NEW DELHI: In another grim milestone, the number of active cases in the country surpassed 8 lakh, having risen from the 7 lakh mark in 11 days. It had taken 15 days for active cases to increase from 6 lakh to 7 lakh. There has been a sudden increase in active cases in the last week along with the increase in new cases. India has the second largest group of active cases in the world after the United States. Only three countries (the US, Brazil and Russia) have a higher total case count than the number of active cases in India.
Here is everything you need to know:
Covaxin in phase III trials
India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine candidate is now in its phase III trials. The trial’s principal investigator, Dr. E Venkata Rao, said there were no “side effects” in the first phase of the vaccine trial, which was to determine how effective the vaccine was in terms of the level of antibodies developed.
The first dose was administered on day zero while the blood sample was being collected. The second dose was administered on day 14 and the blood sample was also collected. Blood samples will also be collected from volunteers on days 28, 42, 104, 194 to estimate the duration of protection later.
The other two candidate vaccines in India are ZyCOV-D, which has been developed by Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila, which is in phase I / II. While the Oxford University AZD-1222 vaccine (to be marked Covishield), which is being monitored by the Serum Institute of India, is said to be in Phase II.
The United States steps up vaccination efforts
Researchers in the US have stepped up their efforts toward developing an effective Covid-19 vaccine, as another candidate vaccine has begun phase 3 clinical trial, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The multi-site clinical trial evaluating an investigational vaccine, known as AZD1222, will enroll approximately 30,000 adult volunteers at 80 sites in the US to assess whether the candidate vaccine can prevent Covid-19, the news agency said. Xinhua citing the NIH on Monday. UK-based global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is leading the trial as regulatory sponsor.
Last month, the NIH began a controlled clinical trial of the antiviral remdesivir plus the immunomodulator interferon beta-1a in patients with Covid-19.
Another experimental Covid-19 vaccine being developed by NIAID and the American biotech company Moderna, known as mRNA-1273, started the phase 3 clinical trial in July to assess whether it can prevent Covid-19 in adults.
Russia and China’s vaccine face challenges
The high-profile Covid-19 vaccines developed in Russia and China share a potential shortcoming: They are based on a common cold virus that many people have been exposed to, potentially limiting their effectiveness, some experts say.
CanSino Biologics’ 6185.HK vaccine, approved for military use in China, is a modified form of adenovirus type 5 or Ad5. Similarly, a vaccine developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, approved in Russia earlier this month despite limited testing, is based on Ad5 and a second less common adenovirus.
Anna Durbin, a vaccine researcher at Johns Hopkins University, said: “I’m not sure what their strategy is… it might not be 70% effective. It could be 40% effective, and that’s better than nothing until something else comes along. ”
Super chilled vaccine is a challenge
Getting a coronavirus vaccine from manufacturing sites to parts of the developing world supply will be an immense challenge, given the need to store some vials in temperatures as low as minus 80 degrees Celsius (-112 Fahrenheit), the company warned. German logistics Deutsche Post on Tuesday.
Companies that develop vaccines that require exceptional cold storage, such as Moderna Inc and CureVac, are working to make their injections last longer in transit. The new class of mRNA vaccines is among the most advanced in a field of 33 immunization injections currently being tested in humans.
Upgrading cold storage infrastructure in regions outside of the 25 most advanced countries, home to one-third of the world’s population, will present an immense challenge, Deutsche Post said in its study, conducted with consulting firm McKinsey.
Poor countries can be outnumbered by richer neighboring countries
Just seven months after the outbreak of the pandemic, and even before clinical trials of experimental vaccines ended, some developed countries (the United States, Great Britain, the European Union, Canada and Japan) have requested at least 3.1 billion doses. according to an AFP count.
An initiative called Covax and supported by WHO, as well as CEPI and the global vaccine alliance group Gavi, aims to purchase and equitably distribute two billion doses by 2021. Ninety-two developing countries and 80 developed countries They have joined, and the European Union announced on Monday a contribution of 400 million euros. But the United States refuses to join the effort.
Covax has only managed to secure 300 million doses to date from AstraZeneca, which has also signed separate partnership agreements with the United States, Europe, Russia, South Korea, China, Latin America and Brazil.
