Covid vaccine
‘This IS INSANE’: Africa desperately short of COVID vaccine
In the global race to vaccinate people against COVID-19, Africa is tragically at the back of the pack.
In fact, it has barely gotten out of the starting blocks.
In South Africa, which has the continent’s most robust economy and its biggest coronavirus caseload, just 0.8% of the population is fully vaccinated, according to a worldwide tracker kept by Johns Hopkins University. And hundreds of thousands of the country’s health workers, many of whom come face-to-face with the virus every day, are still waiting for their shots.
In Nigeria, Africa’s biggest country with more than 200 million people, only 0.1% are fully protected. Kenya, with 50 million people, is even lower. Uganda has recalled doses from rural areas because it doesn’t have nearly enough to fight outbreaks in big cities.
Read:UN: Famine is imminent in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region
Chad didn’t administer its first vaccine shots until this past weekend. And there are at least five other countries in Africa where not one dose has been put into an arm, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The World Health Organization says the continent of 1.3 billion people is facing a severe shortage of vaccine at the same time a new wave of infections is rising across Africa. Vaccine shipments into Africa have ground to a “near halt,” WHO said last week.
“It is extremely concerning and at times frustrating,” said Africa CDC Director Dr. John Nkengasong, a Cameroonian virologist who is trying to ensure some of the world’s poorest nations get a fair share of vaccines in a marketplace where they can’t possibly compete.
The United States and Britain, in contrast, have fully vaccinated more than 40% of their populations, with higher rates for adults and high-risk people. Countries in Europe are near or past 20% coverage, and their citizens are starting to think about where their vaccine certificates might take them on their summer vacations. The U.S., France and Germany are even offering shots to youngsters, who are at very low risk of serious illness from COVID-19.
Poorer countries had warned as far back as last year of this impending vaccine inequality, fearful that rich nations would hoard doses.
In an interview, Nkengasong called on the leaders of wealthy nations meeting this week at the G-7 summit to share spare vaccines — something the United States has already agreed to do — and avert a “moral catastrophe.”
“I’d like to believe that the G-7 countries, most of them having kept excess doses of vaccines, want to be on the right side of history,” Nkengasong said. “Distribute those vaccines. We need to actually see these vaccines, not just ... promises and goodwill.”
Others are not so patient, nor so diplomatic.
“People are dying. Time is against us. This IS INSANE,” South African human rights lawyer Fatima Hasan, an activist for equal access to health care, wrote in a series of text messages.
The Biden administration made its first major move to ease the crisis last week, announcing it would share an initial batch of 25 million spare doses with desperate countries in South and Central America, Asia and Africa.
Read:Burkina Faso says at least 100 civilians killed in attack
Nkengasong and his team were in contact with White House officials a day later, he said, with a list of countries where the 5 million doses earmarked for Africa could go to immediately.
Still, the U.S. offer is only a “trickle” of what’s needed, Hasan wrote.
Africa alone is facing a shortfall of around 700 million doses, even after taking into account those secured through WHO’s vaccine program for poorer countries, COVAX, and a deal with Johnson & Johnson, which comes through in August, two long months away.
Uganda just released a batch of 3,000 vaccine doses in the capital, Kampala — a minuscule amount for a city of 2 million — to keep its program barely alive.
There and elsewhere, the fear is that the luck that somehow enabled parts of Africa to escape the worst of previous waves of COVID-19 infections and deaths might not hold this time.
“The first COVID was a joke, but this one is for real. It kills,” said Danstan Nsamba, a taxi driver in Uganda who has lost numerous people he knew to the virus.
In Zimbabwe, Chipo Dzimba embarked on a quest for a vaccine after witnessing COVID-19 deaths in her community. She walked miles to a church mission hospital, where there were none, and miles again to a district hospital, where nurses also had nothing and told her to go to the region’s main government hospital. That was too far away.
“I am giving up,” Dzimba said. “I don’t have the bus fare.”
South African health workers faced similar disappointment when they crowded into a parking garage last month, hoping for vaccinations and ignoring in their desperation the social distancing protocols. Many came away without a shot.
Read:South Africa returns to stricter lockdown, virus 'surging'
Femada Shamam, who is in charge of a group of old-age homes in the South African city of Durban, has seen only around half of the 1,600 elderly and frail people she looks after vaccinated. It is six months, almost to the day, since Britain began the global vaccination drive.
“They do feel very despondent and they do feel let down,” Shamam said of her unvaccinated residents, who are experiencing “huge anxiety” as they hunker down in their sealed-off homes 18 months into the outbreak. Twenty-two of her residents have died of COVID-19.
