In talks with Indian govt for clinical trial of single shot vaccine: Johnson and Johnson

Global healthcare major Johnson & Johnson is in discussions with the Indian government to begin a clinical trial of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in the country, the company said on Friday.

The US Food and Drug Administration has already approved Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine that works with just one dose for emergency use in February.

''We are in discussions with the Government of India with the objective of starting a bridging clinical study of our Janssen COVID-19 vaccine candidate in India, subject to local regulatory approvals,'' Johnson & Johnson India spokesperson said in an email reply.

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine can be stored at refrigerator temperatures.

''At Johnson & Johnson, we remain fully focused on bringing a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine to people around the world, if authorised for use by local health authorities'', the spokesperson said.

India is currently using two vaccines for COVID-19 -- one developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca and the other developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research - National Institute of Virology. Both the vaccines are being manufactured within the country by domestic firms.

India registered a record single-day spike of 1,31,968 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, pushing its infection tally to 1,30,60,542, while the death toll increased to 1,67,642 with 780 more fatalities in a day, the highest since October 18, the Union Health Ministry data showed.