Many countries around the world are witnessing a resurgence in their daily coronavirus (Covid-19) cases and deaths. Cities like New York in the US, Turin in Italy, and London in the UK have been put under strict lockdowns due to the possibility of a second wave of the outbreak.
In addition to imposing lockdowns, governments have also increased testing and surveillance to detect those infected as early as possible, which in turn would help slow the spread of the disease. But there seems to be no other way to completely stop the pandemic other than with a vaccine, which is safe, affordable, and effective.
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Speaking to the AFP news agency, an expert from the World Health Organization (WHO) said that public mistrust ran the risk of rendering even the most effective treatments against the Covid-19 crisis useless.
With less chance of a sharp drop in the global case burden that has already infected more than 53 million people and killed 1,309,408, here are the latest updates on the coronavirus vaccine:
1. Operation Warp Speed chief adviser Moncef Slaoui, during a press conference at the White House, said the United States hopes to immunize 20 million citizens in December and a minimum of 25 million each month next year. Slaoui added that he expects two vaccines in the final phase of trials developed by Pfizer and Moderna to soon be approved for emergency use next month.
2. On Friday, software giant Microsoft in its blog post said that hackers from North Korea and Russia were trying to steal valuable data from companies engaged in research and development of coronavirus vaccines. Microsoft added that most of these attacks were unsuccessful.
3. The first phase of trials of another vaccine from Biological E, a Hyderabad-based biopharmaceutical, will begin at the Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna, starting Monday. People between the ages of 18 and 55 can volunteer to get the vaccine.
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Four. COVAX, formed by the WHO and the Gavi vaccine alliance to provide equitable access to the coronavirus vaccine, has exceeded the interim goal of raising more than $ 2 billion to purchase and distribute vaccines for the poorest countries.
5. South Korea-based GL Rapha will produce 150 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine per year. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Friday that the South Korean company is expected to start production next month.
6. According to the Bloomberg news agency, Serum Institute of India Ltd (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla noted that if the end-stage test data shows that the AstraZeneca candidate provides effective protection against Covid-19, the SII could obtain authorization in December. IBS is increasing AstraZeneca’s vaccine production and aims to have 100 million doses ready by next month.
(With contributions from the agency)
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