India Coronavirus Dispatch: AstraZeneca vaccine is key even at 70% efficacy

Why vaccines should be a public good, Keeping indoor air clean can reduce spread of SARS-CoV-2, and is favipiravir good for Covid-19?-news relevant to India's fight against the pandemic

Why Covid-19 vaccines should be a global public good and not be hoarded by rich countries

The joint temporary waiver proposal from India, South Africa, Kenya, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Pakistan, if adopted, will give the freedom to WTO member states to suspend the protection and the enforcement of certain types of intellectual property rights with regards copyrights, industrial design, patent and trade secrets for the prevention, containment or treatment of Covid-19, says KM Gopakumar, an expert on global intellectual property rights.

The primary objective of the waiver proposal is to facilitate the availability of Covid-19 medical products, such as personal protection equipment, diagnostics, vaccines, medicines, and other medical devices like ventilators, at an affordable price through scaling up of production through multiple manufacturers. Read more here

Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine is a global game-changer even with 70% efficiency in initial trials

Despite the Oxford vaccine having lower overall effectiveness than the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines – at least at this interim stage – there are other success factors to consider. Safety is one, and the Oxford vaccine is so far reported to have a good safety record with no serious side-effects. Another crucial factor is storage. The Oxford vaccine can be stored in a domestic fridge. The need for sustained freezing across the whole vaccine journey from factory to clinic at ultra-low temperatures – as seen with the Pfizer vaccine – may be a problem for many countries, but especially poorer countries. Read more here

Is favipiravir good for Covid-19? Clinical trial says no, press release says yes

Medical experts have accused the Mumbai-based Glenmark Pharmaceuticals of cherrypicking the results of its phase 3 clinical trials to claim that its antiviral drug, favipiravir, is effective against Covid-19. While the Indian drug regulator approved the drug based on the trial in June, the company only published the trial’s full results on November 16. And experts pointed out that the full results don’t bear out the efficacy claims that Glenmark has made about the drug.

Since the drug’s approval, the company has headlined two press releases (here and here) about the trial with the claim that favipiravir recipients were cured of Covid-19’s signs faster than those who received standard of care, and that the difference was statistically significant. But critics have countered the claim. Read more here

Keeping indoor air clean can reduce the chances of spreading SARS-CoV-2

The vast majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs indoors, mostly from the inhalation of airborne particles that contain the coronavirus. The best way to prevent the virus from spreading in a home would be simply to keep infected people away. But this is hard to do when an estimated 40% of cases are asymptomatic. Another precaution that can help is to make sure the air inside is as clean as possible. Read more here

Explained: New Covid-19 restrictions for those travelling to Maharashtra

The Maharashtra government on November 23 announced new travel rules for the state, under which those coming from Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa will need to carry RT-PCR test reports for Covid-19. The rules come into effect from November 25. What are the rules for road, rail and air travel, and what happens if a passenger does not have the test reports? All your questions answered here. Read more here

‘Freelance earnings back to pre-Covid-19 levels’

Earnings of freelance professionals, which saw a decline at the onset of the pandemic, have increased in the third quarter of 2020 and returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, according to a study by Flexing It. Read more here