Indian Covid vaccine makers eye regulator nod for universal boosters

Plans afoot to seek regulator nod for universal boosters

Covid vaccine makers in India are now vying for positioning their vaccines as the heterologous  booster shot that may be administered after two doses of any vaccine.

Bharat Biotech’s intranasal vaccine — expected to get a nod from the drug regulator this month — has been tested as both a preliminary dose and a mix-and-match booster after Covaxin. Similarly, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL) is planning to submit data related to using the Sputnik Light (single-dose version of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V) as a heterologous  booster.

A universal booster or a heterologous booster means that the third shot of a vaccine given