The US government has donated another 10 million (1 crore) doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to Bangladesh via COVAX to help the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare continue expanding vaccinations to teens and adults across the country. This delivery brings the total number of all U.S. vaccine donations to over 85 million (8.5 crore) doses, said the US Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday. More than two-thirds of all international COVID-19 vaccine donations to Bangladesh have come from the United States and the American people. Also read: Bangladesh receives more doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from US The United States said it continues to work closely with Bangladesh to support every facet of the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign.  This effort includes training over 51,000 healthcare providers and other workers on safely administering vaccines to support Bangladesh’s COVID-19 vaccination roll out across 64 districts.  The United States has also donated 18 freezer vans, 750 freezer units, and 8,000 vaccine carriers and helped transport 57 million doses of vaccines to remote areas – for direct administration of 47 million vaccinations. Also read: Administering 2nd dose of oral cholera vaccine begins August 3 in 5 Dhaka areas In Bangladesh, the United States has contributed more than $140 million in COVID-19 related development and humanitarian assistance.  Globally, the United States has donated $4 billion to support the COVAX effort, which includes support for ultra-cold chain storage, transportation, and safe handling of COVID-19 vaccines, making the United States the world’s largest donor for equitable global COVID-19 vaccine access.

The US government has donated another 1.5 million pediatric doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to Bangladesh via COVAX to help the government of Bangladesh expand vaccination coverage to protect children ages 5-11 for the very first time.  This delivery marks the second shipment of US-donated vaccines for young children this week and brings the total number of all US vaccine donations to over 75 million doses, said the US Embassy in Dhaka on Monday.  More than two-thirds of all international COVID-19 vaccine donations to Bangladesh have come from the United States and the American people. Also read: Covid-19 vaccine consignment for kids arrive in Dhaka The United States continues to work closely with Bangladesh to support every facet of the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign, according to the US Embassy.  This includes training to over 51,000 healthcare providers and other workers on safely administering vaccines to support Bangladesh’s COVID-19 vaccination roll out across 64 districts.  The United States has also donated 18 freezer vans, 750 freezer units, and 8,000 vaccine carriers and helped transport 57 million doses of vaccines to remote areas – for direct administration of 47 million vaccinations. In Bangladesh, the United States has contributed more than $140 million in COVID-19 related development and humanitarian assistance, said the US Embassy.  Also read: Bangladesh gets another 4 mn doses of COVID-19 vaccine from US Globally, the United States has donated $4 billion to support the COVAX effort, which includes support for ultra-cold chain storage, transportation, and safe handling of COVID-19 vaccines, making the United States the world’s largest donor for equitable global COVID-19 vaccine access.

Pfizer on Tuesday asked the U.S. to authorize extra-low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5, potentially opening the way for the very youngest Americans to start receiving shots as early as March. In an extraordinary move, the Food and Drug Administration had urged Pfizer and its partner BioNTech to apply earlier than the companies had planned — and before it’s settled if the youngsters will need two shots or three. The nation’s 19 million children under 5 are the only group not yet eligible for vaccination against the coronavirus. Many parents have been pushing for an expansion of shots to toddlers and preschoolers, especially as the omicron variant sent record numbers of youngsters to the hospital. “I would say the parents in my office are desperate” to get young kids vaccinated, said Dr. Dyan Hes, who runs a pediatrics practice in New York City, where vaccination rates are high. For many, “that’s the first thing they ask when they walk through the door: ‘When do you think the shot is going to come out?’” Pfizer aims to give children as young as 6 months shots that contain one-tenth of the dose given to adults. The company said it had started submitting its data to the FDA and expects to complete the process in a few days. An open question is how many shots those children will need. Two of the extra-low doses turned out to be strong enough for babies but not for preschoolers in early testing. Pfizer now is testing a third shot, data that’s expected in late March. Read: Danes halt virus restrictions; rest of Europe a patchwork That means the FDA may consider whether to authorize two shots for now, with potentially a third shot being cleared later if the study supports it. