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The first batch of Covishield, the Serum Institute of India’s coronavirus vaccine, left Pune early this morning, four days ahead of the nationwide inoculation drive against COVID-19. Amid tight security, three temperature-controlled trucks rolled out of the Serum Institute gates with their precious cargo shortly before 5 am. The trucks carried 478 boxes of the vaccines, each box weighing 32 kg, news agency PTI reported quoting an unnamed official. A ”puja” was performed before the vehicles left the facility for the Pune airport. From the airport, the vaccines are being dispatched to 13 cities. “Ready get set go! Stand by India! The vaccine to kill the disease is being loaded into the aircraft for distribution all over the country now,” Pune airport tweeted. The vaccines will be flown from Pune in nine commercial flights, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. “Today, Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo Airlines will operate nine flights from Pune

Britain said on Sunday it has helped raise $1 billion (818 million euros) from global donors towards the drive to help “vulnerable countries” access coronavirus vaccines, by match-funding contributions. The UK said, in addition, it has committed 548 million pounds to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), after matching with 1 pound every $4 pledged by other donors. Canada, Japan and Germany are among the countries to make contributions that it matched, helping the AMC raise more than $1.7 billion in total so far. The fund will allow for the distribution of one billion Covid-19 vaccine doses to 92 developing countries this year, according to Britain’s Foreign Office. “We’ll only be safe from this virus, when we’re all safe — which is why we’re focused on a global solution to a global problem,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement. The announcement came as Britain marks the 75th anniversary of the first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in London, hosting

India’s coronavirus vaccination drive will begin January 16, the government said Saturday evening, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting with senior officials to review the Covid situation in the country and finalise vaccine roll-out details. The Prime Minister called the news a “landmark step forward in fighting COVID-19”. Priority will be given to around one crore healthcare workers and two crore frontline staff, like doctors, community health workers and police, who are directly involved in fighting the pandemic. The vaccine will be free of cost for this group , Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said last week. The next group will be people over 50, followed by those under 50 but with co-morbidities. Around 30 crore people will be vaccinated in the first phase. Minutes after the announcement, Prime Minister Modi tweeted: “On 16th January, India takes a landmark step forward in fighting COVID-19. Starting that day, India’s nationwide vaccination drive b

The EU has struck a deal to double its supply of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine against Covid-19 to a total of 600 million doses, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday. “We have right now, access to 300 million doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine… With the new agreement we could purchase a total of up to an additional 300 million doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine,” she told a press conference. She said that, along with the Moderna vaccine also authorised for use in the EU, “we have already secured an amount of doses that we need to vaccinate 380 million Europeans, and this is more than 80 percent of the European population”. Von der Leyen said that other vaccine authorisations were expected “in the coming weeks and months” so “Europe will have more than enough vaccine within a reliable timeframe”. The European Commission has been hit with rising criticism that the vaccine roll-out that started December 27 has been too slow compared to countries such as the Unit

The European Medicines Agency said on Wednesday that it had given the green light for US firm Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, the second jab for the disease to be cleared for use in the EU. “EMA has recommended granting a conditional marketing authorisation for Covid-19 Vaccine Moderna to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 in people from 18 years of age,” the Amsterdam-based regulator said in a statement.

Brazil’s government said on Tuesday that India is not restricting the export of coronavirus vaccines made there, which the South American country aims to buy and import within weeks. In a joint statement, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry and Health Ministry said talks between Brazil’s Fiocruz biomedical center and the Serum Institute of India to ship finished doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are well advanced, with delivery expected in mid-January.

Scientists are not fully confident that COVID-19 vaccines will work on a new variant of the coronavirus found in South Africa, ITV’s political editor said on Monday, citing an unidentified scientific adviser to the British government. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said earlier on Monday that he was incredibly worried about the new variant. Public Health England did not answer phone calls requesting comment on the report. “According to one of the government’s scientific advisers, the reason for Matt Hancock’s ‘incredible worry’ about the South African Covid-19 variant is that they are not as confident the vaccines will be as effective against it as they are for the UK’s variant,” ITV political editor Robert Peston said. Both Britain and South Africa have discovered new variants in the coronavirus in recent months that have driven a surge in case numbers. Scientists say the new South African variant is different from others circulating in the country because it has multiple mutat

