The ministry also said that Maharashtra has been allocated 17,50,620 #39;Covishield #39; and 5,76,890 #39;Covaxin #39; vaccine doses by the Centre for the first fortnight of May.
Tag: Covishield
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Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla gets ‘Y’ category security cover from CRPF
By PTI
NEW DELHI: Serum Institute of India’s CEO Adar Poonawalla has been accorded ‘Y’ category security across India by the CRPF in view of “potential threats” to the businessman, involved in the production of one of the COVID-19 vaccines in India, the Union government officials said on Wednesday.The Central government decision came after Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), Prakash Kumar Singh had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on April 16 requesting security for Poonawalla.
According to officials, the protection has been given in view of “potential threats” to Poonawalla.
Armed commandos of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will be with him every time he travels to any part of the country, they said and added that the ‘Y’ security cover will entail a posse of about 4-5 armed commandos with him.
Covishield, one of the two COVID-19 vaccines used in India’s COVID-19 vaccination programme, is being manufactured by SII.
The other vaccine being used in the country is Covaxin made by Bharat Biotech.
In this letter, Singh had stated that Poonawalla has been getting threats from various groups regarding the COVID-19 vaccine supplies.
In this letter, Singh also said, “we are working shoulder to shoulder to fight against COVID-19 pandemic with the Government of India under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji.”
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‘Philanthropic gesture’: Serum Institute cuts Covishield cost by Rs 100 for states
By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The Serum Institute of India on Wednesday announced that the price of Covishield per dose for state governments has been reduced from Rs 400 to Rs 300. But there was no mention of its cost reduction to private hospitals indicating it will remain the same.As per the statement issued by the company earlier, it had said that states will have to pay Rs 400 per shot of the vaccines while it will cost Rs 600 per shot to private hospitals.
“As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of Serum Institute of India, I hereby reduce the price to the states from Rs.400 to Rs.300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds going forward. This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives,” said the company CEO Adar Poonawalla in a tweet.
ALSO READ | First batch of Russia’s Sputnik V Covid vaccine to arrive in India on May 1
Following the price announcement by SII last week, Bharat Biotech had announced that its Covid19 vaccine Covaxin will be available to states at Rs 600 per dose and to private hospitals at Rs 1200 per shot.
The Centre however has said that it will keep procuring the two vaccines at Rs 150 per shot.
As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of @SerumInstIndia, I hereby reduce the price to the states from Rs.400 to Rs.300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds going forward. This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives.
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) April 28, 2021This differential pricing and the steep prices announced by the two companies have since triggered a torrent of criticism of the liberalised and decentralised Covid19 vaccination policy by the Centre.
Under the new policy, from May 1, as vaccinations open to all adults, states and private entities can buy doses directly from manufacturers which will be used for people in the 18-44 age group.
The Centre however will supply vaccines–50 % of the total vaccines supplied by these companies– only for the priority groups or those above 45 years, healthcare and frontline workers.
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Covishield, Covaxin effective against ‘Indian strain’ of coronavirus, study suggests
By PTI
NEW DELHI: Covishield and Covaxin — the two coronavirus vaccines currently in use in India — have efficacy against the ‘Indian strain’ and show “milder” illness in case of infection post vaccination, a senior scientist said on Tuesday citing preliminary results of a study.Anurag Agrawal, the Director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), said the study on effectiveness of the available vaccines on the B.1.617 variant of SARS-CoV2 suggests that post vaccination, the infections are milder.
The B.1.617 variant is also being called a ‘double mutant’ or the ‘Indian strain’.
“Initial positive neutralisation studies of B.1. 617, with both post-Covaxin or Covishield sera, are correlatable with milder disease during post-vaccination breakthrough infections. This is a positive while we get quantitative data for better understanding of infection protection,” Agrawal tweeted.
IGIB is an institute under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Another study by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad under the CSIR suggests that early results using in-vitro neutralisation assay show that both convalescent (prior infection) sera and Covishield-vaccinated sera offer protection against the B.1.617 variant.
