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Tag: pfizer vaccine

  • With domestic manufacturing picking up pace, India unlikely to buy Pfizer, Moderna vaccines for now: Sources

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India is unlikely to buy Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for now as the domestic manufacturing of anti-coronavirus jabs has picked up pace, sources said with the total doses administered in the country crossing 83 crore on Wednesday.

    Though there is no official word, the sources said the government is not ready to give in to the indemnity demands of the US drug manufacturers against liabilities in case of adverse effects.

    The Pune-based pharmaceutical company Serum Institute of India has enhanced the manufacturing capacity of Covishield to more than 20 crore doses per month and has informed the Centre that it will be able to supply around 22 crore doses in October.

    Also, Bharat Biotech is currently producing nearly 3 crores doses of Covaxin each month and its production is likely to be ramped up to 5 crores in the coming months.

    “In the initial days of the vaccination drive, there was requirement of jabs, but that has been met with the ramping up of domestic production. Also, these indigenously produced vaccines are much more affordable and do not have special cold chain requirements,” a source told PTI.

    Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday announced that India will resume export of surplus COVID-19 vaccines in the fourth quarter of 2021 under the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ programme and to meet its commitment to the COVAX global pool, but vaccinating its own citizens remains the topmost priority of the government.

    Talking about the expected production and supply trends in the coming months, he said the government will receive over 30 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines in October and over 100 crore doses in the coming quarter from October-December.

    The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 83 crore.

    According to official sources, over 22 per cent of India’s adult population have received both doses of vaccine and 65 per cent have got at least one dose.

    Of all the vaccine doses administered, around 88.45 per cent are Covishield, nearly 11.44 per cent Covaxin and less than one per cent Sputnik V.

    India on September 17 administered a record number of over 2.50 crore vaccine doses on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 71st birthday.

    The daily COVID-19 vaccination in the country was over 1 crore on September 6, August 31 and August 27.

    India took 85 days to touch the 10-crore vaccination mark, 45 more days to cross the 20-crore mark and 29 more days to reach the 30-crore mark, according to the ministry.

    The country took 24 days to reach 40 crore from 30 crore doses and then 20 more days to cross the 50-crore vaccination mark on August 6, it said.

    It took 19 more days to go past the 60-crore mark and took only 13 days to reach 70 crore from 60 crore on September 7.

    It then took just 11 days to reach 80 crore from 70 crore.

  • ‘Not on our radar presently’: Authorities on mix-and-match of Covid vaccine doses in India

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Several countries are now weighing the option of mixing and matching Covid vaccines amid supply delays and safety concerns after evidence from scientific studies have indicated that it may work, but the proposition is not being explored in India presently, authorities told The New Indian Express.

    The first findings of an Oxford University-led study, supported by another study in Spain, found that people who received Pfizer’s vaccine followed by a dose of AstraZeneca’s, or vice versa, were more likely to report mild or moderate common post-vaccination symptoms than if they received two of the same type.

    Also, the combination of two vaccines showed that they were highly effective against Covid infection.

    Officials involved in Covid vaccine administration in India, however, said that the top priority for the government and scientists now is to ensure the quick management of Covid second wave and ensuring enhanced vaccine supply to states.

    “We have discussed the new scientific evidence but there is no plan as such to carry out any related research in the country, which will essentially mean conducting clinical trials in people with two different vaccines,” said  Samiran Panda, chief epidemiologist at the ICMR and a senior member of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid19. 

    The same was confirmed by a top official in the Union Health Ministry. The stand taken by the government so far found support in some specialists who fee; that the immediate priority for the country would be to ensure quick supply of vaccines. 

    ALSO READ | Paediatric trials of Covaxin may begin in June: Bharat Biotech official confirms receiving nod

    “From an immunology viewpoint mixing two types of vaccines is not a problem. But studies show some more reactogenicity or minor side effects,” said virologist Shahid Jameel. “Whether it can or should be explored in India will depend upon the basket of vaccines available in India. At this point we should not divert our attention from increasing vaccines supply,” he said.

    In India, three vaccines are available for use at present, Covishield (AstraZeneca’s Indian version), Covaxin and Sputnik V.

    While Covishield and Sputnik V are made on viral vector platforms using adenoviruses, Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine — which means that it is made up of killed SARS CoV 2.

    So far, there has been no study in India on mix and match of vaccines even though the country is struggling to scale up its vaccination drive and ensure a wide inoculation coverage to a large population in order to avoid future waves of the pandemic.

    Some experts on the other hand backed such research in Indian context.

    “It may be an interesting proposition, given the variant strains that are running amok at present. There are apprehensions around wild-type spike-directed vaccines falling short on curbing some of the new variants,” said immunologist Dipyaman Ganguly.

    “Combining with another attenuated whole virus vaccine in different dose combinations may come out to be a better shield against the variants with spike-directed mutations. But all these require properly designed trials before taking any decision.”

  • ‘Closely monitor adverse events’: Indian experts as 23 elderly people die after Covid shots in Norway

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: As 23 elderly people died in Norway after receiving Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, experts in India underlined the need to closely monitor adverse events on a day when a massive vaccination drive against coronavirus kicked off in the country.

    In Norway, where about 30,000 people have received the mRNA vaccine since the end of December, a cautionary advisory has now been issued against vaccinating elderly people above 80 years, saying those with a short remaining lifespan may not greatly benefit from the vaccine.

    The Scandinavian country has also said that Covid-19 vaccines may be too risky for the very old and terminally ill.

    As per the details available, of the 23 deaths — mostly in people over 80 years — reported shortly after vaccinations, 13 have been autopsied, and the results have suggested that that common side effects such as diarrhoea, fever, and nausea may have contributed to severe reactions in frail, elderly people.

    The Covid-19 vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech was the first one to receive emergency use approval in the developed countries after showing the efficacy of over 95% in late-stage trials. International reports said that Pfizer and BioNTech are now working with the Norwegian authorities to investigate the deaths in Norway.

    Pfizer, however, said in a statement that the Norwegian regulator discovered “the number of incidents so far is not alarming and in line with expectations”.

    ALSO READ | Norway adjusts advice after COVID vaccine deaths but isn’t alarmed

    Meanwhile, experts back home said that such lessons from abroad could be particularly crucial for India where the number of beneficiaries is going to be much higher than most other countries in the world.

    “It would be important to closely monitor adverse events of special interest. AESI are a group of safety events that have been identified as important safety signals and a detailed mechanism for tracking, monitoring, and reporting have been listed in the WHO vaccine safety manual,” said public health expert Oommen John.

    “Knowing background rates of safety events is also very important to estimate if there are increased incidence of events are attributed to the vaccine or not.”

    A virologist with the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute said that minutely following adverse events though a proper mechanism was important in India as Covaxin, one of the vaccines rolled out, has not completed the trials.

    “Also, the platform used by Covishield is known to cause neurological disorders in very few people who get vaccinated—so it’s important to track what is the impact of vaccines in a real-world situation outside clinical trials,” he said.

    The Indian government has declared its intent to vaccinate those above 50 and others with serious comorbidities—numbering about 27 crore—once nearly 3 crore healthcare and frontline workers are immunised against Covid-19.