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COVID 19: India’s recovery rate over 97%; govt stresses on ‘covid-appropriate behaviour’

COVID 19: India’s recovery rate

As many as 43,733 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative tally to 3,06,63,665.

The new recoveries outnumbered fresh infections for the 55th day straight as 47,240 more people were discharged between Tuesday and Wednesday. With this, the total number of discharges has reached 2,97,99,534 and the recovery rate has improved to 97.18%.

As a result, the total active cases in the country have come down to 4,59,920, dipping by 4,437 in the last 24 hours.

Even as health experts and an SBI report warn of the third wave of coronavirus infections hitting India in coming months, the daily caseload on Tuesday plunged to a four-month low.

Meanwhile, ICMR chief Balram Bhargava asserted that instead of highlighting the wave aspect, the focus should be on COVID appropriate behaviour/restrictions to contain the spread of the disease

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) DG Dr Balram Bhargava said, “The future challenge is not the 3rd wave, but how we act on it. Instead of highlighting the wave aspect, we should focus on COVID appropriate behaviour/restrictions to contain the spread.”

The report – COVID-19: The race to finishing line – prepared by SBI Research, claims that the covid third wave peak will arrive in the month of September 2021.

The health ministry says that 45 lakh people were vaccinated on July 6. This is much lower in comparison with the first week of the new programme that saw around 60 lakh Covid jabs each day.

So far, 36,13,23,548 people have been given the anti-Covid jabs. Among these, 36,05,998 doses were administered in the last 24 hours.

Eight states — Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra — have administered more than 50 lakh first doses of Covid-19 vaccine in the 18-44 years age group.

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Expert panel suggests against granting permission to SII for Covovax’s trials on kids-asks for data

Novovax vaccine

On Wednesday, an expert panel of the India’s central drug authority recommended against granting permission to the Serum Institute of India (SII) to conduct the phase 2/3 trial of Covid-19 vaccine Covovax on children aged two to 17 years.

Serum Institute had applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Monday seeking permission for conducting a trial of Covovax on 920 children, 460 each in the 12-17 and 2-11 age groups, at 10 sites.

Subject Expert Committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation denied the permission saying that Covovax has not been approved in any country. SII is currently carrying out trials on adults. The Pune-based drug-maker has been asked to submit the safety and immunogenicity data (of Covovax) from the ongoing clinical trial in adults before proceeding with the trials on children.

Also See: Are Covid vaccines magnetic? Facts you should know related to coronavirus

A source with knowledge over the issue stated, “The SEC on Covid-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), which deliberated on the application, noted that the vaccine has not been approved in any country.”

The source also added, “It also recommended that the Pune-based company should submit the safety and immunogenicity data (of Covovax) from the ongoing clinical trial in adults for considering the conduct of a clinical trial in children.”

Also See: New mutants of Coronavirus

Last month Novavax had announced that NVX-CoV2373 demonstrated 100% protection against moderate and severe disease, and 90.4% overall efficacy, in its Phase 3 trial.

Covovax would have been the third vaccine to be tested on children in the country after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Zydus Cadilla’s ZyCov-D, if approved.

Serum Institute has tied up with US biotechnology company Novavax to locally manufacture NVX-CoV2373 under the brand name Covovax.

The clinical trials of Covovax began in India in March. SII-CEO Adar Poonawalla had earlier said that the vaccine could be launched in India by September for adults.

Poonawalla later said in a post on Twitter, “Excited to witness the first batch of Covovax (developed by @Novavax) being manufactured this week at our facility in Pune. The vaccine has great potential to protect our future generations below the age of 18. Trials are ongoing. Well done team @seruminstindia!”

Novovax had carried out its phase 3 trials in US and Mexico. In June, in an interim analysis from its phase 3 trial on 29,960 participants in the US and Mexico, the drug-maker reported an efficacy of 90.4%.

Also Read: Indemnity from liability to be granted to vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer and Moderna

Novovax also showed that the vaccine had an efficacy of 100% in preventing people from getting moderate and severe diseases.