“It really highlights the biggest problem ... the haves and the have-nots,” Shamam said.
As for whether wealthy countries with a surplus of vaccine have gotten the message, Nkengasong said: “I am hopeful, but not necessarily confident.”
Indian govt books 300 million doses of new Indian jab
India made its first advance commitments for a coronavirus vaccine under development, announcing a ₹1,500 crore deal with Hyderabad’s Biological E to stockpile 300 million doses of its candidate that has shown promising signs but is currently in the last stage of clinical trials, reported Hindusthan Times on Friday .
The commitment, announced by the Union health ministry on Thursday, represents the first time the government has placed an advance purchase order, which typically helps secure large volumes of doses, and has been a strategy used by countries that managed to procure doses early. “The arrangement with Biological-E is part of the wider endeavour of Government of India to encourage indigenous vaccine manufacturers by providing them support in research & development and also financial support,” the ministry said in a statement.
The move comes a day after the Supreme Court pulled up the government for its vaccination policy and gave it two weeks to submit all files and notings that “reflect its thinking and the culmination” of its vaccination policy, which judges said appeared to be “arbitrary and irrational”.
Also read: Increase in Covid-19 vaccine production in India to be 'game changer' beyond borders: US
The criticism around the Covid-19 vaccination drive stems from an acute shortage of doses in the country, where under 19% of the 940 million eligible people have received at least one dose.
The order that the government disclosed on Thursday will help India get guaranteed access to large doses of the vaccines made by Biological E once the dose is approved. The amount committed will go towards development as well as stockpiling of the doses in advance, which will help push large quantities as soon as clearances are secured. The vaccine is likely to be marketed as Corbevax, according to names previously disclosed by the company.
The 300 million doses appeared to be the cumulative capacity that Biological E told the Centre it will be able to produce for the rest of 2021. Niti Aayog’s VK Paul on May 13 said the company’s 300 million doses was among the 2.16 billion doses of various vaccines that the government was expecting to be available between August and December. It was not immediately clear when the 300 million doses will begin to become available since Phase III trials were only approved in late April, and the developers – Biological E and its partner, Texas-based Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) – are yet to release data from the Phase 1/2 studies.
Dr Peter Hotez, the dean of BCM’s National School of Tropical Medicine and one of the scientists involved in the development, said in an interview to an Indian TV channel last month that clinical trials have shown there will be cross-protection against a number of variants of concern. The vaccine is made using a tried-and-tested platform that is also used in the development of the Hepatitis B vaccine, which Biological E has past experience of making.
In an interview to HT in January, BCM’s Maria Elena Bottazzi said that the vaccine could particularly help inoculate children. “A hepatitis vaccine platform will also help be reassuring for paediatrics use since mRNA and viral vectors have never been used in children,” she said.
Bottazzi said Biological E has worked on the technology for long and the Texas-based institute transferred the technology in summer of 2020. “They were very quick not only in scaling up and reproducing (necessary biologicals) -- we now know they can make 1.2 billion doses of the protein -- but they are also very quick at doing the formulation science,” she said.
Experts welcomed Thursday’s announcement.
“I am just glad that the government is taking some risk now, to do advance purchase of products that might be useful. They should have done this a year ago. Knowing you have a commitment to buy and an advanced paid from the government will encourage vaccine manufacturers to ramp up production even as they do clinical trials,” said Dr Gagandeep Kang, one of country’s top vaccinologist and physician-scientist, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu.
“They should also look at supporting Gennova for their mRNA product,” she added.
Also read: Serum gets govt nod to produce Sputnik vaccine in India
A senior public health expert, who asked not to be named, however, asked Biological E to release clinical trial data. “Permission to progress to the next phase cannot be given unless you have submitted trial results of the previous phase; therefore I don’t see why the vaccine makers should hold on to the data. If results are promising put them out for other experts to scrutinise who were not a part of the trial,” said this person
“How are they so sure that phase III results will be favourable; those who understand science know that earlier phases of clinical trials are about promise and the third phase is actually what determines the real performance,” the expert added.
The move comes a day after the Supreme Court pulled up the government for its vaccination policy and gave it two weeks to submit all files and notings that “reflect its thinking and the culmination” of its vaccination policy, which judges said appeared to be “arbitrary and irrational”.
The criticism around the Covid-19 vaccination drive stems from an acute shortage of doses in the country, where under 19% of the 940 million eligible people have received at least one dose.
