Tag: COVAXIN

Covid-19 | Regulatory body nudges insurers to facilitate policyholders’ vaccination

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IRDAI has asked insurers to make special arrangements to facilitate eligible category among their policyholders to get vaccinated as a group or individually.

Nudging insurance companies to join the COVID-19 vaccination drive and create awareness among policyholders, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) on Friday directed them to make special arrangements to facilitate inoculation of the eligible people at government or private hospitals.

IRDAI had sent instructions to the insurers on March 3. However, it communicated to them again on Friday (March 19 ) through a press release on its website.

The government’s national programme for vaccination against COVID-19 for 60 years old and above and those above 45 years of age with comorbidities started on March 1, 2021.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued guidelines for vaccination of eligible citizens.

All the insurers are requested to join this national effort, IRDAI said in a communication to all the insurance companies.

IRDAI had issued instructions to insurers to facilitate vaccination programme for their policyholders through a communication on March 3, 2021.

In the letter, IRDAI asked them to make special arrangements to facilitate eligible category among their policyholders to get vaccinated as a group or individually either at a government facility of private facilities as per the option of the policyholders.

“First, insurers may create awareness about vaccination among the policyholders through effective communication via SMS or email. Secondly, they may assist the policyholder as a group to get vaccinated in an orderly manner by assisting them and making advance arrangement through pre booking slots,” the letter said.

Thirdly, the policyholders may be reminded for the second shot of vaccine in time, it added.

IRDAI has also asked the insurers to give adequate publicity on the process of registration for vaccination programme and special arrangements made if any for policyholders so that maximum number of people can be immunised.

Further, similar arrangements may be made for all the employees of the insurer and also all the agents so that they can be made immune to COVID-19 infection, IRDAI said.

The regulator has asked the insurance companies to inform it at the earliest about the action taken in this matter.

Those visiting government hospitals for the immunisation are provided the vaccine free of cost. While the designated private hospitals charge it at a rate specified by the government.

The instructions do not apply on AIC and ECGC — the two specialised government owned insurance firms that cater to crop insurance and export credit insurance, respectively.

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Morning Digest: Roads to be freed of toll booths in a year, says Nitin Gadkari; EU drug regulator backs AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 after safety investigation, and more

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India will implement a GPS-based toll collection system and do away with all toll booths within a year, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday. He also shared details of the vehicle scrapping policy, first announced in the Union Budget for 2021-22, according to which the automobile industry in India will see a jump in turnover to ₹10 lakh crore from ₹4.5 lakh crore.

Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde agreed with advocate Prashant Bhushan on Thursday to urgently hear a plea by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms to stay the sale of a new set of electoral bonds on April 1, before Assembly elections in crucial States such as West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Top U.S. and Chinese officials offered sharply different views of the world on March 18 as the two sides met face-to-face for the first time since President Joe Biden took office. In unusually pointed remarks for a staid diplomatic meeting, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi took aim at each other’s policies at the start of two days of talks in Alaska.

The EU’s drug watchdog said on March 18 it is still convinced the benefits of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the risks following an investigation into reports of blood disorders that prompted more than a dozen nations to suspend its use.

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Insurance Amendment Bill 2021 that increases the maximum foreign investment allowed in an insurance company from 49% to 74%, amid criticism from the Opposition parties on the clause enabling “control and ownership” by foreign investors.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday forbade judges from making gender stereotypical comments like “’good women are sexually chaste”, women who drink and smoke ‘ask’ for sexual advances or presume that a sexually active woman consented to rape while hearing cases of sexual offence.

Union Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday that climate activist Disha Ravi’s arrest was based on law and order and it is under judicial process. He added that the House should consider “should some people abuse social media internationally to defame India to promote secessionism.”

Former Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian resigned from Ashoka University on Thursday, days after noted columnist and political commentator Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s exit. In his resignation letter, Dr. Subramanian, said he had been “devastated” by “the circumstances involving the ‘resignation’ of Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta” two days earlier.

In a major embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two candidates announced by the party on Thursday for the Assembly polls from Kolkata have refused to contest on the party’s ticket.

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed suo motu proceedings before the Delhi High Court on the administration of COVID-19 vaccine and transferred the case to itself. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde said a similar case concerning the vaccination drive was already pending in the Supreme Court, and the case from the Delhi High Court could be heard along with it.

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to urgently hear a plea to release and protect over 150 Rohingya refugees reportedly “detained” in Jammu. Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde agreed to hear the application filed by a member of the Rohingya community, Mohammad Salimullah, represented by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Cheryl d’Souza, on April 25 (Thursday). Mr. Bhushan made an oral mention before the CJI for an early hearing.