Its vaccine is based on a recombinant protein technology. This approach is also being used in the candidate developed by Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline Plc. The Pune-based drug-maker started “at-risk” production of the vaccine in small quantities last month. Because of the significant financial risk taken by the company, the production is termed as“at-risk”.

Till now, a total of four vaccines have been cleared by the Indian government. They are Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, the SII’s Covishield, Russia’s Sputnik V and the one manufactured by Moderna (sold under the brand name ‘Spikevax’ in the US).

The Pune based drug-maker had rolled out Covishield vaccine in the country in January. It had entered into a collaboration with AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford to manufacture the vaccine.

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Vaccine-taxation: GST-council will meet on June 12 to discuss recommendations of GoM

GST-Council-Meeting

New vaccination policy is set to kick in from June 21 and it is expected to put an end to differences in GST Council over taxing jabs. The GST-Council is set to meet and discuss tax on individual Covid relief materials soon. The council will hold a meeting on June 12 to discuss recommendations of Group of Ministers (GoM) on tax on Covid-19 vaccine and other equipment.

Also Read: Virus might have leaked from Wuhan lab: US research report

A member of the Group of Ministers said, “As entire procurement for a free vaccination to be done by the Centre, States will not have to worry about tax payment. At the same time, they will get their share from the GST collection as well as through the devolution formula. So, this is likely to bring down the curtain on this dispute.” Regarding concessions/exemptions from GST on Covid-19 related individual items, the GoM submitted its report with recommendations on Saturday.

Also See: New mutants of Coronavirus

The GoM includes Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma as the Convenor. It is believed to have left the issue of taxation on the vaccine for the GST Council. It had recommended status quo on GST on vaccine at 5 percent. For other items, the GoM appeared to have recommended an uniform 5 percent GST for a limited period. At present vaccines attract GST at the rate of 5 percent. Other items barring ambulances, GST-rates vary between 5 to 18 percent. The ambulance has a GST rate of 28 percent.

The new vaccination policy guides that the Centre will pay GST on procuring 75 percent of vaccine produced in the country and that too at a much lower negotiated price. A senior government official explained, “This means the States will neither have to worry about price payout nor GST on that.”

Also Read: An uncertain wait for vaccines by India despite a liberalized regulatory framework

Simultaneously, States will get their share from the GST collection. Apart from that, according to the devolution formula, states are also entitled to get a part of the Central’s share of GST. The official also cited Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s response to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee last month. The FinMin had mentioned that GST is paid on the government supplies by the government. From GST collected on the vaccine, half is earned by the Centre and the other half by the States. Additionally, 41 percent of the Centre’s collections also get devolved to the States. Sitharaman had said, “States end up receiving almost 70 per cent of the total revenue collected from the vaccines.”

GST on the vaccine has been a contentious issue between centre and the states. The governments in the states have alleged that centre delays in paying the states their GST dues throwing fiscal federalism in the air. The Centre has been saying repeatedly that exemption from GST will hurt end consumers. Sitharaman had said earlier, “A 5 percent GST rate ensures that the manufacturer is able to utilise ITC and in case of overflow of ITC, claim the refund. Hence exemption to the vaccine from GST would be counterproductive without benefiting the consumer.”

Also Read: Indemnity from liability to be granted to vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer and Moderna

Even the GST Council’s panel, Fitment Committee, which prepares proposals for rate revisions also agreed and recommended no change in the rate for the GST Council meeting which took place on May 28. The Fitment Committee is up for keeping the rate unchanged on Covid vaccines. The committee has, however, recommended lowering the duty for a limited period on oxygen concentrators and pulse oximeters, but no change for items such as PPE kits and N-95 masks.

Earlier there were suggestions to bring vaccine under zero rated supply category. This essentially means that there will be no GST on the product, but the supplier or manufacturer will get a refund for taxes paid on inputs. Centre had not agreed on this suggestion and argued that zero rated supply category is only for export and not for domestic consumption. In the GST Council meeting, there have been a lot of differences on the taxability of other individual Covid relief materials as well. Hence, it was decided to form a GoM.

