Covaxin
Covid-19: Government orders 66 crore vaccine doses worth RS 14,505 crore
The government is placing its largest order yet of Covid vaccines at 66 crore doses worth Rs 14,505 crore to procure Covishield and Covaxin shots that will help it to substantially meet the vaccine availability projections it had made in the Supreme Court, reports Times of India.
The order is in line with the Centre's estimate of 135 crore doses being available between August-December as stated in its affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court on June 26. Apart from the order for 66 crore doses, the government has made an advance payment to reserve 30 crore doses of Hyderabad based Biological-E's Corbevax vaccine, official sources said.
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This means a total of 96 crore doses are expected to be available on account of government procurement during August December. While the 96 crore doses comprises Centre's share of 75% of the total manufactured doses, the private sector will also have another 22 crore doses of Covishield and Covaxin available during the period.
The order and other anticipated supplies, said officials, will help India remain on track to ensure vaccination for the 18+plus population by the year-end.
The total production of Covishield and Covaxin in August-December is placed at 88 crore doses. Despite a shortfall of around 3.5 crore doses in July, Covaxin production is put at 38 crore in this period, slightly less than the 40 crore mentioned in the SC affidavit. The glitches in its production are understood to have been sorted out.
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Apart from Covishield, Covaxin and Corbevax, the government's estimate of 135 crore doses also included Sputnik V and Zydus Cadila's vaccine. While Sputnik V locally manufactured supplies are yet to start, Cadila's approval is pending. Ten crore Sputnik and five crore Cadila are estimated to be available this year, according to the Centre's affidavit.
"Government has already made an advance payment 96 doses and another 22 crore doses will be available for the private sector, thus securing a large bulk of the expected supply well in advance," said an official source.
The order assumes significance as it assures a supply of jabs to ensure ramping up of vaccination drive amid fear of a third wave. The government aims to inoculate the entire adult population above 18 years age by December. A total of 39.49 crore doses have been administered across the country till Thursday 7pm.
Read: Sputnik V's commercial roll-out in India in coming weeks: Dr Reddy's Laboratories
The Centre has indicated availability of 13.5 crore doses during July, which would translate into an average 50 lakh doses per day. While daily vaccinations have been modest in July so far with a little over 5 crore doses given so far in the month, the states have been asked to ramp up sessions along with that in the private sector where pick up has been slow so far.
While some states have raised concerns about irregular supplies of jabs, the health ministry has emphasised on advance planning and logistics management to ensure that neither people are turned away nor doses are wasted. The health ministry indicates availability of doses to states 15 days in advance to enable planning of vaccination centres and sessions accordingly.
India’s Bharat Biotech says vaccine 93.4% effective against severe COVID-19
Indian company Bharat Biotech said on Saturday its late-stage testing of a COVID-19 vaccine has shown an overall efficacy of 77.8% and effectiveness against all variants.
The company in a statement said it is now in discussions with the World Health Organisation to obtain emergency use listing for its vaccine, marketed as Covaxin, reports Gulf News.
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The results set to rest questions raised by health experts over Bharat Biotech’s vaccine when it was given emergency use authorisation by the Indian government in January.
They felt that the company didn’t have enough clinical trials, making it almost impossible for the firm to have analysed and submitted data showing that its shots are effective in preventing illness from the coronavirus.
The company says the vaccine has already received emergency use authorizations in 16 countries including India, the Philippines, Iran and Mexico. Millions of Indian also have been inoculated with the same vaccine.
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It says the late-stage trial showed the vaccine was 93.4% effective against severe symptomatic COVID-19 and showed effectiveness of 77.8% against symptomatic COVID-19. The data also demonstrated 65.2% protection against the delta variant, first identified in India.
Last month, vaccine maker AstraZeneca Plc also said its vaccine was effective against the Delta and Kappa variants, citing a study.
India has been administering the AstraZeneca vaccine, made domestically by the Serum Institute of India, which said last month it planned to step up monthly production from July, to nearly 100 million doses.
Bharat Biotech now estimates it will make 23 million doses a month.
Read: India gives aluminum battery a chance to take on lithium in electric vehicles
The Phase-III data came as Ocugen Inc, which is co-developing Covaxin with Bharat Biotech for the US market, prepares to file a request for full US approval.
India, with a tally of 30.45 million infections, is the second most affected nation after the United States, with 33 million. The south Asian nation’s death toll has now crossed 400,000.
