coronavirus vaccine
India to roll out DNA-based COVID shots for teens in October
India next month is expected to begin inoculating 12- to 18-year-olds with a domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine that is also the world's first DNA-based anti-coronavirus jab, reports NIKKEI ASIA.
The vaccine has received approval for emergency use among this age group and older people.
Ahmedabad-based producer Zydus Cadila's ZyCoV-D vaccine, developed in partnership with the Indian government's Department of Biotechnology, is administered in three needle-free doses. It showed primary efficacy of 66.6% for symptomatic COVID cases, according to interim results from the vaccine's Phase-III clinical trials conducted among over 28,000 volunteers.
Read: India’s COVID-19 vaccine supply jumps, raising export hopes
The company, which got the drug regulator's nod for ZyCoV-D on Aug. 20, plans to produce 100 million to 120 million doses annually.
India has now approved six COVID vaccines for emergency use. The five others are: Covishield, the local name of the AstraZeneca vaccine domestically produced by the Serum Institute of India; Covaxin, another indigenously developed jab; Russia's Sputnik V; and shots from U.S.-based Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
The country of over 1.3 billion has been mainly using the two-dose Covishield and Covaxin vaccines since beginning its inoculation drive on Jan. 16. As of Tuesday, over 52% of its adult population of 944 million had received at least one dose while 15.6% had received two.
India is the world's second-worst-hit nation after the U.S., having reported over 32.8 million cases and 439,020 deaths as of Wednesday. In early May, at the height of the still-dangerous second COVID wave, more than 400,000 new infections were being confirmed every day, driven mainly by the delta variant. That was far higher than the single-day peak of 97,000 new infections that hit the country last September.
In recent weeks, fewer than 50,000 new cases have been surfacing each day.
With ZyCov-D, India now has its first COVID vaccine for its 120 million 12- to 18-year-olds. This is expected to benefit older children as schools gradually reopen after a nearly 18-month shutdown.
ZyCoV-D is administered with a needle-free applicator that ensures painless, intradermal vaccine delivery. The second dose is to be given 28 days after the first, and the third follows four weeks after the second.
"This is for the first time that a technologically advanced vaccine has been successfully developed on the plasmid DNA platform for human use," a company statement says. "The platform because of its rapid plug and play technology can be easily adapted to deal with mutations in the virus, such as those already occurring."
Plasmids are small, circular pieces of DNA usually found in bacteria that contain genetic information. Built on this platform, the ZyCoV-D vaccine produces the antigen or spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes the disease and elicits an immune response, protecting from illness and helping in viral clearance.
Rajesh Bhushan, India's health secretary, told a media briefing last week that the vaccine is expected to become available in the first week of October. "We are in talks" with the vaccine manufacturing company on crystallizing the terms and conditions of procurement, he said.
Even though it is "a good vaccine" and the only one available for the 12-18 age group, its three-dose regimen could be a logistical challenge for India, according to Arun Gupta, a pediatrician and president of the Delhi Medical Council.
"I'm very skeptical about the three-dose schedule, especially in rural areas where people don't realize the importance of vaccination much," he told Nikkei Asia. "You have to counsel these people [repeatedly] and push them to vaccination centers. It may not be easy to bring them back for the second and then [especially] for the third dose."
Read: Indian economy grows by 20.1%, raising hopes of recovery
Gupta said three doses might work better in an urbanized setting.
At the same time, he said India needs to expedite the vaccinating of its adult population, which will indirectly protect children too. "The number of adults who have been fully inoculated is dismal," he added, despite the country having launched its vaccination drive in mid-January.
Meanwhile, the government has warned that the second COVID wave has not left. "We are still in the midst of the second surge of COVID-19 in our country [and] therefore, we have to maintain all necessary precautions," Bhushan said, adding the months of September and October -- when India will be celebrating some festivals -- are crucial considering how cases spike after every festival.
US assures Covid cooperation to continue as 1-mn doses of Pfizer's vaccine received
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R. Miller and Senior Secretary of the Health Service Division Lokman Hossian Miah on Wednesday welcomed the arrival of one million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in Bangladesh.
The vaccine doses are donated by the United States as part of the U.S. Government’s commitment to donate 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine globally.
Bangladesh is expected to receive another 5 million doses of the same vaccine from the US this month.
They build on earlier donations of the Moderna vaccine, for a total of 6.5 million doses gifted by the U.S. Government and the American people to the people of Bangladesh.
Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Professor Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Kathryn Stevens were also present at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to receive the shipment of vaccines, facilitated through COVAX.
Read: Covid positivity rate shrinks to 10%, cases and deaths continue declining
PM: Govt has arranged to bring one crore Covid vaccine doses a month
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday told Parliament that the government has taken steps to get over one crore coronavirus vaccine doses every month.
