India Coronavirus Dispatch: How do you vaccinate a billion people?

AstraZeneca's manufacturing error, lack of transparency in Indian vaccine trials, should Indian states consider lockdowns again?-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

How do you vaccinate a billion people?

When it comes to vaccine making, India is a powerhouse. It runs a massive immunisation programme, makes 60% of the world's vaccines and is home to half a dozen major manufacturers, including Serum Institute of India - the largest in the world.

Not surprisingly, there's no lack of ambition when it comes to vaccinating a billion people against Covid-19. India plans to receive and utilise some 500 million doses of vaccines against the disease and immunise up to 250 million people by July next year. Read more here

Coronavirus: AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine’s manufacturing error casts doubts on results

Drug manufacturer AstraZeneca and Oxford University on Wednesday said that a manufacturing error has raised concerns about the preliminary results of their vaccine candidate. The problems in the drug’s efficacy that could arise due to this error is still unclear.

A group of volunteers in the AstraZeneca trial received a lower dose of the vaccine candidate than the others who got two full doses. In the lower dose group, AstraZeneca said that the vaccine appeared to be 90% effective. For those who took two full doses, the vaccine was just 62% effective. In combination, the vaccine turned out to be 70% effective, the drug maker said. Read more here

Should Indian states consider lockdowns again – even as a last resort?

If there is a Covid-19 surge, can a lockdown be far behind? As a fresh wave of the coronavirus sweeps through North and West India again, speculation is rife that some states will once again go back to the blunt-force tool that people across the world have to come to associate with the virus: lockdowns. Experts say the focus should instead be on restricting large gatherings and ramping up testing to identify and isolate positive cases. Read more here

India needs more transparency in its Covid-19 vaccine trials, critics say

In general, most nations do not require vaccine makers to publicly share their testing protocols, but several companies have taken that step with Covid-19 vaccine candidates in order to bolster public trust. In India, however, no company testing a Covid-19 vaccine has released complete trial protocols, experts say. Read more here

Explained: Lung fibrosis, Covid-19’s lasting signature

As the novel coronavirus continues its march across the globe — witness the current surges in the US and many parts of Europe and India — devastating pulmonary fibrosis, the scarring or inflammation of the tissue around the air sacs of the lungs, which leads to fatigue and shortness of breath, is being reported in vast numbers of survivors. How common is lung fibrosis in Covid-19 patients? And how serious is the threat from lung fibrosis? Read more here
 

Indians consumed less meat, fish, ice-cream in the first half of this fiscal due to Covid fear

Indians consumed lower quantities of bottled water, meat, fish, cold drinks, ice-cream and vegetable oils, and used less amount of body and hair care products in the period from April to September as the Covid-19 pandemic brought about a change in people’s consumption pattern and lifestyles.

Indians also consumed less anti-tuberculosis and other anti-inflammatory medication as they steered clear of hospitals and doctors during the pandemic. Read more here

You are not alone. Working during the pandemic has become harder for everyone

The pandemic has seriously altered how we work. According to statistics published by the International Labour Organization in September, $35 trillion has been lost globally in labour income. There has also been an estimated loss of 17 per cent of working hours worldwide since 2019, with young people and women being hit hardest. And many of those still in jobs are working under very different conditions. Read more here