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement that company scientists believe this age group ultimately will need three of the extra low-dose shots but that FDA action now could let parents begin the vaccination process while awaiting a final decision. The FDA said it will convene a panel of independent researchers and physicians in mid-February to help review the Pfizer data. The agency isn’t required to follow their advice, but the input is a key step in publicly vetting vaccine safety and effectiveness. The question of how long to wait for new vaccine data — and how much to require — is a concern for FDA regulators, who face pressure to be more proactive against a virus that has repeatedly confounded health experts. The FDA asked Pfizer to begin submitting its application now due to omicron’s “greater toll on children,” an agency spokeswoman said, citing a peak in cases among children under 5. “In light of these new data and the rise in illnesses and hospitalization in this youngest age group, FDA believed that it was prudent to request that Pfizer submit the data it had available,” agency spokeswoman Stephanie Caccomo said in an emailed statement. The FDA’s ultimate decision could come within the month, but that isn’t the only hurdle. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has to sign off. Full Coverage: Coronavirus pandemic The Biden administration has been trying to speed the authorization of COVID-19 shots for children, contending vaccinations are critical for opening schools and day care centers and keeping them open, and for freeing up parents from child care duties so they can go back to work. Yet vaccination rates have been lower among children than in other age groups. As of last week, just 20% of kids ages 5 to 11 and just over half of 12- to 17-year-olds were fully vaccinated, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Nearly three-quarters of adults are fully vaccinated. Young children are far less likely than adults to get severely ill from the coronavirus, but it can happen, and pediatric COVID-19 infections are higher than at any other point in the pandemic. “What we’re seeing right now is still a lot of hospitalizations and unfortunately some deaths in this age group,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary of the University of Colorado, who is on the AAP’s infectious disease committee. If the FDA clears vaccinations for these youngsters, “that’s going to be really important because all of those hospitalizations and deaths essentially are preventable.” Read: Myanmar takeover anniversary marked by strike, int’l concern For kids under 5, Pfizer’s study is giving participants two shots three weeks apart, followed by a third dose at least two months later. The company is testing whether the youngsters produce antibody levels similar to those known to protect teens and young adults. In December, Pfizer announced that children under 2 looked to be protected but that the antibody response was too low in 2- to 4-year-olds. It’s not clear why, but one possibility is that the extra-low dose was a little too low for the preschoolers. Since the preliminary results showed the shots were safe, Pfizer added a third dose to the testing in hopes of improving protection. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found just 3 in 10 parents of children under 5 would get their youngster vaccinated as soon as shots were authorized, while about a quarter said they definitely would not. Results of the survey of 1,536 adults, conducted in mid-January, were released Tuesday. Chicago health officials have been trying to prepare parents for months for the day the shots are available, said Dr. Nimmi Rajagopal, a family medicine physician for Cook County Health, which oversees the public hospital system. Some parents wonder how rigorously the shots will be evaluated or have other questions that she said are critical to address. Rajagopal is excited about getting her own 2-year-old son vaccinated if FDA clears the way, so it will be safer for him to play with other children. “I have been waiting and waiting and waiting,” she said.

