The post European Medicines Agency lists neurological disorder as a “very rare” side effect of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>A causal relationship was “considered at least a reasonable possibility”, the EMA said in an update Wednesday after a total of 833 cases of the syndrome had been reported worldwide by July 31, from about 592 million doses of the AstraZeneca “Vaxzevria” shot administered.
“GBS should therefore be added to the product information as a side effect of Vaxzevria,” the Amsterdam-based agency said.
Guillain-Barre Syndrome was a “very rare” side effect, occurring in under one in 10,000 people, it added.
The disorder is a nerve inflammation that may cause temporary paralysis and difficulty breathing.
In the United States, the very rare syndrome affects an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people each year and most go on to recover.
The EMA recommended that a warning be added to information on the vaccine that tells people to seek medical attention if they develop weakness and paralysis in the extremities that can progress to the chest and face.
The European drug regulator had in July listed Guillain-Barre syndrome as a “very rare” side effect of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which uses the same adenovirus technology as the AstraZeneca jab.
The US Food and Drug Administration also warned in July of an “increased risk” of developing the neurological syndrome with Johnson & Johnson’s dose.
Both regulators stressed that the vaccine’s benefits outweighed the potential risks.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Edge Media staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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]]>The post 2 doses of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine produced more antibodies than those fully vaccinated with the vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech : Study appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Almost 1,650 healthcare workers from a hospital in Belgium, including men, women, those previously infected with Covid-19 and those uninfected, across age groups, were involved in the study. As many as 688 people received the Moderna vaccine and 959 people were immunised with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The findings of the study were published in a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association on August 30. The study showed that among people previously uninfected, those who were inoculated with the Moderna vaccine had an antibody response of 2,881 units/ml while those administered with the Pfizer vaccine had 1,108 units/ml. Similarly, among those previously infected too, those with the Moderna vaccine showed higher antibody presence than those who received the Pfizer vaccine.
The study also show that previously infected participants had higher counts of antibodies than those who were not infected, after receiving both doses of the vaccine. Both the vaccines have demonstrated an efficacy rate of more than 90% in preventing Covid-19 illness.
The post 2 doses of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine produced more antibodies than those fully vaccinated with the vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech : Study appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The post Myanmar will vaccinate minority Muslim Rohingya people appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to Bangladesh during military operations in 2017 and those who remain complain of discrimination and mistreatment in a country that does not recognise them as citizens.
Spokesman Zaw Min Tun said authorities were making progress in reducing coronavirus infections and increasing vaccinations and aimed to inoculate half of the country’s population by the end of this year.
Myanmar reported 2,635 new coronavirus infections and 113 additional deaths on Thursday, though the number of daily cases and reported fatalities have come down from a peak hit in July.
The vaccinations would include Rohingya people in Maungdaw and Buthidaung districts bordering Bangladesh, he said.
He referred to them as “Bengalis”, a term used for decades in Buddhist majority Myanmar to describe Rohingya, a group many regard as unwanted immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.
“They are also our people as well,” Zaw Min Tun told a regular news conference. “We will not leave anyone behind.”
It was not immediately clear whether the vaccination campaign would extend to Rohingya Muslims living in densely-packed camps in Rakhine state and what the qualification criteria would be.
The issue is deeply sensitive in Myanmar, where animosity about Rohingya runs deep. International rights groups say hundreds of thousands of stateless Rohingya should be entitled to citizenship rather than be discriminated against and branded illegal immigrants.
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]]>The post South Africa indicates that it may resume using AstraZeneca vaccine appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Newly appointed South African health minister Joe Phaahla told a press briefing the government was planning to start using other vaccines, including Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccine.
“It was approved … also that the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has now been shown to be effective against the Delta variant, that we should also look at bringing it back into use,” Phaahla said.
Earlier this year, the South African government halted the use of Covishield, a version of AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), after a study showed the vaccine provided minimal protection against mild to moderate illness caused by the Beta variant. South Africa sold the Covishied doses it had purchased from SII to African Union.
