New Delhi — After receiving emergency use authorization from India’s drug regulator, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for its three-dose COVID-19 vaccine ZyCov-D, drugmaker Zydus Cadila Saturday said it hoped to produce 10 million doses of vaccines per month by October.

“The supply of vaccines will start in mid-September. We can scale up production of vaccines to one crore (10 million) a month from October at the new production plant,” Sharvil Patel, managing director Zydus Cadila said in a press conference. “We hope to supply three to five crore (30 to 50 million) doses by the end of January 2022.”

ZyCov-D is India’s indigenously developed DNA-based vaccine for COVID-19 to be administered to all above 12 years old.

The three-dose vaccine, developed in partnership with the department of biotechnology, is the second home-grown shot to get emergency authorization in India after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.

Patel said the price of this new COVID-19 vaccine will be revealed next week.

ZyCov-D is the sixth vaccine authorized for use in India.

Patel further said that the efficacy of the ZyCov-D vaccine is over 66 percent, and its efficacy against the Delta variant is about 66 percent. (Xinhua)