India's Nasal Vaccine Approved for COVID-19 Boosting

@BharatBiotech issued a Tweet today confirming the nasal COVID-19 vaccine iNCOVACC® was now available on CoWin, India's vaccination portal.

As of December 27, 2022, iNCOVACC was authorized by India's Union Health Ministry for adults (over 18 yrs) who had already completed two vaccine doses with either CoviShield or Covaxin, two previously approved COVID-19 vaccines.

And according to media reports, iNCOVACC would become available in late January 2023 at ₹800 (about $10) + GST+ private hospital charges and less at government facilities.

India's first nasal vaccine received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India in November 2022 for restricted use in an emergency situation for adults as a heterologous booster dose. 

It is easy to administer and enhances immune barriers in the respiratory tract through which respiratory viruses enter the human body.

As of today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not authorized a nasal vaccine to protect people from the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. However, the FDA has approved an influenza nasal vaccine called FluMist®​​​​​​.

Based in India, Bharat Biotech creates innovative vaccines and bio-therapeutics trusted by physicians worldwide, having delivered over 4 billion vaccine doses.