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Get revaccinated; US universities tell Indian students who took jabs of Covaxin & Sputnik V

COVID-19 vaccine

Many students of colleges and universities in US have been inoculated with India’s indigenous Covaxin or the Russian-made Sputnik V. Such students have been asked by the colleges and universities to get re-vaccinated with WHO- approved Covid-19 vaccines. More than 400 US colleges and universities had asked students to get vaccinated against Covid-19 ahead of the Autumn semester.

Also See: New mutants of Coronavirus

Rukmini Callimachi reported in The New York Times the case of an Indian student at Columbia University. Milloni Doshi, a 25-year-old student from India is due to start her master’s degree this fall at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. She has been administered two doses of Covaxin.  Columbia University has told her that she will need to be revaccinated with a different vaccine once she arrives on campus.

Doshi wrote via a messaging app, “I am just concerned about taking two different vaccines. They said the application process would be the toughest part of the cycle, but it has really been all of this that has been uncertain and anxiety-inducing.”

Also Read: An uncertain wait for vaccines by India despite a liberalized regulatory framework

Various campuses are proposing different measures for vaccination. The more complicated scenario is if students received a vaccine that has not been approved by the WHO, like Sputnik-V or Covaxin. Many colleges & universities are proposing that those students will need to be revaccinated, which presents both medical and logistical conundrums. This has thrown Indian students into a dilemma, and they are growing frantic. Such students who need to be revaccinated fear if there would be any complications.

No data exists on whether combining vaccines from different companies is safe. That adds to the problem and breeds fear in the minds of the students. Kristen Nordlund, a spokesperson for the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, “Since Covid-19 vaccines are not interchangeable, the safety and effectiveness of receiving two different Covid-19 vaccines have not been studied.”

Also Read: Indemnity from liability to be granted to vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer and Moderna

Nordlund also has a piece of advice for people vaccinated outside the US with a vaccine not authorised by WHO. He said that such people should wait for a minimum of 28 days before taking the first dose of one of the vaccines sanctioned by Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

American students have access to the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson made Jansen vaccines. These three vaccines out of the total eight have been authorised by the global health body. This is a disparity which could hinder colleges that have made it a major priority to retain international students. It must be noted that international students brought in close to USD 39 billion in tuition fees in the year before the pandemic, according to an analysis.

Terry W Hartle, senior vice president at the American Council on Education said, “Universities want to enroll international students because they add diversity to the campus community and they bring money. It is why this has been a subject of intense discussion.”

The situation is particularly challenging for Indian students. India sends around 200,000 international students to American colleges every year. It is becoming increasingly hard for students to secure an appointment for a vaccine that will be accepted by American campuses.

Sudhanshu Kaushik, who runs the North American Association of Indian Students, which is working to help fellow students, said, “Every day, we get 10 to 15 messages and inquiries, saying ‘What does this mean? How does this impact me?’”

Hannah Buxbaum is Indiana University’s vice president for international affairs. She said that the administrators of the institution are working overtime to answer the roughly 200 phone calls and 300 emails that are pouring in every day from the university’s roughly 6,000 students overseas.

She said, “Ringing off the hook does not begin to describe. There is no question that there is anxiety and concern among our international students.”

Many American universities are only accepting the students who have been vaccinated with a WHO-approved Covid-19 vaccine.  Many universities have been vague on how are they planning to deal with the logistical complexity of spacing out these unrelated vaccines, beyond saying that they planned to accommodate students undergoing this process.

Rukmini Callimachi wrote that at least six regional governments in India have announced emergency clinics in the past week to vaccine students going to US universities, in wake of mounting pressure from confused and anxious students.

Meanwhile, the situation for Indian students already present in US is a bit favourable. Hence, many Indian parents are in a rush to send their children for higher education to the United States. This is not only for a degree from a coveted college but also for vaccination against Covid-19. Each state in the US has its own plan for deciding which groups of people will be vaccinated first, as per the website of its national public health agency. Currently, in Alaska and Alabama, individuals aged 16 years and above are eligible for a vaccine, according to the respective state websites.