“Steps have been taken to ensure more than one crore vaccines every month,” she said.
She made the statement while answering a tabled question from ruling party MP Shahiduzzaman Sarker during PM’s question-answer session.
Sheikh Hasina said that as per the schedule Bangladesh will get two crore vaccine doses each month from Sinopharm from next October. Until December some six crore jabs will come from Sinopharm, she said.
She also said that so far (August 30) some 1,82,89,018 persons got first dose of vaccine while 78,40,169 persons got second shot. In total 2,61,29,187 doses of vaccines have been given.
Read: Decision on vaccinating school students soon: DGHS DG
“Collection of vaccines is on while providing the shots free to the people,” she said.
The prime minister said that the government has established contacts with all vaccine producing organisations.
Global Covid cases near 218 million
The overall number of global Covid cases is fast nearing 218 million, as the world is still struggling to contain the second wave of the pandemic even with mass inoculations underway.
According to US-based Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 217,632,545 and the death toll to 4,518,377 on Wednesday morning.
So far, 5,277,415,976 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe.
Read: India’s COVID-19 vaccine supply jumps, raising export hopes
The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 39,197,606 cases. Besides, 640,089 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data.
Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India.
The country has recorded 20,776,870 cases with 580,413 fatalities so far, according to the health ministry.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 32,768,880 on Tuesday as 30,941 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry.
Read: Covid in Bangladesh: Both cases and deaths fall further
A total of 350 deaths due to the pandemic since Monday morning took the total death toll to 438,560 -- the world's third-highest after the US and Brazil.
Situation in Bangladesh
Both the Covid-19 cases and fatalities in Bangladesh dropped further as the country logged 86 deaths and 3,357 new cases, respectively, in 24 hours till Tuesday morning.
The country last saw 112 coronavirus-related deaths on June 29 and the upswing in the fatalities reached its peak on August 5 and 10 when 264 deaths were recorded.
Read: Govt plans to provide Covid jabs to two crore people by September
The fresh numbers have pushed the country’s total fatalities to 26,195, while the cases reached 1,500,618, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The new cases were detected after the test of 28,097 samples in the past 24 hours, which reduced the daily case positivity rate to 11.95% from Monday’s 12.07%, said the DGHS.
Meanwhile, the government aims at vaccinating two crore people against Covid by next month, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Tuesday.
Govt plans to provide Covid jabs to two crore people by September
The government aims at vaccinating two crore people against Covid by next month, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Tuesday.
The minister said this at a virtual programme on the occasion of the National Mourning Day, held at Manikganj Government Boys High School ground in Manikganj district.
“We have tried our best to keep people well during the pandemic,” he said.
READ: Vaccine sharing: Dhaka wants EU to be more generous
What is Covid-19 vaccine passport?
"Vaccine passports" are digital or paper documents that show you were vaccinated against Covid-19 and could help you get into a growing number of places.
What they look like and why you might want one depend on where you live, but more private venues, workplaces and governments are requiring proof of vaccination in public settings.
Europe and US states like California and New York created official digital credentials that let you verify your Covid-19 immunisation record and convert it into a scannable QR code you can pull up on your cell phone.
Vaccine sharing: Dhaka wants EU to be more generous
The European Union (EU) should be more generous in sharing Covid-19 vaccines with others who need them badly, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Thursday.
Although the EU talks much about human rights, it cares little about it when it comes to vaccine sharing, he said.
"We expect the EU to be more generous," the minister told reporters while referring to the fact that European countries are letting thousands of Covid-19 vaccine doses expire.
Read: Bangladesh to receive 60 lakh more Pfizer vaccine doses in Aug: Minister
However, Dr Momen said Bangladesh will soon receive more vaccine doses from the US.
The country will receive 10 lakh doses of Pfizer vaccine on August 30.
Also, the foreign minister said he will leave Dhaka on August 28 to attend a series of programmes in Geneva, Switzerland, the Netherlands and hold important meetings in London during his stopover there.
Read: US regulators give full approval to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
On the Afghanistan issue, Dr Momen said Bangladesh is keeping close tabs on the situation and the Bangladesh Embassy in Uzbekistan is in touch with Bangladeshis who are willing to return.
Talking about his recent South Sudan and South Africa visit, the minister said it was very useful and successful.
Japan suspends 1.63M doses of Moderna over contamination
Japan suspended use of about 1.63 million doses of Moderna vaccine Thursday after contamination was found in unused vials, raising concern of a supply shortage as the country tries to accelerate vaccinations amid a COVID-19 surge.
The health ministry said contamination was reported from multiple vaccination sites. Some doses might have been administered, but no adverse health effects have been reported so far, officials said.
Read: Japan to further expand virus emergency areas as cases surge
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., a Japanese drugmaker in charge of sales and distribution of the vaccine in Japan, said it decided to suspend use of doses manufactured in the same production line as a safety precaution.