Pfizer is enrolling healthy adults to test a reformulated COVID-19 vaccine that matches the hugely contagious omicron variant, to see how it compares with the original shots. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech announced the study on Tuesday. COVID-19 vaccine-makers have been updating their shots to better match omicron in case global health authorities decide the change is needed. Omicron is more likely than previous variants to cause infection even in people who’ve been vaccinated, but it’s not yet clear that a change to the vaccine recipe will be ordered. Among the issues regulators are weighing: Some of the first places to face an omicron surge already are seeing the mutant wane — and there’s no way to know if the next variant that arises will resemble omicron or be totally different. The original vaccines still offer good protection against severe illness and death. Studies in the U.S. and elsewhere have made clear that adding a booster dose strengthens that protection and improves the chances of avoiding even a milder infection. Another wrinkle in deciding whether vaccines need an update: A new U.S. report Tuesday echoes data from Britain and South Africa that omicron infections cause less severe illness — at least in part because so many people have some protection from vaccination or prior infection. During the omicron surge, 13% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients ended up in intensive care, compared with about 18% during two earlier waves, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Still, “we recognize the need to be prepared in the event this protection wanes over time and to potentially help address omicron and new variants in the future,” Kathrin Jansen, Pfizer’s vaccine research chief, said in a statement. The new U.S. study will include up to 1,420 volunteers ages 18 to 55 to test the updated omicron-based shots for use as a booster or for primary vaccinations. Researchers will examine the tweaked vaccine’s safety and how it revs up the immune system in comparison to the original shots. Full study results will take many months as volunteers receive multiple vaccine doses — and as researchers measure how long virus-fighting antibodies remain at high levels after an omicron-adapted dose versus the regular booster. Pfizer’s CEO told CNBC earlier this month that the company could have some omicron-matched doses ready as early as March. But doing what the company calls “at-risk” manufacturing doesn’t mean those doses will be rolled out to the public. Pfizer and other vaccine makers also have brewed and tested experimental doses to match previous variants, changes that ultimately weren’t needed but offered valuable practice at tweaking the recipe. For the new study, one group of about 600 volunteers who received two doses of the current Pfizer vaccine three to six months ago will receive either one or two omicron-based shots as boosters. Another 600 who have already gotten three regular doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be given a fourth dose of either the regular vaccine or the omicron-matched version. The study also will enroll some unvaccinated volunteers who will receive three doses of the omicron-based vaccine. Pfizer plans to produce 4 billion vaccine doses in 2022, and said Tuesday the amount isn’t expected to change if an omicron-adapted version is needed.

Pfizer asked U.S. regulators Tuesday to authorize its experimental pill for COVID-19, setting the stage for a likely launch this winter of a promising treatment that can be taken at home.   The company’s filing comes as new infections are rising once again in the United States, driven mainly by hot spots in states where colder weather is driving more Americans indoors. Pfizer’s pill has been shown to significantly cut the rate of hospitalizations and deaths among people with coronavirus infections. The Food and Drug Administration is already reviewing a competing pill from Merck and several smaller drugmakers are also expected to seek authorization for their own antiviral pills in the coming months. Read: Pfizer agrees to let other companies make its COVID-19 pill “We are moving as quickly as possible in our effort to get this potential treatment into the hands of patients, and we look forward to working with the U.S. FDA on its review of our application,” said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, in a statement. Specifically, Pfizer wants the drug available for adults who have mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infections and are at risk of becoming seriously ill. That’s similar to how other drugs are currently used to treat the disease. But all FDA-authorized COVID-19 treatments require an IV or injection given by a health professional at a hospital or clinic. The FDA is holding a public meeting on the Merck pill later this month to get the opinion of outside experts before making its decision. The agency isn’t required to convene such meetings and it’s not yet known whether Pfizer’s drug will undergo a similar public review. Some experts predict COVID-19 treatments eventually will be combined to better protect against the worst effects of the virus. Pfizer reported earlier this month that its pill cut hospitalizations and deaths by 89% among high-risk adults who had early symptoms of COVID-19. The company studied its pill in people who were unvaccinated and faced the worst risks from the virus due to age or health problems, such as obesity. If authorized, the FDA will have to weigh making the pill available for vaccinated people dealing with breakthrough infections, since they weren’t part of the initial tests. Read: US announces another 14mn Pfizer jabs for Bangladesh For best results, patients need to start taking the pills within three days of symptoms, underscoring the need for speedy testing and diagnosis. That could be a challenge if another COVID-19 surge leads to testing delays and shortages seen last winter. Pfizer’s drug is part of a decades-old family of antiviral drugs known as protease inhibitors, which revolutionized the treatment of HIV and hepatitis C. The drugs block a key enzyme which viruses need to multiply in the human body. That’s different than the Merck pill, which causes tiny mutations in the coronavirus until the point that it can’t reproduce itself. On Tuesday, Pfizer signed a deal a with U.N.-backed group to allow generic drugmakers to produce low-cost versions of the pill for certain countries. Merck has a similar deal for its pill, which was authorized in Britain earlier this month. Read: Pfizer asks FDA to OK COVID-19 booster shots for all adults The U.S. has approved one other antiviral drug for COVID-19, remdesivir, and authorized three antibody therapies that help the immune system fight the virus. But they usually have to be given via time-consuming infusions by health professionals, and limited supplies were strained by the last surge of the delta variant. The U.S. government has already committed to purchasing Merck’s pill. Federal authorities were in negotiations with Pfizer to buy millions of doses of its pill, according to an official familiar with the matter.    