According to the Connecticut state website, “Beginning April 1st, all individuals 16 years of age and older who live, work, or attend school in Connecticut are eligible to receive a vaccine.”

Delhi-based Harpreet Singh is mother of Ujjawal Singh, 18, who recently got admitted to the Knox College, a Liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois. With a sigh of relief, she said, “I am glad to send my child out partly because of the ongoing vaccination drive in the US.” She added, “It seemed safe to send him as all my relatives in Canada and the US and their kids have got the vaccine.”

Addressing the students who aspire to study abroad, Adarsh Khandelwal, director, Collegify said, “For the next two-three years, the availability of vaccines and the medical support system will play an important role in deciding your study abroad plans and possibilities of choosing your location of settling down and studies.”

The unprecedented second wave has put thousands of Indian students who were planning to study abroad in limbo. As the country continues to reel under the second wave of infection with coronavirus, Indian borders are sealed barring some exceptions. Among Indian students, those who want to return to college and have valid visas are allowed to travel to most countries, including the US and the UK, the two most popular destinations for Indian students. But first-timers are struggling to get visas as most embassies are either shut or moving extremely slowly with limited staff.

Abhishek Nakhate, founder and CEO of UK-based educational consultancy Zoom Abroad explained that, the visa process has “become stricter in terms of screening and deciding the genuineness of the student.”

Inaction of GOI on vaccination

Neither Indian government invested in vaccine research, nor did it work to place orders with the global pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. BJP, the ruling party at the centre and its ministers were busy with Bihar election last year and with elections in Assam, Kerala, TN, Puducherry and West Bengal this year.

While GOI trumpeted in a hubristic and unsolicited braggadocio that India was in the endgame of the pandemic, the second wave came and rattled the country. Delhi and cities in UP faced an acute crisis of Oxygen. That in turn led many people to steal Oxygen cylinders. Dead bodies were found floating in major rivers without proper cremation and dogs were seen nibbling away whatever they could land their jaws on. BJP-led centre did not invest an ounce of thought on the either the education of the school and college students within the country choked by the lockdowns or the problems faced by Indian students in the US universities.

With India staring into oblivion in terms of vaccination, interest in the US has risen among many parents and students in the country. But, it can be hoped that the situation improves after US president Joe Biden promised of distributing 75% of the excess vaccine doses of US with the world through Covax facility.

Also Read: US President Joe Biden announced vaccine distribution plans; Kamala Harris dialed New Delhi

The most perturbing fact is that the centre did not consider the impact of Covid19 on the students who go to universities around the world, especially when it had not ensured supply of WHO-approved vaccines within the country. Due to the unconcerned and lackadaisical approach of the central government in terms of getting people vaccinated, many Indian students of US universities are now caught between the devil and deep blue sea.

Vaccines approved by WHO under EUL

On December 31, 2020, the Pfizer/BioNtech Comirnaty vaccine was listed for WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL). On February 16, 2021, the SII/Covishield and AstraZeneca/AZD1222 vaccines (developed by AstraZeneca/Oxford and manufactured by the State Institute of India and SK Bio respectively) were given EUL. On March 12, 2021, the Janssen/Ad26.COV 2.S developed by Johnson & Johnson, was listed for EUL. On April 30, 2021, the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA 1273) was listed for EUL and on May 7, 2021 the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine was listed for EUL.

(With inputs from The NY times & WHO website)

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1st dose of vaccine jab: India overtakes US

vaccine

As India finds itself caught amidst Covid scare and dearth of vaccines, the government has claimed that the country has overtaken the United States in terms of the number of people who have received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

“As per the data, the number of people who have received at least one dose of vaccine in India is 17.2 crore. We have overtaken the US in terms of the number of people in our country who have received the first dose of vaccine,” said Member Health NITI Aayog Dr VK Paul.