It asked Moderna to conduct an emergency investigation and told medical institutions and organizers to stop using the vaccine produced in Spain and shared the production numbers that may be affected.
The health ministry and Takeda did not give details on the type of contamination or if the doses in question may have been distributed outside Japan.
Read:Japan to widen virus emergency after record spike amid Games
The Moderna vaccine problem came just as Japan struggles with surging infections, with daily new cases hitting new highs in many parts of the country and severely straining the health care system.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters the government and Takeda are discussing ways to minimize the impact on Japan’s vaccination progress.
“We will do utmost in order to avoid any impact on vaccination progress, especially at worksites and large-scale centers,” Kato said.
Read:Tropical storm to bring rain, wind, waves to northeast Japan
Japan relies entirely on foreign-developed vaccines by Moderna, as well as Pfizer Inc. and AstraZeneca. Moderna has been since mid-June at large-scale centers and workplace inoculations and has helped speed up Japan’s rollout.
About 43% of the Japanese population have been fully vaccinated, with daily doses of about 1 million.
Global Covid cases surge past 213 million
With the world still grappling to contain the second wave of the pandemic, the global Covid-19 caseload has now surpassed 213 million.
The total caseload and fatalities stand at 213,098,413 and 4,450,408, respectively, as of Wednesday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
So far, 4,995,430,625 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe.
Read:UNGA: No scope for side events this time due to Covid-19
The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 38,053,653 cases, according to JHU, while 630,663 people have lost their lives to Covid to date.
Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India.
The country has recorded 20,614,866 cases with 575,742 fatalities so far, according to the health ministry.
The third worst-hit country, India's Covid-19 tally rose to 32,474,773 on Tuesday, as 25,467 new cases were registered in the past 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry data.
Read: US regulators give full approval to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
Besides, 354 fatalities due to the pandemic since Monday morning took the total death toll to 435,110.
Situation in Bangladesh
Covid-related cases and fatalities in Bangladesh are seeing a downtrend as both the number of deaths and infections dropped in 24 hours till Tuesday morning, logging 114 deaths and 5,249 new cases.
The country last saw 112 coronavirus- related deaths on June 29 and the upswing in the fatalities reached its peak on August 5 and 10 when 264 deaths were recorded.
The fresh deaths pushed the country’s total fatalities to 25,513 while the cases reached 1,472,964, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Read: New Zealand player tests positive for Covid-19 in Dhaka
The fresh cases were detected after testing 34,708 samples in 24 hours, which reduced the daily case positivity rate to 15.12% from Monday’s 15.54%, said the DGHS.
The recovery rate rose to 93.81%, but the case fatality remained unchanged at 1.73% compared to the same period.
So far, the government has managed to vaccinate 6,976,317 people with two doses, and another 17,242,479 with the first dose, said DGHS.
Global Covid cases top 212 million
The global Covid-19 caseload has now surpassed 212 million, with the world still grappling to contain the second wave of the pandemic.
The total caseload and fatalities stand at 212,502,421 and 4,440,932, respectively, as of Tuesday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
So far, 4,957,118,557 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe.
Read:US regulators give full approval to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 37,935,465 cases, according to JHU, while 629,406 people have lost their lives to Covid to date.
Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India.
The country has recorded 20,583,994 cases with 574,848 fatalities so far, according to the health ministry.
The third worst-hit country, India's Covid-19 tally rose to 32,449,306 on Monday, as 25,072 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, as per the health ministry's latest data.
Read: No more mass Covid vaccination drive as supply is low, says health minister
This is said to be the lowest single-day spike of the new pandemic cases in 160 days, said the health ministry.
Besides, as many as 389 deaths were reported due to the pandemic since Sunday morning, taking the total death toll to 434,756.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 117 more Covid-related deaths in 24 hours till Monday morning, the lowest in 55 days.
The country last saw 115 coronavirus- related deaths on June 30 and the upward curve of the fatalities reached its peak on August 5 and 10 with 264 deaths.
Besides, 5,717 more people came out positive for the virus after 26,789 samples were tested in the past 24 hours, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The fresh cases have pushed up the country’s total fatalities and cases to 25,399 and 1,467,715, respectively.
Meanwhile, the daily case positivity rate rose to 15.54% from Sunday’s 15.16%, said the DGHS.
Read: Bangladesh reports lowest 117 single-day Covid deaths in nearly 2 months
The recovery rate rose to 93.54%, but the case fatality remained unchanged at 1.73% compared to the same period.
The country saw around 158 deaths and 6,157 cases on a seven-day average, as of Sunday.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Monday that Bangladesh will not conduct any new mass Covid inoculation drive as "the supply of vaccine doses is much lower than the demand".