The order that the government disclosed on Thursday will help India get guaranteed access to large doses of the vaccines made by Biological E once the dose is approved. The amount committed will go towards development as well as stockpiling of the doses in advance, which will help push large quantities as soon as clearances are secured. The vaccine is likely to be marketed as Corbevax, according to names previously disclosed by the company.
The 300 million doses appeared to be the cumulative capacity that Biological E told the Centre it will be able to produce for the rest of 2021. Niti Aayog’s VK Paul on May 13 said the company’s 300 million doses was among the 2.16 billion doses of various vaccines that the government was expecting to be available between August and December. It was not immediately clear when the 300 million doses will begin to become available since Phase III trials were only approved in late April, and the developers – Biological E and its partner, Texas-based Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) – are yet to release data from the Phase 1/2 studies.
Dr Peter Hotez, the dean of BCM’s National School of Tropical Medicine and one of the scientists involved in the development, said in an interview to an Indian TV channel last month that clinical trials have shown there will be cross-protection against a number of variants of concern. The vaccine is made using a tried-and-tested platform that is also used in the development of the Hepatitis B vaccine, which Biological E has past experience of making.
In an interview to HT in January, BCM’s Maria Elena Bottazzi said that the vaccine could particularly help inoculate children. “A hepatitis vaccine platform will also help be reassuring for paediatrics use since mRNA and viral vectors have never been used in children,” she said.
Bottazzi said Biological E has worked on the technology for long and the Texas-based institute transferred the technology in summer of 2020. “They were very quick not only in scaling up and reproducing (necessary biologicals) -- we now know they can make 1.2 billion doses of the protein -- but they are also very quick at doing the formulation science,” she said.
Experts welcomed Thursday’s announcement.
“I am just glad that the government is taking some risk now, to do advance purchase of products that might be useful. They should have done this a year ago. Knowing you have a commitment to buy and an advanced paid from the government will encourage vaccine manufacturers to ramp up production even as they do clinical trials,” said Dr Gagandeep Kang, one of country’s top vaccinologist and physician-scientist, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu.
“They should also look at supporting Gennova for their mRNA product,” she added.
A senior public health expert, who asked not to be named, however, asked Biological E to release clinical trial data. “Permission to progress to the next phase cannot be given unless you have submitted trial results of the previous phase; therefore I don’t see why the vaccine makers should hold on to the data. If results are promising put them out for other experts to scrutinise who were not a part of the trial,” said this person
“How are they so sure that phase III results will be favourable; those who understand science know that earlier phases of clinical trials are about promise and the third phase is actually what determines the real performance,” the expert added.
The move comes a day after the Supreme Court pulled up the government for its vaccination policy and gave it two weeks to submit all files and notings that “reflect its thinking and the culmination” of its vaccination policy, which judges said appeared to be “arbitrary and irrational”.
The criticism around the Covid-19 vaccination drive stems from an acute shortage of doses in the country, where under 19% of the 940 million eligible people have received at least one dose.
The order that the government disclosed on Thursday will help India get guaranteed access to large doses of the vaccines made by Biological E once the dose is approved. The amount committed will go towards development as well as stockpiling of the doses in advance, which will help push large quantities as soon as clearances are secured. The vaccine is likely to be marketed as Corbevax, according to names previously disclosed by the company.
The 300 million doses appeared to be the cumulative capacity that Biological E told the Centre it will be able to produce for the rest of 2021. Niti Aayog’s VK Paul on May 13 said the company’s 300 million doses was among the 2.16 billion doses of various vaccines that the government was expecting to be available between August and December. It was not immediately clear when the 300 million doses will begin to become available since Phase III trials were only approved in late April, and the developers – Biological E and its partner, Texas-based Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) – are yet to release data from the Phase 1/2 studies.
Dr Peter Hotez, the dean of BCM’s National School of Tropical Medicine and one of the scientists involved in the development, said in an interview to an Indian TV channel last month that clinical trials have shown there will be cross-protection against a number of variants of concern. The vaccine is made using a tried-and-tested platform that is also used in the development of the Hepatitis B vaccine, which Biological E has past experience of making.
In an interview to HT in January, BCM’s Maria Elena Bottazzi said that the vaccine could particularly help inoculate children. “A hepatitis vaccine platform will also help be reassuring for paediatrics use since mRNA and viral vectors have never been used in children,” she said.
Bottazzi said Biological E has worked on the technology for long and the Texas-based institute transferred the technology in summer of 2020. “They were very quick not only in scaling up and reproducing (necessary biologicals) -- we now know they can make 1.2 billion doses of the protein -- but they are also very quick at doing the formulation science,” she said.
