The post Covid-19: According to Mandaviya, India has two of the eight WHO-approved vaccinations appeared first on The Edge Media.
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On November 3, the World Health Organization’s technical advisory team endorsed Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for EUL for people aged 18 and up. “Reflecting worldwide acceptance of India’s vaccines and our vaccination process, 96 countries have agreed to Mutual Acceptance of Vaccination Certificates,” the minister was quoted as saying by news agency ANI, adding the list can be checked via CoWIN app.
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]]>The post Centre issues guidelines to help people identify authentic vaccines appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>According to the Union ministry of health and family welfare, 684.6 million vaccine doses against Covid-19 have been administered so far in the country. “With the administration of 71,61,760 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has surpassed the cumulative figure of 68.46 Crore (68,46,69,521) on Sunday,” the health ministry said.
Here are the various parameters to identify if a Covid-19 vaccine is original:
How to check whether the Covishield vaccine is original?
* The SII product’s label shade is dark green and the colour of the aluminium flip-off seal is dark green.
*The brand name with the trademark is mentioned on the original vaccine.
*The lettering is printed in special white ink to be more clear and readable.
* The text font of the Generic name is in un-bold
* Overprinted with “CGS NOT FOR SALE”.
* The SII logo is printed at a unique angle and position which can be identified by only a select few who are aware of the exact details.
* The lettering is printed in special white ink to be more clear and readable.
* The entire label has been given a special honeycomb effect, which is visible only at a specific angle.
*The honeycomb design has been altered slightly at strategic locations and certain additional special elements added to the texture design. They are not visible to people in general but those who know about the subtle changes can easily check and verify the authenticity of the label and vial.
How to check Covaxin’s authenticity?
* There is an invisible UV helix or a DNA-like structure on the Covaxin label. It is only visible under UV light
* The micro text hidden in the label claims Dots, which is written as Covaxin
* There is a green foil effect in X of Covaxin.
* There is a holographic effect on Covaxin
How to find out if Sputnik V vaccine is not fake?
* There are different labels for the two bulk manufacturing sites where the Russian Covid-19 vaccine is produced. All other information and design are the same except the manufacturer’s name.
* The English label is available only on the front and back of the carton of 5 ampoule pack for all the imported products so far. All other sides, including the primary label on the vaccine ampoule, is in Russian script.
(With agency inputs)
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]]>The post SII Informed the Centre that 20 Crore Covishield Doses Will Be Delivered in September appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The SII placed its manufacturing capacity for Covishield for August and September at 10 crores apiece in a production plan submitted to the national government in May. The world’s largest vaccine maker has delivered 12 crore vaccination doses to the government and private hospitals.
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]]>The post Over 3.86 crore people didn’t get a second dose of covid vaccine within stipulated time : Govt. appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>According to information on the CoWin portal, as of thursday afternoon 44,22,85,854 people have received their first dose, while 12,59,07,443 have also taken their second.
Activist Raman Sharma haad filed a query under the right to information (RTI) Act, seeking to know from the government the number of people who had received the first dose of vaccines–Covishield and Covaxin-but did not take the second within the stipulated time period. In response to the query, The Covid-19 vaccine administration cell of the Union health ministry said it is recommended the second dose of Covisheild be taken within 24-112 days after the first while in case of Covaxin the gap should be between 28-42 days.
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]]>The post Cyrus Poonawalla’s Praise For PM Modi: “Faced Harassment 50 Years Ago, But Now…” appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>He also stated that in the past, he had to “fall at the feet” of bureaucrats and drug regulators to obtain licenses, but that this has changed now, resulting in the speedy launch of SII’s COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield.
Mr. Poonawalla was speaking at the Lokmanyat Tilak National Award ceremony, which was hosted by the Lokmanya Tilak Trust. Sushil Kumar Shinde, a former Union minister, and prominent Congress politician praised Mr. Poonawalla’s work, saying that the SII vaccine was saving lakhs of lives.
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]]>The post A mix of Covishield and Covaxin can actually yield better results : ICMR appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The study was only conducted on 18 people of Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharth Nagar, who by mistake received two doses of two separate vaccines. According to the finding of the study which is yet to be peer-reviewed immunisation with a combination of an adenovirus vector platform-based vaccine, followed by inactivated whole virus vaccine was not only safe but also elicited better immunogenicity.
