Tag: India COVID vaccine

  • Doctors welcome expert panel’s suggestion on Covaxin for children; flag issue of global acceptance

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Doctors welcomed the recommendation of an expert panel to grant emergency use authorisation to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for children in the age group of two to 18 years with certain conditions, but flagged the fact that the anti-COVID-19 vaccine has still not been accepted globally.

    Efforts must be made to establish its efficacy globally so that the children are not subject to restrictive measures when they travel abroad, they said.

    An expert panel of India’s central drug authority has recommended granting emergency use authorisation to Covaxin for children in the age group of two to 18 years with certain conditions, sources said on Tuesday.

    “It will be beneficial both for the children as well as those around them.

    We need to achieve herd immunity and decrease the risk of further waves.

    No doubt that children and adolescents are vulnerable groups and if the vaccine safety data is strong enough and we immunise them, it will have a big impact in reducing the transmission of Covid,” said Dr Akshay Budhraja, senior consultant, pulmonology, Aakash Healthcare, Dwarka.

    He added that this will prove to be a major step as schools, coaching centres and sports centres are gradually opening.

    Calling it a step towards defeating the pandemic, Dr Gauri Agarwal, founder, Seeds of Innocence, said it will help children resume their normal lives again.

    “However, according to the principal investigator of Covaxin trials on children, the vaccine safety and immunogenicity results are awaited.

    It is important to establish the efficacy of the vaccine by the time it is approved for administration,” she said.

    At the same time, efforts must be made to establish the efficacy of the vaccine globally so that the children are not subject to restrictive measures when they travel abroad, she added.

    Dr Rahul Nagpal, director of paediatric and neonatology at Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj, said it is the first step and there is still a long way to go before it is implemented.

    He echoed the views of Agarwal regarding Covaxin not being accepted at the international level.

    “This is the first step and there is still time before it will be fully implemented. It is obviously exciting news but we need to wait and see.

    “In case it is started, children with co-morbid conditions and those aged above 12 years will be the priority group. But at the same time, let us not forget that WHO has still not approved Covaxin.

    A section of people would have hesitancy to take the vaccine since they would not be able to travel abroad with their children,” Nagpal said.

  • India, UK hold talks on vaccine certification process: British envoy

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: British High Commissioner Alex Ellis on Thursday said India and the UK held “excellent” technical discussion on the issue of vaccine certification.

    Referring to new British travel rules, Ellis had on Wednesday said there was no problem with Covishield vaccine and that the main issue is COVID-19 vaccine certification done through the CoWIN app.

    “Excellent technical discussions with @rssharma3 @AyushmanNHA. Neither side raised technical concerns with each other’s certification process. An important step forward in our joint aim to facilitate travel and fully protect public health of UK and India,” he tweeted on Thursday.

    Following India’s strong criticism over the UK’s refusal to recognise Covishield, London on Wednesday amended its new guidelines to include the Indian-made version of the AstraZeneca vaccine in its updated international travel advisory.

    However, Indian travellers vaccinated with two doses of Covishield will still have to undergo 10 days of quarantine in the UK notwithstanding the amendment, UK officials clarified on Wednesday saying the inclusion of the vaccine will not make much of a difference.

    “We’re clear Covishield is not a problem. The UK is open to travel and we’re already seeing a lot of people going from India to the UK, be it tourists, business people or students,” Ellis said in a statement on Wednesday.

    “We have been having detailed technical discussions regarding certification, with the builders of the CoWIN app and the NHS app, about both apps.

    They’re happening at a rapid pace, to ensure that both countries mutually recognise the vaccine certificates issued by each other,” he said.

    According to new rules, Indian travellers who received both doses of the Covishield vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India will be considered unvaccinated and will have to undergo self-isolation for 10 days.

    In a strong reaction, India had on Tuesday warned of “reciprocal measures” if the UK does not address its concerns over the new travel rules relating to COVID-19 vaccine certification with Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla describing these norms as “discriminatory”.

    Referring to the latest guidelines issued by the UK government that will come into effect on October 4, another UK officials had said that London does not have any problem with the Covishield vaccine but there are certain issues related to vaccine certification in India.

    The new British rules have triggered massive criticism in India.

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also took up the issue of Covishield-vaccinated travellers being required to quarantine in the UK with newly-appointed British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss at a meeting in New York on Tuesday.

  • Covid: Number of active cases in India lowest in 151 days

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A single-day rise of 34,457 COVID-19 cases pushed India’s tally to 3,23,93,286 on Saturday, while the number of active cases declined to 3,61,340, the lowest in 151 days, according to Union health ministry data.

