‘Need more data for clarity’: CMC Vellore to begin trials on mixing of Covid vaccines

September 14, 2021

The Central government on Tuesday announced that the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given green light to Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore to begin trials on the mixing of Covid-19 vaccines.
Government of India’s Department of Biotechnology secretary Dr Renu Swarup confirmed, “DCGI has given permission to CMC Vellore to start a trial on the mixing of vaccines.”
“A couple of such studies have been initiated. We need more scientific data to get more clarity,” she added.
Talking about the Hyderabad-based Biological E’s Covid-19 vaccine, Dr Swarup confirmed that its trials are in a very advanced stage. Parallelly, their vaccine manufacturing is also underway, she said.
When asked about the potential date for vaccine rollout, she said, “When the vaccine will actually roll out depends on a number of things. We are confident it will be good as so far it has shown very interesting results.”
According to reports, Biological E is likely to submit the data for phase 1 and 2 clinical trials by the end of September or early October for emergency use authorisation of its coronavirus vaccine – Corbevax.

Meanwhile, the total Covid-19 vaccination coverage crosses 75.81 crore today in India. More than 54 lakh vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm today, confirmed the government.
India saw a single-day rise of 25,404 new Covid-19 cases, taking the infection tally in the country to 3,32,89,579, while the count of active cases declined to 3,62,207, according to Union health ministry data on Tuesday.
The death toll due to the disease has climbed to 4,43,213, with 339 daily fatalities being recorded.
The tally of active cases has declined to 3,62,207, which comprises 1.09 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.58 per cent, the ministry said.