India is committed to supplying COVID-19 vaccines to other nations and such supplies are likely to begin by the end of this year, as the abundant production will not just meet domestic needs but also generate surplus for exports a top government official said on Monday.
As states grapple with a shortage of coronavirus vaccines, the Centre on Thursday said that over two billion doses will be made available in the country in five months between August and December, enough to vaccinate the entire population.
In his address at a ministerial meeting of the SCO in Moscow in the Russian capital, Singh also referred to the Second World War and said its memories teach the globe the 'follies of aggression' of one state upon another that brings 'destruction' to all.
The panel was informed that the economic impact of the second wave of viral infection was "asynchronous in its onset and wider in its spread particularly in rural hinterland", a source said.
As India prepares to launch its vaccine drive on January 16, here is a look at the options:
If the DCGI grants regular marketing authorisation, Covishied will be the second vaccine in the world to receive such approval.
The Maharashtra government has decided to stop home quarantining of COVID-19 patients in 18 districts where the positivity rate is high and all active patients in these areas would be admitted to COVID Care Centers, health minister Rajesh Tope said.
The World Health Organisation's technical advisory group will meet on October 26 to consider the Emergency Use Listing (EUL) of Covaxin, a vaccine developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech protecting against COVID-19, the global health agency's chief scientist said.
Though there is no official word, the sources said the government is not ready to give in to the indemnity demands of the US drug manufacturers against liabilities in case of adverse effects.
865 million Indian adults require vaccination.
"India expands its vaccine basket! Johnson and Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine is given approval for Emergency Use in India. Now India has 5 EUA vaccines. This will further boost our nation's collective fight against COVID-19," tweeted the minister.
The US Food and Drug Administration had in February approved Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine that works with just one dose for emergency use.
The central government is importing COVID-19 vaccines and is in talks with COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said.
India achieved this coverage in 130 days as against the USA's feat in 124 days.
Officers sitting over untapped potential to make COVID-19 vaccines need to be charged with 'manslaughter' as it is leading to so many deaths, the Delhi high court said on Wednesday, observing that a lot of scope and infrastructure is available in India which is not being used.
'There is a Covid vaccine-mania that is happening in the world now and the vaccine makers are using this mania for their own gains'
'A good 30 per cent of people will still get infected after getting the Covishield vaccine.'
The Centre has shared a set of parameters with all states and UTs to enable service providers and monitoring teams under the national COVID-19 vaccination programme to identify any fake COVID-19 vaccines so that they are not administered in the country.
The prime minister was happy that the assurance given by the Serum Institute that it will make India self-sufficient in vaccines at the lowest possible price in the world was fulfilled.
The Serum Institute of India has informed the Centre that it will be able to supply around 22 crore doses of Covishield in October as the Union government has announced resuming export of surplus Covid vaccines in the coming fourth quarter under the 'Vaccine Maitri' programme, official sources said.
India has the capacity to store vaccines that may require a lower temperature in the range of -15 to -20 degrees Celsius and there are over 29,000 cold chain points (CCPs) across the country where vaccines are stored at the recommended temperatures, the Centre has told the Supreme Court.
The phase-three human clinical trial of indigenously developed anti-coronavirus vaccine candidate Covaxin began at the AIIMS in New Delhi on Thursday, with Dr M V Padma Srivastava, the chief of Neurosciences Centre at the premier institute, and three other volunteers receiving the first dose.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the COVID-19 vaccine will be available in the next few months and it is estimated that by July-August 400-500 million doses will be made available for 25-30 crore people.
'Pfizer India has submitted an application on December 4 to the DCGI seeking emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine in India'
This could also be India's first vaccine for children aged 12 years and above as the company has conducted trials on the age group. The decision, however, lies with the regulator, reports Sohini Das
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of providing free inoculation to all adults will entail total spending of anywhere between Rs 45,000 crore and Rs 50,000 crore. This is higher than Rs 35,000 crore that the government had budgeted.
India has purchased 500 million doses of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate, one billion from the United States company Novavax and 100 million doses of the Sputnik V candidate from Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute, according to the US-based Duke University Global Health Innovation Center.
"The concrete actions are a stern indication that Government of India is making all out efforts to increase vaccine production in the country as well as attracting foreign vaccine manufacturers to supply the required vaccine doses for national Covid vaccination programme," the ministry in a statement.
According to the sources, there are limited prospects of J&J exporting its vaccine from the US to other countries in the near future and the "entire production" at the BE facilities in India, beginning July/August, will be handed over to the pharma giant under a contract between the companies.
To address the shortage of COVID-19 jabs in the country, the government is exploring the possibility of boosting production of vaccines, including identifying manufacturing sites for indigenously developed Covaxin outside India, sources said.
So far, no other vaccine has been approved globally for children below 12 years. Sohini Das reports.
Cautioning that the country is passing through a phase when there are festivals and potential gatherings, he said this is a critical phase as the virus can spread again.
The Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Pfizer have applied to the DCGI seeking emergency use authorisation for their COVID-19 vaccine candidates and are awaiting approval.
The teams were from Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd Pune, Biological E Ltd Hyderabad and Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd Hyderabad.
The modalities of COVID-19 vaccine delivery, distribution and administration were discussed during the meeting.
The official expressed hope on the success of the five vaccines that are under different phases of trial in the country.
'We don't have any more time.' 'We should close down, and vaccinate as many people as possible.'
The announcement comes a day after the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the CDSCO recommended granting emergency use authorisation (EUA) to the COVID-19 vaccines Covovax and Corbevax with certain conditions.
Addressing a press briefing, Union Health Ministry Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on the basis of a seven-day rolling average the positivity rate of COVID-19, which was 11 per cent during the first week of August, has come down to 8 per cent now.
The first 100 beneficiaries of such foreign vaccines shall be assessed for seven days for safety outcomes before it is rolled out for further immunisation programme within the country, the Union health ministry said.
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