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The government-appointed expert panel recommended Oxford's Covidsheild vaccine to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). The Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. It will be sent for approval to the drugs regulator, who will take the final decision.
Once the vaccine is cleared by the DCGI, the government plans to vaccinate 30 crore people in India in six to eight months, starting with January itself. A dry run for vaccination is scheduled in all the states on 2 Jan.
"The purpose of the dry run is to be ready for the actual rollout... Potential recipients of vaccine will be informed via SMS. Frontline workers are the priority. After inoculation, digital certificate will also be provided," the Health Minister said.
Like the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Covishield will also require two doses but is easier to deliver as it does not need below-zero temperatures for storage. It is also cheap and easy for mass production.
Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, showed it was safe and triggered immune responses in an ongoing early-stage trial and is currently part of a late-stage trial.
UK has already approved both the Oxford and the Pfizer vaccines for emergency usage.
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