Pfizer asked U.S. regulators Tuesday to allow boosters of its COVID-19 vaccine for anyone 18 or older, a step that comes amid concern about increased spread of the coronavirus with holiday travel and gatherings. Older Americans and other groups particularly vulnerable to the virus have had access to a third dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine since September. But the Food and Drug Administration has said it would move quickly to expand boosters to younger ages if warranted. Pfizer is submitting early results of a booster study in 10,000 people to make its case that it’s time to further expand the booster campaign. Also Read: Pfizer says COVID-19 pill cut hospital, death risk by 90% While all three vaccines used in the U.S. continue to offer strong protection against severe COVID-19 illness and death, the shots’ effectiveness against milder infection can wane over time. Pfizer’s new study concluded a booster could restore protection against symptomatic infection to about 95%, even as the extra-contagious delta variant was surging. Side effects were similar to those seen with the company’s first two shots. A median of 11 months after their last Pfizer vaccination, trial participants were given either a third dose or a dummy shot. Researchers tracked any infections that occurred at least a week later, and so far have counted five cases of symptomatic COVID-19 among booster recipients compared to 109 cases among people who got dummy shots. The Biden administration had originally envisioned boosters for all adults, but faced a stinging setback in September when the FDA’s scientific advisers rejected extra Pfizer doses for everyone. The panel wasn’t convinced that young healthy people needed another dose, particularly when most of the world’s population remains unvaccinated, and instead recommended boosters just for certain groups — one of a series of decisions about extra doses for all of the three vaccines used in the U.S. Also Read: FDA paves way for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations in young kids The current rules: People who initially received Pfizer or Moderna vaccinations are eligible for a booster six months later if they’re 65 or older, or are at high risk of COVID-19 because of health problems or their job or living conditions. Because the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine hasn’t proven as effective as its two-dose competitors, any J&J recipient can get a booster at least two months later. Also, anyone eligible for a booster doesn’t have to stick with their initial vaccination type and can get a different company’s vaccine, what’s called mixing and matching. About 194 million Americans are fully vaccinated. Under today’s policies, authorities already estimated about 2 of every 3 vaccinated adults could qualify for a booster within the next few months. Many who don’t meet the criteria often score an extra shot because many vaccine providers don’t check qualifications. FDA spokeswoman Alison Hunt said the agency would review Pfizer’s application “as expeditiously as possible,” but would not set a timeline for a decision. She also said the FDA hasn’t yet decided whether to convene its panel of outside experts to vet the data. If the FDA authorizes Pfizer’s request for expanded boosters, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention then will make recommendations for how to use them. Globally, boosters also are a hodge-podge. Some countries restrict them to older or medically fragile people while others have few restrictions. Israel, for example, has allowed Pfizer boosters for anyone 12 and older. Canada’s health regulator on Tuesday authorized Pfizer boosters for people 18 and older. Also Read: World could return to normal within a year: Pfizer CEO