Asserting that country needs more time to achieve high coverage of vaccination, he said: “When the peak is declining and we suddenly get into same behaviour as a society like in January and February, it (the virus) will come back again in a certain way. We have to buy time to ensure that we achieve high coverage of our vaccination.”

Meanwhile, Union Health Ministry’s Joint secretary, Lav Agarwal commented about the drop in the number of active cases, and said, “There has been a continuous decrease in districts reporting more than 100 average daily new cases; 257 districts report more than 100 daily cases.”

On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the wastage figures of Covid vaccines continue to be on the higher side and asked authorities to take steps to tackle this issue.

“PM instructed that vaccine wastage numbers are still on the higher side and steps need to be taken to bring them down,” said the statement.

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Indemnity from liability to be granted to vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer and Moderna

Pfizer Moderna vaccine

After losing a substantial time since the Covid19 pandemic struck India last year, government is slowly doing the necessary to ramp up vaccination in the country.

Central government may grant a major concession demanded by pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer and Moderna. The vaccine manufacturing companies would be provided indemnity from liability. This would be done to speed up the approval of the companies in India, when the nation is staring at an uncertain future of vaccination.

Sources in Health ministry have stated that other countries have done it and that there is no problem in granting indemnity. The companies are looking for indemnity or legal protection from any claims linked to the use of the vaccine manufactured by them.

The sources said, “If these companies have applied for Emergency Use Authorisation in India, then we are ready to give them indemnity.”

Also Read: An uncertain wait for vaccines by India despite a liberalized regulatory framework

In a parallel development, the drug regulator, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has exempted the companies from India-specific trials for foreign vaccines. The vaccines which have been approved by specific countries and World Health organization have been made free of the requirement of India-specific trials for emergency use. Such trials are known as post-launch bridging trials. This was demanded by companies like Pfizer and Cipla.

Even with this rider given by DCGI, the head of CDSCO, it will take some time for pharma-firms like Pfizer and Moderna to join into Indian vaccination programme. It is because they have paid-orders from other countries to be fulfilled first.

It is worthwhile to note that as part of vaccine diplomacy, India has supplied around 60 million doses of vaccines to around 70 countries, and is now reeling in vaccine deficiency.

Between July and October, Pfizer would be providing 5 crore doses to India and has stressed on the manufacturer indemnity in its talks.

There was requirement that “every batch” of vaccine to be tested by the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) in Kasauli, provided “the vaccine batch/lot has been certified and released by the National Control Laboratory of the country of origin”. This condition has now been removed for the companies with WHO-approved vaccines, which are keen to join Indian vaccination drive.

Also See: New mutants of Coronavirus

On June 1, US-drug maker Eli Lilly said that it had received approval for restricted emergency use of its antibody cocktail drugs, bamlanivimab 700mg and etesevimab 1400mg, in India. This combination would be used for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate coronavirus disease (COVID-19). These two are in fact monoclonal antibodies, which mimic the spike protein on the surface (corona) of the Coronavirus. This helps trigger immune response in the body against the Covid19 virions.

Cipla is looking forward to committing over USD 1-billion as advance to the US major-Moderna’s single-dose Covid-19 booster vaccine in India. For this purpose, the company is seeking to fast track approvals for Moderna expeditiously. The Indian firm has requested the government for indemnification and exemptions from price capping, bridging trials and basic customs duty.

While it is close to a major vaccine-deal in India, Moderna has begun the process to win full US regulatory approval for the use of its COVID-19 vaccine in adults in US.

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Supreme Court posed questions to government on vaccine procurement and CoWin app

The centre was again in a tight spot when the Supreme Court of India pointed out different flaws in the vaccination and vaccine procurement policy, including the need of making CoWin registration mandatory.

On the Covid-19 vaccine procurement policy, the Supreme Court posed searching questions to the Centre, on Monday. The Apex Court also posed questions on the need for a mandatory registration on the CoWIN app for people to get vaccinated without keeping in mind the real ‘digital India’ situation, observing that the policymakers must have an ear to the ground.
A special bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, L N Rao and S Ravindrabhat raised the issue of digital divide faced by India. It said that since the Centre has made CoWIN registration mandatory for vaccination, how is it going to address the issue of the digital divide facing the country.