    India has reported less than 50,000 daily cases for 55 consecutive days.

    The death toll climbed to 4,33,964 with 375 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

    The 3,61,340 active cases comprise 1.12 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March last year.

    The national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.54 per cent, the highest since March last year, the ministry said.

    A reduction of 2,265 cases has been recorded in the active caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    The daily positivity rate stands at 2 per cent.

    It has been less than 3 per cent for the last 26 days, according to the ministry.

    The weekly positivity rate stands at 1.98 per cent.

    It has been below 3 per cent for the last 57 days, the ministry said.

    As many as 17,21,205 COVID-19 tests were conducted on Friday, taking the total number of tests done so far in the country to 50,45,76,158.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 3,15,97,982, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, the data stated.

    So far, 57.61 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India’s caseload crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

    The 375 new fatalities include 105 from Maharashtra and 99 from Kerala.

    Of the 4,33,964 deaths reported so far in the country, 1,35,672 were from Maharashtra, 37,105 from Karnataka, 34,663 from Tamil Nadu, 25,079 from Delhi, 22,791 from Uttar Pradesh, 19,345 from Kerala and 18,346 from West Bengal.

    The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

    “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation. 

  • Covid: Number of active cases in India lowest since March 2020

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A single-day rise of 34,457 COVID-19 cases pushed India’s tally to 3,23,93,286 on Saturday, while the number of active cases declined to 3,61,340, the lowest in 151 days, according to Union health ministry data.

    India has reported less than 50,000 daily cases for 55 consecutive days.

    The death toll climbed to 4,33,964 with 375 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

    The 3,61,340 active cases comprise 1.12 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March last year.

    The national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.54 per cent, the highest since March last year, the ministry said.

    A reduction of 2,265 cases has been recorded in the active caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    The daily positivity rate stands at 2 per cent.

    It has been less than 3 per cent for the last 26 days, according to the ministry.

    The weekly positivity rate stands at 1.98 per cent.

    It has been below 3 per cent for the last 57 days, the ministry said.

    As many as 17,21,205 COVID-19 tests were conducted on Friday, taking the total number of tests done so far in the country to 50,45,76,158.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 3,15,97,982, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, the data stated.

    So far, 57.61 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India’s caseload crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

    The 375 new fatalities include 105 from Maharashtra and 99 from Kerala.

    Of the 4,33,964 deaths reported so far in the country, 1,35,672 were from Maharashtra, 37,105 from Karnataka, 34,663 from Tamil Nadu, 25,079 from Delhi, 22,791 from Uttar Pradesh, 19,345 from Kerala and 18,346 from West Bengal.

    The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

    “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation. 

  • India administers 88.13 lakh Covid vaccine, highest ever in single day

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India has administered more than 88.13 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, the highest ever vaccination achieved in a single day, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

    In a tweet, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “India achieves the highest single-day record in #COVID19 vaccine doses. Yesterday will go down in the history of the world’s #LargestVaccineDrive. Congratulations.”

    Some good news: #India achieves highest ever single day #COVIDVaccination mark with 88.13 lakh vaccine doses administered in the last 24 hrsAlso, only 25,166 daily new #COVID19 cases reported in a day@NewIndianXpress#COVID
    — Sumi Dutta (@SumiSukanya) August 17, 2021
    Cumulatively, 55,47,30,609 vaccine doses have been administered through 62,12,108 sessions across India, as per the provisional report till 7 am.

    ALSO READ | India records 25,166 new COVID-19 cases, lowest in 154 days

    Besides, the ministry said more than 56.81 crore vaccine doses have been provided to states and UTs so far through all sources and a further 1,09,32,960 doses are in the pipeline.

    Of this, the total consumption including wastage is 55,11,51,992 doses, according to the data available at 8 AM.

    More than 2.25 crore balance and unutilized COVID vaccine doses are still available with states,UTs and private hospitals to be administered, the ministry stated.

    The new phase of universalization of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from June 21.

  • Over 2.75 crore Covid vaccine doses still available with states, private hospitals: Centre

    The new phase of universalisation of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from June 21.

  • COVID-19: India administers 43.99 lakh vaccine doses in last 24 hours

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: After 43,99,298 vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours, India’s cumulative vaccination coverage increased to 34.46 crores, according to the Union Health Ministry on Saturday.

    A total of 34,46,11,291 vaccine doses have been administered through 45,60,088 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today.

    Meanwhile, as many 44,111 new COVID-19 cases and 738 deaths were reported in India in the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.