The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the supplementary demand for grants (second batch for 2020-21) but not before significant concerns raised by Opposition leaders on the government’s disinvestment and asset monetisation plans, and rising fuel prices.

If Ishan Kishan was unfortunate to be ruled out of the fourth T20I due to a groin strain, lady luck smiled on his replacement Suryakumar Yadav. The Mumbai cricketer, dropped for the previous outing after not having faced a ball on his debut in the second T20I, grabbed his chance and made it count.

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India Exporting 50% More Jabs Than Those Used at Home, Not at the Expense of People, Says Health Min

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In a bid to become the pharmacy of the world, especially during the times of Covid-19, India has exported over 5.84 crore doses of indigenous vaccines to 70 countries, as against 3.48 crore jabs it has administered across the country since the inoculation drive began.

Junior health and family minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday provided the data of 583.85 lakh exported doses.

Meanwhile, the Centre has placed a new purchase order with the Serum Institute of India (SII) for the supply of 10 crore doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield, each costing Rs 157.50, including GST, according to official sources.

The HLL Lifecare Limited, a public sector undertaking, has issued the supply order on behalf of the Union health ministry on March 12 in the name of Prakash Kumar Singh, Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Pune-based SII.

The cost of the 10 crore doses would be borne by the health ministry under the budgetary allocation for the purpose. The expenditure for the earlier orders of the vaccines was funded through the PM Cares Fund, the sources said.

India has approved two vaccines against COVID-19 — Covishield, manufactured by the SII, and the indigenously-developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech — for restricted emergency use in the country.

“Vaccines are not being sent to other countries at the expense of people of India. Experts at highest level and a committee of Government are maintaining sensible balance about it…30,39,394 people were vaccinated yesterday. We have touched a total figure (vaccination) of 3 crore,” ANI quoted Vardhan as saying in Rajya Sabha.

Vardhan’s response came after the Congress raised objections over the central government’s move to export the Covid-19 vaccines to foreign countries. The party said that the government should not export vaccines without immunising the entire population of India.

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National Vaccination Day 2021: History, Theme and Significance

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Vaccines are essential to help us develop immunity against deadly diseases. With the present Coronavirus pandemic claiming about 2.66 million lives, vaccination has once again acquired paramount importance. On the occasion of the National Vaccination Day 2021, we take a brief look at its history, significance, objectives and this year’s theme.

History March 16 is observed as national Vaccination Day by the Government of India, every year. It was on March 16, 1995, when the day was first celebrated officially after the Pulse Polio Immunisation programme became operational. The first dose of the Oral Polio Vaccine was administered in 1995 on this date, under the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Polio Eradication Initiative which had begun in 1988. Children who were in the age range of 0-5 years were given two drops of the vaccine orally in public health centres. Vaccination against Polio, however, had already started in 1978 and on March 27, 2014, India was declared polio-free, by WHO.

Significance & Objectives On National Vaccination Day, the Government of India seeks to raise awareness about the necessity of immunisation against not just the deadly Poliovirus, but every major viral disease that we do not have natural immunity against. The major vaccines administered in India to children up to 5 years of age are Tetanus, Measles, Rubella, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis-B, Meningitis, Pneumonia, Diptheria, and Pertussis. Covid-19 vaccines for the vulnerable group are the latest addition.

Theme The theme for this year’s National Vaccination Day is both Polio eradication as well as the current COVID-19 threat. Vaccination schedules to eradicate the SARS-CoV-2 virus are being run across the nation.

Covid-19 The virus known as SARS-CoV-2, reportedly began spreading from China and then reached the rest of the world. Clinical trials of a vaccine named ‘Covaxin,’ developed by Bharat Biotech, began in India on July 24, last year. On January 16, this year, the first phase of vaccination for the virus began in the country. By March 15, over 3.15 crore Indians received COVID-19 vaccines.

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Coronavirus updates | March 14, 2021

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India reported its biggest daily rise this year of 25,320 Covid-19 cases on Sunday. This is the fourth day that cases have consistently risen over 20,000 infections. Until March, only twice had cases crossed 20,000 in January.

So far India has reported 11.36 million cases of which 2,07,703 cases are active infections.

The rise in infections were led by the Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh who accounted for 87.73% of new cases. Maharashtra accounted for the highest number of cases at 15,602.

India’s Covid deaths increased by 161 to 158,607 over the last 24 hours, a notable spike considering an average of about a 100 daily deaths since February.