Also See: New mutants of Coronavirus

The bench sought to know from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, and asked, “You keep on saying the situation is dynamic but policy makers must have their ears on ground. You keep on saying digital India, digital India but the situation is actually different in rural areas. How will an illiterate labourer, from Jharkhand get registered in Rajasthan? Tell us how you will address this digital divide.”

It also said, “You must smell the coffee and see what is happening across the country. You must know the ground situation and change the policy accordingly. If we had to do it, we would have done it 15-20 days back”.

On this, Mehta replied that registration is mandatory as a person needs to be traced for a second dose and as far as rural areas there are community centres where a person can get registered for vaccination.

Also Read: An uncertain wait for vaccines by India despite a liberalized regulatory framework

The bench further questioned Mehta whether the government thinks that this process is viable and asked him to place the policy document on record.

The Apex court was hearing a suo motu case on management of Covid19 situation in the country.

At the outset, the Supreme Court asked the Centre about the vaccine procurement policy of the Centre. In doing so, it referred to the fact that states like Punjab and Delhi are in the process of issuing global tenders to procure foreign vaccines for COVID-19.
The Apex court bench said that even Municipal Corporation like Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has received bids.

The bench further said, “Is this the policy of the central government that the state or municipal corporation can procure the vaccine or the Union Government is going to procure for them like a nodal agency? We want clarity on this and rationale behind this policy.”

Centre said that the entire eligible population would be vaccinated by the end of 2021. The law officer said that the government is in talks with companies like Pfizer and if it succeeds then timeline for completing the vaccination would change.

For saving lives of Covid19 patients and to facilitate a public health response to the pandemic, the Apex court had constituted a 12-member National Task Force to formulate a methodology for the scientific allocation of Oxygen to states and UTs.

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Covid19 vaccines-US prioritized domestic production of vaccines over providing raw-materials to India

Indo_US corona

A senior State Department official while defending US’s restrictions on the export of key raw materials for the manufacture of Covid-19 vaccine that threatens to slow India’s vaccination drive, has said that the Biden administration’s first obligation is to take care of the requirements of the American people.

Also See: New mutants of Coronavirus

When asked exactly when the US administration led by Biden would decide on India’s request to lift a ban on the export of vaccine raw materials, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said, “The United States first and foremost is engaged in an ambitious and effective and, so far, successful effort to vaccinate the American people. ”

He also added, “That campaign is well underway, and we’re doing that for a couple of reasons. Number one, we have a special responsibility to the American people. Number two, the American people, this country has been hit harder than any other country around the world more than 550,000 deaths, tens of millions of infections in this country alone.”

He further added, “It is not only in the US interest to see Americans vaccinated; but it is in the interests of the rest of the world to see Americans vaccinated.”

In response to questions, Mr. Price said, “The point the Secretary (of State Antony Blinken) has made repeatedly is that as long as the virus is spreading anywhere, it is a threat to people everywhere. So as long as the virus is spreading uncontrolled in this country, it can mutate and it can travel beyond our borders. That, in turn, poses a threat well beyond the United States.”

He went on to add, “As for the rest of the world, we will, of course, always do as much as we can, consistent with our first obligation.”

In a second wave, India is currently facing a massive surge in Covid-19 infections. On Friday, the country added a record over 3.32 lakh new coronavirus cases in a single day taking the country’s tally to 1,62,63,695. The number of active cases crossed the 24-lakh mark.

Also Read: Issues faced by India in dealing with Covid 19 resurge- Is it too late to contain the Second Wave

The US administration led by Biden recently conveyed to New Delhi that it understands India’s pharmaceutical requirements and promised to give the matter due consideration.

Biden administration observed that the current difficulty in the export of critical raw materials needed to manufacture Covid-19 vaccines is mainly due to an Act that forces American companies to prioritize domestic consumption.

