Intranasal booster trials get DCGI nod

• IAS NEXT, Lucknow
• 31, Jan 2022

Reference News:-

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech approval for conducting Phase 3 clinical trials of an intranasal booster dose for those who have received both doses of Covaxin.

• The chimpanzee adenovirus vectored COVID-19 vaccine (BBV154) will be administered through an intranasal route, and each single dose is 0.5 ml.
• Experts have noted that an intranasal vaccine as a booster will be easier to administer in mass vaccination drives. 
• By reducing the need for needles and syringes, among others, such vaccines would also impact the overall cost of a vaccination drive.

Nasal vaccine

• A nasal vaccine is a vaccine administered to a person via the nose and does not require a needle. 
• It induces immunity through the inner surface of the nose, a surface that naturally comes in contact with many airborne microbes

About Drugs Controller General of India 

• He is the head of department of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization of the Government of India.
  • Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation works in close collaboration with the state control administration and assist them in securing uniform enforcement of the Drug Act.
• Responsible for approval of licences of specified categories of drugs such as blood and blood products, IV fluids, vaccines, and sera in India.
• DCGI also sets standards for manufacturing, sales, import, and distribution of drugs in India.
• Comes under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.