Covovax is expected to be available on the CoWIN portal in the coming days at a price of ₹225 per dose plus applicable GST. With the inclusion of Covovax, individuals who have received the Covishield or Covaxin vaccines can now receive a heterologous booster dose, which is expected to further boost their immunity against COVID-19.

The Health Ministry has given the green light to the move after a letter was sent by Prakash Kumar Singh, Director of the Serum Institute of India, to the Ministry on March 27th. Singh highlighted that Covovax is a world-class vaccine that has been approved by the DCGI, WHO, and USFDA, and should be included on the CoWIN portal as a heterologous booster dose for adults. Covovax can be administered to those who have already received the Covishield or Covaxin vaccines.

The COVID-19 Working Group, headed by Dr. N.K. Arora, had recommended the inclusion of the vaccine on the portal last month as a heterologous booster dose for adults who have been fully vaccinated with Covishield or Covaxin. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had already approved Covovax's market authorization for individuals who have received two doses of either Covishield or Covaxin on January 16th, 2022. The vaccine has also been approved by the WHO and USFDA. The DCGI had initially approved Covovax for restricted emergency use in adults on December 28th, 2021, for the 12-17 age group on March 9th, 2022, and for children aged 7-11 years on June 28th, 2022, subject to certain conditions.

Covovax is manufactured through technology transfer from Novavax and has been granted conditional marketing authorization by the European Medicines Agency. US-based vaccine maker Novavax Inc. had announced a license agreement with the Serum Institute of India for the development and commercialization of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373, in India and low-and-middle-income countries in August 2020.