NEW DELHI: As per the latest upates, The Indian government has approved the inclusion of Serum Institute of India's (SSI) Covovax on the CoWIN portal as a heterologous booster dose for adults. This decision comes amidst growing COVID-19 cases in various parts of the country. 

The cost of Covovax is expected to be 225 per dosage plus any applicable GST when it becomes available on the CoWIN platform in the upcoming days. The addition of Covovax allows those who have already received Covishield or Covaxin to get a heterologous booster dose, which is anticipated to further strengthen their immunity against COVID-19.

After receiving a letter from Prakash Kumar Singh, Director of the Serum Institute of India, on March 27, the Health Ministry approved the move. Singh emphasised the need for Covovax to be listed on the CoWIN portal as an adult heterologous booster dosage because it is a top-tier vaccination that has received approval from the DCGI, WHO, and USFDA. Those who have already had the Covishield or Covaxin vaccines are eligible to get Covovax.

This month, the COVID-19 Working Group, led by Dr. N.K. Arora, recommended that the vaccine be made available on the portal as a heterologous booster dosage for individuals who have already received the full dose of Covishield or Covaxin. The market authorization for Covovax for people who have received two doses of either Covishield or Covaxin was already granted by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on January 16th, 2022. 

The USFDA and WHO have both given their approval for the vaccination. On December 28th, 2021, the DCGI granted Covovax approval for limited emergency use in adults. On March 9th, 2022, the DCGI granted approval for the 12- to 17-year-old age group, and on June 28th, 2022, the DCGI granted approval for the 7- to 11-year-old age group.

The European Medicines Agency has given Covovax conditional marketing permission; it is produced using technology transferred from Novavax. In August 2020, the US-based vaccine developer Novavax Inc. announced a deal to licence their COVID-19 vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373, to the Serum Institute of India for the development and commercialization in India and low- and middle-income countries.

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