“Very preliminary but encouraging result: #Covishield protects against #B1617. Early results using in vitro neutralization assay show that both convalescent (prior infection) sera and Covishield vaccinated sera offer protection against the B.1.617 variant, aka #DoubleMutant,” CCMB Director Rakesh Mishra tweeted last week.
The B.1.617 variant has three new spike protein mutations.
Two mutations — E484Q and L452R — are in the area important for antibody-based neutralisation.
The third mutation — P681R — allows the virus to enter cells a little better.
These are defining characteristics of the variant.
The B.1.617 variant of SARS-CoV2 has been found prevalent largely in Maharashtra and Delhi that have been severely hit by a devastating second wave of the pandemic.
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SC asks Centre to explain rationale behind different price slabs of COVID-19 vaccines
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Tuesday took note of different prices of COVID-19 vaccines for Centre, states and the private hospitals and asked the central government to explain to it the “rationale and basis” behind such a pricing policy.The top court, hearing a suo motu case related to ‘distribution of essential supplies and services during pandemic’, also asked the Centre as to how it was going to meet the sudden surge in demand of vaccines from May 1 when vaccination for all above 18 years of age would begin.
“The Union of India shall clarify in its affidavit the basis and rationale adopted in regard to the pricing of vaccines,” said the bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud while fixing the suo motu case for hearing on Friday.
“Different manufacturers are coming out with different prices. What is Centre doing about it,” said the bench, which also comprised justices L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat.
In the proceedings conducted through video conferencing, senior advocate and SCBA (Supreme Court Bar Association) President Vikas Singh informed the bench that there has been different price slabs for vaccines to be procured by the Centre, states and the private hospitals.
The bench referred to the powers of the Centre under the Drugs Control law to control the price of medicines and said the pandemic was “perhaps the right time to invoke such powers”.
“This is a pandemic and a national crisis. If this is not the time to issue such powers, what is the time,” it asked.
The pricing policy has allowed vaccine manufacturers to fix the price and under it, Serum Institute of India has announced that it will sell Covishield to states at Rs 400 per dose and to private hospitals at the rate of Rs 600 per dose.
However, it has been selling the vaccine at Rs 150 per dose to the Centre, one of the lawyers said.
Referring to expanding the age group of vaccination, the bench said, “if vaccination is open to above 18 we need to know how you are going to meet the increased surge in demand for vaccines.”
The bench also asked the Centre to apprise the top court of the modalities on distribution of oxygen as well as the vaccines to states and the monitoring mechanism.
The bench on April 22 took note of the pandemic situation due to sudden surge in COVID-19 cases as also in mortality and said it expected the Centre to come out with a “national plan” to deal with distribution of essential services and supplies, including oxygen and drugs.
Observing that oxygen to patients infected with the virus is said to be an “essential part” of treatment, the top court had said it seemed that a certain amount of “panic” has been generated due to which people have approached several high courts seeking relief.
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Over one crore COVID vaccine doses still available with states, UTs: Centre
The government of India has so far provided 15,65,26,140 vaccine doses to the states and UTs free of cost.
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Where is the vaccine for youth, ask experts as India set to open up COVID-19 shots for all
Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Despite the government announcing a new decentralized vaccination policy, a COVID-19 jab may not be available for all from May 1, as India stares at a major supply crisis.Starting next month, all above 18 qualify for a shot against the coronavirus and while the Centre will pay for vaccination of those above 45 years at select facilities, people in the 18-44 age group will depend on the policy of their state for a free vaccine at a government hospital or can pay for it in private set-ups.
This expansion of the vaccination drive comes even though the stocks of the currently available two COVID-19 vaccines are limited, forcing the first prioritized groups to wait for their turns for long despite their willingness to take the jabs and there may not be any foreign supplies available for several weeks.
