Efforts are being ramped up for massive production of vaccines and make them available in the shortest possible time, a top government official said on Wednesday, stressing that India currently has a promising pipeline of four-five Covid-19 vaccine candidates, while three have already been approved for emergency use.
Many inoculation centres in Maharashtra are being shut due to the shortage of coronavirus vaccine, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Wednesday, adding the state now has 14 lakh doses which would last just three days.
He said the Centre should ensure that all the vaccine manufacturing plants in the country start producing COVID doses.
With just two days to go before the COVID-19 vaccination opens for the people above 18 years and only two days after Maharashtra administered the highest number of 5 lakh doese in a day, reports of the shortage of the vaccines poured in from various parts of the state on Wednesday including Mumbai, officials said.
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday told the Bombay high court that it would soon start home vaccination against COVID-19 for people who are immobile or bedridden on an experimental basis, and would not wait for an approval from the Centre.
UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum received a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday. Sheikh Mohammed shared a picture on Twitter of him getting vaccinated by a medical staffer.
'Whenever you roll out: effectiveness is important, operational logistics are important, side effects are important and vaccine hesitancy is important.'
Of the estimated 7.4 crore (7,40,57,000) population in the 15-18 age bracket, over 3.45 crore have received the first dose of Covaxin so far and their second dose is due in 28 days, he said.
"We will never approve anything if there is even the slightest safety concern. Vaccines are 110 per cent safe. Some side effects like mild fever, pain and allergy are common for every vaccine. "It (rumours of impotency) is complete nonsense," V G Somani, Drug Controller General of India said.
'The US has invoked the Defence Act and banned export of raw materials.' 'This is as good as banning vaccines.'
The Biden administration had been under pressure to send the excess COVID-19 vaccines with the US to nations like India, which are facing severe vaccine shortages.
The protection gained after being fully vaccinated with both doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines against Covid-19 wanes over time, a new UK study reported on Wednesday.
The first phase of the programme will kick off with vaccinations in Hyderabad on Monday and in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday (May 18) at Apollo facilities.
India, which has shipped 'Made In India' COVID-19 vaccines to around 25 nations, on Wednesday urged the international community to stop 'vaccine nationalism' and actively encourage 'internationalism', underlining that hoarding superfluous doses will defeat global efforts to attain collective health security and combat the pandemic.
The government Thursday announced that differently-abled people and those with restricted mobility will be given COVID vaccine at home.
The US on Monday announced a new international travel system under which fully vaccinated individuals would be allowed to enter the country beginning in November.
With the maximum dose gap of four months for Covishield, a large part of the population would not even be eligible for the second dose by the end of this year, report Ruchika Chitravanshi and Ishaan Gera.
Pujara took to Twitter to post pictures of him along with his wife getting vaccinated
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday told Bharatiya Janata Party MPs that Covid vaccination for children is likely to start soon, sources said.
Trinamool Congress leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy on Thursday claimed that West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar could also be involved in the fake vaccination camp scam.
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.
'I took a Chinese vaccine named Sinopharm and I want people to know it is absolutely safe. I was administered the first dose on January 6. I have to go back for a second dose on January 27.'
Several private hospitals across the country said they have no clarity on procuring COVID-19 vaccines under the new policy announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that it has led to the vaccination being put on hold at their centres.
Congratulating the medical staff for administering over one crore doses in the national capital, Kejriwal said there was an acute shortage of vaccines for which inoculation could not be scaled up.
The reason for vaccination not doing enough to stave off infection is partly that the rates of the fully vaccinated population are still below 20 per cent in most districts.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over vaccine shortage, saying the Centre should share the vaccine formula of the two manufacturers with other capable pharmaceutical companies to scale up production in the country.
We need to give a booster shot to all our frontline workers first as if they fall victim to Omicron, the health system will collapse, points out Ramesh Menon.
Antibodies produced by two doses of mRNA vaccines against the original and early variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus wane substantially over time, and offer essentially no protection against Omicron, according to a study that highlights the importance of a booster dose.
The court said young people are being affected more this time round, and lot of young lives have been lost.
As India launched the world's largest vaccination drive against the coronavirus pandemic, showing the light at the end of a 10-month tunnel that upended millions of lives and livelihoods, here are some of the quotes from politicians across parties and other people who took the jab:
Modi tweeted that the meeting discussed important issues related to the progress of vaccine development, regulatory approvals and procurement.
Currently, Covishield and other COVID vaccines are approved for people above the age of 18 years.
The modalities of COVID-19 vaccine delivery, distribution and administration were discussed during the meeting.
'They are not ready to take the vaccine.' 'They fear that if they do, they will die.'
Presumably, the Ronaldo backdrop is meant to be an inspirational motif for teenagers, many of who worship the Manchester United star's remarkable skills.
'We see in England how many deaths there still are and people get the virus and are suffering. We have to move forward, stay safe, be careful, use the masks, use the vaccines for better for the society and for themselves.'
An official source said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has desired for the resumption of printing of the prime minister's photo on the Covid vaccination certificates in these states on top priority.
The Omicron variant carries 'concerning' mutations that may make it more transmissible and allow it to evade immunity, scientists said on Monday, stressing that the one certainty in the uncertainty of the many things unknown is this -- COVID is not a short-term crisis and vaccines are still a critical tool.
Vardhan noted that COVID-19 infection among those vaccinated would be very mild and not progress to an advanced stage.
"Kerala has received 73,38,806 doses of vaccine from Central government. We have provided 74,26,164 doses, even making use of the extra dose available as wastage factor in each vial. Our health workers, especially nurses have been super efficient and deserve our wholehearted appreciation!," Vijayan had tweeted.
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