Close to 30 million vaccine doses have been administered since the beginning of the drive on January 16 with around 1.5 million of those given between Saturday and Sunday morning, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health. About 1.4 million of those doses were administered in the last 24 hours.

The maximum deaths were also recorded in the States with the rising caseload with Maharashtra registering 88 fatalities followed by Punjab with 22 deaths and Kerala with 12 deaths.

You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.

Here are the latest updates:

Chhattisgarh

C’garh govt plans to allow use of Covaxin in state: Minister

The Chhattisgarh government is considering allowing the use of Covaxin, a vaccine against COVID-19, in the state after the Centre dropped its ‘clinical trial mode’ tag, state Health Minister T.S. Singh Deo said on Sunday.

In January, Mr. Singh Deo had requested Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan to halt the supply of Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech, to the state until its phase-3 trials are completed and results are made available.

The Serum Institute of India (SII)-made vaccine Covishield is being used in the state as part of the vaccination drive.

Talking to PTI, Singh Deo said, “We are considering allowing Covaxin for those who wish to opt for it after the Government of India dropped the vaccine from clinical trial mode, even though the complete data of its third phase of trials is yet to be published.” The data (of phase-2 trials) of Covaxin published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal has indicated that its safety is not in question so now the only question pending is about its efficacy, he said.

Telangana

Telangana staying alert as cases surge in neighbouring States

Telangana Health teams in districts bordering neighbouring States are taking COVID-19 sample collection kits to people’s doorstep. Other measures such as fever survey and home isolation are being enforced to contain the resurgence of the virus.

District Medical and Health Officers (DMHO) in Kamareddy, Adilabad, and other districts said they have set up check posts, and are sending medical teams to villages as well as testing contacts of coronavirus-positive patients.

Health Minister Eatala Rajender directed officials on Friday to stay alert as COVID cases are seeing a spurt in neighbouring States.

Health officials use ICU admission of COVID-19 patients as a yardstick to measure the resurgence. ICU admissions in government and private hospitals has been hovering between 340 and 360 a day from March 1 to 12.

New Delhi

JNU to reopen reading rooms, eating joints

As part of phased reopening, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Saturday said that reading rooms at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Central Library and in various centres and schools, and two of the eating joints on the campus will be permitted to reopen.

A notification dated March 12 issued by the university administration read, “The reopening of ground floor reading rooms inside the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Central Library is allowed in a phased manner. Librarian may devise standard operating preventive (SOP) measures such as mandatory wearing of the face mask and maintaining social distancing norms on library premises.”

“NSS student volunteers may be engaged to create awareness in the campus, including library premises for maintaining social distancing and wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the university campus,” the notice added.

Odisha

Odisha may promote students to next class

With the number of COVID-19 cases showing an upward trend in some parts of the country, the Odisha government is contemplating promoting all students from Classes 1 to 8 to the next higher classes this year.

If promoted, it will be the second consecutive class promotions for students without physically appearing for their examinations.

Last year, the State government had shut down schools due to the pandemic while the students were in the middle of the examinations.

School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Das expressed apprehension that there is remote chance of conducting physical classes for Classes 1 to 8 this year in view of the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the country.

New Delhi

Delhi CM gives ₹1-crore compensation to family of deceased ‘corona warrior’

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday provided financial assistance of ₹1 crore to the family of COVID warrior Rakesh Jain, a lab technician at Hindu Rao Hospital.

Jain, who would have retired in 2022, contracted COVID-19 on June 17 last year and succumbed to it the next day. Mr. Kejriwal commended Jain for continuing to serve the people till his last breath.

“Mr. Jain got infected while on duty. He was shifted to Metro Hospital, but died later. He was a martyr who served the people of Delhi till his last breath,” Mr. Kejriwal said.

Mr. Jain was a resident of Delhi and had joined service in 1988. He is survived by his mother Madan Shri Jain, wife Sangeeta Jain and two children.

U.K.

India’s role as world’s pharmacy phenomenal, says U.K. Minister

The role that India has played during the course of the coronavirus pandemic as the pharmacy of the world has been phenomenal, U.K. Minister Lord Tariq Ahmad said as he prepared for a five-day, five-city tour of India starting on Monday.

Lord Ahmad, the Minister for South Asia in the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), highlighted the close collaboration between the two countries on ensuring supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, which benefits countries across the globe through the United Nations-led COVAX facility.

