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Indian drugs regulator on Tuesday approved Bharat Biotech's intranasal Covid-19 vaccine to be used in adults.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the vaccine for restricted emergency use, which is short of full market authorisation.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Twitter that this is a "big Boost to India's Fight Against Covid-19" and that "this step will further strengthen our collective fight against the pandemic".
The Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech completed clinical trials of the nasal vaccine with about 4,000 volunteers and there is no side effect or adverse reaction reported so far, company sources had said.
Nasal vaccines are the second generation of coronavirus vaccines and some experts have said that these vaccines could be more effective as they directly train the nose and throat against the infections, which are the most common mediums of infection and often the first places in the body exposed to the virus.
Outlook earlier reported, "Intranasal vaccines are best suited to protect against pathogens that enter through the nose, like the flu or the coronavirus. By mimicking the first step of natural exposure to an airborne pathogen, these vaccines help train a person’s immune system at the potential place of infection."
(With PTI inputs)
