Serum Institute of India to apply for licence of JN.1 Covid variant vaccine

Covid cases in India: On Friday, India recorded 640 fresh Covid-19 infections and the number of active cases now stands at 2,997

Amid rising cases of Covid-19, Pune-based Serum Institute of India may soon sell vaccines against the new JN.1 variant in India. It is preparing to apply for licensing of the vaccine, a report by Moneycontrol said on Friday.

A spokesperson of the company was cited in the report as saying that the Serum Institute currently offers a vaccine against the XBB1 variant of Covid-19. It is "very similar" to the JN.1 variant. "In the coming months, we are aiming to obtain licensure for this vaccine in India," they said.

It also said that the documents will be shared with the public once they are submitted to the regulators.

Adar Poonawalla-led Serum Institute of India had manufactured the Covishield vaccine, which was widely used during the first and second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in India. It was developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.

This comes at a time when the number of Covid-19 cases has been increasing in India, including those of the new JN.1 variant. On Friday, the country recorded 640 fresh Covid-19 infections. The number of active cases now stands at 2,997.

The death toll in India since the start of the pandemic has climbed to 533,328, with one more fatality reported from Kerala as of 8 am on Friday. The case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent.

According to the Health Ministry's website, 220.67 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the country so far.

Experts have suggested people exercise caution and maintain respiratory hygiene. Some states have also asked people to wear masks in public.