For Age 12+ Vaccine Gets Ready, : Pfizer Says Centre

Pfizer has told the government its Covid vaccine shows “high effectiveness” opposed the India-dominant variant of the virus experts believe is behind the destructive second wave of infections and deaths in the country, sources told news agency PTI Wednesday.

Sources said Pfizer also told the government its vaccine had been proven suitable for everyone over the age of 12 and, crucially, can be safely stored for a month in cold storage facilities with a temperature range between two and eight degrees Celsius.

The two sides have held a series of meetings over the past few weeks, some of which also involved Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla, to resolve issues, including grant of legal indemnity.

None of the three vaccines currently approved for use in India – Covishield, Covaxin or Sputnik V – have been given such Immunity. Pfizer has insisted on this, which it has been given by other countries that use the drug, including the United States and several European nations.

According to sources, told the Indian government it should “rely on the 44 authorisations, including WHO approval (to) facilitate emergency use authorisation…” The company, however, is open to considering surveillance of the first 100 subjects to get its vaccine.

“The current situation in India, and across the world, is not ‘business as usual’ and we must not respond to it with processes as usual too,” Pfizer told the government, according to PTI.

Other issues key to accelerating approval for the Pfizer vaccine are procurement through a central government pathway and regulatory requirement for post-approval bridging studies.

A shortage of vaccine doses is one of the major reasons for the recent slowdown, with several states flagging low stocks and being forced to suspend vaccination for the 18-44 age group that government data says accounts for nearly 26 per cent of all new Covid cases this month.