News Analysis India

Tag: Covidshield

  • Vaccinated people better protected but can transmit coronavirus: Experts

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: COVID-19 vaccines protect against serious illness but transmissibility can still continue and inoculated people can pass on the infection to others, say scientists, warning against complacency in those who stop maintaining protocol after they get their jabs.

    Transmissibility from vaccinated persons can be a risk factor until global coverage is achieved, top experts said as India’s Covid numbers escalated sharply, reaching 1,35,27,717 (1.35 crore/13,5 million) with 1,68,912 new cases on Monday to make it the country with the second highest number of cases after the US.

    “Vaccination is simply one of the many different strategies we have to deal with in the pandemic. However, it is not a magical one-stop solution,” immunologist Satyajit Rath, from the New Delhi’s National Institute of Immunology, told PTI.

    “None of the vaccines currently available provide protection against transmission of the virus. Statistically speaking, infection post-vaccination is likely to be milder than one without,” added Vineeta Bal, an immunologist from Pune’s Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research.

    ALSO READ | Expert panel recommends approval to Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use in India

    As researchers around the world try and figure out how well COVID-19 vaccines prevent vaccinated people from transmitting the virus to others, the experts stressed on the need for masks and physical distance regardless of the vaccination status.

    This has to continue until the majority of people are vaccinated.

    The scientists also batted for universal vaccination, saying it would provide strong community resistance to severe local outbreaks.

    Cautioning against lowering of the guard even after vaccination, they said some people who get inoculated early may lose their immunological memory over a period of time and become vulnerable again.

    “Vaccination remains an individual protection, not a community protection, until we achieve almost global vaccination coverage. It is possible that vaccine-resistant virus variants will emerge, necessitating steady watchfulness and the rapid development-deployment of next-generation vaccines,” Rath said.

    Bal agreed that disease severity will be low in vaccinated individuals as compared to those without vaccination.

    “This is likely to be true even with variant viruses. Hence being vaccinated is a better state of affairs at a population level as well as individually,” Bal told PTI.

      Rath noted that if an individual is effectively vaccinated, meaning they develop robust long-lasting levels of neutralising antibodies, then reinfection with vaccine-sensitive SARS-CoV-2 strains, even if it happens, is likely to be associated with only mild illness.

    On the other hand, he said, a new infection with vaccine-resistant SARS-CoV-2 strains might still cause severe illness in some cases.

    “So yes, vaccinated individuals could still pass on the infection, though the chance and the dose passed on would be lower. Of course, if they are infected with a future vaccine-resistant virus strain, then efficient transmission could occur,” he explained.

    On March 1, the vaccination net was extended to those over 60 and for people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbidities. A month after that, on April 1, vaccination was opened for all people aged more than 45 years.

    ALSO READ | Amazon India to cover COVID-19 vaccine cost for over 10 lakh employees, sellers

    Amid demands from several quarters that the age limit for COVID-19 vaccination be relaxed in view of the spike in cases, the Centre last week said the aim is to protect those who are most vulnerable and not to “administer the vaccine to those who want it but to those who need it”.

    “The basic aim is to reduce death through vaccination. The other aim is to protect your healthcare system,” Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said during a weekly press conference.

    He later clarified his remark, saying the government was following a dynamic supply-demand mapping model.

    According to Rath, the idea behind this strategy is ‘herd immunity’, where the transmission cycle of the virus is broken if enough people are effectively vaccinated.

    And therefore even unvaccinated people no longer get infected, simply because the virus is no longer around.

    “The trouble is that we don’t have a very reliable idea of what percentage of the community needs to be vaccinated for effective ‘herd immunity’ for SARS-CoV-2. So it is hard to see what use this government assertion is in practical terms,” he added.

    The scientist explained that universal vaccination would be “nice” since it would provide very strong community resistance to severe local outbreaks. Bal added that vaccinating almost everybody would be good in an ideal situation.

    However, robust safety data on pregnant women is not available for every vaccine and most vaccines are not tested on children below 12 years.