Experts welcomed Thursday’s announcement.
“I am just glad that the government is taking some risk now, to do advance purchase of products that might be useful. They should have done this a year ago. Knowing you have a commitment to buy and an advanced paid from the government will encourage vaccine manufacturers to ramp up production even as they do clinical trials,” said Dr Gagandeep Kang, one of country’s top vaccinologist and physician-scientist, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu.
Also read: India’s recoveries exceed new cases
“They should also look at supporting Gennova for their mRNA product,” she added.
A senior public health expert, who asked not to be named, however, asked Biological E to release clinical trial data. “Permission to progress to the next phase cannot be given unless you have submitted trial results of the previous phase; therefore I don’t see why the vaccine makers should hold on to the data. If results are promising put them out for other experts to scrutinise who were not a part of the trial,” said this person
“How are they so sure that phase III results will be favourable; those who understand science know that earlier phases of clinical trials are about promise and the third phase is actually what determines the real performance,” the expert added.
US to swiftly boost global vaccine sharing, Biden announces
President Joe Biden announced Thursday the U.S. will swiftly donate an initial allotment of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas through the United Nations-backed COVAX program, promising infusions for South and Central America, Asia, Africa and others at a time of glaring shortages abroad and more than ample supplies at home.
The doses mark a substantial — and immediate — boost to the lagging COVAX effort, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries.
The announcement came just hours after World Health Organization officials in Africa made a new plea for vaccine sharing because of an alarming situation on the continent, where shipments have ground to “a near halt” while virus cases have spiked over the past two weeks.
Also read: US unveils strategy for global vaccine sharing with Bangladesh, India on list
Overall, the White House has announced plans to share 80 million doses globally by the end of June, most through COVAX. Officials say a quarter of the nation’s excess will be kept in reserve for emergencies and for the U.S. to share directly with allies and partners.
Of the first 19 million donated through COVAX, approximately 6 million doses will go to South and Central America, 7 million to Asia and 5 million to Africa.
“As long as this pandemic is raging anywhere in the world, the American people will still be vulnerable,” Biden said in a statement. “And the United States is committed to bringing the same urgency to international vaccination efforts that we have demonstrated at home.”
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. “will retain the say” on where doses distributed through COVAX ultimately go.
But he also said: “We’re not seeking to extract concessions, we’re not extorting, we’re not imposing conditions the way that other countries who are providing doses are doing. ... These are doses that are being given, donated free and clear to these countries, for the sole purpose of improving the public health situation and helping end the pandemic.”
The remaining 6 million in the initial distribution of 25 million will be directed by the White House to U.S. allies and partners, including Mexico, Canada, South Korea, West Bank and Gaza, India, Ukraine, Kosovo, Haiti, Georgia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as for United Nations frontline workers.
The White House did not say when the doses would begin shipping overseas, but press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration hoped to send them “as quickly as we can logistically get those out the door.”
Vice President Kamala Harris informed some U.S. partners they will begin receiving doses, in separate calls with Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador, President Alejandro Giammattei of Guatemala, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago. Harris is to visit Guatemala and Mexico in the coming week.
Also read: COVAX Facility: Japan to provide 30mn vaccine doses to other countries
The long-awaited vaccine sharing plan comes as demand for shots in the U.S. has dropped significantly — more than 63% of adults have received at least one dose — and as global inequities in supply have become more pronounced.
Scores of countries have requested doses from the United States, but to date only Mexico and Canada have received a combined 4.5 million doses. The U.S. also has announced plans to share enough shots with South Korea to vaccinate its 550,000 troops who serve alongside American service members on the peninsula. White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said that 1 million Johnson & Johnson doses were being shipped to South Korea Thursday.
The U.S. has committed more than $4 billion to COVAX, but with vaccine supplies short — and wealthy nations locking up most of them — the greater need than funding has been immediate access to actual doses, to overcome what health officials have long decried as unequal access to the vaccines.
The U.S. action means “frontline workers and at-risk populations will receive potentially life-saving vaccinations” and bring the world “a step closer to ending the acute phase of the pandemic,” said Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, which is leading the COVAX alliance.
However, Tom Hart the acting CEO of The ONE Campaign, said that while Thursday’s announcement was a “welcome step, the Biden administration needs to commit to sharing more doses.
“The world is looking to the U.S. for global leadership, and more ambition is needed,” he said.
