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.
Over 20 drug companies marketing anti-obesity drug sibutramine under a variety of brand names are likely to soon face a ban on selling the medicine.
India achieved this coverage in 130 days as against the USA's feat in 124 days.
According to officials, an additional dose of vaccine is different from a booster dose.
DCGI, health ministry initiate dialogues with foreign regulators, try to understand global best practices
In a video issued by the Health Ministry, Dr Randeep Guleria, Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) answered commonly asked questions regarding the dosage of the vaccine saying that two doses of the vaccine will have to be taken 28 days apart and protective levels of antibodies generally would develop two weeks after the second dose.
The parties intend to start the production of Sputnik V in the beginning of 2021, it added. Currently, Phase III clinical trials are approved and are ongoing in Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and other countries, as well as Phase II-III in India, RDIF said.
Drug firm Zydus Cadila on Thursday said it has applied for emergency use authorisation (EUA) with the Indian drug regulator for its three-dose COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D, and plans to manufacture 10-12 crore doses annually.
Bharat Biotech applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking permission for conducting phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials of the intranasal vaccine following which the subject expert committee of the CDSCO on Tuesday deliberated on the application and recommended granting permission for phase 1 trial.
According to the purchase order placed on Monday, each dose of the vaccine has been priced at Rs 200 and with GST of Rs 10, it would cost Rs 210.
Favipiravir is the only oral anti-viral treatment approved in India for potential treatment of patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 disease.
The Indian Medical Association on Monday expressed shock over the 'blatant lie of World Health Organisation certification' for Patanjali's Coronil tablet, which the company claims is an evidence-based medicine to fight COVID-19, and demanded an explanation from Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in whose presence the medicine was launched.
In an address to the nation amid increasing Covid cases through the Omicron variant of the virus, he said the precaution dose will also be available for citizens above 60 years of age and with comorbidities on the advice of their doctor from January 10 next year as well.
Drug majors Pfizer and Abbott stopped sale of their popular cough syrups Corex and Phensedyl respectively.
'SII has started stockpiling the vaccine and now has roughly 40 million doses ready. It is using some of the capacities it had for under development products for the COVID-19 vaccine and by January we will have a capacity to make 100 million doses per month and a stockpile of 200 million doses.'
In a joint statement posted on their respective twitter accounts, the companies said Serum Institute Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla and Bharat Biotech Chairman Krishna Ella communicated their combined intent to develop, manufacture and supply the COVID-19 vaccines.
India is not keen to 'bow down' to demands related to indemnity against legal liabilities in case any vaccine recipient develops severe adverse reactions post inoculation.
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.
Indian Council of Medical Research Director General Balram Bhargava said the purpose of the COVID vaccine drive would be to break the chain of viral transmission.
Wockhardt said, the drug regulator suspended the manufacture, sale or distribution of fixed dose combination of Dicyclomine Hydrochloride IP 10mg
The company is set to deliver the first set of 20,000 vials in two equal lots of 10,000 each, one of which will be immediately supplied to Hyderabad, Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, Hetero Healthcare said in a statement.
Zydus Cadila COVID-19 vaccine for children above 12 years is expected to be available by August as its trials are likely to be completed by July-end, said Dr N K Arora, Chairman, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI).
The senior officials of the health ministry apprised the minister on various improvements that have been made to make the pan India dry run glitch free, such as number of telephone operators has been increased to answer every possible query from the teams on the ground conducting the dry run.
The antiviral drug may cost around Rs 55,000 for an 11-dose course, or Rs 5,000 per injection -- much less than the price of imports from Bangladesh, reports Sohini Das.
Industry is gathering scientific data to approach the regulator, DCGI, for a review of the suspension order.
On production capacity of Covishield, the vaccine being manufactured and supplied by Serum in India under a licensing agreement with Oxford and AstraZeneca, he said the present capacity is 130 million doses per month and always try to increase it further.
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.
'Forcing the development of an indigenous vaccine as a cure for COVID-19, bypassing all health & safety norms, to be announced by PM Modi on Independence Day is fraught with horrendous human costs'
The medical devices, which have been in high demand during the Covid-19 pandemic, will now see a drop in prices, as the earlier margins were up to 709 per cent for some of these products.
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.
The company has received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to market Itolizumab injection 25mg/5mL solution for emergency use in India for the treatment of cytokine release syndrome in moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to COVID-19.
The company has developed detailed logistical plans and tools to support effective vaccine transport, storage, and temperature monitoring. Sohini Das and Ruchika Chitravanshi report.
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.
A Chennai-based man has demanded a compensation of Rs 5 crore from the SII after his health worsened allegedly after volunteering for the clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine.
Firms could lose licence if products not launched within 6 months of approval.
Poonawalla, during an interaction with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik through a video conference, expressed optimism that the COVID-19 vaccine could be ready by October-November this year and the next phase of the trial can start in mid-August in India. According to a press note released by the CMO, Poonawalla has informed that the Oxford University vaccine has shown promising results in the first phase trial.
The Corosure Kit has received ICMR approval with the highest score and DCGI approved with a very high sensitivity and specificity.
AIIMS-Delhi is among the 12 sites selected by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) for conducting Phase I and II randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical trials of Covaxin.
In what could be the beginning of fresh troubles for Ranbaxy Laboratories, which has just managed to settle long-pending issues with the US Department of Justice after agreeing to pay a penalty of $500 million, the health ministry in India, too, has decided to initiate a probe.
Regulator mentions Wockhardt as manufacturer but firm says it only markets drug.
