As on December 9, there are 2,410 Covid-19 vaccine doses having an expiry date in December this year, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Data on the expiry of Covid-19 vaccines at private hospitals is not maintained, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written reply. Centrally, however, the Government of India closely monitors Covid-19 vaccine stocks in states and Union Territories so as to ensure their optimal utilization, she said.
The Covid-19 vaccine stock which has not been utilized in private hospitals and nearing expiry are usually taken up for redistribution by respective state government, for its timely utilization, Pawar said in response to a question on the government policy to deal with vaccine beyond expiry date. States and UTs have also been advised to review programme coverage and vaccine wastage on a daily basis and redistribute the vaccine stock if required, she stated.
Responding to another question, Pawar said the National Regulator — Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, has approved the shelf life of nine months for Covishield vaccine and for Covaxin vaccine it is 12 months from the date of manufacture. The Covid-19 vaccines have been developed very recently, therefore, scientific evidence is still evolving globally regarding the duration of protection. The Government of India has taken many steps to augment the domestic manufacturing capacity of Covid-19 vaccines, she said.
Under Mission Covid Suraksha- the Indian Covid-19 Vaccine Development Mission', is implemented by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Public Sector Undertaking of the Department of Biotechnology, efforts have been made to strengthen Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing capabilities of Indian industry, so as to ensure optimal vaccine production. In this regard, augmentation of manufacturing facilities was supported at Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) and Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), Hyderabad, Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), supported under the Mission, has achieved a production capacity of about 20 lakh doses per month equivalent Drug Substance (DS) of Covaxin, the minister said.
The validation of the BBIL facility at Malur, Bengaluru is complete and production of Drug Substance (DS) started in August 2021. Further, support for facility augmentation at Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation Limited (BIBCOL), Bulandshahr; and Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation Ltd (HBPCL), Mumbai; for Covaxin production has been envisaged. An amount of Rs 260 crore has been allocated to support facility upgradation for augmented Covaxin production, out of which, an amount of Rs 27.25 crore has been disbursed so far, the minister said.
Additionally, the Department of Bio Technology along with BIRAC, is facilitating expert advisory support for facility up-gradation at Gujarat Covid Vaccine Consortium (GCVC), for augmented production of Covaxin, Pawar said. In the current financial year i.e. 2021-22, Rs 35,000 crore have been budgeted for implementation of the Covid-19 Vaccination Programme. As on December 9, 2021, an expenditure of Rs 19,675.46 crore has been incurred against this allocation which has been utilized for procurement of Covid-19 vaccine for free of cost supply to states and UTs, she said.
Read all the Latest India News here
Comments
0 comment