Some 112  students of four government schools in Manikganj were vaccinated on Thursday with Pfizer jabs as part of a test run of the government for vaccinating school students against Covid-19. All the vaccinated students were of the 12-17 age group. Sixty of the students were from Manikganj Government Boys High School, 32 from  SK Government Girls High School, 10 from Zahid Maleque High School and another 10 from Bangabandhu High School. Read: Trial run for school vaccination to begin Thursday with 100 Manikganj students Although 120 students were supposed to be vaccinated on the day the health authorities decided not to vaccinate eight of them as they were suffering from various illnesses. Inaugurating the trial run at 12 pm at Manikganj Colonel Malek Medical College, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said, “This vaccine (Pfizer) is safe and has been given to school kids in Europe and America as well.” “We want our children to be safe, too. Soon, school children across the country will be brought under the vaccination drive,” he said. Mobashbir Rahman Rafid, a 10th grader of Manikganj Government Boys High School, is the first child to receive Covid shot in Bangladesh. “I was a little bit scared at first. But I felt no discomfort after receiving the vaccine. I’m over the moon to be the first child to be vaccinated,” he said. Meanwhile, Taslima Akhter, another 10th grader of   Zahid Maleque High School, was the first schoolgirl to be vaccinated in the country. “Since school reopened, I have been suffering from a sense of fear to join classes because of Covid. Now I can attend classes without fear,” she said. Read: Vaccination campaign for school students to begin within a week: DGHS chief Principal of Colonel Malek Medical College and Hospital Dr Md Zakir Hossain said they are yet to receive any complaint from the vaccinated children. On January 27, Prime Minister Hasina launched the Covid-19 vaccination programme at Kurmitola General Hospital through a videoconference. The government rolled out a countrywide mass Covid-19 vaccination drive on February 7 vaccinating people aged 55 and above in the first phase. On July 29, the government lowered the minimum age limit for taking Covid-19 jabs to 25 from 30 years in a bid to give a boost to the lagging vaccination rates in the country.

Pfizer said Monday its COVID-19 vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11 and that it will seek U.S. authorization for this age group soon — a key step toward beginning vaccinations for youngsters. The vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech already is available for anyone 12 and older. But with kids now back in school and the extra-contagious delta variant causing a huge jump in pediatric infections, many parents are anxiously awaiting vaccinations for their younger children. For elementary school-aged kids, Pfizer tested a much lower dose — a third of the amount that’s in each shot given now. Yet after their second dose, children ages 5 to 11 developed coronavirus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as teenagers and young adults getting the regular-strength shots, Dr. Bill Gruber, a Pfizer senior vice president, told The Associated Press. Read: US assures Covid cooperation to continue as 1-mn doses of Pfizer's vaccine received The kid dosage also proved safe, with similar or fewer temporary side effects — such as sore arms, fever or achiness — that teens experience, he said. “I think we really hit the sweet spot,” said Gruber, who’s also a pediatrician. Gruber said the companies aim to apply to the Food and Drug Administration by the end of the month for emergency use in this age group, followed shortly afterward with applications to European and British regulators. Earlier this month, FDA chief Dr. Peter Marks told the AP that once Pfizer turns over its study results, his agency would evaluate the data “hopefully in a matter of weeks” to decide if the shots are safe and effective enough for younger kids. An outside expert said scientists want to see more details but called the report encouraging. “These topline results are very good news,” said Dr. Jesse Goodman of Georgetown University, a former FDA vaccine chief. The level of immune response Pfizer reported “appears likely to be protective.” Read: US regulators give full approval to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Many Western countries so far have vaccinated no younger than age 12, awaiting evidence of what’s the right dose and that it works safely. Cuba last week began immunizing children as young as 2 with its homegrown vaccines and Chinese regulators have cleared two of its brands down to age 3. While kids are at lower risk of severe illness or death than older people, more than 5 million children in the U.S. have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began and at least 460 have died, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Cases in children have risen as the delta variant swept through the country.