    “Hence, the direct recommendation for these categories of people are hard to make. Though I feel vaccines made using older platforms such as killed vaccines or pure protein-based vaccines as against mRNA vaccines for example can be considered safe based on the experiences from the past,” she added.

    Vaccines generate immunity by mimicking a milder form of an infection and helping the immune system “remember” the pathogen.

    So they contain some part of an infectious agent that is capable of generating an immune response, such as the viral genetic material, its RNA or DNA, or the proteins in the virus which interact with human cells.

    If there are vaccine shots, and if it can be afforded, there is no harm in aiming for universal immunization, Bal said.

    The two vaccines currently approved in India are Covishield, from the Oxford/AstraZeneca stable manufactured by Pune’s Serum Institute of India, and Covaxin, developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology (NIV).

    On Monday, an expert panel of India’s central drug authority recommended approval for Russia’s Sputnik V for emergency use with certain conditions.

  • Chhattisgarh IAS officer tests positive for Covid-19 after getting Covishield second dose

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: IAS officer Yashwant Kumar, who was administered the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine ‘Covishield’ had tested positive for the infection.

    Kumar, who is presently a collector of Janjgir-Champa district about 150 km from Raipur, disclosed the development on his Twitter handle this morning.

    “I got Covid positive today. I got the second dose of vaccination on March 8”, said the officer who added that the Covid-19 vaccine becomes effective after 14 days of the vaccination dose.

    The officer appealed to those who recently came in close contact with him to get themselves tested for coronavirus and avoid believing in rumours.

    Earlier, the Chhattisgarh health minister T S Singhdeo had categorically asserted that the state is not in favour of using the ‘Covaxin’ for the vaccination process unless it has completed the recommended testing process with absolute authentication and success.

    The Covaxin being ingeniously developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research.

  • India supplying vaccine doses to several nations: MEA

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said it was yet to receive any request for the supply of made-in-India coronavirus vaccines from Pakistan, even as the government has sent consignments of doses under grant assistance to Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Mauritius and Seychelles.

    At a media briefing, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said India is also undertaking commercial supplies of the vaccines to a number of countries, including Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil and Morocco.“I am not aware of any request for the supply of Indian made vaccines to Pakistan on a government-to-government (G2G) basis or commercial basis. As we announced on Tuesday, our grant assistance of vaccines to the neighbouring countries commenced Wednesday.

    ALSO READ | No request received from Pakistan for coronavirus vaccines: MEA

    On the first day, 1.5 lakh doses of vaccines were supplied to Bhutan and 1 lakh doses to the Maldives as grant assistance. On Thursday, supplies of 10 lakh doses to Nepal and 20 lakh doses to Bangladesh were undertaken. Consignments of 15 lakh doses for Myanmar, 1 lakh doses to Mauritius and 50,000 doses to Seychelles are being airlifted,” he said. 

    He said vaccine supply as grant assistance to Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will be undertaken after receiving confirmation of regulatory clearances from these two countries.  “Contractual supplies are also being undertaken to Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil, Morocco, Bangladesh and Myanmar,” he said.On being asked about quantities and types of vaccines, the MEA spokesperson said India-made vaccines supplies are underway both as gifts as well as on commercial basis. “The supplies abroad on G2G, G2B and B2B basis would be based on availability and regulatory approvals in the countries concerned,” he said.

  • COVID-19 vaccination: Govt to share probe info on deaths after jab to build trust

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The Centre has decided to make public the findings of  probes into all serious adverse events following immunisation (AEFI)  for Covid-19 from next week to build confidence around the vaccines, as they have received less than enthusiastic response from beneficiaries so far.

    ALSO READ | Over 1 lakh Telangana health workers given Covid-19 vaccine in five days

    Ever since the rollout of the vaccines a week ago, five deaths have been reported, but their AEFI reports tied them to comorbidities and not the vaccine. But the fatalities seem to have exacerbated the vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers. “It is an attempt to improve communication with the targeted groups and build trust,” said a health ministry official. 

