The Oxford vaccine, which also has a tie-up with the Serum Institute of India, was first administered to Brian Pinker, an 82-year-old Oxford-born dialysis patient. Pinker is among the first to be vaccinated by the Oxford University Hospital's (OUH) chief nurse, hailed as a major milestone in the phased vaccination programme being undertaken by the National Health Service (NHS).
Testing only those with symptoms is not such a great idea. A lot of asymptomatic people are also positive. Its also important to do some amount of random testing in the clusters. You need to do lot more testing. The more you test, the more positives you get. Only redeeming feature is that the number of those getting into ICU or dying is not huge, she said.
While there has been no commitment from the government on the procurement of vaccines, initial volumes, or distribution plans, there is a likelihood that the low interest loans may be made available to these players only when the time to scale up manufacturing arises.
The Indian biotech sector continues to face an acute shortage of specialists. But now there is a ray of hope, interestingly from a dark story being narrated in the pharma and biotech sectors in the United States and Europe. The sector is seeing downsizing there. This has made scientists of Indian origin explore opportunities in India. "The shortage and the noticeable gap is in terms of discovery-led drug development," said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD, Biocon
'The future looks quite bleak unless we ramp up testing and start vaccinating on a war footing.'
58-year old Vinod Hingorani had defaulted on penalties of Rs 1.64 cr
The Ahmedabad-based maxEEma Biotech has announced the launch of a herbal insecticide that effectively combats Mealybug attacks on crops.
For vaccination, online registration is mandatory. Thereafter, eligible beneficiaries will be informed on their registered mobile number about the nearest vaccination facility, and the date and time of vaccination.
If the government had paid enough to begin with, or if it had made serious advance purchase commitments that allowed the vaccine producers to mobilise necessary investment, then it is possible to imagine more free or subsidised vaccines such as are available in developed economies, asserts Mihir S Sharma.
The ministry further stated that it was advisable to receive a complete schedule of the anti-coronavirus vaccine irrespective of past history of infection with COVID-19 as this will help in developing a strong immune response against the disease.
'I'll give it to the vaccine manufacturers without guarantees, take the payment in advance and give me the supplies.' 'The moment you give me one lot of supply, I'll give you more.'
India's largest biotechnology company Biocon is planning to tap the potential of biosimilars (generics or copycat versions of biotech drugs going off patent) in the regulated markets of the US and Europe, besides taking Insugen, its own version of insulin, to the global markets in a big way.
The PM's visit would signal a strong intent towards making sure India becomes a beneficiary as vaccines become a massively traded commodity in the coming years.
With final preparations underway and the vaccine set to arrive in the national capital in the next couple of days, Rohit Datta, who was the first person to be diagnosed with coronavirus infection on March 1, said "it feels surreal".
'People are already sending congratulatory messages. But I have said, "Please don't until the trials are over".'
Students who have received admission to foreign universities are struggling with unexpected delays, additional living costs and scarcity of vaccine supplies.
Medical experts have warned that the volume of vaccine available to fight the coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2 in coming years is expected to fall far short of global demand, despite an unprecedented effort to manufacture billions of doses.
'I don't think anybody would want to be in my position today where every head of State has to be explained that I am prioritising my country because there is a surge in cases.'
The second phase of Covid-19 vaccination in India will begin from March ,1 in which people above 60 years of age and those above 45 years of age with comorbidities will be vaccinated, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Wednesday.
ICMR says it is following all globally accepted norms to fast-track vaccine and wants to 'cut red tape'.
The ICMR on Monday asked states and union territories to stop using the test kits procured from the Chinese companies -- Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics -- due to "wide variations" in their performance.
Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna's announcement comes just a week after Pfizer and Biontech said their COVID-19 vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants.
The Johnson and Johnson and Sputnik vaccines should be approved now, as should the Pfizer and Moderna ones, suggests Naushad Forbes. Leave it to the companies to figure out how to put in place the right chilling infrastructure. Don't let a lack of approvals deprive the country of availability, suggests Naushad Forbes.
The health ID will contain information about medical data, prescriptions and diagnostic reports and summaries of previous discharge from hospitals for ailments. The mission is expected to bring efficiency and transparency in healthcare services in the country.
Sitharaman, a newcomer on the Forbes most powerful women list, is ranked 34th. The Forbes 2019 list of 'The World's 100 Most Powerful Women' has been topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, followed by President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde in the second spot and Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, ranked third. Also on the list is Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (29).
Maharashtra and Punjab, which are recording a surge in new COVID-19 cases, tightened curbs on Friday and the chief minister of the western state said lockdown is an option, as India added close to 40,000 cases in the biggest daily increase in nearly four months.
The United Kingdom on Wednesday became the first country to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19, paving the way for mass vaccinations against the deadly novel coronavirus.
'The vaccine policy should be such that all people should get the vaccine free.'
Pharma major Cadila Healthcare Ltd plans to invest Rs 40 crore (Rs 400 million) to acquire stake in a Europe-based biotech company.
Almost each of these companies has a different technology to show for the effectiveness against microbes.
After healthcare and frontline workers, priority will be given to those above 50 years of age and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities numbering around 27 crore, it added.
Beyond her avatar as the head of a multi-crore biotech company, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is a powerful voice of change for the city she lives in.
India is emerging as a major hub for global clinical trials and this new sector is poised to generate more revenue than the information technology industry by 2010, an industry leader has forecast.
Biocon, India's top biotech company, is looking to go in for listing of its stocks overseas in two years time, said its chairman and managing director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.
'There are not enough RT-PCR tests and they take a long time to do in specialised centres. So the world is using RA tests for the same reason that India is using them, and with similar somewhat spuriously comforting rationale'
Bill Gates specifically complimented India's Aadhaar identity system and the country's performance in the financial services and pharma sectors.
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