The U.S. will buy 500 million more doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to share through the global COVAX alliance for donation to 92 lower income countries and the African Union over the next year, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday. President Joe Biden was set to make the announcement Thursday in a speech before the start of the Group of Seven summit. Two hundred million doses — enough to fully protect 100 million people — would be shared this year, with the balance to be donated in the first half of 2022, the person said. National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Wednesday that Biden was committed to sharing vaccines because it was in the public health and strategic interests of the U.S. As Biden embarks on his first foreign trip, he is aiming to show “that democracies are the countries that can best deliver solutions for people everywhere,” Sullivan said. “As he said in his joint session (address), we were the ‘arsenal of democracy’ in World War II,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to be the ‘arsenal of vaccines’ over this next period to help end the pandemic.” Also read: G7 must ensure vaccine access in developing countries: UN experts The news of the Pfizer sharing plan was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the president’s formal announcement. The news was first reported by the Washington Post. The U.S. has faced mounting pressure to outline its global vaccine sharing plan. Inequities in supply around the world have become more pronounced, and the demand for shots in the U.S. — where nearly 64% of adults have received at least one dose — has dropped precipitously. The announcement comes a week after the White House unveiled its plans to donate an initial allotment of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas, mostly 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. 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. The White House has also directed doses to allies including South Korea, Taiwan and Ukraine. Also read: WTO panel considers easing protections on COVID-19 vaccines Global public health groups had been aiming to use the upcoming G-7 meetings in Cornwall, England, to press the nation’s wealthiest democracies to do more to share vaccines with the world, and Biden’s plans drew immediate praise toward that end. “The Biden administration’s decision to purchase and donate additional COVID-19 vaccine doses is the kind of bold leadership that is needed to end this global pandemic,” said Tom Hart, acting CEO at The ONE Campaign, a nonprofit that seeks to end poverty. “This action sends an incredibly powerful message about America’s commitment to helping the world fight this pandemic and the immense power of US global leadership.” Sullivan told reporters Wednesday that he does not expect the U.S. push to waive the patents on vaccines to cause tension with European counterparts. “We’re all converging around the idea that we need to boost vaccine supply in a number of ways, sharing more of our own doses,” Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We’ll have more to say on that, helping get more manufacturing capacity around the world.” Globally, there have been more than 3.7 million confirmed deaths from COVID-19, and more than 174 million people have been confirmed infected.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said that Pfizer vaccine shots for Covid-19 will be given at four centres in Dhaka  to those who have already registered. He added that the Pfizer vaccine diluent will arrive here Monday night. “Efforts are underway to collect Pfizer's dilute mixture. It's coming tonight. Those who have registered will get it first according to the serial,” he said on Monday. Read: Bangladesh approves emergency use of Pfizer vaccine The minister was talking to the reporters after a meeting at the BCPS Auditorium on the occasion of the National Vitamin 'A' Plus Campaign-2021. Earlier on May 27 the government approved the emergency use of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in the country. This is the fourth Covid-19 vaccine approved for emergency use in Bangladesh. The first batch of 1.06 lakh doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Dhaka on June 1 . Read: 1 lakh-plus Pfizer vaccine doses reach Dhaka The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus jab to show promising results in the latter stages of its testing process. It is a new type called an mRNA vaccine that uses a tiny fragment of genetic code from the pandemic virus to teach the body how to fight Covid-19 and build immunity. The US Food and Drug Administration has authorised the storage of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at standard refrigerator temperatures for up to one month, to make the vaccine more widely available. Read Russian Vaccine Sputnik V: Things we should know to fight COVID-19 Vaccination drive Around 7,363 people have received the second dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in the last 24 hours. A total number of 42,16,696 people got their second dose of this vaccine while the number is 58,20,015 for the first dose. Besides, the total number of people receiving their first jab of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine reached 2,162 during the same period. Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses bought from India's Serum Institute. Read Can I take COVID vaccines from two different brands?