India's Reliance developing a tapeworm drug to treat Covid
India's richest man Mukesh Ambani-owned oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries is working to develop a new anti-Covid formulation -- a tapeworm drug -- as the country grapples with a devastating second wave of the pandemic.
Reliance has disclosed the information about the drug 'Niclosamide' as a possible cure for coronavirus in its annual report for the financial year 2020-21, filed with markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
India has recorded over 28 million cases to date -- second only to the US -- and is now the epicentre of the global pandemic. The country has also recorded more than 300,000 deaths, the third-highest fatality count in the world, behind the US and Brazil.
Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the world's largest Covid vaccination drive on January 16, the country is currently facing an acute shortage of jabs.
Serum Institute-produced Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine Covishield and local company Bharat Biotech's Covaxin are currently being given to citizens. Covishield is also being used in Bangladesh's mega inoculation drives.
Moreover, in view of the ongoing pandemic, Reliance has decided to pay full salaries for five years to the families of employees who succumbed to Covid-19, and put in place a liberal leave policy for the serving staff affected by coronavirus.
In a statement, the conglomerate has said that under the 'Reliance Family Support and Welfare Scheme', it would fully fund tuition fees, hostel accommodation and books of all the children of the deceased employees, up to graduation.
Reliance has also promised 100 percent payment of premium for hospitalisation coverage for the spouse, parents and children of those employees."Further, all colleagues affected by Covid-19 personally or within their family can avail the special Covid-19 leave for the full duration of their recovery, both physically and emotionally," according to the statement signed by Mukesh and his wife Nita.
The second richest person in Asia and the 14th richest in the world, Mukesh's current net worth is around USD 78 billion. His Reliance Group is now India's most valuable company by market capitalisation.
UNB had earlier reported about Mukesh's rumoured plans to hand over three core business areas of Reliance Industries to his three children -- Akash, Isha and Anant -- and also about his aggressive fundraising spree to make his conglomerate debt-free amid the pandemic.
The fundraising spree was aimed at reducing Reliance's dependence on the flagship oil sector to diversify into telecom and e-commerce. Last year, Reliance raised USD 15.2 billion by selling stakes in its telecom unit Jio and another USD 7 billion through rights issue.
The digital news outlet had also reported about Reliance's plans to take its telecom arm Jio public in the 2021-22 fiscal, riding on the increased digital adoption across the world, in the wake of Covid. India's internet users are likely to grow to 850 million by 2022.
India's COVID-19 tally rises to 28,441,986
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 28,441,986 on Thursday with 134,154 new cases recorded in the past 24 hours, said the federal health ministry.
Besides, 2,887 deaths were reported since Wednesday morning, taking the death toll to 337,989.
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There are still 1,713,413 active cases in the country, with a decrease of 80,232 in the past 24 hours. The number of daily active cases has been on the decline over the past few days, after a continuous surge since mid-April.
A total of 26,390,584 people has been cured and discharged from hospitals across the country, showed the latest data from the federal health ministry.
Read: India to start trials on safety, efficacy of mixing Covid vaccine doses
India kicked off a nationwide vaccination drive in January, and so far over 221 million vaccination doses have been administered across the country, and 2,426,265 doses were given on Wednesday alone.
Presently the third phase of vaccination is going on, covering all people aged 18 years and above. However, an acute shortage of vaccines is being seen across the country.
Read: India's COVID-19 tally reaches 28,175,044 with 127,510 new cases
Meanwhile, the federal government has ramped up testing capacities, as 353,782,648 tests were conducted till Wednesday, out of which 2,159,873 tests were conducted on Wednesday alone, said the latest data issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research on Thursday.
Three types of vaccines are being administered in India, including Covishield, Covaxin and Russia-made vaccine Sputnik-V.
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.
India may firm up plans to export Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin
Dhaka, May 24 (UNB)--India has received enquiries from other countries for the export of the indigenous Covid 19 vaccine Covaxin jointly developed by Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), according to government officials aware of the development.
According to Hindustan Tims, New Delhi has been approached by at least two countries, Hungary and Paraguay for the commercial export of 1 million doses of Covaxin, with the first holding forth the possibility of access to the EU.
To be sure, decisions on exprts are commercial ones that will have to be taken by Bharat Biotech. In February Bharat Biotech announced that it has signed a pact with Ocugen Inc, allowing the US-based biopharmaceutical firm to co-develop, supply, and commercialize the Indian vaccine maker’s Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin in the US market.