The ideal goal of the WHO is that all countries receive vaccines for 20 percent of their population, starting with the most vulnerable people regardless of their nationality, including health workers.
(With inputs from agencies)
Here is everything you need to know:
Covaxin in phase III trials
India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine candidate is now in its phase III trials. The trial’s principal investigator, Dr. E Venkata Rao, said there were no “side effects” in the first phase of the vaccine trial, which was to determine how effective the vaccine was in terms of the level of antibodies developed.
The first dose was administered on day zero while the blood sample was being collected. The second dose was administered on day 14 and the blood sample was also collected. Blood samples will also be collected from volunteers on days 28, 42, 104, 194 to estimate the duration of protection later.
The other two candidate vaccines in India are ZyCOV-D, which has been developed by Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila, which is in phase I / II. While the Oxford University AZD-1222 vaccine (to be marked Covishield), which is being monitored by the Serum Institute of India, is said to be in Phase II.
The United States steps up vaccination efforts
Researchers in the US have stepped up their efforts toward developing an effective Covid-19 vaccine, as another candidate vaccine has begun phase 3 clinical trial, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The multi-site clinical trial evaluating an investigational vaccine, known as AZD1222, will enroll approximately 30,000 adult volunteers at 80 sites in the US to assess whether the candidate vaccine can prevent Covid-19, the news agency said. Xinhua citing the NIH on Monday. UK-based global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is leading the trial as regulatory sponsor.
Last month, the NIH began a controlled clinical trial of the antiviral remdesivir plus the immunomodulator interferon beta-1a in patients with Covid-19.
Another experimental Covid-19 vaccine being developed by NIAID and the American biotech company Moderna, known as mRNA-1273, started the phase 3 clinical trial in July to assess whether it can prevent Covid-19 in adults.
Russia and China’s vaccine face challenges
The high-profile Covid-19 vaccines developed in Russia and China share a potential shortcoming: They are based on a common cold virus that many people have been exposed to, potentially limiting their effectiveness, some experts say.
CanSino Biologics’ 6185.HK vaccine, approved for military use in China, is a modified form of adenovirus type 5 or Ad5. Similarly, a vaccine developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, approved in Russia earlier this month despite limited testing, is based on Ad5 and a second less common adenovirus.
Anna Durbin, a vaccine researcher at Johns Hopkins University, said: “I’m not sure what their strategy is… it might not be 70% effective. It could be 40% effective, and that’s better than nothing until something else comes along. ”
Super chilled vaccine is a challenge
Getting a coronavirus vaccine from manufacturing sites to parts of the developing world supply will be an immense challenge, given the need to store some vials in temperatures as low as minus 80 degrees Celsius (-112 Fahrenheit), the company warned. German logistics Deutsche Post on Tuesday.
Companies that develop vaccines that require exceptional cold storage, such as Moderna Inc and CureVac, are working to make their injections last longer in transit. The new class of mRNA vaccines is among the most advanced in a field of 33 immunization injections currently being tested in humans.
Upgrading cold storage infrastructure in regions outside of the 25 most advanced countries, home to one-third of the world’s population, will present an immense challenge, Deutsche Post said in its study, conducted with consulting firm McKinsey.
Poor countries can be outnumbered by richer neighboring countries
Just seven months after the outbreak of the pandemic, and even before clinical trials of experimental vaccines ended, some developed countries (the United States, Great Britain, the European Union, Canada and Japan) have requested at least 3.1 billion doses. according to an AFP count.
An initiative called Covax and supported by WHO, as well as CEPI and the global vaccine alliance group Gavi, aims to purchase and equitably distribute two billion doses by 2021. Ninety-two developing countries and 80 developed countries They have joined, and the European Union announced on Monday a contribution of 400 million euros. But the United States refuses to join the effort.
Covax has only managed to secure 300 million doses to date from AstraZeneca, which has also signed separate partnership agreements with the United States, Europe, Russia, South Korea, China, Latin America and Brazil.
The ideal goal of the WHO is that all countries receive vaccines for 20 percent of their population, starting with the most vulnerable people regardless of their nationality, including health workers.
(With inputs from agencies)
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