ALSO READ: Dr Reddy’s expects first lot of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V by May end
So far, over 14.5 crore vaccine shots have been administered in the country but the rate of vaccination has not scaled up to an extent where nearly 35 crore people, aged 45 and above, can be covered till July-August as planned by the government earlier.
The Centre has not made public the details of its vaccine procurement from Serum Institute of India, the manufacturer of Covishield, and Bharat Biotech, developer of Covaxin, but states have long been complaining about vaccine shortage.
Anecdotal evidence from the ground too suggests that people above 45 — who are current beneficiaries of the vaccination project — are struggling to secure slots for their first or even second doses in many instances.
Authorities in the Union health ministry, however, said that the Centre has procured over 17 crore vaccine doses so far and is looking to procure 58 crore more doses by September—sufficient for 34 crore priority groups while states and private hospitals will have to arrange on their own for vaccination of the younger lot.
But the problems are far too many, leaving many deeply skeptical.
“Where is the vaccine for the youth? It is easy to make an announcement,” said public health expert Antony Kollanur.
He suggested that owing to the limited supply, it may be practical to open vaccination for 18-44 year age group only after completion of the second dose of health staff and frontline workers and completion of the first dose of all above 45 years.
His skepticism does not look far-fetched when one looks at the supply figures.
ALSO READ: US diverting its pending orders of vaccine filters to India’s manufacturing effort: White House
SII, with a production capacity of 6 crore doses a month, and Bharat Biotech, with a production capacity of 1 crore vaccine doses a month, are far too stretched to meet the huge demand even though all efforts are on to raise their production capacity quickly.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, economist R Ramakumar had said that the country would need nearly 1880 million vaccine doses considering the 94 crore adult population.
It may be a humongous challenge, however, to procure those many doses even by the year end as the government did not have prior agreement with any foreign makers, even though it has now said that regulatory approvals to them will be fast-tracked in view of the raging pandemic.
Sputnik V, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Russia, which got regulatory approval in India recently and has tied up with several Indian companies including Dr Reddy’s Laboratories for its local distribution and production, may only be available by May end.
There is no sign of any other COVID-19 vaccine arriving in India soon, though Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson have shown some interest in the country.
It is for this reason that the experts worry about possible confusion and frustration among beneficiaries after May 1.
“It would be better to phase out the drive in a way that supply and demand can be matched and also important for the platform and back-end server to work even with increased demand,” said health policy specialist Anant Bhan.
Some others meanwhile said that as a third wave of the pandemic may be expected in the winter, best use of the window of opportunity should be made. “India has the potential to rewrite the success story only if we increase the pace and widen the coverage in the quickest possible time,” said epidemiologist Giridhara R Babu.
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Government asks Serum Institute, Bharat Biotech to lower price of COVID vaccines: Sources
Many states have objected to different prices for the vaccines, with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying this is not time for profiteering.
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COVID-19: Yogi government orders 50 lakh doses of Covisheild, Covaxin each
By PTI
LUCKNOW: To ensure availability of adequate doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Uttar Pradesh, the state government has ordered 50 lakhs doses of Covishield and Covaxin each from manufacturing companies.Covishield is manufactured by Serum Institute of India and Covaxin by Bharat Biotech Limited.
In a statement issued here on Sunday, the UP government said that in pursuance with the Centre’s order, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is planning to take the vaccine across the state in an organised manner.
The state government has already offered the vaccine free of cost to everyone over the age of 18 from May 1, it said.
The immunisation programme is going on at a rapid pace in the state, it said.
So far, 1,17,77,209 vaccine doses have been given in the state.
This includes 97,79,846 first doses and 19,97,363 second doses, the statement said.
Dr RK Dhiman, Director, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), said, “We can avoid hospitalisation by getting vaccinated. Not only this, the death rate also decreases. In such a situation, it is very important for us to get vaccinated.”
Adityanath also directed authorities to ensure that last rites of the COVID patients are performed at cremation grounds and graveyards according to their religious beliefs with strict COVID protocol in place.