Biden has committed to providing other nations with all 60 million U.S.-produced doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has yet to be authorized for use in America but is widely approved around the world. The AstraZeneca doses have been held up for export by a weeks-long safety review by the Food and Drug Administration, and without them Biden will be hard pressed to meet his sharing goal.
Also read: Free beer, other new incentives for Biden’s ‘vaccine sprint’
The White House says the initial 25 million doses announced Thursday will be shipped from existing federal stockpiles of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. More doses are expected to be made available to share in the months ahead.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said via Twitter that Harris had informed him before the White House announcement of the decision to send 1 million doses of the single jab Johnson & Johnson vaccine. “I expressed to her our appreciation in the name of the people of Mexico,” he wrote.
Guatemala’s Giammattei said Harris told him the U.S. government would send his country 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
As part of its purchase agreements with drug manufacturers, the U.S. controlled the initial production by its domestic manufacturers. Pfizer and Moderna are only now starting to export vaccines produced in the U.S. to overseas customers. The U.S. has hundreds of millions more doses on order, both of authorized and in-development vaccines.
The White House also announced that U.S. producers of vaccine materials and ingredients will no longer have to prioritize orders from three drugmakers working on COVID-19 shots that haven’t received U.S. approval — Sanofi, Novavax and AstraZeneca — clearing the way for more materials to be shipped overseas to help production there.
India to start trials on safety, efficacy of mixing Covid vaccine doses
India will soon start trials to test the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy after mixing doses of different brands of Covid-19 vaccines, reported The Tiimes of India on Tuesday.
The trials will currently include Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik-V, which currently have emergency use authorisation in the country, going forward the trials may also include jabs that are in the pipeline, senior officials said.
Some studies in the UK and Spain have shown mixing of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines to be safe and immunogenic. However, officials in India maintain that though the concept is scientifically feasible, it cannot be allowed without adequate evidence and therefore, a study has to be conducted.
Also read: India's COVID-19 tally reaches 28,175,044 with 127,510 new cases
The Indian Council of Medical Research, along with the Chennai-based National Institute of Epidemiology, has launched a nationwide study to determine vaccine effectiveness in preventing severe Covid-19 infection. The study will be carried out at 11 sites across 10 cities. A senior scientist with the
“It is scientifically possible and it is a good thing, especially in a country like ours, such a thing (mixing of doses) will really help boost the vaccination programme. But it is currently not allowed under the vaccination protocol and there is no question of allowing it to happen without adequate evidence generated through trials. Therefore, we have decided to have studies to test the same,” a senior official said.
The decision has also been endorsed by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI). The study — expected to start soon and likely to take about two months — will be conducted by the government in collaboration with vaccine manufacturers.
Also readIndia fought first wave of Covid-19 courageously, will be victorious in second round: PM Modi:
Jabs for all by December, says govt as Supreme Court quizzes it on vaccine policy
The Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court that it expects the country's entire population above 18 years to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of the year, but the court remained sceptical of the claim citing impediments in the form of dual pricing and allocation of vaccines at different
Jabs for all by December, says govt as Supreme Court quizzes it on vaccine policy
Apart from testing the safety and feasibility of mixing doses of different vaccines, the study will also evaluate whether mixing of doses of different vaccines help boost immune response to the virus.
Covid vaccine: China to send additional 6 lakh doses as gift
China is preparing a the second batch of 600,000 doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to Bangladesh.
The announcement came Friday, just nine days after the arrival of the first batch of 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine as a gift.
China says the move fully reflects that it attaches great importance to the friendly relations between the two countries.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone conversation with Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Friday to this end.
Read Bangladesh, China, others call for avoiding vaccine nationalism
At the request of Bangladesh, it was announced that China would handover the second batch of 600,0000 vaccine doses to Bangladesh.
China pays close attention to the latest situation of the epidemic in Bangladesh, the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka said.
At this critical time in Bangladesh’s fight against the epidemic, China is concerned about the urgent need for vaccinating its Bangladeshi friends, to help the overcomes the huge demand for domestic and foreign orders and the shortage of vaccine supply, it said.
The arrival of the second batch vaccine will definitely help the Bangladeshi government and people build a strong line of defense against the epidemic, China said.
Also read: Govt approves proposal to import Sinofarm vaccine
In the future, China is willing to provide necessary support for Bangladesh and South Asian countries to fight the epidemic, deepen anti-epidemic cooperation with Bangladesh, and effectively protect the health and security of their citizens.
The Chinese Foreign Minister assured of providing all kinds of support to ensure continuation of "stable supply" of COVID vaccines to Bangladesh.
