The Supreme Court of India has directed the central government to establish a no-fault compensation policy for individuals who experience serious adverse events after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
Three temperature-controlled trucks rolled out of the Serum Institute gates shortly before 5 am and left for Pune airport, from where the vaccines will be flown across India.
Prior to the beginning of the nationwide vaccination drive against Covid-19 in India on January 16, the Pune-based Serum Institute of India has issued a factsheet to answer frequently asked questions that vaccine beneficiaries might have.
The Supreme Court of India has advised a petitioner, who claims to have suffered disability due to the side effects of the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, to file a suit for damages instead of pursuing his plea before the court. The court suggested that filing a suit could provide quicker relief than waiting for a potentially lengthy decision on the petition.
The Supreme Court questioned petitioners who challenged the accuracy of India's COVID-19 vaccine adverse effect data, suggesting they unduly trusted UK figures. The court heard arguments about alleged deaths due to the Covishield vaccine and reserved its order.
Dispatch of the vaccine is likely to start by early Tuesday morning, sources said. According to the order placed, each dose of the vaccine has been priced at Rs 200 and with GST of Rs 10, it would cost Rs 210.
Poonawalla said booster vaccines have no demand as there is general lethargy among people and also because they are fed up with the pandemic.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleged that the rushed approval and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine may be a contributing factor to cardiac arrest deaths, citing several international studies that recently suggested a possible link between the vaccines and a rise in heart attacks.
Covishield comprises over 90 pc of 12.76 cr COVID vaccines administered so far
India has already asked the EU member countries to individually consider allowing Indians who have taken Covishield and Covaxin vaccines and want to travel to Europe.
The Union health ministry on Wednesday dismissed media reports claiming there was dissent from technical experts about increasing the gap between two Covishield doses and said the decision was based on scientific reason about the behaviour of adenovector vaccines.
The world is learning about a side effect of the COVID vaccine called Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, he said.
The DCGI said it has no objection in respect of 'Extension of Shelf Life of Covishield Vaccine' in multi-dose glass vial (10 dose-5ml) from six months to nine months.
If the DCGI grants regular marketing authorisation, Covishied will be the second vaccine in the world to receive such approval.
This decision of revised time interval between two doses is applicable only to Covishield and not to Covaxin vaccine, the ministry said.
The Union health ministry on Sunday clarified that already booked online appointments for second dose of Covishield vaccine will remain valid and the same will not be cancelled on Co-WIN platform.
An expert panel of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation on July 29 had recommended granting permission for conducting the study.
Anurag Agrawal, the Director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, said the study on effectiveness of the available vaccines on the B.1.617 variant of SARS-CoV2 suggests that post vaccination, the infections are milder.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on Britain's controversial travel advisory wherein Indian travellers who received both doses of the Covishield vaccine will be considered unvaccinated and have to undergo self-isolation for 10 days.
Healthcare workers at the frontline of India's COVID-19 battle got their first jabs after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the world's biggest drive via video conferencing.
The NTAGI has not yet suggested any change in the schedule of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.
'We're clear Covishield is not a problem. The UK is open to travel and we're already seeing a lot of people going from India to the UK, be it tourists, business people or students,' Alex Ellis, British high commissioner to India, said.
The fact sheet also asked people to inform the vaccinator or a supervising official about their medical condition before taking the vaccine.
'Our client is suffering due to the ill-effects of the vaccine. He has to be compensated for his suffering. Further, a detailed investigation has to be done on the Covishield vaccine and its side-effects,' says the volunteer's advocate.
Amid concerns over dangerous side-effects of the Oxford's COVID-19 vaccine, India is evaluating all serious adverse events post-vaccination to determine the causality aspects of Covishield and Covaxin, an expert associated with the process said on Saturday.
The economics and pricing of the Covishield vaccines and the government's own decision to pay higher prices raise more than a few questions, observes Prosenjit Datta.
The Centre on Wednesday placed a second purchase order with the Serum Institute of India for the supply of one crore doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine 'Covishield', each costing Rs 210, including GST, sources said.
"The Serum Institute of India (SII) has informed the state government that it can supply the 'Covishield' vaccine only after May 20," Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said.
Covishield vaccine production won't be hit due to the fire, Serum Institute of India Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said. The Manjari facility is where the Covishield vaccine used in the nationwide inoculation drive against the pandemic is made.
This is for the first time that a booster dose that is different from the one used for primary vaccination against COVID has been allowed in the country.
A massive pan-India inoculation drive against COVID-19 was set in process on Tuesday with more than 56 lakh doses of the Covishield vaccine flown to 13 cities across India from Pune and taken to designated national and state-level stores amid tight security.
Tope also informed that the Centre has asked the state to reduce the number of inoculation centers from 511 to 350, saying the government should focus on other emergencies also.
Earlier this month, 75 of the 120 vaccination centres across Mumbai, including a jumbo COVID-19 facility in business district BKC, had suspended inoculation due to a shortage of doses.
The first COVID-19 vaccine shots in India were given on Saturday to nearly two lakh frontline healthcare and sanitary workers as Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the world's largest inoculation drive against the pandemic that has caused 1,52,093 deaths and upended millions of lives in the country.
An expert panel of India's central drug authority on Wednesday recommended granting regular market approval to COVID vaccines Covishield and Covaxin for use in adult population subject to certain conditions, official sources said.
'A good 30 per cent of people will still get infected after getting the Covishield vaccine.'
50 lakh doses of 'Covishield' vaccine earmarked by the Serum Institute for export to the United Kingdom have now been made available for the inoculation of 18-44 age group in 21 states/UTs in India, amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, official sources said.
The Union health ministry said in a statement on Monday that over 23,000 adverse events have been reported since the vaccination drive involving Covishield and Covaxin vaccines started in the country and of these 700 cases were reported to be serious.
"The vaccination schedule is considered complete 28 days after the administration of a dose for Janssen vaccine and 7 days after administration of a second dose for other vaccines (Pfizer / Comirnaty, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria/Covishield)," the statement added.
If the vaccine is recommended for use as a booster against Omicron, it may significantly boost the demand for Covishield in India.
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