    A member in the ICMR’s ethics panel explained that as the rollout advances, particularly in those who are in their 70s and 80s, there could be more such deaths. “People need to understand that because there is a rigorous AEFI tracking mechanism, it will capture all of these deaths,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Nine adverse events in Karnataka since vaccine launch

    “There is a background death rate in all age groups — a U-shaped curve, high between 0 to 1 years, then falls, the lowest in the 20 to 40 age group, then rises after 40, and sharply rises in older age groups. The AEFI plan will capture all these deaths among vaccine recipients,” he added.

    PM dispels fearsPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he went by the decision of scientists on the vaccine rollout, adding it was not a political call, and obliquely referred to the controversy around the nod to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin 

  • No reports of side-effects among Chhattisgarh’s COVID vaccine recipients 

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: With no adverse reactions or side-effects reported from anywhere in Chhattisgarh following the Covid-19 vaccination of 5592 healthcare workers, the registered beneficiaries who received the jabs were back on duty.

    “Minor side-effects like complaints of mild fever or uneasiness were reported by some after the vaccination doses were administered. It is quite normal to get a lump or minor swelling where the shot was given. Nothing to worry”, said Amar Singh Thakur, the Chhattisgarh state immunization officer.

    “I am absolutely fine and got engaged with our routine job. Didn’t face any problem or side-effect so far”, said Sarita Singh, a paramedical staff from Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Memorial hospital, who was among the beneficiaries inoculated.

    “When we doctors are confident enough, there is no reason why others should fear it. Whoever gets their turn shouldn’t hesitate to go for the vaccination”, said Dr Aradhna Shukla, senior resident, AIIMS Raipur.

    A lab technician from Raipur district hospital V K Verma said that he is 58-year-old and happily gone for vaccination process so as to perform his job without the fear of getting infected. 

    Chhattisgarh witnessed 61 percent turnout on the first day of Covid vaccination drive. The vaccination will be carried out on four days a week and will not be held on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday.

  • IGIMS employee, ambulance driver becomes first two to receive COVID-19 vaccine in Bihar

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Cleaner Ram Babu, working at Patna based Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Science (IGIMS) and ambulance driver Amit Kumar became the first two to be administered the vaccine against coronavirus in Bihar. 

    Speaking to the media, Ram Babu and Amit Kumar said they are feeling privileged to become the first and second persons to get vaccinated in the presence of CM Nitish Kumar. “The government has honoured us by selecting us. Our names will be known in the history,” Ram Babu said.

    ALSO READ | Frontline worker Pushpa Kumari receives first COVID-19 vaccine shot in Andhra Pradesh

    Bihar health minister Mangal Pandey said that all preparations have been completed to carry on the vaccination drive successfully across the state. He said that the shots will be given to nearly three thousand people in Bihar on the first day.

    “A total of 10 stores of vaccines have been built in Bihar including Patna, Saran, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, Darbhanga, Saharsa, Bhagalpur, Purnia, Nalanda ,Aurangabad and other places”, the health minister said.

    According to information received from the Health Department, Bihar has received 54,900 vials from the Serum Institute of India and 1000 vaccine vials from Bharat Biotech so far carrying 5.69 doses to be given to the listed beneficiaries. In Bihar, 4, 62,275 health workers will be vaccinated in the first phase of the drive at 300 vaccination points.

    ALSO READ | Sanitation worker in AIIMS first person in Delhi to get COVID-19 vaccination

    Pandey said that first priority for vaccination will be given to the health workers including doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, lab technicians and sanitation workers. “After them, frontline warriors like policemen, home guards, security forces and soldiers in the state will be vaccinated in the second phase”, he said.

  • COVID-19: First jab today as mother of all vaccine drives begins

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  India will roll out the world’s biggest vaccination programme on Saturday by inoculating over three lakh healthcare workers against Covid-19, which brought the entire country, and the world, to a halt for much of last year.  A total of 3,006 vaccination centres across all states and union territories will be virtually connected as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the drive at 10.30 am, with 100 beneficiaries getting the shots at each site on the first day.