Dr Momen requested his Chinese counterpart to take an initiative for coproduction of vaccines in Bangladesh.
The Chinese Foreign Minister said they will encourage the Chinese companies to go for coproduction of vaccines with Bangladesh.
Read WHO team working with Chinese vaccine producers ahead of potential emergency use: WHO director-general
He said China keeps up its support with Malaysia, Turkey, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates on vaccine coproduction.
Russian Vaccine Sputnik V: Things we should know to fight COVID-19
The vaccine development for the COVID-19 has been moving at a record speed around the world. However, some companies have already seen success in less than a year. While some of the first world countries developed COVID vaccines, Russian did not lag behind. Therefore, the whole world was surprised when President Vladimir Putin approved the country’s first domestically developed vaccine Sputnik V in August 2020. Though many countries around the world were confused about the efficacy of Russian Vaccine Sputnik V, now 59 countries in the world approved this Coronavirus vaccine. Here we addressed some frequently asked questions about Sputnik V.
What is Sputnik V?
Sputnik V is Russia’s first approved COVID-19 vaccine. This vaccine entered limelight when Putin publicly approved it and stunned about the other countries who were still working to develop their vaccines.
Who invented this?
It was entirely developed and produced by the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, a Russian medical research institute, and operated under the purview of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. Sputnik V was funded by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is widely known as Russia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Read How to strengthen your immune system to prevent COVID-19 infections?
What are the basics of Sputnik V?
Sputnik V was developed based on the common idea. Gamaleya researchers used the commonly known viruses that cause colds as their vaccine prototype. Subsequently, they worked with the coronavirus spike protein gene and added two separate adenovirus vectors in it, such as rAd5 and rAd26. Further, the researchers engineered them to invade cells without replication.
What is the working procedure of Sputnik V?
Sputnik V works in six easy steps. In the first step, it is injected into a person’s arm. After that, the adenoviruses vector gets into the cells and can create a bar of proteins on the cells’ surface. The cell then put the virus in a bubble and then an adenovirus moves towards the nucleus. Next, adenovirus inserts its DNA in the nucleus, and adenovirus makes copies of itself. Further, the cells can read the coronavirus spike protein gene and copy it into a molecule “called messenger RNA or mRNA.”
In the second step, mRNA leaves the nucleus and starts working on building spike proteins. The immune system recognizes the spike proteins. Afterward, the adenovirus excites the current immune system and switches them to the cell’s alarm system. Through the alarm system, Sputnik V makes the immune system respond strongly against the spike proteins.
Also read: What does it feel like to get COVID-19 after taking the vaccine?
In the third step, the system tries to spot the intruder. “When a vaccinated cell dies, the debris contains spike proteins and protein fragments.” Whenever such fragments are identified, a special kind of immune cell termed as, antigen-presenting cell absorbs those protein fragments.
In the fourth step, the process of creating antibodies works. Different immune cells named B cell may come across with the coronavirus spikes and lock the spike proteins. The B cells are then triggered through help from helper T cells and pour out antibodies.
Now the antibodies can work against the coronavirus spikes and work towards the destruction. Eventually, the antibody blocks the COVID-19 spikes and prevents infections.
Read Safe Lifestyle in COVID-19 Lockdown: Do's, Don'ts, and Precautions
If there is an infected cell in the body, the antigen-presenting cell calls an immune cell called a killer T cell to destroy any coronavirus cells.
How many doses of Sputnik V are needed?
Two doses of Sputnik V are enough to create the antibodies and fight the virus. However, the doses need to take 21 days apart, and both doses use the same procedure.
How many versions of Sputnik are available?
After the success of the Sputnik V vaccine, the researchers worked harder to find out a more effective vaccination program. Nevertheless, they came up with a newer version of the vaccine, which is called ‘Sputnik Light,’ which is a single shot vaccine and claimed 79% effectiveness.
How effective and safe is Sputnik V?
According to the interim results’ data, Sputnik V has a 91.6% success rate. Besides, the data also shows that the vaccine does not have any significant side effects and it is totally safe. However, some mild side effects were reported, which was normal compared to the other available vaccines in the world.
Read Can you mix-and-match COVID-19 vaccines?
How much is Sputnik V?
Initially, the price is set at $10 internationally. However, Russia has already approved many countries of the world to manufacture the Sputnik V vaccine remotely. Hence, the price may fall in the future. The Sputnik Light may cost less than $10.
What is the storage procedure of this vaccine?
Sputnik V needs to store at 2-8 degrees Celsius. Therefore, it is safe to transport and stored in any region of the world. Besides, it also comes in freeze-dried powder which makes it easier to store.
