The post According to a WHO official, Bharat Biotech’s Covid vaccine could be approved “within the next 24 hours” appeared first on The Edge Media.
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“If all is in place and all goes well and if the committee is satisfied, we would expect a recommendation within the next 24 hours or so,” Margaret Harris told journalists at a UN press briefing.
On April 19, Bharat Biotech, based in Hyderabad, submitted an EOI (Expression of Interest) to the WHO for the vaccine’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL).
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]]>The post Covid shot about 93% effective through six months after the second dose : Moderna Inc appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>However, it said it still expects booster shots to be necessary ahead of the winter season as antibody levels are expected to wane. It and rival Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE have been advocating a third shot to maintain a high level of protection against COVID-19.
During a second-quarter earnings call, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said that the company would not produce more than the 800 million to 1 billion doses of the vaccine that it has targeted this year.
“We are now capacity constrained for 2021, and we are not taking any more orders for 2021 delivery,” he said.
Moderna shares fell 3.6% to around $403.87 in pre-market trading after closing at $419.05 on Wednesday.
The Moderna data compares favorably to that released by Pfizer and BioNTech last week in which they said their vaccine’s efficacy waned around 6% every two months, declining to around 84% six months after the second shot.
Both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.
“Our COVID-19 vaccine is showing durable efficacy of 93% through six months, but recognize that the Delta variant is a significant new threat so we must remain vigilant,” Bancel said.
The comment comes as public health officials across the world debate whether additional doses are safe, effective and necessary even as they grapple with the fast-spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Pfizer is planning to seek authorization for a third shot later this month, and some countries like Israel have begun or plan to start administering a booster shot to older or vulnerable people.
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]]>The post More than 50% of German Population Fully vaccinated against COVID-19 : Minister. appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>“41.8 million Germans now have full protection, while 61.1 percent have received at least one shot. The more people who get vaccinated ,the safer we will be in autumn and winter,” Spahn wrote on Twitter.
Germany’s vaccination campaign accelerated in the spring after a sluggish first few months, yet the country remains some way off the 80 percent targeted for herd immunity.
Unlike other European countries such as France and Greece, Germany has so far ruled out introducing compulsory jabs for certain parts of the population
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]]>The post Sydney’s Covid Outbreak a “National Emergency” : says state leaders. appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Admitting a month-long lockdown had so far failed to stop a Delta-variant outbreak, the state of New South Wales pleaded for Canberra to urgently send more vaccines and resources.
Declaring the outbreak a national emergency could pave the way for more federal government involvement in stemming the crisis. “We have an obligation on behalf of the nation to contain the virus,” said New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian . “There is no doubt that the numbers are not going in the right direction”.
Her state on Friday reported 136 new cases , a record for this outbreak , which now totals 1,782 .
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]]>The post 60 cases of Post-Covid shot complication reported : Central Panel. appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>55 of 60 cases reported this time were found to have a consistent causal association to vaccination . Of these , 36 were anxiety-related reactions and 18 were product-related , while one was categorised as both.
The National Adverse Events following Immunization (AEFI) Committee , which conducts causality assessment of AEFIs for COVID-19 , completed its assessment on May 27.
It has submitted its report to the Union Health Ministry.
The AEFIs June report included one death of a fully vaccinated person. It was labelled “Vaccine product-related reaction” or anaphylaxis.
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]]>The post France allows visitors with Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccine. appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The move to accept visitors vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s vaccine made by India’s Serum Institute came after a global outcry over the fact that the European Union’s Covid-19 certificate only recognises AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in Europe.
At the same time, France is tightening border checks to control the spread of the delta variant and protect hospitals, according to a statement from the Prime Minister on saturday.
France still doest recognise vaccinations by Chinese or Russian vaccines, only those authorised by the EU drug regulator.
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]]>The post Pawar urges people to continue wearing masks in public places appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>It has been observed that people who have received both the vaccine jabs are not wearing masks. At today’s meeting, an example came before us of a person who contracted Covid-19 after taking both the doses and sadly passed away. Hence, it’s important that even those who have got both vaccine doses continue to wear masks in public places. This is what our medical task force is telling us. People have to continue to wear masks, sanitise their hands and observe social distancing,” said Pawar, the guardian minister of Pune district.
Pawar said that while Pune district has crossed the landmark of administering 50 lakh vaccine doses, all the vaccine centres have been closed for the last two days because of unavailability of vaccines. “We are prepared to administer more vaccines at a high rate but the supply is not enough from the central government. We were earlier told by the Union government that vaccine supply will be increased by the end of June. However, the situation has not improved as of yet,” he said.
Two vaccines are being produced in the country but the speed of production is not as per the demand. The two vaccines from abroad – Sputnik and Moderna – have been allowed but for some reasons they are not available in requisite quantities. Until supply is fixed, the vaccination process will continue to slow down,” said Pawar.
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]]>The post Pregnant women can now register for Covid 19 shots appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Signalling a major policy shift that follows growing concern over exposure of expectant mothers (and their children) to the Coronavirus, the Union Health Ministry said last Friday that pregnant women “can and should” be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Until as recently as last month lactating women were eligible for the vaccine but pregnant women were not; the government had said this was due to a lack of safety and efficacy data since clinical trials for vaccines do not typically include pregnant women as participants.
“The Health Ministry has given guidelines that the vaccine can be given to pregnant women. Vaccination is useful for them and should be given,” Dr Balram Bhargava, Director-General of the Indian Council for Medical Research, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI last week.
Vaccination for pregnant women was one of the topics discussed by the NTAGI, or National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, in May.
“Considering current situation of pandemic, NTAGI-STSC recommends pregnant women should not be excluded from vaccination because exposure probability is very high and therefore the benefit far outweighs the risk,” the committee said in the minutes of its May 28 meeting.
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]]>The post Cipla has been cleared to import Moderna’s Covid vaccine appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Cipla, in its application to the drug regulator, had referred to the government’s decision to waive bridging trials for foreign vaccines if it is cleared for emergency use in countries like the US and if the safety assessment data of the first 100 beneficiaries is submitted before mass rollout.
Moderna is said to be 90 per cent effective against Covid.
Like Pfizer, Moderna is an mRNA vaccine that has fragments of the genetic material known as messenger RNA.
The vaccine works by giving cells temporary instructions to make the coronavirus spike protein. The protein is found on the surface of the COVID-19 virus.
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]]>The post Cipla files an application seeking permission for import of Moderna Covid- 19 vaccine appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Moderna has also informed that the US Government has agreed to donate a certain number of doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine through COVAX to the government of India for use and has sought approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for these vaccines. Mumbai-based pharmaceutical firm Cipla, on behalf of the US pharma major, has requested for import and marketing authorisation of these jabs.
According to the sources, an approval is likely to come anytime as the CDSCO is in favour of doing so.
Cipla filed an application on Monday seeking permission for import of Moderna Covid- 19 vaccine referring to DCGI notices dated April 15 and June 1 stating that if the vaccine is approved by the USFDA for EUA, the vaccine can be granted marketing authorization without bridging trial and assessment of safety data of first 100 beneficiaries of vaccines shall be submitted before rolling out in immunization programme.
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