It has been almost a month since several countries began vaccinating against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. While the UK was the first country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine and begin the immunization campaign, several others have joined the list since then. Most countries have approved Pfizer Inc-BioNTech SE or Moderna vaccines, while some use both. The University of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has also received approval, with the UK being the first country to give a go ahead, followed by Argentina.
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With the global case number exceeding 83 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker, here’s a look at some of the latest updates on the Covid-19 vaccination front:
1. After conducting a two-day vaccine trial on December 28-29, India will hold a nationwide exercise on Saturday. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat and Punjab were the four states where the drill took place on Monday and Tuesday. Three candidate vaccines, including Pfizer’s, have applied for an Emergency Use Authorization (USA) in India. However, Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin appear to be leading the way in the race to become the country’s first Covid-19 vaccine.
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2. The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday granted an “emergency validation” to Pfizer’s vaccine, the first since the start of the pandemic. The WHO decision will allow UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to purchase the vaccine for distribution to countries in need.
3. The European Union (EU) said on Thursday that Germany’s BioNTech SE, which has developed a vaccine with Pfizer Inc of the United States, has applied for approval for an additional dose of vaccine from each vial, instead of the five currently approved. . The request, the 27-nation bloc said, will be reviewed by its committee on human drugs, “in the shortest possible time.”
4. Pakistan said on Thursday that China has made sure to provide it with more than one million doses of the vaccine developed by Sinopharm, for emergency use. The vaccine, China’s first homegrown for Covid-19, received “conditional approval” earlier in the day. Pakistan has reportedly decided to “pre-reserve” the vaccine for its healthcare workers.
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