Supply of vaccines

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday said India is committed to Africa in taking the journey from vaccine availability to vaccination. Addressing a session on ’Closing the vaccines gap’ here at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2022, he also extended support to Africa in augmenting the research and development capability of African countries on medical countermeasures. Mandaviya also highlighted how India in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s PM vision of ‘One Earth, One Health’ saved the lives of millions of people across the world by supplying vaccines to over 100 countries and providing drugs to 150 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mandaviya, along with his Cabinet colleagues Piyush Goyal and Hardeep Singh Puri, also met WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab and discussed India’s role in protecting global health and reviving the global economy in the post-COVID world. Mandaviya also met SABIC Agri Nutrients CEO Abdulrahman Shamsaddin … [Read more...] about India Committed to Support Africa in Covid Vaccination: Mansukh Mandaviya

SEOUL, May 16 (Reuters): Standing tall in bright red hazmat suits, five North Korean health workers stride towards an ambulance to do battle with a Covid-19 outbreak that - in the presumed absence of vaccines - the country is using antibiotics and home remedies to treat. The isolated state is one of only two countries yet to begin a vaccination campaign and, until last week, had insisted it was COVID-free. Now it is mobilizing forces including the army and a public information campaign to combat what authorities have acknowledged is an "explosive" outbreak. In an interview on state television on Monday, Vice Minister of Public Health Kim Hyong Hun said the country had switched from a quarantine to a treatment system to handle the hundreds of thousands of suspected "fever" cases reported each day. The broadcaster showed footage of the hazmat team, and masked workers opening windows, cleaning desks and machines and spraying disinfectant. To treat Covid and its symptoms, state … [Read more...] about Lacking vaccines, North Korea battles Covid-19 with antibiotics and home remedies

Standing tall in bright red hazmat suits, five North Korean health workers stride towards an ambulance to do battle with a COVID-19 outbreak that – in the presumed absence of vaccines – the country is using antibiotics and home remedies to treat. The isolated state is one of only two countries yet to begin a vaccination campaign and, until last week, had insisted it was COVID-free. Now it is mobilizing forces including the army and a public information campaign to combat what authorities have acknowledged is an "explosive" outbreak. In an interview on state television on Monday, Vice Minister of Public Health Kim Hyong Hun said the country had switched from a quarantine to a treatment system to handle the hundreds of thousands of suspected "fever" cases reported each day. The broadcaster showed footage of the hazmat team, and masked workers opening windows, cleaning desks and machines and spraying disinfectant. To treat COVID and its symptoms, state media have encouraged … [Read more...] about Lacking Vaccines, North Korea Battles Covid with Antibiotics, Home Remedies

As India nears the 200-crore COVID-19 vaccination mark, Serum Institute of India’s (SII) Covishield accounts for 80 per cent (154 crore) of the jabs, while Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin accounts for 16.75 per cent (32 crore) jabs. Of the 191 crore jabs administered till now, the remaining three vaccines used — Gamelaya’s Sputnik –V, Biological E’s Corbevax and Novovax-SII’s Covovax — account only for 3.25 per cent (6.25 crore) altogether. As of date, India has granted emergency usage authorisation (EUA) to nine COVID-19 vaccine candidates in total – Covishield, Covaxin, Covovax, Corbevax, Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D, Moderna’s Spikevax, Sputnik-V, Sputnik Light, and Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) Ad26.COV2.S. However, only five vaccines are in use and all are indigenously produced. Vaccines in use in India | Photo Credit: - The four COVID-19 vaccines approved but not in use in India ZyCoV-D: Produced by Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila in collaboration with the Centre’s … [Read more...] about India’s ‘other’ COVID vaccines: The status of under-trial, approved and unused jabs

Thailand on Thursday received 200,000 doses of India-made Covovax vaccines as part of a flagship initiative of the Quad grouping to help countries combat the coronavirus pandemic. The vaccine doses were handed over to Thai Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in Bangkok by India’s Ambassador to Thailand Suchitra Durai, Australian envoy Allan McKinnon, Japan’s Nashida Kazuya and US Charge d’Affaires James Wayman, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. “The consignment comprising 200,000 doses of Made in India, Covovax vaccines was presented to Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Health of Thailand on April 21 in Bangkok,” it said. This is the second consignment of vaccines delivered by India under the Quad vaccine partnership, after the inaugural supply to Cambodia on April 12. The Quad vaccine partnership was announced by leaders of the four-nation grouping at their first summit on March 12 last year. The MEA said the vaccine doses … [Read more...] about Thailand Gets India-made Covid Vaccine Covovax Under Quad Initiative