Following accounts of potential allergies to the COVID-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, scientists have outlined steps on safely receiving the second dose of the therapeutic in individuals who develop a reaction to their first dose. The research, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, summarised what is currently known about allergic reactions to vaccines like those developed against COVID-19. In the study, a team of experts led by allergists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in the US, proposed detailed advice so that individuals with different allergy histories can safely receive their COVID-19 vaccine. After closer review of the data related to allergic reactions, the US FDA recommended that the mRNA vaccines, based on the genetic material of the novel coronavirus, be withheld only from individuals with a history of severe allergic reactions to any component of the COVID-19 vaccine. The US Centers for Disease Control and P

India’s drug regulator, Drugs Controller General of India, is set to approve on Friday a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University for emergency use, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. The decision would pave the way for the vaccine’s rollout in the world’s second-most populous country which, after the United States, has the highest number of Covid-19 infections in the world. Britain and Argentina have already authorised the vaccine for urgent public use. AstraZeneca-Oxford University’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate has a better immune response when a two full-dose regime is used rather than a full-dose followed by a half-dose booster, the university said on Thursday, citing data from early trials. The developers of the vaccine candidate, which has been licensed to pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca , have already published later stage trial results showing higher efficacy when a half dose is followed by a full dose, compared to a two full-dose regim

India’s drug regulator, Drugs Controller General of India, is set to approve on Friday a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University for emergency use, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. The decision would pave the way for the vaccine’s rollout in the world’s second-most populous country which, after the United States, has the highest number of Covid-19 infections in the world. Britain and Argentina have already authorised the vaccine for urgent public use. AstraZeneca-Oxford University’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate has a better immune response when a two full-dose regime is used rather than a full-dose followed by a half-dose booster, the university said on Thursday, citing data from early trials. The developers of the vaccine candidate, which has been licensed to pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca , have already published later stage trial results showing higher efficacy when a half dose is followed by a full dose, compared to a two full-dose regim

Belarus on Tuesday began a vaccination drive against coronavirus using the Sputnik V jab, becoming the first country outside Russia to use the vaccine developed by Moscow. Belarus, with a population of around 9.5 million people, has registered more than 188,000 cases of coronavirus infections and nearly 1,400 deaths. “Today the first vaccine shipment has arrived in Belarus,” said the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) which financed Sputnik V. RDIF spokesman Arseny Palagin did not say how many doses had been sent to Belarus. Belarus Health Minister Dmitry Pinevich said health workers and teachers would be among the first Belarusians to be inoculated. “We thank Russia for active mutual work and strategic cooperation to solve this issue,” Pinevich was quoted as saying in the joint statement.

Several states on Monday began a trial run of Covid-19 vaccine delivery systems, with health officials checking everything from technology platforms to the storage infrastructure that will be needed to inoculate millions of its citizens. India aims to deliver 600 million coronavirus shots in the next six to eight months starting in January, with emergency use approval for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine expected within a few days. The country’s drug regulator, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), is also considering similar approvals for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and another indigenously developed by India’s Bharat Biotech. “The exercise is basically a mock drill for our healthcare workers on how to run the whole vaccination process and system,” Jaiprakash Shivahare, the commissioner for health in Gujarat, told Reuters. Pfizer requires a temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius and experts have raised questions that India’s existing cold storage facilities do not match these condi

The Oxford coronavirus vaccine will “protect 95 per cent of patients” and is “as effective as the Pfizer and Moderna” alternatives, Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, told British daily The Sunday Times , adding scientists had figured out a “winning formula to get efficacy up there with everybody else”. However, AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish pharma giant, has yet to release data confirming these claims. Interim results of Phase III trials released last month showed a 70 per cent efficacy rate as the average of two dosing regimens. One of these regimens – a half dose followed by a full dose – showed 90 per cent efficacy, while Pfizer’s data showed 95 per cent and Moderna’s 94.5 per cent. Mr Soriot also said the vaccine, which is likely to be cleared this week by the British health regulator, “should be” effective against an aggressive mutant strain of the virus first detected in London and southeast England in September. The Oxford vaccine, which will be mass-produced in In

Russia on Saturday approved its main COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, for use by people over the age of 60, Russian news agencies cited the health ministry as saying. People over 60 have thus far been excluded from Russia’s national inoculation programme, as the shot was tested on this age group separately.