How many countries approved Sputnik V?
Russia has gone beyond the border to promote its invention. According to the latest data, minimum of 60 countries have approved the Russian Coronavirus Vaccine Sputnik V. What is more? This vaccine is ready to serve around 3 billion people globally, which is nearly 40% of the worldwide population. Indian, Bangladesh, Italy, China, UAE are among the 60 countries.
Read New Covid strains won’t impact the efficiency of Russian vaccines, expert claims
Does Sputnik V work against mutant variants?
As soon as the new mutants emerged, Gamaleya’s researchers started working on that. A trial testing against the new mutants shows that the vaccine produces a strong result. However, it is not much effective against the South African variants but still works better than other vaccines.
How is Russian Vaccine Sputnik V different from the other COVID-19 vaccines?
Currently, there are at least eight COVID-19 vaccines available across the world. However, Russian COVID-19 Vaccine Sputnik V appears to be comparatively cheaper than other vaccines. Besides, the efficiency is relatively higher than other Covid vaccines. The newest Sputnik Light will certainly reduce the vaccination time length worldwide.
Read The Latest: Sri Lanka receives 1st batch of Sputnik V shots
Covid’s daily deaths in Bangladesh drop to 37
Bangladesh on Friday reported the deaths of 37 more people, including 14 women, from Coronavirus, the lowest since March 28.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said the new fatalities pushed up the country’s death toll to 11,833 and the mortality rate to 1.54 %.
Besides, the DGHS said, 1,682 new cases were detected during the period following the test of 17,013 samples, taking the total case count to 770,842.
"The number of deaths, recorded so far, is lower compared to the number of positive cases. This warrants conduction of genomic sequencing to see if any new but less virulent variant is in the offing," Dr AM Zakir Hussain, former director of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research, told UNB.
Also, the country's infection rate rose to 9.89%, which was 8.44% a day ago, according to the DGHS.
The number of Covid deaths came down to as low as 50 after over a month on Wednesday as Bangladesh saw 50 deaths earlier on April 1 and it had kept rising since then. The body count soared to over 100 during April 16-19 and on April 25 but the daily fatalities have been falling gradually since then.
Also read: Covid-19 in Bangladesh: Around 21 pc of total deaths reported in April alone
According to the DGHS, 2,178 infected people recovered in the past 24 hours, putting the recovery rate at 91.37%.
Bangladesh has so far carried out 559,9276 nationwide tests since reporting its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year, the first death on the 18th of that month.
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses purchased from India's Serum Institute.
Bangladesh signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But a record number of cases in India has made the delivery of the doses uncertain.
India has tried to ward off its Covid crisis by ramping up its production of vaccines and banning their export, cutting off supplies to neighbours such as Bangladesh and Nepal as they struggle with infection surges.
The administering of the first dose has remained suspended in Bangladesh since April 26. Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
However, DGHS DG Prof ABM Khurshid Alam assured that Bangladesh would get 2.1 million doses of vaccines by early May.
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Dwindling vaccine stock
India's shortage of shots has its global implications because, in addition to its vaccination efforts, the country promised to ship out vaccines abroad as part of a United Nations vaccine-sharing programme that is dependent on its supply.
The DGHS on Wednesday said the stock of the Covid-19 vaccine is dwindling in Bangladesh as there are only 14 lakh jabs left with no sign in sight to get a fresh consignment of it from India.
DGHS spokesperson Dr Robed Amin said, "We had around 1 crore and 2 lakh doses. Around 88 lakh jabs have already been administered as the first and second doses. Now we've some 14 lakh doses in stock."
Covid vaccine stock running out: DGHS
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Wednesday said the stock of the Covid-19 vaccine is running out in Bangladesh as there are only 14 lakh jabs in government hands with no sign in sight to get a fresh consignment of it from India.
Speaking at a virtual press briefing, DGHS spokesperson Dr Robed Amin said, “We had around one crore and two lakh vaccines in our hands…around 88 lakh jabs have already been administered as the first and second doses. Now we’ve some 14 lakh doses in stock.”
He said there will be a vaccine crisis if a fresh consignment does not arrive in the country before the existing stock is exhausted.
Also read: Bangladesh approves emergency use of Chinese Covid vaccine
Robed said 58,19,719 people have so far received the first dose of the vaccine while 30,23,169 got the second one.
As per official statistics, the country lacks over 14 lakh second doses of the vaccine to administer those who received the first jab.
Amid the vaccine crisis, the government suspended administering the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on April 26.
