Anil Vij was administered the trial dose of the indigenous COVID vaccine Covaxin last month
Bharat Biotech's Covaxin has demonstrated 77.8 per cent effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19 and 65.2 per cent protection against the new Delta variant.
"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.
The hospital authorities informed the Jaipur chief medical and health officer about the theft on Tuesday night following which an FIR was lodged on Wednesday.
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.
The trial is being conducted in three phases by segregating children into categories according to their age. The first trial was started in the age group of 12 to 18 years followed by the age group of 6 to 12. Trials for children between the ages of and 2-6 years are currently undergoing trials.
This will be Modi's first interaction with chief ministers following the recent approval of two coronavirus vaccines for restricted emergency use by India's drug regulator.
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 vaccine was well tolerated in all dose groups with no vaccine-related adverse events.
The expert committee sought more information from Serum Institute regarding the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Sister Nisha Sharma, the nurse who administered the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said it was a memorable moment for her to meet the PM and vaccinate him.
The Centre on Tuesday placed orders for 44 crore doses of Covishield and Covaxin, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Centre would take over the state procurement quota and provide free jabs to state governments for inoculation of all above the age of 18.
Over the last four days, the Indian arm of US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Pune-based Serum Institute of India and Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical firm Bharat Biotech have applied to the Drugs Controller General of India seeking emergency use authorisation for their COVID-19 vaccines.
The phase 3 trial findings indicate that Covaxin induces a robust antibody response with no severe vaccine-related adverse events or deaths reported among the trial participants, the authors of the study said.
Kejriwal's announcement came after Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia earlier this week claimed that Covaxin manufacturer Bharat Biotech has refused to provide additional doses to the national capital.
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.
As India holds its breath for the Covid vaccination to be begin, Sudhir Bisht provides a quick checklist of what you must know about the vaccines that will be administered to citizens.
Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) is sitting on 200 million doses of Covishield that were manufactured in December and are set to expire in September. The company is likely to destroy these vaccines if nothing works out, Sohini Das reports.
With rising Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra and Kerala, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said check-posts will be set up in places where there are village-to-village contacts between Karnataka and neighbouring states.
The vaccine option for this age group would only be Covaxin, according to guidelines issued by the Union Health Ministry on December 27.
The Drugs Controller General of India will take a final call on the recommendation. If approved, it will be the third COVID-19 vaccine to be available in India.
Dominic Xavier wonders if the PM will opt for the Indian-made COVID-19 vaccine for the sake of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
The Standing Technical Sub-Committee (STSC) of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) on Thursday recommended reducing the gap between the second and precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the current nine to six months, official sources said.
'Please don't read something which is not there in DG, ICMR's letter. The intent of the letter is only to expedite duly approved clinical trials without compromising on security and safety concerns'
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.
Each vaccination session will cater to a maximum of 100 beneficiaries and the Union Health Ministry has advised states not to organise 'unreasonable numbers of vaccination per site per day'.
Bharat Biotech, Serum Institute, Zydus Cadila, Panacea Biotec, Indian Immunologicals, Mynvax and Biological E are among the domestic pharma firms working on the coronavirus vaccines in India.
As the COVID-19 vaccination of children falling into the age bracket of 15 to 18 years is scheduled to begin from January 3, the Kerala health department has prepared an action plan for inoculation of all eligible beneficiaries.
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.
'We need to prove to the world that quality vaccines and R&D are possible in India.'
Replying to a short duration discussion on COVID-19 management in Rajya Sabha, the minister said technology transfer to several companies has started and they will begin production in the coming days to reduce vaccine shortage in the country.
India has to buy time to ensure that high coverage of vaccination against COVID-19 is achieved, the government said.
There was the mistaken belief that there was no risk of a second wave anytime soon.
The Indian government and private firms have stepped up efforts to develop a vaccine to halt the spread of COVID-19 which has claimed over 3,700 lives with more than 1,25,000 cases in the country.
Dr Malhotra, who has demanded a full safety review into the use of AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine, told PTI Covishield "should never have been rolled out in the country in the first place".
The quantity of Covid vaccines to be exported will be decided by the government every month to ensure there is no dearth of domestic availability.
There were no safety concerns arising from the study data and Covovax is safe and immunogenic in the adult population, Prakash Kumar Singh, Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Serum Institute of India (SII), is learnt to have said in the application sent to the DCGI.
There was speculation that a one-time special Covid-19 cess would be imposed and that it would raise an estimated Rs 18,000 crore.
Delhi requires 80 lakh doses a month to vaccinate its youth. But it only received 16 lakh doses in May. The Centre has further decreased Delhi's quota in June to 8 lakh doses, Kejriwal said.
A second wave of Covid driven by the Delta variant engulfed the country in May-June bringing the health system to its knees and leaving people gasping for help.
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