The US government will pay Pfizer Inc nearly $2 billion for 100 million additional doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to bolster its supply as the country deals with a nationwide surge in infections. Under the new agreement, Pfizer will deliver at least 70 million doses by June 30 and the rest no later than July 31, the company said on Wednesday, bringing the total number of doses to 200 million for a total price of about $4 billion. The purchase price amounts to $19.50 per shot and is slightly higher than the $18.90 per dose that Reuters has reported the European Union has agreed to pay. The shot has been authorized for use in EU and the US. The US agreement with Pfizer comes after growing concern that the government had not done enough to source doses of one of the two authorized vaccines, made more pressing amid a Covid-19 spike that has left hospitals struggling to find beds for the sick. Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine, developed with German partner BioNTech, is being rolled out across the U

Singapore received Asia’s first delivery of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on Monday, capping what the city-state’s premier said had been a “long and arduous” year spent fighting the pandemic. The trade and finance hub last week joined a handful of other countries around the world, including Britain and the United States, which have approved the jab. It plans to innoculate its 5.7 million people by the third quarter of 2021, with priority given to health workers, the elderly and the medically vulnerable. “Delighted to see the first shipment of vaccines arrive in Singapore,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wrote on Facebook, after a Singapore Airlines flight carrying the vaccines landed from Belgium. “It’s been a long and arduous year, I hope that this news will give Singaporeans cheer this festive season, and reason to be optimistic for 2021.” Vaccination in Singapore will be voluntary, but Lee has strongly encouraged people to get take part in the campaign. The Pfizer vaccine

Moderna Inc said on Saturday the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend the use of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine on people 18 years of age and older. The panel voted 11-0 in favor of the vaccine, the company said in a press release. The vote result came a day after the Food and Drug Administration’s authorization for emergency use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. “ACIP recommendation is another step forward in our quest to address this devastating pandemic with a vaccine,” Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel said in the release. Moderna’s is the second COVID-19 vaccine to receive approval in the United States after a similar vaccine from Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE got the green light for emergency use.

The Oxford University vaccine against COVID-19 being produced by AstraZeneca is likely to get regulatory approval from the UK’s independent regulator by the end of this year for a rollout to begin in early 2021, according to a UK media report. The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which had been formally tasked by the UK government last month with the process of clearance after the jab emerged “safe and effective” against the novel coronavirus in human trials, is expected to authorise the vaccine by December 28 or 29 after the final data is provided on Monday, ‘The Daily Telegraph’ quoted senior government sources as indicating. “Authorisation by the MHRA will also give confidence to countries across the world. India has already manufactured more than 50 million of the AstraZeneca vaccines,” the newspaper notes. In India, the vaccine is being produced as part of a tie-up with the Serum Institute of India. Health officials in the UK hope that the authorisation of the Ox

India will produce about 300 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines next year, a Russian official was quoted as saying, nearly three times the previously known number as deals have been signed with more manufacturers. Russia is already testing the first samples of Sputnik V that were produced in India, its embassy in New Delhi said on Twitter on Friday, sharing a news story in which their vaccine czar Kirill Dmitriev was quoted. “In India, we have agreements with four large manufacturers,” Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) told Rossiya 24 TV, according to news agency TASS. “India will produce about 300 million doses or more of the vaccine for us next year.” India is the world’s biggest vaccine maker, and the pharmaceutical industry is freeing up capacity and accelerating investments ahead of the global rush for COVID-19 shots. Hetero Biopharma has already announced a deal with the RDIF to make more than 100 million doses of Sputnik V, who

Oxford University’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate has a better immune response when a two full-dose regime is used rather than a full-dose followed by a half-dose booster, the university said on Thursday, citing data from early trials. The developers of the vaccine candidate, which has been licensed to pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca , have already published later stage trial results showing higher efficacy when a half dose is followed by a full dose, compared to a two full-dose regime. However, more work needs to be done to confirm that result. The latest details from the Phase I and 2 clinical trials released on Thursday made no reference to the half-dose/full-dose regime, which Oxford has said had been “unplanned” but approved by regulators. Once seen as the frontrunner in the development of a coronavirus vaccine, the British team has been overtaken by US drugmaker Pfizer, whose shots have been rolled out in Britain and the US this month. Data published earlier from later Phase 3 tr