SII applies for license to develop vaccine against JN.1 Covid variant

With the entry of the new Covid variant JN.1 in the country, Pune-based Serum Institute of India may soon be selling vaccines to prevent another surge of the pandemic. The world’s largest vaccine-making company, Serum Institute is reportedly applying for license of the vaccine against the JN.1 Covid variant.

A report by Moneycontrol mentioned that the Serum Institute of India (SII) currently offers a vaccine against the XBB1 variant of Covid-19, which is “similar” to the JN.1 variant. The spokesperson told the business website that SII would share the documents with the public once they are submitted to the regulators.

Mint could not officially verify the report.

Serum Institute of India produced Covishield vaccines in partnership with AstraZeneca and Oxford University in 2020 during the pandemic.

Covishield was among the two made-in-India vaccines against coronavirus. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin was the second vaccine that was approved by India’s drug regulatory body during the Covid pandemic in 2021 January. The companies remarkably scaled up production and helped other nations too by exporting millions of vaccines. India dispatched Serum-made Covishield vaccines to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Maldives, Mauritius, Afghanistan, Egypt, Ukraine, New Zealand, and 92 other countries.

JN.1 Covid variant in India:
India has so far confirmed 21 cases of the JN.1 Covid variant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified JN.1 as a variant of interest. However, the global health body emphasised that the overall risk posed by JN.1 remains low based on current evidence.

India registered 2,669 new Covid cases on Friday. According to the health ministry’s data, Kerala accounts for 2,606 active cases, the highest in India, as of 9 am data by Union Ministry of Health.

Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Goa, and Rajasthan have found Covid cases of the new sub-variant so far. LiveMint