While Bharat Biotech's Covaxin is in trials among children already, Serum Institute of India will begin Novavax vaccine trials on children from July, whereas the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for adolescents in the United States; and Cadila Healthcare's ZyCoV-D has done trials on 12 year-olds and above already, reports Sohini Das.
'We really need to look seriously to see if there are any local variants.'
Apart from the 1.1 crore doses of Covishield being procured from the Serum Institute of India, 55 lakh doses of indigenously developed Covaxin were being obtained from Bharat Biotech, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said at a press conference.
The Drugs Controller General of India has approved the manufacture of this Sars-CoV-2 spike protein recombinant nano-particle vaccine for 'examination, test, and analysis', reports Sohini Das.
All athletes and staff took daily PCR tests during their time in Japan and their movements were heavily restricted.
Bharat Biotech recruited 13,000 participants for the Phase-3 clinical trial of Covaxin. This is one of the largest efficacy trials held in the country.
People with cancer have an appropriate, protective immune response to COVID-19 vaccines without experiencing any more side-effects than the general population, researchers said on Tuesday.
Israel and Bhutan, however small, illustrate what governments can do, and the mountains they can move, if they really care for their citizens.
"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.
"Confidence in the vaccine is what brings us here this morning," the US vice-president said in remarks following his vaccination. "I didn't feel a thing. Well done."
Facing accusations of delay in placing orders for vaccines, the government on Thursday defended its vaccine procurement policy saying it has been pursuing Pfizer, J&J and Moderna since mid-2020 for the earliest possible imports, and has even waived local trials for well-established foreign vaccine makers.
The official said in general, there are various types of fungal infections such as candida, aspergillosis, cryptococcus, histoplasmosis and coccidioidomycosis. Mucormycosis, candida and aspergillosis are the ones observed more in those with low immunity, he said.
Releasing a report titled 'Profiting from Pain' in Davos, the rights group further said as the cost of essential goods rises faster than it has in decades, billionaires in the food and energy sectors are increasing their fortunes by $1 billion every two days.
'At the stage where we are in today in the country, by the time mass vaccination becomes available, it would be around the middle of next year.' 'Most of those people, who got infected this year, will be next year back to level zero -- once again susceptible.'
Bajaj Finserv was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, soaring around 8 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank and SBI.
Tottenham Hotspur recorded 13 COVID-19 cases at the club last week, while Leicester City and Manchester United were also affected by the virus.
A steady decline in new COVID-19 cases has been recorded in India for the last 20 days, with 24 states witnessing a dip in active cases since the last week, the Union health ministry said.
Providence will sell up to 30 mn doses of its mRNA vaccine to Biological E. It would also provide the necessary technology transfer to make the vaccine in India, with a minimum production capacity of 600 mn doses in 2022 and targets capacity of 1 bn doses, reports Sohini Das.
Reliance Industries Ltd, the country's largest company by revenues, profits and market value, has topped Indian corporate in the World's Best Employers rankings 2021 published by Forbes. Reliance was placed at 52 in the overall ranking of 750 global corporates likes Phillips, Sanofi, Pfizer and Intel. Other Indian names in the top 100 rankings were ICICI Bank at 65, HDFC Bank at 77 and HCL Technologies at 90, according to the Forbes ranking.
IOC chief said he believed more than 80 per cent of residents of the Olympic Village would be vaccinated or booked for vaccination ahead of the Games
As the global debate on booster shots gathers momentum, several scientists in New Delhi said the priority must be to ensure that more people are inoculated with at least their first jab.
India rejects patent on Pfizer's arthritis drug
An expert committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on Wednesday sought additional safety and efficacy data for COVID-19 vaccine candidates of Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech, after deliberating upon their applications seeking emergency use authorisation for the shots, official sources said.
According to Moderna's policy, it deals with the government of India and not with any state government or private parties, the Punjab government said in a statement.
The Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which works with one dose instead of two, got approval on Saturday, the third vaccine cleared in the country after emergency use authorisation (EUA) was given to two-dose shots from Pfizer and Moderna in December last year.
Former Union home minister Chidambaram lashed out at the government over the alleged sluggish pace of inoculation against the viral disease and claimed that the country will not achieve 100-per cent first-dose vaccination by December 31.
"It has been decided that for approval of COVID-19 vaccines in India for restricted use in emergency situation which are already approved for restricted use by US Food Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency, UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency Japan or which are listed in WHO Emergency Use Listing and which are well established vaccines from the stand point that millions of individuals have already been vaccinated with the said vaccines, the requirement of conducting post approval bridging clinical trials and of testing every batch of vaccine by CDL, Kasauli can be exempted, if the vaccine batch/lot has been certified and released by National Control Laboratory of country of origin," it said.
The efficacy of the vaccine, developed by the Gamalaya Centre, was demonstrated on the basis of a first interim analysis obtained 21 days after the first injection.
This means that half of adults are cleared under CDC guidelines to not wear a mask in most indoor and outdoor settings.
'All the vaccines that are available in most countries, right now, are all highly effective and safe.'
'It is absolutely important for us to continue to message to people that they must wear masks, keep physical distancing, as much as is practically possible, at work or at home.'
As India prepares to launch its vaccine drive on January 16, here is a look at the options:
A technical advisory group of the World Health Organisation was on Tuesday reviewing data on Covaxin for the emergency use listing of India's indigenously-made vaccine and it could pronounce its decision within the next 24 hours or so, a spokesperson said.
The Oxford vaccine, which also has a tie-up with the Serum Institute of India, is expected to win approval in the UK before Thursday, speeding up the provision of the jab to the most vulnerable groups.
SII is the first indigenous company that has sought emergency approval for the vaccine developed along with global pharma giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
Of the 4.10 crore to be shared through COVAX, 1.40 crore will go to Latin America and the Caribbean nations and 1.60 crore to Asia.
During the meeting, scheduled to be held through video conference at 6 pm on Tuesday, the Department of Biotechnology will make a presentation and also coordinate with all the participants, sources added.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday told Bharatiya Janata Party MPs that Covid vaccination for children is likely to start soon, sources said.
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.
'Scientific data has proven that masks can reduce COVID-91 transmission by 53 per cent...A booster dose of vaccine, even if it works, is just a temporary fix'
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