    ALSO READ | Only Covaxin for Centre-run hospitals? Delhi doctors fret two days ahead of India’s mega vaccination drive

    PM Modi said the country will enter a “decisive phase” in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic on Saturday. Amid concerns over the efficacy of the indigenously developed Covaxin vaccine by Bharat Biotech, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday reiterated that both Covaxin and Covishield, manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute, have “proven safety and immunogenicity records”.

    ALSO READ | All hands on deck for Covid vaccine launch

    These two vaccines will be the “most important tool” to control the pandemic, he added. “Tomorrow is an important day… it is the last phase of the battle against coronavirus. This is probably the beginning of the end of Covid,” he said.  The minister, however, cautioned that even after vaccination, people should not lower their guard and must follow Covid-appropriate behaviour.  

    The immunisation drive will begin with healthcare workers, both in government and private sectors, getting the shots. While reviewing the preparation of the launch, Vardhan suggested that the CoWIN software be pre-populated with non-prioritised beneficiaries by seeding it with electoral database, in addition to other documents for registration. 

    ALSO READ | Mixed feelings towards COVID vaccine from Ayush doctors in Karnataka

    CoWIN, short for Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network, is an online platform meant to facilitate real-time information of vaccine stocks, storage temperature and individualised tracking of beneficiaries for Covid-19 vaccine. It will also assist programme managers track beneficiary coverage, beneficiary dropouts, sessions planned versus sessions held and vaccine utilisation. The minister also advised the administrative machinery to go all out to counter the misinformation campaign being spread by vested interests, said a statement by the ministry.

  • 3 lakh healthcare workers in 2934 sites to get shot on day one of COVID-19 vaccination drive

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: The central government has planned to inoculate around 3 lakh healthcare workers at 2934 session sites on the first day of the world’s biggest vaccination COVID-19 drive that begins from January 16 across India.

    “This is the biggest vaccination drive in India so far and it has been decided to vaccinate about 300 lakhs healthcare workers at 2934 sites,” a senior government official said on Wednesday.

    ALSO READ I No, you cannot choose your Covid vaccine brand

    Two COVID-19 vaccines -Covishield and Covaxin- have been given Emergency Use Authorisation in the country after going through established safety and immunogenicity through a well prescribed regulatory process.

    These vaccines may cost in the range of Rs 200 to 295 in the country.

    Earlier in the day, the health ministry said that full initial procurement amount of 1.65 crore doses of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines have been allocated to all states and Union Territories was done in proportion of Health Care Workers database.

    The Ministry said that an initial lot of supply of vaccine doses would be continuously replenished in the weeks to come.

    According to the Health Ministry, the states and union territories have also been advised to increase the number of vaccination session sites that would be operational every day in a progressive manner as the vaccination process stabilizes.

    On Tuesday, union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said: “All preparations are on track for the COVID-19 vaccine roll out from January 16. A total of 26 virtual meetings/training held with States/UTs, 2360 Master Trainers, 61,000 Programme Managers, 2 lakh Vaccinators, 3.7 lakh other Vaccination Team Members have been trained so far.”

    The health secretary said that there will be a sequential roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination drive as the vaccine will be available in a limited quantity.

    “In the first phase of vaccination, approximately one crore Health Care Workers (HCWs), approximately two crore front line workers and around 27 crore prioritized age-groups will be vaccinated. The cost of vaccination of Health Care Workers and front line Workers will be solely borne by the Central government,” he added,

    ALSO READ I Odisha districts asked to ensure zero wastage of Covid-19 vaccine

    Bhushan said that the vaccine consignments will first reach four Gross Medical Store Depots (GMSDs) at Karnal in Haryana, Kolkata in West Bengal, Chennai in Tamil Nadu and Mumbai in Maharashtra.

    “All states have at least one state-level regional temperature-controlled vaccine store. Uttar Pradesh has nine, Madhya Pradesh has four, Gujarat has four, Kerala has three, Jammu and Kashmir has two, Karnataka has two and Rajasthan has two stores. These states will receive the vaccine from manufacturers and the government will be responsible for take it cold chain,” he said.

