When the lockdown was lifted last year, Rasikbhai Kotadiya, who runs a powerloom unit in the Kim-Pipodara industrial area on the outskirts of Surat, was left with only four workers out of the 48 that he used to employ to run his 128 looms. Though the economy had been unlocked, his textile unit, and that of thousands of others, struggled to resume operations. By the last week of May, nearly 700,000 of Surat's 1.2-1.5 million migrant workers, left high and dry with no pay during the lockdown, had returned home. In Laskana, another textile weaving hub in Surat, the powerlooms were all but silent, with only 2,000 of the total 55,000 looms churning out grey cloth at a snail's pace.
The highest compensation package for the Global MBA class at the S P Jain School of Management stood at Rs 43.9 lakh while that for the MGB programme was Rs 35 lakh.
Anybody over 50 years of age or with co-morbidities can get a date, place and time of choice for getting the vaccine shots.
Vinay Umarji
Two weeks after the vaccination programme started, about 37 per cent of the targeted 10 million healthcare professionals had received the first shot. This slow rate may prompt the government to allow vaccines in the private market sooner, to use up the doses before they expire, Sohini Das reports.
Once a difficult market to crack, in recent years, China has relatively opened up its drug market, enacting reforms and speeding up approval time.
Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila, Bharat Biotech's intra-nasal candidate are among the candidates who got approval from the expert panel to conduct clinical trials, Sohini Das reports.
In India, Opposition parties along with healthcare professionals have urged the government, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top leaders, to take either of the Covishield or Covaxin doses, which could help in drastically reducing trust and fear issues amongst citizens., reports Sohini Das.
Pfizer sought to participate in the Subject Expert Committee consultations towards an emergency use authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine. However, the company representatives have been unable to participate in the meetings because of extremely short notices of a few hours or less and time-zone limitations.
Serum Institute already has two deals of 100 million each to supply the Oxford-AstraZeneca and the Novavax vaccine to Gavi-Covax at $3 per dose.
'Safety is my first priority.' 'I need to ensure that any drug or vaccine that our citizens get is first safe.'
First a scientist and then a businessman, founder chairman Krishna Ella quit his faculty position at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, United States, in 1996 to return to India.
The Covishield maker's forte throughout the past half a century has been a combination of affordable vaccines and high volumes. Its tetanus, diphtheria and measles vaccines are known throughout the world, reports Sohini Das.
'We are hoping by March, the government allows us to export and give it to the private market.'
'The government should put the whole road map together for the vaccine and decide how industry can support...' 'They should allow the private sector to vaccinate.'
The expert committee sought more information from Serum Institute regarding the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
The primary objective was to get the adult vaccine as children rarely have a severe form of the disease. Once schools reopen, the demand for vaccines for children under 12 may soar.
Each of the larger states may need less than Rs 10,000 crore each to finance the exercise.
At $37 per dose, the Pfizer vaccine is much more expensive compared to $3 per dose for the Covishield.
The vaccine would be first made available to the vulnerable population and eventually, it would be available in the private market for all.
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