“Our relationship with India is not just one of bilateral importance, it’s also about how these two countries are working together and there’s no better illustration than the current COVID-19 pandemic which grips us. The strong collaboration we have seen between the U.K. and India in responding across the world, including through the COVAX facility which is helping the more vulnerable countries in the world,” he said.

Karnataka

‘Duo with new strain of virus doing well’

Two persons from Ballari who tested positive for the South African strain of COVID-19 on Thursday are doing well.

Speaking to The Hindu on Saturday, Deputy Commissioner of Ballari Pavan Kumar Malapati said that both the patients were healthy and doing well.

“This is just another strain of COVID-19. All the protocols meant for handling the pandemic are strictly followed. Both the patients are healthy and doing well. As soon as they got the confirmation of being infected with the new strain, they got isolated. We are going to send their throat swab samples for repeated test to get the negativity of the disease confirmed,” he said.

Karnataka

Surge in new cases not uniform

Even though the number of new COVID-19 infections in Karnataka last week showed an increase of 1,000 cases compared to the previous week, the surge does not appear to be uniform across the State.

While Bengaluru Urban accounted for 639 cases out of the increase of 1,000 cases in the State during the week ending March 11, according to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, 10 districts reported a decline in number of cases during the week compared to the previous week while the numbers remained constant in five others.

However, 15 out of the 30 districts in the State have shown an increase in the week-on-week COVID-19 tally amid signs of an unmistakable surge in infections across the State.

The cases have shown an upward trend in Tumakuru, Mysuru, Kalaburagi, Udupi, Kolar, Ballari, Dharwad, Bidar, Uttara Kannada, Bengaluru Rural, Bagalkot, Dakshina Kannada, Gadag, and Chikkmagaluru, apart from Bengaluru Urban.

Punjab

Punjab shuts all anganwadi centres due to rising cases

Punjab Minister Aruna Chaudhary on Saturday instructed that all anganwadi centres be closed till further orders in view of the spike in COVID-19 cases in the State.

The social security, women and child development minister said ration and other material will be distributed door to door through anganwadi workers and helpers, so that nutritional support to beneficiaries is not affected.

Thirty-four more fatalities due to COVID-19 were reported in Punjab on Friday, taking the death toll to 6,030, while the infection count climbed to 1,94,753 with 1,414 new coronavirus cases in the state.

New Delhi

Ambient air pollutants contribute to spread, virulence of SARS-CoV-2 infections, says Harsh Vardhan

There is emerging evidence to suggest that exposure to ambient air pollutants, especially PM2.5 and NO2, contribute to the spread and virulence SARS-CoV-2 infections, said Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday, while inaugurated the new green campus of Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) National Institute for Research in Environmental Health (NIREH), at Bhopal.

“Furthermore, ambient air pollution is a known risk factor for multiple adverse health outcomes, including chronic cardio-respiratory morbidities, and the presence of said morbidities renders the affected population more vulnerable to COVID-19,” said the Health Minister.

To worsen matters, he added, closed indoor spaces provide ideal environments for viral transmission due to the lack of ventilation preventing the dilution of viral particles, and the absence of ultraviolet rays which can potentially inactivate the virus.

 

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Coronavirus | No lockdown, but fresh restrictions in place for Pune

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The district currently has more than 17,000 active cases while the total death toll has exceeded 9,350.

While clarifying that no lockdown was imposed across Pune district, the administration on Friday said that all schools and colleges would remain closed till March 31 in wake of a heightened spike in cases.

Pune district has been recording the highest single-day jump in Maharashtra for the past few days, clocking up a daily average spike of more than 2,000 cases.

Following a review meeting between district Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar and senior district authorities in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Girish Bapat also present, Mr. Pawar directed the administration to curtail the operating time for hotels and restaurants as well.

“According to the new set of restrictions, schools and colleges will remain closed till March 31, while hotels and restaurants will be allowed to function at 50% of their total capacity till 10 p.m. Take-away food deliveries will be permitted for an hour after that till 11 p.m.,” informed Pune Divisional Commissioner Saurabh Rao.

He further said that it was mandatory for hotels to put up a board giving details about the occupancy in the premises at any given time.

Mr. Rao further informed that malls and cinema halls were to be kept closed after 10 p.m. while citizens would not be allowed to loiter on roads between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Only essential services are to be permitted during this time.

Given that MPSC exams are imminent, Mr. Rao said that MPSC coaching centres and libraries would be allowed to remain open with 50% occupancy.

The Divisional Commissioner said that rules for the number of people attending wedding functions remained the same (not more than 50 persons), while public transport services were to operate with 50% occupancy.