According to the Union government’s affidavit in the Supreme Court, in May, Bharat Biotech has increased its capacity from 9 million to 20 million a month now, which will increase to 55 million units by July 2021. according to the government’s latest vaccine policy, half of these will be sold to the Centre and the other half to the states and private hospitals.
Read:India virus death toll passes 300,000, 3rd highest in world
“The govt of Hungary approached the government in mid- April for supply of 1 million doses for Covaxin by around May end on priority. It was also informed that they would grant EU Good manufacturing practice (GMP) certification to Bharat Biotech facilities that would also open India’s vaccine exports to the wider EU markets if the government would consider supplying the 1 million doses. This would not only open up India vaccine exports to the wider EU market (as certification granted by Hungary would be recognized in EU) in future but may also facilitate BBT’s negotiations with Brazil and other markets that they may be exploring as well…,” one of the officials said on condition of anonymity.
“The Covaxin samples received from Bharat Biotech had already been approved by the National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition and the Hungarian National Drug Authority. We were informed that the expert team that visited India last month to audit BBT facilities had also returned and given its report. They were ready to grant emergency use authorization for Covaxin. It was also noted that certain issues were found during the expert team’s visit to BBT facilities. The Brazilian team that had visited BBT around the same time had also flagged these issues... ,” the official added.
In March Brazilian health regulator Anvisa denied permission to import Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin into the country after its authorities found that the plant in which the vaccine is being made did not meet the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) requirements. Bharat Biotech in February said it had signed an agreement with the Brazilian government for supply of 20 million doses of Covaxin during the second and third quarters of the current year. The vaccine maker then said: “the requirements pointed out during inspection will be fulfilled,” and that the timelines for fulfilment were under discussion with the Brazil NRA and will be resolved soon.’’
Bharat Biotech did not respond to a detailed questionnaire sent on May 12.
The government has also been approached for commercial contracts for Covaxin by Paraguay, according to a second official. According to the external affair ministry’s Vaccine Maitri portal. Paraguay has thus far received 2 lakh doses of vaccines as a gift.
“ They (Paraguay) have thanked Prime Minister Modi for gifting the vaccines under its vaccine Maitri initiative. We were informed last month that negotiations were on between Paraguay, which is looking to sign a contract with Bharat Biotech for procurement million doses of Covaxin,” the second official added. A third official from the external affairs ministry confirmed this.
On May 1 HT reported that Centre is also exploring the possibility of offering the locally developed coronavirus vaccine, Covaxin for production abroad through a technology transfer between commercial entities, according to government officials aware of the development.
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India’s indigenous vaccine, Covaxin is developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Virology (NIV). The indigenous, inactivated vaccine is developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech’s BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) high containment facility.
In a statement issued on April 20, Bharat Biotech said it was exploring manufacturing partnerships with partners in other countries, who have prior expertise with commercial scale manufacture of inactivated viral vaccines under biosafety containment.
The company also said Covaxin has received Emergency Use Authorisation in several countries across the globe with another 60 in process. It has been granted EUAs in Mexico, Philippines, Iran, Paraguay, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Guyana, Venezuela, Botswana, Zimbabwe, among several other countries. It is in the process of getting EUAs in the US and Europe, according to Bharat Biotech.
Earlier this month, a joint statement on the India- EU leaders’ meeting said: “Recognising the role of extensive immunisation as a global public good and concurring that the vaccination process is not a race amongst countries but a race against time, we welcomed the EU’s and its Member States’ contribution to vaccines’ production and their substantial support to the COVAX Facility, as well as India’s efforts to produce and distribute COVID-19 vaccines to over 90 countries through its ‘Vaccine Maitri’...We are committed to working together to better prepare for and respond to global health emergencies. We agreed to cooperate on resilient medical supply chains, vaccines and the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), and on the application of international good manufacturing standards to ensure high quality and safety of products.”
India COVID-19 tally rises to 26,530,132, daily deaths fall below 4,000
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 26,530,132 with 240,842 new cases registered in the past 24 hours, said the federal Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.
Besides, as many as 3,741 deaths since Saturday morning took the death toll to 299,266. After two days, the number of daily deaths has once again fell below-4,000 mark.
There are still 2,805,399 active cases in the country, with a decrease of 118,001 cases in the past 24 hours. The number of daily active cases has been on the decline over the past few days, after a continuous surge since mid-April.
Read:Covid-19: Why ‘world’s pharmacy’ India is short on shots
A total of 23,425,467 people has been cured and discharged from hospitals so far across the country.