    With 57,477 recoveries in the last 24 hours, daily recoveries continued to outnumber the daily new cases for the 51st consecutive day.

    With this, the cumulative tally of positive COVID-19 cases in the country stands at 3,05,02,362, including 2,96,05,779 recoveries, 4,01,050 deaths and 4,95,533 active cases.

    The active tally is less than five lakh after 97 days and it constitutes 1.62 percent of the total cases.

    As per health ministry data, the daily positivity rate is below 5 percent for the 26th consecutive day and today it stands at 2.35 percent while the weekly positivity rate is currently at 2.50 percent.

    Meanwhile, the national recovery rate increased to 97.06 percent. 

  • EXPLAINER: Why ‘world’s pharmacy’ India is short on COVID-19 vaccine shots

    By Associated Press
    NEW DELHI (AP) — Last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the United Nations his country would make enough COVID-19 vaccines “to help all humanity.” Now India is struggling to meet its own domestic needs for the shots amid a startling surge of infections.

    As the world’s largest maker of vaccines, India always was expected to play a pivotal role in global efforts to immunize against COVID-19. But a mixture of overconfidence, poor planning and bad luck has prevented that from happening.

    Here’s a look at what went wrong:

    CAUGHT OFF GUARD

    Officials in India seemed to have been caught off guard by several things, including the speed at which vaccines were approved for use around the world. India like many other countries had been working under the assumption that vaccines wouldn’t be ready for use until mid-2021.

    Instead, they started being greenlit in some countries in December — upping the pressure to not only produce but deliver promised shots as soon as possible. India, which approved two vaccines in January, turned out to not be ready for either the eventual demand at home or abroad.

    The government’s plan had been to vaccinate 300 million of the India’s nearly 1.4 billion people by August. But it hadn’t actually reserved even close to enough shots to do so. It had just assumed — partly based on projections from the country’s vaccine makers — that there would be enough doses to both vaccinate people at home and fulfil promised orders abroad.

    ALSO READ: Boosting cooperation on COVID-19 vaccines to be focus of Jaishankar’s 5-day visit to US

    There also was little domestic urgency because India’s infections had been declining consistently for months. In fact, in January, just days after India kicked off its domestic vaccination campaign and also started exporting shots, Modi declared victory over the pandemic at a virtual gathering of the World Economic Forum.

    Modi’s government seemed to bask in the early success of its so-called “vaccine diplomacy” and the Foreign Ministry reiterated time and again that exports were calibrated according to the needs of the domestic immunization program.

    Experts say that turned out to be a dangerous miscalculation as an explosion of domestic cases was just around the corner.

    Dr. Vineeta Bal, who studies immune systems at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune city, said the government should’ve been planning for the future instead of celebrating its “victory” over the virus.

    “I’ve no idea why people didn’t think about it,” she said. “Did no one do the calculation … of how many doses will be needed in India?”

    PRODUCTION PROBLEMS

    India has two main COVID-19 vaccine producers: the Serum Institute of India, which is making the AstraZeneca vaccine, and Bharat Biotech, which is making its own local vaccine.

    India had allowed the companies to start producing their shots last year as they waited for formal approval from regulators. Both the government and the companies thought that by the time the shots were approved they would have larger stockpiles of the vaccines than they did.

    Scaling up manufacturing has turned out to be a problem for both companies.

    ALSO READ | Will have to shut vaccination centres for 18-44 age group as vaccine stocks are over: Delhi CM

    Serum Institute’s chief executive, Adar Poonawalla, told the The Associated Press in December that the target was to make up to 100 million shots monthly by January and to split them equally between India and the world. But the federal government told states last month that the company was producing just 60 million shots a month.

    The company has said that a fire in its facilities in January and a U.S. embargo on exporting raw materials needed to make the the jabs has hobbled production. Poonawalla told the Associated Press that pivoting away from suppliers in the U.S. could result in a delay of up to six months.

    Bharat Biotech chairman Krishna Ella told reporters in January that the company was aiming to make 700 million shots in 2021. But the federal government told states last month that the company was producing just 10 million shots a month.

    The government said last month that it was giving the company millions of dollars in grants to try to help it ramp up production.

    Neither company nor India’s Health Ministry responded to requests for comment.

    ALSO READ | Over 1.6 crore COVID vaccine doses still available with states and UTs: Health ministry

    WHAT NEXT?

    With India recording hundreds of thousands of new infections each day, the government on May 1 opened up vaccination to all adults. That caused a surge in demand that has laid bare the extent of the shortage.