“Doctors and health workers are of the opinion that vaccination for Pune should get top priority in wake of soaring cases. They have opined that if we have to reduce the impact of the second wave, then vaccination is the best option. Since January 16 till today, the number of vaccination centres in the district have increased seven-fold from 33 to 208 with frontline workers largely covered in the first phase,” informed Mr. Rao, adding that the administration planned to restart the jumbo Covid-19 care facility sited at the College of Engineering Pune (CoEP) premises.

The district currently has more than 17,000 active cases while the total death toll has exceeded 9,350.

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Covaxin Phase-2 trials show vaccine safe, induces immune response, says Lancet study

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The vaccine showed better reactogenicity and safety outcomes, and enhanced humoral and cell-mediated immune responses compared with the Phase-1 trial

India’s first indigenous vaccine against COVID-19, Covaxin, is safe and generates immune response without any serious side effects, according to the interim results of the Phase-2 trials published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.

The authors of the study noted that the Phase-2 results did not asses the efficacy of the vaccine codenamed BBV152.

Developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, the vaccine has been granted emergency use authorisation in clinical trial mode by the Indian government.

Covaxin had initially raised concerns among experts over its emergency approval by India’s drug regulator.

 

The latest study comes a week after Bharat Biotech announced that the vaccine has shown 81% efficacy in the third phase of clinical trials, the results of which are yet to be published.

The Phase-2 trial to evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of BBV152 vaccine was conducted in healthy adults and adolescents aged 12-65 years at nine hospitals across nine states in India. Two intramuscular doses of vaccine were administered on day 0 and day 28.

The primary outcome was assessed in all participants who had received both doses of the vaccine. Safety was assessed in participants who received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Between September 5 and 12, last year, 921 potential participants were screened, 380 of whom were enrolled.

In the Phase-1 trial, published in the same journal last month, BBV152 induced high neutralising antibody responses that remained elevated in all participants three months after the second vaccination.

In the Phase-2 trial, BBV152 showed better reactogenicity and safety outcomes, and enhanced humoral and cell-mediated immune responses — two main mechanisms within the adaptive immune system — compared with the Phase-1 trial.

Adaptive immunity occurs after exposure to an antigen either from a pathogen or a vaccination.

Reactogenicity refers to the property of a vaccine of being able to produce common, adverse reactions, especially excessive immunological responses and associated signs and symptoms, including fever and sore arm at the injection site.

Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine developed by chemically treating novel coronavirus samples to make them incapable of reproduction. This process leaves the viral proteins, including the spike protein of the coronavirus, which it uses to enter the human cells, intact.

Given as two doses, three weeks apart, the viral proteins in the vaccine activate the immune system and prepare people for future infections with the actual infectious virus.

“The results reported in this study do not permit efficacy assessments. The evaluation of safety outcomes requires extensive Phase-3 clinical trials,” the authors of the study said. “We were unable to assess other immune responses in convalescent serum samples due to the low quantity.”

Even though direct comparisons between the Phase-1 and Phase-2 trials cannot be made, the reactogenicity assessments reported in this study were substantially better in the Phase-2 trial than the Phase-1 trial and other trials with a placebo group, according to the authors.

Also, the proportion of participants reporting adverse events in the Phase-2 trial were lower than in the Phase-1 trial, they noted. “This study enrolled a small number of participants aged 12–18 years and 55–65 years. Follow-on studies are required to establish immunogenicity in children and in those aged 65 years and older,” the authors added.

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Coronavirus | India records 18,327 new COVID-19 infections, active cases rise again

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The COVID-19 active caseload has increased to 1,80,304 which now comprises 1.61% of the total infections

India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 1,11,92,088 with over 18,000 fresh cases being reported in a span of 24 hours in the country after 36 days, while active cases registered an increase for the fourth consecutive day on March 6 and were recorded at 1,80,304, according to the Union Health Ministry.

The death toll reached 1,57,656 with 108 more fatalities, while a total of 18,327 new cases were registered in a day, the Ministry’s data showed.

On January 29, 18,855 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours after which the daily rise in fresh cases remained below 18,000.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,08,54,128 which translates to a national COVID-19 recovery rate of 96.98%, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.41%.

The COVID-19 active caseload has increased to 1,80,304 which now comprises 1.61% of the total infections.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20 lakh-mark on August 7, 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, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one crore-mark on December 19.

According to the ICMR, 22,06,92,677 samples have been tested up to March 5 with 7,51,935 samples being tested on March 5.