In a bid to curb the COVID-19 cases' graph, most of the states in the country have imposed night curfews and partial or complete lockdowns.
India's nationwide vaccination drive was kicked off on Jan. 16, and over 195 million vaccination doses (195,004,184) have been administered to the people across the country.
A total of 1,604,542 vaccine doses were given on Saturday alone.
Presently the third phase of COVID-19 vaccination is going on, covering all people aged 18 years and above. Though, an acute shortage of vaccines is being felt across the country.
Read:India suffers double blow as black fungus declared epidemic amid COVID-19 surge
Meanwhile, the federal government has ramped up COVID-19 testing facilities across the country, as over 328 million tests have been conducted so far.
As many as 328,607,937 tests were conducted till Saturday, out of which 2,123,782 tests were conducted on Saturday alone, said the latest data issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research on Sunday.
Three types of vaccines are being administered to the people in India, including the Covishield, the Covaxin, and the Russia-made Sputnik-V.
India to begin Covaxin vaccine trials for children
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has cleared phase II and III clinical trials of Covaxin COVID-19 vaccine for children from two and 18 years, officials said Thursday.
"The National Regulator of the country, the DCGI, after careful examination, has accepted the recommendation of Subject Expert Committee and accorded permission to conduct the Phase II/III clinical trial of Covaxin (COVID-19 vaccine) in the age group 2 to 18, to its manufacturer Bharat Biotech Ltd on 12.05.2021," reads a statement issued by the federal health ministry.
According to the ministry, Covaxin maker Bharat Biotech International Ltd., Hyderabad had proposed to carry out the clinical trials of Covaxin in the age group of 2 to 18.
Read:Indian states asked to stop people from dumping bodies of COVID-19 victims into Ganga
The trials will be conducted in 525 healthy volunteers, the ministry said. In the trials, the vaccine will be given by intramuscular route in two doses at day 0 and day 28.
According to a government statement, the drug regulator accepted the recommendation of an expert committee on vaccines.
India has been seeing a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, according to media reports.
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 23,703,665 on Thursday with 362,727 new cases registered in the past 24 hours, while the death toll swelled to 258,317 with 4,120 deaths since Wednesday morning, the federal health ministry announced Thursday.
India's Serum to produce Covid jabs overseas: Report
Unable to cope with the growing demand for its Covid-19 jabs in India and abroad, the Serum Institute is reportedly planning to soon start the production of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in other countries as well.
Serum's Covishield is being widely used in both India and Bangladesh's mega inoculation drives. Bangladesh has inked a deal with Serum to buy 30 million doses of Covishield, but a recent surge in Covid cases in India has made the delivery of the remaining doses uncertain.
Read Will soon come out of uncertainty over vaccine availability: Minister
Serum's chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla revealed his plans to set up vaccine
production units outside India in an interview with The Times newspaper. "There's going to be an announcement in the next few days," he told the British daily.
Poonawalla hoped to increase the Serum Institute's production capacity from the existing 2.5 billion to 3 billion doses a year within six months, the newspaper reported.
Read Bangladesh approves emergency use of Russian Sputnik V vaccine
India is currently witnessing a ferocious second wave of Covid-19. On Saturday, the country registered a record four lakh cases in a span of 24 hours, for the first time after reporting over three lakh daily infections for nine days in a row.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the world's largest Covid vaccination drive on January 16. Covishield and local company Bharat Biotech's Covaxin are currently being given to citizens. However, several states in India have run out of Covid vaccines.
Read PVA bats for suspension of intellectual property rights on Covid jabs
Doraiswami keen to push Covaxin as Covishield exports disrupted
Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Vikram Doraiswami is keen to remind his hosts that there is another option of a Covid-19 vaccine available from his country as the vaccine supply from the Serum Institute of India got disrupted amid high domestic demand.
The High Commissioner said besides the Covishield vaccine from Serum, the alternative that they have consistently been offering to export Covaxin, which they offered not only for trial here in Bangladesh at their own cost but also for co-production.
Covaxin is the brand name of India’s ‘indigenous vaccine’, so-called for also being developed on Indian soil by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Virology (NIV).
Also read: Greater trade, connectivity hold brighter future for Dhaka-Delhi ties: Doraiswami
Doraiswami reiterated that for Covaxin, there is also an offer to co-produce that remains on the table.
He also said Dhaka can choose to be flexible, so the choice is not either/or. It can choose to order both.