Page 16 - Coronavirus Vaccine

No one thought India's reliance for medicines, vaccine will end: HP Guv

No one had ever thought that our dependence on foreign countries for medicines, vaccines would ever end, but it did, Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla here on Saturday said. Shukla made the remark while inaugurating a mega eye test camp organised by 'Prayas' organisation under 'Jan Swasthya ke 5 saal-Har Ghar Dwar Asptal' campaign at DAV Centenary Public School in Una. He also lauded the 'Asptal-Sansad Swasthya Sewa' initiative of Union Minister Anurag Thakur started five years ago. Shukla said that today the country is self-reliant to the extent that it not only made the COVID-19 vaccine, but also set an example by making it available to other countries. He said that critical health infrastructure was being taken to smaller cities and towns under the PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission. The governor aid that the better results of the efforts made in the past years for preventive health & care were coming to the fore. On the occasion, he also interacted ..

T-cell Covid vaccine may last longer than current jabs: Researcher

The research also paves the way for the potential rapid design of novel T-cell vaccines against emerging and seasonal viral diseases, like influenza

Pfizer's new bivalent mRNA Covid booster vax highly effective: Lancet

The team found that those who received the bivalent booster dose had a 72% lower risk of Covid related hospitalisation and a 68% lower risk of Covid related death

Covid's endemic challenges

Public health policy must respond for the long term

Be smart and use masks, doctors advise caution as Covid-19 cases surge

Doctors have said that the number of Covid cases has increased rapidly over the past two to three weeks, and this calls for increased awareness of Covid-19-appropriate behaviour

Govt asks Maharashtra to buy vaccines to meet demand amid rising cases

Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and Haryana are some of the states to have brought back fresh Covid-19 protocol, especially the mask mandate

Serum re-starts Covishield production, seeks to despatch 6 mn Covovax doses

Initiates talks with private hospitals for dispatching existing Covovax stock; Conducts in-vitro studies on human blood samples for neutralising antibody titres against XBB in India

Covid-19: Serum Institute of India restarts manufacturing Covishield

Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Wednesday said it has restarted manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccine Covishield amid rising numbers of cases of the virus infection. He said the company already has six million booster doses of Covovax vaccine available and adults must take the booster shot. Reacting to reports of COVID-19 vaccines shortage, he said manufacturers are ready but there has been no demand. "Just as a precaution, at risk we have done it so that people have a Covishield as a choice if they want it," Poonawalla told PTI on restarting of manufacturing of the vaccine. The company had stopped manufacturing of Covishield in December 2021. On Covovax which has been approved as a booster dose for 18-years and above, he said, "We have six million doses ready but the demand is exactly zero." Covovax booster is now on the CoWin app, he said.

Google 1st Big Tech firm to end Covid jab mandate for entering buildings

In a memo to employees, the Sundar Pichai-run tech giant cited the "extraordinary time" that has passed since the onset of the Covid pandemic

As Covid cases spike in India again, IMA lists 3 possible reasons for rise

IMA in a statement said many people have lowered their guard against the coronavirus and people with symptoms refuse to get tested

Odisha seeks 50,000 vaccines from Centre as Covid cases rise: Official

With more than 100 cases of coronavirus being reported in Odisha for four days now, the state government Tuesday requested the Centre for at least an additional 50,000 doses of vaccine in the first phase to cover people who have not received the booster dose yet, an official said. The state director of family welfare Bijay Panigrahi, who is also its nodal officer for immunization, has in his letter to the ministry of health and family welfare sought CorBEvax vaccine for Odisha. Presently there is a rise in Covid cases in Odisha. Also there is a demand from public for precaution dose vaccination at government facilities, Panigrahi said in the letter. The state does not have any vaccine left since February this, he wrote and requested for at least 50,000 doses of CorBEvax vaccine with long expiry as early as possible. The state on Tuesday reported 141 fresh infections and the number of active cases in the state has increased to 731. It has been reporting more than 100 new cases for