The 108 new fatalities include 53 from Maharashtra, 16 from Kerala and 11 from Punjab.

A total of 1,57,656 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 52,393 from Maharashtra followed by 12,513 from Tamil Nadu, 12,354 from Karnataka, 10,918 from Delhi, 10,275 from West Bengal, 8,729 from Uttar Pradesh and 7,172 from Andhra Pradesh.

The Health Ministry stressed that more than 70% 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.

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81% Interim Efficacy Data Shot in the Arm for Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin Export Hopes

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The first interim review of Phase-3 trials for Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin revealed 81 percent efficacy, providing a boost to the Indian business, which is eyeing exports and hopes to join the World Health Organization’s COVAX program for vaccination in low- and middle-income countries.

The first interim study is focused on 43 cases, with 36 cases of COVID-19 in the placebo group versus 7 cases in the Covaxin group, yielding an 80.6 percent point estimate of vaccine efficacy.

In the coming weeks, the Hyderabad-based firm said it would share the second interim analysis based on 87 cases, as well as the final analysis based on 130 cases. This will provide a more complete image of the vaccine’s efficacy.

Bharat Biotech Chairman and Managing Director Krishna Ella had recently said he wanted the firm to be part of the COVAX Facility. In the next three months, the COVAX program has committed to supplying 237 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine to 142 countries.

Bharat Biotech has begun to sign bilateral supply agreements for Covaxin. It announced on February 26 that it had signed a deal with Brazil to supply 20 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin. The deliveries are scheduled to start in the second and third quarters of 2021, but a lack of efficacy data has been a stumbling block, said a report in Moneycontrol. Reuters had reported that Brazilian prosecutors have sought immediate suspension of purchases of India’s Covaxin as the vaccine didn’t have phase-3 efficacy data.

Meanwhile, France is also looking to import Covaxin, Moneycontrol had reported. Covaxin has piqued the attention of more than 40 countries around the world, according to Bharat Biotech. “These countries are highly satisfied with the safe, inactivated vaccine technology and robust data package for safety and immunogenicity,” the firm said.

Covaxin also has a time-tested inactivated platform that has been shown to be successful against mutating strains. Unlike other vaccines that use one of the virus’s most prominent proteins as an antigen, which is susceptible to losing effectiveness if the virus mutates, this one does not. Inactivated vaccines use whole virion, which is more durable and provides a wider range of protection.

Covaxin is also stable at 2 to 8°C (refrigerated) and comes in a ready-to-use liquid formulation, allowing it to be distributed across existing vaccine supply chains.

The company also claims to have a 28-day open vial policy as a unique product feature, which it claims reduces vaccine wastage by 10-30%.

Furthermore, Covaxin has had the government’s full support from the start. Despite criticism that it lacked efficacy evidence, the vaccine was approved for limited emergency use in clinical trial mode in January. Modi’s Atmanirbhar has highlighted Covaxin as a success story.



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Veteran Filmmaker Rahul Rawail Gets Vaccinated Against Covid-19 in Mumbai

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Veteran Filmmaker Rahul Rawail was seen at the jumbo Covid facility in BKC, Mumbai, where the 69 year old received his first dose of vaccine against Covid- 19. While many of his peers from Bollywood are still contemplating whether they should take the vaccine shot or not, Rawail known for films like Arjun and Betaab walked straight into the vaccination center in BKC on 1st March to get vaccinated.

When we caught up with the veteran, this is what he had to say about his experience “This morning I got a call from David Dhawan saying ‘I heard you are taking the vaccine today, are you taking it today?’ I said yes. David said he will take it after two weeks, I told him what’s the point…..I didn’t even feel the pinch when I was administered the vaccine. I would prefer Covisheild over Covaxin. My doctor told me that I can go straight to the airport after the vaccine.”

Rawail who also plays an important part as a head of jury at for one of the categories at the prestigious International Indian Film Festival of India or IFFI also revealed how he had to cut his travel plans due to Covid restrictions and fear of catching the bug at his age, he said “ In this one year I traveled only for one day to goa for IFFI as there was pressure on me to come but my family didn’t want me to travel in this situation. I still went for the festival with mask, shield and gloves. Luckily nothing happened but now with this dose that fear has gone. I would ask my sons close friends parents who are elderly like me whom I will ask to come and take the vaccine. I will ask David Dhawan, my friend, to come and take a jab immediately . I will call up all the people whom I can and ask them to take this vaccine”

Now we hope Rawail inspires more seniors from-town to come and take the jab in days to come.



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