On Monday, official sources revealed that the addition of Serum Institutes Covovax as a heterologous booster dosage for adults on the CoWIN site has reportedly been approved by Union Health Minister, Mr. Mansukh Mandaviya, in light of the escalating cases of Covid-19 in various regions of the nation.

In a few days, Covovax is probably going to be offered on the platform for Rs 225 per dose plus any applicable tax. According to the sources, the move was approved by the health minister after Dr. Prakash Kumar Singh, director of the Serum Institute of India (SII), sent a letter to the Union health ministry on March 27.

In his letter, Dr. Singh stated that Covovax is a world-class vaccine approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). Therefore, he added that the jab should be included on the CoWIN portal as a heterologous booster dose for adults. Those who have already received Covishield or Covaxin vaccinations are eligible to receive Covovax.

A recommendation for the inclusion of the vaccine on the site as a heterologous booster dosage for people who have had two doses of either Covishield or Covaxin was made to the health ministry last month by the Covid-19 Working Group, led by Dr. NK Arora. On January 16, the market authorization for Covovax was issued by the DCGI.

The DCGI had granted Covovax approval for limited use in emergency cases for adults on December 28, 2021; for children between the ages of 7 and 11 on June 28, 2022; and for children between the ages of 12 and 17 on March 9. On December 17, 2021, WHO authorized its listing for emergency usage.

(Source: https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/policy/covid-jab-covovax-as-heterologous-booster-to-be-available-on-cowin-soon-to-cost-rs-225-per-dose/99380561 )