    India has so far received just 196 million shots, including 10 million as a part of COVAX, a worldwide initiative aimed at providing equitable access to vaccines. Just 41 million people have been fully vaccinated, while 104 million more have received the first shot.

    But the number of shots administered has declined from an average of 3.6 million a day on April 10 to about 1.4 million a day on May 20.

    To help with the shortage, India has greenlit the Russian vaccine Sputnik V and 200,000 doses of that arrived last week.

    The government says supplies will improve soon and expects more than 2 billion shots to be available between August and December, according to Dr. V.K. Paul, a government advisor. That would include 750 million shots made by Serum Institute, 550 million shots made by Bharat Biotech and 156 million shots from Russia.

    There are also plans for five Indian companies to make the Russian vaccine locally and for Serum Institute to make a version of the Novavax vaccine and vaccines from five other Indian companies whose shots are still being tested.

    But experts warn that such estimates are once again too optimistic.

    “These are optimistic estimates…there are many ifs and buts that one needs to consider,” said Bal.

    WATCH 

  • COVID vaccination: Centre says 122 crore doses needed to inoculate 59 crore people in 18-45 age group

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Centre has told the Supreme Court that a total of 122 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine would be required to vaccinate a population of 59 crores in the age group of 18 to 45 years.

    In an affidavit filed before the top court, the Centre said vaccination is the topmost priority of the government and all efforts are being made to achieve an objective of 100 percent vaccination in the shortest time possible keeping the available resources in mind and availability of vaccine doses into consideration.

    “It is submitted that considering the limited availability of two vaccines which are presently available in India namely Covaxin and Covisheild, it became incumbent upon the government to prioritise vaccination in the most scientific manner.”

    ALSO READ | Phase-3 vaccination: Over 86,000 received first dose on May 1

    “It is submitted that while prioritising vaccination the first priority was towards health workers. It is submitted that projected mid-year population for 2021 for the age group of 18 to 45 years is about 59 crore. To vaccinate this target, a total of 122 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine would be required (which factors in some vaccine wastage which is inevitable),” the Centre said.

    Stating that the central government has already taken proactive steps for procurement of other vaccines apart from Covishield and Covaxin, the Centre told the apex court that it has fast-tracked the emergency approvals for foreign-produced COVID-19 Vaccines that have been granted approval in other countries.

    The government told the court that it has already granted a license to Sputnik V vaccine for restricted use in an emergency situation (emergency use authorization granted by European Union Agency) based on data from studies/clinical trials in Russia and other countries coupled with data from Phase II/III trials conducted in India by Dr.Reddy’s Laboratories.

    “It is submitted that as per estimates the availability of locally manufactured Sputnik V vaccine will start from July onwards.

    It is expected that locally manufactured Sputnik V vaccine will be available to the extent of 8 million and 16 million doses (for 4 million and 8 million individuals) for the months of July and August 2021 respectively.

    “It is further submitted that the Union of India has been in constant touch with Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J since mid- 2020 with the objective of encouraging these companies to develop/ supply/manufacture their respective vaccine through their local partners in India,” the Centre said.

    The top court on April 22 took note of the pandemic situation due to a sudden surge in COVID-19 cases and said it expected the Centre to come out with a “national plan” to deal with the distribution of essential services and supplies, including oxygen and drugs.

  • Over 2.06 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses administered till Saturday 7 pm: Health Ministry

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 2.06 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday.

    The nationwide vaccination drive against COVID-19 was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers, while frontline workers stated receiving vaccine shots from February 2.

    Providing the second dose of COVID-19 shots started on February 13.

    The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for those senior citizens and for people aged 45 years and above with specified comorbid conditions According to a provisional report till Saturday 7 pm, a total of 2,06,62,073 vaccine doses have been given.

    These include 69,72,859 healthcare workers and 65,02,869 frontline workers who have taken the first dose, 35,22,671 healthcare and 1,97,853 frontline workers who have taken the second dose, 4,60,782 beneficiaries more than 60 years and 30,05,039 aged 45 and above with specific comorbidities.

    On Saturday, the 50th day of nationwide COVID-19 vaccination, till 7 pm, a total of 11,64,422 vaccine doses were given, the health ministry said.

    Out of these 9,44,919 beneficiaries were administered the first dose and 2,19,503 healthcare and frontline workers received the 2nd dose according to the provisional report, the ministry said.

    The 9,44,919 beneficiaries include 6,26,805 people aged over 60 and 1,14,036 aged 45-60 with comorbidities.

    The ministry said that the final reports for the day would be completed late in the night.