In one of the rare acts of commonality, President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump had invoked the war-time Defence Production Act (DPA) that leaves US companies with no option but to give priority to the production of Covid-19 vaccines and Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for domestic production to combat the deadly pandemic in America, the worst-hit nation.

United States has ramped up the production of Covid-19 vaccines mostly by Pfizer and Moderna to meet the goal of vaccinating its entire population by July 4.

The suppliers of the raw-materials or the APIs of the vaccines, which are in high demand globally and sought after by major Indian manufacturers, are being forced to provide it only for domestic manufacturers in the US.

Serum Institute of India, which recently saw a fire causing damage worth more than Rs 1,000 crore, affecting the Rotavirus and BCG vaccine manufacturing and storage unit, is the world’s largest producer of the Covid-19 vaccine.

In recent weeks, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India’s Ambassador to the US, has been taking up the matter with the officials in Biden administration.

State Department spokesperson Price said that the US has played a leadership role when it comes to containing the virus beyond its borders.

He said, “We have re-engaged with the WHO on day one, the USD 2 billion we have contributed to COVAX, with 2 billion more on the way. When it comes to our own hemisphere, the loan arrangement with Canada and Mexico, and when it comes to India, the Quad and the arrangement with the Quad, including to increase production capacity in India.”

He further added, “So as we are more comfortable in our position here at home, as we are confident that we are able to address any contingencies as they may arise, I expect we will be able to do more.”

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Covid 19 vaccine-South Africa asked SII to take back the one million doses of the vaccine –ineffective against South African variant

Covid 19 vaccine-South Africa asked SII

South Africa has asked the Serum Institute of India to take back the one million Covid19 vaccine doses the company had sent in early February, as reported by ET on Tuesday. The development comes a week after the country said that it will put on hold the use of AstraZeneca’s shot in its vaccination program.

Serum Institute of India, which is producing AstraZeneca’s shot, has emerged as a key vaccine supplier. One million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had landed in South Africa last week and another 500,000 were due to arrive in the next few weeks.

Also See: New mutants of Coronavirus

South Africa’s health minister has said that the government may sell doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, after the country paused its roll-out following a small clinical trial that showed it offered minimal protection against mild to moderate illness from the 501Y.V2 coronavirus variant dominant in the country.

AstraZeneca has said that its vaccine appeared to offer only limited protection against mild disease caused by the South African variant, based on data from a study by South Africa’s University of the Witwatersr and Oxford University.

The African country, which is yet to launch its COVID-19 vaccination program, has decided to start vaccinating health workers with Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine in the form of an “implementation study” with researchers.

(ET & The Hindu)

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Covid vaccine: Over 16 lakh beneficiaries inoculated in COVID-19 vaccination drive in India

covid vaccine

Across the country, over 16 lakh healthcare workers have received COVID-19 vaccine jabs till the evening of the ninth day of the nationwide immunization drive, as per provisional reports, the Union health ministry said on Sunday. The ministry said that 31,466 beneficiaries were vaccinated on Sunday till 7:30 pm in five states, Haryana (907), Karnataka (2,472), Punjab (1,007), Rajasthan (24,586) and Tamil Nadu (2,494), through 693 sessions.

“The cumulative number of healthcare workers vaccinated against COVID-19 has crossed 16 lakh (16,13,667) till 7.30 pm today through 28,613 sessions, as per the provisional report,” the ministry said, adding that the final report will be completed by late in the night.

“Only 10 adverse events following immunization have been reported till 7.30 pm on the ninth day of the vaccination drive,” it stated.

Also See: New mutants of Coronavirus

The inoculation drive was launched on January 16 with over three crore healthcare and frontline workers prioritized to get the jabs initially.

The total number of beneficiaries, who were vaccinated till 7.30 pm on Sunday since the launch of the drive, include 1,47,030 in Andhra Pradesh, 76,125 in Bihar, 53,529 in Kerala, 1,91,443 in Karnataka, 61,720 in Tamil Nadu, 25,811 in Delhi, 78,466 in Gujarat and 84,505 in West Bengal, according to provisional reports.