DCGI Approves Study On Mixing Of Covaxin, Covishield Vaccines; Clinical Trial To Begin In Tamil Nadu's Vellore

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the study on mixing of two Covid-19 vaccines - Serum Institute of India's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin - in the country.

The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the DCGI on 29 July had recommended granting approval to the study.

In its meeting, the expert committee recommended granting permission to CMC, Vellore in Tamil Nadu for conducting the Phase-4 clinical trial covering 300 healthy volunteers for mixing of Covid-19 vaccines Covaxin and Covishield, reports India Today.

The study will reportedly assess whether a person can be given two different vaccine shots -- one each of Covishield and Covaxin -- to complete the vaccination course.

It should be noted that this trial will be different from the recent study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on a group of vaccine recipients who were accidentally given doses of different Covid-19 vaccines in Uttar Pradesh earlier this year.

Also, the SEC had in July given its approval to Bharat Biotech to conduct a trial that will involve combining the doses of Covaxin and Hyderabad-based firm's other nasal COVID-19 vaccine.

Bharat Biotech, which manufactures Covaxin, is presently conducting trials of its intranasal COVID-19 vaccine in the country.

The SEC has given its go-ahead to Bharat Biotech to conduct the phase 2 and 3 clinical trials, adminisering a dose each of Covaxin and the adenoviral intranasal vaccine with an interval between the two jabs.