US invests $5bn programme to launch next-gen Covid vaccines: Report

'Project Next Gen' would succeed 'Operation Warp Speed' with a mission to develop next-generation vaccines and therapies against newer and existing Covid variants, the Washington Post reported

Moderna to keep testing flu shot after initial failures, shares down 8%

The company said, ahead of its annual vaccines conference, that it will continue testing the flu shot for efficacy

TN may introduce mask mandate if Covid cases surge: Health Minister

Tamil Nadu may consider introducing mask mandate in the state if coronavirus cases surge beyond the 500 or 1,000 mark, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said on Tuesday and asserted that it is ideal to wear face masks in crowded places. The State is witnessing a gradual increase in cases, at present, with few cases being reported by the day and there have been five "incidental" coronavirus deaths so far, he said. "The government has not announced any relaxation in the Covid-19 appropriate behaviour and it is safe to wear face masks in crowded places," Subramanian said responding to a call attention motion brought by Leader of Opposition K Palaniswami in the Assembly. Though masks are still compulsory as per the Centre's advisory, people were not taking it seriously, he said. Raising the issue, Palaniswami wondered if people should wear masks as coronavirus cases are increasing by the day and sought to know what steps are being taken by the State government to prevent the spread. "There

Nitish blames Centre for 'not supplying' adequate Covid vaccines to Bihar

With Covid-19 cases once again increasing in the country, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar alleged on Monday that the Central government is not supplying adequate Covid vaccines to the state

SC junks plea on efficacy of Remdesivir, Favipiravir for treatment of Covid

In October 2020, the Supreme Court had sought Centre's reply on the plea alleging that Remdesivir and Favipiravir are being used for treatment of Covid-19 without approval

Covid patients' blood shows who is likely to become severely ill: Study

Researchers have identified specific proteins in the blood plasma of people infected with COVID-19 that may help predict which patients may need to be placed on ventilators to breathe and which are most likely to die of the virus. The researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in the US studied blood plasma samples from 332 COVID-19 patients. "Identifying harmful proteins may be helpful as we confront not only variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, but also as new viruses emerge in the future," said study principal investigator Carlos Cruchaga. "We may be able to draw blood from an individual with a COVID infection, check the levels of these key proteins and quickly determine risk for serious outcomes. We then could use that information to determine the best course of treatment," Cruchaga said. The team studied plasma samples from COVID-19 patients admitted to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, US and compared them to plasma samples from 150 people who had not b

Covovax as booster to be available on CoWIN soon; will cost Rs 225 per dose

In view of rising cases of COVID-19 in various parts of the country, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is learnt to have approved the inclusion of Serum Institute's Covovax on the CoWIN portal as a heterologous booster dose for adults, official sources said on Monday. Covovax is likely to be available on the portal in a few days at a price of Rs 225 per dose plus applicable GST. The move comes after a letter was written by Prakash Kumar Singh, Director, Serum Institute of India (SII) to the Union health ministry on March 27, the sources said. According to an official source, Singh had mentioned in his letter to the ministry that Covovax is a world class vaccine approved by the DCGI, WHO and USFDA and it should be included on the CoWIN portal as a heterologous booster dose for adults. Covovax can be administered to those who have already vaccinated with Covishield or Covaxin. Last month, the COVID-19 Working Group headed by Dr N K Arora had also recommended to the Health Mini

Covid wave looms as India's population-level immunity dwindles: WHO

Decreasing levels of immunity in our population may trigger new Covid waves and to tackle this, India needs a strong disease surveillance along with high vaccine coverage

India logs 5,357 Covid cases in 24 hrs, active caseload climbs to 32,814

India logged 5,357 new coronavirus cases, while the active cases rose to 32,814, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The death toll has increased to 5,30,965 with 11 deaths. While three deaths were reported from Gujarat, two were from Himachal Pradesh and one each from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh besides one reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.47 crore (4,47,56,616) The active cases now comprise 0.07 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.74 per cent, the ministry said. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,92,837 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.66 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.