministry of Science and Technology stated.

In October, Bharat Biotech Chairman and MD Dr Krishna Ella had said that the trial so far has shown good results. "This vaccine will help in controlling the transmission of COVID-19 infection," he had stated.

COVID-19 cases in India have dropped sharply since the disastrous second wave in July. The country has reported more than 150 cases of omicron variants. On the vaccination front, more than 130 crore vaccine doses have been administered, including more than 60 lakh doses on Monday till 6.40 pm.