Taking cognisance of the complaints received from various districts in this regard and Terming the practice of extorting money from the relatives of dead COVID patients “inhuman”, he took cognisance of complaints received over the issue and warned of stern action against erring officials.
The UP government also said that the central government has taken several steps to ensure uninterrupted supply and effective management of medicines, oxygen and other essential medical devices which are useful in treatment of corona patients.
The Centre has also increased Uttar Pradesh’s quota of the Remdesivir injection to 1,61,000 vials until April 30.
The state has received 1,22,000 vials of the medication so far.
Adityanath ruled out any shortage of the anti-viral drug at COVID-dedicated hospitals, noting that it was being provided for free to the patients in government hospitals.
He also said that private hospitals would be provided the drug by the central government at permissible rates.
He called for reviewing the demand and supply of Remdesivir and maintaining transparency in its distribution.
Meanwhile, Zydus Cadila Company’s new drug ‘Virafin’, which is considered successful in the treatment of COVID patients, will soon be available in three districts of UP, — Lucknow, Varanasi and Allahabad.
The new medicine is expected to be available in one COVID hospital in each of the three districts in the next two-three days, the statement said.
The chief minister said that amidst growing corona infections in the country, India’s scientists are working overtime to find alternative treatment options in the vast world of medicine.
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Gujarat sees record 14,296 new COVID cases; to give free vaccines to 18-45 age group from May
By PTI
AHMEDABAD: Starting May 1, the Gujarat government will provide free of cost COVID-19 vaccines to those between 18 and 45 years of age, and an order of 1.5 crore doses has been placed for that purpose, an official said on Sunday.This decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
The state government will buy one crore doses of Covishield vaccine from Pune’s Serum Institute of India and 50 lakh doses of Covaxin from Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad, an official release said.
Around 6,000 government and private vaccination centres have been created across the state, where 1.13 crore beneficiaries have been vaccinated so far, of whom 19.3 lakh have received the second dose as well.
The government has extended the vaccination campaign to the district and taluka levels in a planned manner and the chief minister directed the officials to make arrangements for vaccination of every eligible person in the age group of 18 to 45 years in the state, it said.
Beneficiaries in this age group will have to register themselves online for the vaccine on the Cowin Portal starting April 28, the release added.
The central government had recently announced that everyone above 18 years of age will be eligible for the vaccination from May 1.
The state on Sunday recorded 14,296 new coronavirus cases, its highest single-day spike since the pandemic broke out, the state health department said.
This increased its infection tally to 4,96,033.
The state also recorded its highest one-day COVID-19 fatality count of 157, which took the death toll to 6,328, it said.
As 6,727 patients got discharge from hospitals on Sunday, the recovery count rose to 3,74,699, the department said in its release.
With this, the state’s recovery rate stands at 75.54 per cent.
Ahmedabad district reported the highest number of 5,864 new cases, followed by Surat with 2,103 cases, Vadodara 760, and Rajkot 676.
Among other districts, Jamnagar reported 674 new cases, Bhavnagar 379, and Junagadh 251.
Out of the 157 deaths, Ahmedabad recorded 29, Surat 27, Vadodara 19, and Rajkot and Jamnagar 14 each, it said.
As many as 1,12,95,536 beneficiaries have been administered COVID-19 vaccines in Gujarat so far, out of which 19,32,370 have also received the second dose, the department said.
The government said it has also placed orders to procure 1.
50 crore doses of vaccines for the drive to cover beneficiaries between the age group of 18-45 that will begin from May 1.
The state will procure 1 crore Covishield vaccines, and 50 lakh doses of Covaxin for the purpose, it said.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu rose to 6,689 with 208 new cases and 106 recoveries.
The UT has so far reported four deaths, officials said.
Gujarat’s COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 4,96,033, new cases 14,296, death toll 6,328, discharged 3,74,699, active cases 1,15,006, people tested so far – figures not released.