Uncertainty surrounds one of the two COVID vaccines India is using

MUMBAI, India – As India launches an ambitious effort to vaccinate 300 million people against the coronavirus within six months, it is employing two vaccines — both manufactured domestically but approved under very different circumstances.

One is CoviShield, the vaccine developed by Britain's AstraZeneca and Oxford University, which clinical trials show is about 70% effective in preventing COVID-19 and is being manufactured in India by the Serum Institute, the country's largest drugmaker.

The other is Covaxin, developed by an Indian company in conjunction with the government but whose performance in late-stage clinical trials has yet to be published. Health authorities nevertheless approved the vaccine for "restricted emergency use."

Government health officials promise that both drugs are effective and say that Indians who line up for the