Covishield, manufactured by Pune’s Serum Institute of India, is the adenovirus vector platform-based vaccine and Covaxin, developed and manufactured by Bharat Biotech and the ICMR, is the whole virus vaccine. Covishield and Covaxin belong to two different types.
The study titled ‘Serendipitous Covid-19 Vaccine-Mix in Uttar Pradesh, India: Safety and Immunogenicity Assessment of a Heterologous Regime’ has been uploaded on medRxiv. Under this study, 18 people received two doses of two different vaccines, the reaction of which was compared to 40 receipients of two doses of Covishield and 40 recipients of two doses of Covaxin, news agency PTI reported. The study duration was from May to June 2021, it said.
Mixing of vaccines is being discussed globally all studies are in favour of mixing two vaccines to increase the protection against future infection. The subject expert committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has in July recommended a trial of mixing Covishield and Covaxin, which will be conducted by the Christian Medical College in Vellore on 300 healthy volunteers.
While that will be a proper clinical trial to investigate the effectiveness of the cocktail of Covishield and Covaxin, the ICMR’s study was based on the goof-up that took place in May. There was no immediate adverse impact of the mix-up of the beneficiaries. Now, further study has revealed that the mix-up has actually worked in favour of protection as these people have more protection than those who have received two shots of the same vaccine.
The issue of mixing vaccines is sensitive as World Health Organization has warned that individuals should not decide on mixing vaccines. Niti Aayog member (health) Dr VK Paul had earlier said that theoretically there is no problem in mixing two vaccines as the second dose in such a case will work as a booster shot. But as the government started its vaccination drive on January 16, it asked health workers to exercise extreme caution to make sure that the beneficiaries receive the second shot of the same vaccine that they received as their first shots.
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]]>The post Government may reduce the gap between the two doses of Covishield appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The present gap between the doses of Covishield is 12 to 16 weeks for all adults. At the very beginning of the vaccination drive in India, the recommended gap between the two doses of Covishield was 4-6 weeks, which was increased to 4 to 8 weeks and then finally to 12 to 16 weeks.
The decision to increase the gap to 12 to 16 weeks met criticism as the move was interpreted as an attempt to manage the vaccine scarcity in the country at that time. Experts, however, asserted that the decision was based on the emerging international scientific studies, according to which a longer gap between the doses generated more antibodies. In these studies, it was found that the percentage of antibodies produced by the first shot of the vaccine is quite high. Hence, the next shot should be delayed allowing the first shot more time to work.
But soon after, India increased the gap between the two doses in June, new studies claimed that the effectiveness of the first shot of Covishield was overestimated earlier. This again followed a reduction in the gap of the two doses of Covishield in many countries. Indian experts have reiterated that the vaccination situation is dynamic and will change as new studies will emerge, but public health will get paramount importance in whatever decision is taken.
When the government extended the gap between the doses of Covishield, it allowed some exemption to sportspersons going to represent India at the Olympics, individuals going abroad for studies, job etc.
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]]>The post Bharat Biotech To Supply 500M Covaxin Doses To Center appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Bharati Pravin Pawar, Minister of State for Health, stated in Parliament on Tuesday that the Serum Institute of India furnished the Centre with 5.45 crore (54.5 million) doses of Covaxin by Bharat Biotech and 36.01 crores (360 million) doses of Covishield from January to July 16.
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]]>The post No application received for covishield authorisation, says EMA. appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>“For the COVID-19 vaccine Covishield to be evaluated for use in the EU, the developer needs to submit a formal marketing authorisation application to EMA, which to date has not been received,” the EMA said at a press meeting.
Covishield vaccine, manufactured under technology transfer from Oxford/AstraZeneca, is not among the authorised vaccines under the EMA.
Covishield has also been excluded despite holding an EUL , this means people with Covishield will be subject to quarantine protocol in several countries.
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]]>The post Free Vaccination Drive For Adults Starts Today, Co-win Registration Not Needed appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>75 percent of pharmaceutical firms will be bought and distributed to the States and territories of the Union at no cost by the Central Government to vaccinate everyone older than 18 years. The Center also reduces rates in private hospitals for the distribution of 3 approved COVID-19 vaccinations.
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