Kim Jong Un's decision not to inoculate North Korea's public for more than two years has resulted in 25 million people becoming the first to face down a potentially devastating COVID outbreak without vaccines. This week, as Pyongyang acknowledged over 1.7 million suspected COVID cases suffering from "fever," the WHO warned "unchecked transmission" in the country could spawn new variants, which risk spilling over into its densely populated neighbors, in particular China. North Korea was among the first nations to impose lockdowns and border restrictions in January 2020. It maintained a widely-doubted claim of zero COVID cases until acknowledging its first cluster of the BA.2 strain on May 12. The cases are believed to be linked to a military parade held in late April. The state-owned Korean Central News Agency has quoted the nation's leader warning of a "great upheaval." But without effective vaccines, the health crisis, which KCNA said had led to 62 deaths as of Tuesday, … [Read more...] about North Korea’s Kim Jong Un begins ultimate no-vaccination experiment

The World Health Organization on Thursday authorised the use of Chinese manufacturer CanSinoBIO’s single-shot Covid-19 vaccine — the ninth jab to get the WHO green light. The WHO granted emergency use listing (EUL) to the Tianjin-based firm’s Convidecia vaccine as China battles a resurgence of the virus triggered by the Omicron variant. It is the third Chinese-made vaccine to be approved by the WHO, after Sinovac and Sinopharm. Convidecia was found to have 64 percent efficacy against symptomatic disease and 92 percent efficacy against severe Covid-19, the WHO said. “The vaccine meets WHO standards for protection against Covid-19 and … the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh risks,” the UN health agency said in a statement. The WHO’s vaccine experts recommended it for people aged 18 and above. The jab has already been rolled out in China, Argentina, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico and Pakistan. The WHO has now given EUL status to nine Covid-19 vaccines and variations thereof — … [Read more...] about WHO Authorises China’s CanSinoBIO Covid-19 Vaccine

After weeks at a two-year low, COVID cases are on the rise again in some countries. In the United States, there were 100,000 daily new infections, on average–up from 30,000 in mid-March. The trend is intensifying an important debate in epidemiological circles. What’s the best strategy for preventing catastrophic mass death from the worst possible new COVID variants ? New restrictions? New vaccines? New therapies? A mix of the three? Whatever consensus takes shape could guide us into the pandemic’s fourth year. But there’s a catch, of course. Public health costs money. And in the world’s richest country, the United States, a few right-wing politicians are doing their damnedest to make sure no new money is available to speed up development, production, and distribution of new vaccines and therapies. Vaccine development is stalling. China is still pushing locally made vaccines that don’t work very well. The leading Western vaccine manufacturers are focusing on developing … [Read more...] about The Massive Screwup That Could Let COVID Bypass Our Vaccines

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) has announced that it is beginning to release of a stockpile of monkeypox vaccine amid a rise in the small number of suspected U.S. cases. The CDC said that one confirmed and four suspected cases of the viral disease, which is similar to smallpox but much less severe, had been detected in the U.S. as of Monday. Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the CDC's Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, said during a press call that the country's supplies of the two-dose Jynneos vaccine—which is licensed to prevent both monkeypox and smallpox—was being released to high-risk groups. "It's likely that there are going to be additional cases reported in the United States," McQuiston said. "We're working now to develop recommendations to ensure that the vaccine supplies that we have are available to those who need it and that doctors can use it to decide what's right for their patients." "We have a good stock of … [Read more...] about Suspected monkeypox cases spread in U.S. as CDC begins to release vaccine

Hailing India for ramping up its COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing at the right time and for ensuring supplies to the rest of the world, leaders at the World Economic Forum on Monday said everyone else needs to follow the Indian model to ensure vaccine equity and wider inoculation. India also assured the world that it was determined to become the global vaccine capital and it is now in a position to ensure adequate supply to other nations. Jeremy Farrar, Director at Wellcome Trust, said India deserves huge credit for expanding its vaccine manufacturing capacity. Seth F Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said commitments and plans were in place to ensure wider inoculation globally when the vaccines first got developed, but then some roadblocks came in the form of nationalism and export bans. However, those issues got resolved eventually, he added. Berkley also cited the example of Indian manufacturers to drive home the point that there was a need for the industry to step … [Read more...] about World Economic Forum | India right example for ensuring vaccine equity, stepping up manufacturing