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 coronavirus dominated the opening minutes of the Trump-Biden face-off in Nashville with US President Trump terming the contagion a "worldwide problem".
Government institutions and pharma industry are examining if a 'cocktail' approach to making a multi-variant Covid-19 vaccine works against multiple strains of the ever-mutating virus, reports Sohini Das.
Poonawalla said the price will be around USD 5-6 per dose with an MRP of around Rs 1,000 for the two necessary doses.
Phase-I clinical trials have revealed "excellent safety" of the two candidate vaccines indigenously developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research and Cadila Healthcare Ltd and their immunogenicity testing is now in progress, minister of state for health Ashwini Choubey informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Bumrah, Chahar, Kaul get their first dose of COVID vaccine.
The DCGI arrived at the conclusion on Wednesday based on the recommendations of an independent expert committee which has also opined that compensation should not be paid to the volunteer, they 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'
PM Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that all people will be provided free of cost vaccines.
India took only six days to administer one million COVID-19 vaccine doses, a count which is higher than that of countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday as the number of beneficiaries who have received the anti-coronavirus shots inched close to 16 lakh.
The prime minister in his intervention at the session on "global economy and global health" also flagged the issue of facilitating international travel and talked about the mechanism of mutual recognition of vaccine certification as a means of achieving this, according to the text of his intervention shared by his office.
Gandhi had earlier demanded that the government clearly define an inclusive and equitable vaccine access policy to ensure its affordability and fair distribution.
'We must not compromise with the standard, the quality. We don't need to be the first to launch a drug but what we need is a Made in India vaccine that the entire world can rely on'
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 vaccine candidate -- 'Covaxin' -- is being indigenously developed by the Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
In a letter to all states and UTs, Additional Secretary to Health ministry Manohar Agnani said it has come to the notice of the Union health ministry that some private hospitals are giving package for Covid vaccination in collaboration with some hotels, which is against the guidelines issued for the National Covid Vaccination Program.
The ICMR-National Institute of Virology has been regularly undertaking studies to understand the protective efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against emerging variants.
The petition filed by advocates Dhruti Kapadia and Kunal Tiwari on Friday stated that such persons may not be able to visit vaccination centres or may or may find it difficult to do so.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Dr Reddy's Laboratories have agreed to cooperate on clinical trials and distribution of Sputnik V vaccine in India, RDIF and Dr Reddy's said in a joint statement.
Mumbai-based 19-year-old Indian golfer has donated all his prize money saved since the age of seven to fund the vaccination drive for the blue-collar staff of Chembur-based Bombay Presidency Golf club.
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
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "I am glad that the vaccine process for 18+ has started smoothly. It's heartening to see that youngsters are coming out in large nos to get vaccinated. Get your elders vaccinated too. Encourage ur friends and relatives also to get vaccinated."
Currently, phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of the Oxford vaccine candidate is going on in the United Kingdom, phase 3 clinical trial in Brazil and phase 1 and 2 clinical trials in South Africa.
'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.'
There is a decisive shift in how cancer may soon be confronted and, hopefully, defeated.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asserts India's right to defend against terrorism from 'bad neighbours' while highlighting India's support for friendly nations.
India's cricketers, currently on a break in the UK ahead of the five-match Test series against England, will be given their second dose of COVID-19 vaccines on July 7 and 9.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said upcoming festivals and mass congregations in different parts of the country may potentially facilitate transmission of infectious diseases, including COVID-19.
The Centre wrote to all states and union territories on Thursday and asked them to make necessary arrangements for this, the Union Health Ministry said.
Covishield comprises over 90 pc of 12.76 cr COVID vaccines administered so far
The CSIR DG said the transmissibility of the new strain N501Y is a "bit higher" but this does not mean it is more lethal and more people are going to die due to it.
Downing Street said Johnson reiterated the year 2021 as an important one for UK-India ties and also re-emphasised the UK's commitment to the wider Indo-Pacific region, ahead of the first deployment of the HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier group to the region next year.
The deputy PM confirmed that it would be possible to do so and stressed that vaccination would be voluntary and free of charge.
The foreign envoys were taken to Hyderabad over a month after the ministry of external affairs briefed over 190 heads of diplomatic missions and representatives of leading international organisations on COVID-19 related issues.
The Serum Institute of India, the largest vaccine maker in the world, has been chosen by Oxford and its partner AstraZeneca to manufacture the vaccine once it is ready. Trials results for the first two phases were published earlier this month.
The minister emphasised that India will play its due role in advancing global food security and it will do so in a manner in which it upholds equity, displays compassion, and promotes social justice.
A study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has observed that COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death among young adults in India, the government informed Parliament on Friday.
Amid an uptick in Covid cases in some parts of the country, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Rajiv Behl said the severity of infections as of now is generally mild and there was no cause for worry. Speaking about new Covid variants being traced, he said genome sequencing of samples in the west and south have shown that the new variants are not severe and are Omicron sub-variants. These are LF.7, XFG, JN.1 and NB. 1.8.1. The first three are more prevalent, Dr Behl said. "Samples from other places are being sequenced and we will know in a day or two if there are more variants." The ICMR DG said there has been an uptick in cases --first from the south, then west and now from northern India. All these cases are being monitored through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). Besides that, ICMR's nationwide respiratory virus sentinel surveillance network is keeping a watch on emerging infections and pathogens, he said. "Whenever cases increase, we look at three things. It's dependent on three factors with the first being how transmissible it is, conversely how fast the cases are increasing. Previously we saw Covid cases double in two days, but this time it is not that cases are increasing rapidly. "Secondly, are the new variants evading our previous immunity? When new variants come, they evade immunity -- be it natural or from the vaccine. But there's nothing to worry about at the moment," Dr Behl said. He also said that the third factor is the percentage of severe cases in all Covid instances. "Are we getting a very severe disease without comorbidities? As of now, the severity is generally low. There's nothing to worry about. We should be vigilant and we should always be prepared," the ICMR DG asserted. Dr Behl also informed reporters that the Union Health secretary chaired a meeting on Sunday that was also attended by the director general of health services and himself. "We have been closely monitoring the situation. We should be vigilant at this moment, but there is no cause to worry. The general public should be vigilant. There is no need to take any such action as of now," he said. The officer added that the WHO database has been showing that the new variants were not causing severe disease. "People do not need to take any immediate action. They should follow normal precautions. So, there is nothing special to do right now." Asked about the need for a booster dose, he said there is no need for vaccination as of now. "India has the capability to make vaccines and if need be, we can make any vaccine in no time."
'he Centre has not issued any mandate, the stand of centre is that it should be 100 per cent but it is not a mandate'
The BJP's manifesto speaks about the Prime Minister's vision of making 'Atmanirbhar Bihar'.