The DGHS spokesman, however, hoped that the county may get vaccine doses from Chain before Eid-ul-Fitr.
Besides, he said, a process is underway to give clearance by the Health Ministry for procuring Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.
Robed said Renata Limited, a Bangladeshi pharmaceutical company, has sought permission from the government to import Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine and discussions are going on in this regard.
He said three pharmaceuticals’ companies in the country have already contacted the government as they want to produce Covid vaccine in the country. “The three companies are hopeful that they’ll be able to produce 1.5 crore vaccines in a year in Bangladesh.”
He said the government and DGHS assessed their capacity to manufacture vaccines.
The DGHS official said the Covid situation has improved in the country significantly over the last one week as the virus transmission rate continues to drop.
Stating that the virus positivity rate came down to 8.71% on Tuesday, he said there is no room for complacency over the current situation as the positive cases may spike again for any kind of negligence.
Also read: Bangladesh approves local production of Russian, Chinese Covid vaccines
Robed said the health safety rules must be maintained and the public movement will have to be restricted to maintain the declining trend of the virus transmission.
He also urged people to wear masks whenever they come out of their homes as it is the best preventive gear against possible Covid infections.
Intensify efforts to procure vaccines for alternative sources: BNP
Voicing concerns over the suspension of administering the first dose of Covid vaccine in Bangladesh, the BNP standing committee has urged the government to intensify its efforts for collecting the jabs from alternative sources.
“Our standing committee is worried over the vaccine crisis and the suspension of the vaccination programme. The government couldn’t collect the necessary vaccine doses due to its irresponsibility and incompetence,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Sunday.
Speaking at a virtual press conference on the outcomes of BNP standing committee’s meeting held on Saturday, he said the government has also failed to take the right decision on the vaccine import as it has become “isolated from people”.
Also read: Govt doing business in Covid’s name: BNP
“Corruption is the main reason behind such a vaccine crisis. They’ve taken a wrong decision on procuring the vaccine from a single source in India through a corrupt company owned by a leader of their party,” the BNP leader observed.
Fakhrul said their party and the country’s health experts had warned the government of the consequences of procuring the vaccine from a single source, but it did not change its stance.
“They (govt) didn’t look for an alternative source of the corona vaccine as it always thinks of benefits of its leaders, not people…the government is running the country with some mafias and the mafias are playing the important role in making decisions and running the country,” he alleged.
Also read: Engaging single organisation in buying vaccines a ‘suicidal’ move: BNP
The BNP leader said there is no alternative to installing a pro-people government through a credible election under a non-party administration to get rid of the current situation of the country.
He said the Serum Institute of India has violated the agreement on providing three crores of vaccine to Bangladesh by stopping the supply after only giving 70 lakh jabs, but the government did not raise voice against it.
Fakhrul said their standing committee urged the government to take necessary steps for increasing oxygen production in the country alongside immediately procuring the vaccine from alternative sources.
Bangladesh approves local production of Russian, Chinese Covid vaccines
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday (April 28, 2021) approved in principle a proposal for producing Russian and Chinese Covid-19 vaccines in Bangladesh.
“The cabinet body has approved in principle the Health Ministry’s proposal to facilitate the production of Russian and Chinese vaccines,” said Dr Shahida Aktar, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division, while briefing reporters after the meeting.
Also Read: Bangladesh approves emergency use of Russian Sputnik V vaccine
She noted that the government will purchase vaccine technology from Russian and China through direct procurement method (DPM) which means the Health Ministry will not require to follow any competitive bidding princess.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the virtual meeting where the proposal was placed by the Health Ministry on an emergency basis.
Also Read: Will take 2 weeks to get vaccine from alternative sources
Dr Shahida Aktar said Russia’s Sputnik-V and China’s Sinopharm will be produced in Bangladesh using the facilities and logistics of different private pharmaceutical companies.
“No name of any specific companies was discussed at the meeting. But it was agreed in principle that the Russian and Chinese authorities will examine facilities and then things will be settled about who will produce the vaccines,” he added.
Read Covid-19: Mexico to join clinical trials of Russian vaccine
The approval from the government’s top authority came within a day of the government’s move to produce Covid-19 vaccines from Russian and China after India imposed a ban on the export of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine by Serum Institute to Bangladesh.
Mustafa Kamal said though Bangladesh approved Russian and Chinese vaccines’ local production, it will continue to its drive to have vaccine doses from India.
Read Myanmar registers Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine
“We didn’t give up the hope about getting vaccine jabs from India,” he told the reporters.