The South African health minister’s remark suggests the country may consider using the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine again, given its high level of effectiveness against the Delta variant which is swiftly becoming the dominant strain across the world. A recent study of real-world data from Canada showed one dose of AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria helped reduce hospitalisations or deaths by 87%.
As Johnson & Johnson has applied for emergency use approval in India for its single-shot Covid-19 vaccine, its efficacy against variants announced by South Africa is encouraging. Glenda Gray, the joint lead investigator of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine trial in South Africa, said that the single-shot vaccine offers protection against severe disease and death.
Gray told a media briefing that J&J shot, which is being used in the national vaccine programme alongside Pfizer’s, offered 67% efficacy against infection when the Beta variant dominates and about 71% when the Delta variant dominates.
Consistently after receiving the vaccine, there was very little death occurring in the vaccinated group as compared to the control group and showing a remarkable up to 96.2% protection against death,” Gray said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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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 Monthly production capacity of vaccines to be increased : Centre appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya was responding to a question on the current capacity to manufacture Covaxin and Covishield in the country, and the expected capacity going forward from August to December 2021.
“As communicated by the manufacturers, the monthly vaccine production capacity of Covishield is projected to be increased from 110 million doses per month to more than 120 million doses per month and the production capacity of Covaxin is projected to be increased from 25 million doses per month to around 58 million doses per month,” the minister said in a written reply.
Further, the Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology has launched ‘Mission Covid Suraksha – the Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission’.
The Mission is being implemented by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a public sector undertaking (PSU) of the Department of Biotechnology, the reply stated.
Under the Mission, facility augmentation of Bharat Biotech and one state public sector enterprise and 2 central public sector enterprises (PSEs) – Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation Ltd, Mumbai; Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), Hyderabad and Bharat Immunologicals Biologicals Limited (BIBCOL), Bulandshahr – for production of Covaxin have been supported.
In addition, technology transfer of Covaxin production to Gujarat COVID Vaccine Consortium (GCVC), including Hester Biosciences and OmniBRx Biotechnologies Pvt Ltd, led by Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) of Department of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat, has also been facilitated, the reply said.
Further, the Centre has also extended financial assistance to one of the domestic manufacturers for ‘At-risk manufacturing’, advance payment against the supply orders placed with Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech, besides streamlining regulatory norms for approval of vaccines, the reply added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Edge Media staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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]]>The post Modi Encourages Vaccination At His Mann Ki Baat Session Today appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Encouraging people to be immunized against the coronavirus, Modi stated that he and his mother had been completely vaccinated and urged people to follow science since skipping the shot can be ‘hazardous.’
In his remarks on the social events, he asked everyone to follow all COVID-19 protocols. “Note that corona has not yet been gone from among us at festivities and cheerfulness. COVID-19-related procedures are not to be overlooked,” he stressed.
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]]>The post Covid Vaccine for Children likely by September : AIIMS Chief . appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>“I think Zydus has already done the trials and they are waiting for the emergency authorisation. The Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin trails should be over August or September, and by that time we should get an approval. The Pfizer vaccine has already been approved by the FDA (US regulator- Food and Drug Administration).
Hopefully, by September , we should start vaccinating children, and that will be a big boost as far as breaking the chain of transmission is concerned,” Dr Guleria said.
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]]>The post “Killing people with misinformation on covid19 vaccine” via social media platform , says Biden. appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>On Thursday, Dr.Murthy, U.S Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said misinformation about the Covid-19, deemed an “infodemic” by the world health organisation, was deadly.
Mr.Biden’s comment came a day after Dr.murthy declared misinformation about the vaccine is a threat to public health.
“Misinformation poses an imminent and insidious threat to our nation’s health,” Dr.Murthy said during remarks at the White House.
Mr.Biden, asked if he had a message for a platform like Facebook where false or misleading information about the coronavirus has spread, told reporters, “they are killing people.” “The only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated,” he said.
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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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