    On Wednesday, Bharat Biotech announced the successful air-shipment of its vaccine Covaxin to 11 cities in India. Bharat Biotech has also donated 16.5 lakh doses to the Government of India.

    After having received the government purchase order for 55 lakh doses, Bharat Biotech shipped the first batch of vaccines (each vial containing 20 doses) to Ganavaram, Guwahati, Patna, Delhi, Kurukshetra, Bangalore, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Chennai and Lucknow. While some shipments have arrived in the respective cities, others will be delivered later this evening. 

  • No discrimination in allocation of vaccines to any state, says Centre

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Amid accusations by some states that they have received an inadequate supply of vaccines for the immunisation drive beginning Saturday, the Centre on Wednesday asserted that it has distributed stocks in proportion to healthcare workers in each state. “Full initial procurement amount of 1.65 crore doses of Covishield and Covaxin have been allocated to all states in proportion of health care workers database,” said the Union health ministry. “Therefore, there is no question of discrimination against any state in allocation of vaccine doses.”

    The clarification comes after Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope alleged that the state received 9.83 lakh of doses even though it had sent a database of 17.5 lakh healthcare workers in the state. For the first phase of the vaccination, the Centre has procured 1.1 crore doses of Covishield and 55 lakh doses of Covaxin from Bharat Biotech. 

    ALSO READ: Maharashtra received 9.83 lakh vaccine doses so far, total requirement 17.5 lakh: Tope

    “This is the initial lot of supply of vaccine doses and would be continuously replenished in the weeks to come. Therefore, any apprehension being expressed on account of deficient supply is totally baseless and unfounded,” the Centre said. It added that the states were advised to organise vaccination sessions taking into account 10 % reserve or wastage doses and average of 100 vaccinations per session per day. Any undue haste by states to organise unreasonable numbers of vaccination per site per day is not advisable, said the ministry.

    Though the government has not made public details of beneficiaries to be vaccinated on the first day or the number of vaccination centres, sources said there are nearly 3,000 centres. “This number was 5,000 initially but following our request that the process should begin in a graded and cautious manner with limited vaccinations, states have reduced the number and it now stands a little over 2,900,” a senior official told this newspaper.

  • Meghalaya gets 35,000 doses of Covishield vaccine, inoculation at 11 sites

    By ANI
    SHILLONG: 35,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covishield’ have reached safely in Meghalaya on Wednesday morning, informed State Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.

    In a tweet, Sangma said, “35,000 doses of Covishield have arrived safely at the State Vaccination Centre, Shillong. This will set in motion the world’s biggest vaccination effort from January 16, 2021. 11 sites have been identified across Meghalaya for the launch event.”

    35,000 doses of #Covishield have arrived safely at the State Vaccination Center, Shilllong. This will set in motion the world’s biggest vaccination effort from 16th Jan, 2021.11 sites have been identified across #Meghalaya for the launch event.@narendramodi @drharshvardhan pic.twitter.com/Mung4a2UgS
    — Conrad Sangma (@SangmaConrad) January 13, 2021

    The Chief Minister in another tweet also expressed gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan.

    “First shipments of COVID-19 vaccine touch down at Guwahati Airport today. Meghalaya will roll-out the COVID vaccination drive from January 16, 2021, using Covishield vaccine for Phase I. Gratitude to PM Narendra Modi and Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan,” he said in another tweet.

    Covishield and Covaxin, the two COVID-19 vaccines which have received Emergency Use Authorisation (EAU), have been tested on thousands of people and side-effects are negligible, Dr VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, said on Tuesday and noted that the two “are safest of the vaccines”.

    “Both the vaccines (Covishield and Covaxin) have been authorized for emergency use and there should be no doubt about their safety. They have been tested on thousands of people and side-effects are negligible. There is no risk of any significance,” Dr Paul said at a press conference here.

    The first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive is scheduled to start from January 16.

    Earlier, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had said that the central government is having close collaboration with states and union territories for vaccine roll-out. “All preparations are on track for vaccine roll-out from January 16,” he had said.