GENEVE, September 22: Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday extended gratitude to India for resuming crucial COVID vaccine shipments to COVAX from October.
Ghebreyesus also said that the move will help WHO to reach its goal of 40 per cent vaccination in all countries by the end of the year. "Thank you Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya for announcing India will resume crucial COVID-19 vaccine shipments to COVAX in October. This is an important development in support of reaching the 40 per cent vaccination target in all countries by the end of the year. #VaccinEquity," Ghebreyesus said in a tweet.
The remark of WHO's Director-General came after Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya announced that in the fourth quarter of 2021, the government of India will resume 'Vaccine Maitri', an initiative to provide COVID vaccines to countries around the world and also fulfil its responsibility under COVAX.
Mandaviya also announced that the Indian government is expecting more than 30 crore doses from vaccine manufacturers in the month of October.
Meanwhile, with the administration of 37,78,296 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage surpassed the landmark figure of 80 crores (80,85,68,144) as per provisional reports till 7 am on Wednesday. This was achieved through 79,78,302 sessions, the Indian Ministry of Health said.
India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, will resume exports and donations of surplus coronavirus vaccines in October after halting them during a devastating surge in domestic infections in April, the health minister said Monday
DHAKA, Sept. 19 : Bangladesh on Saturday received another 5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's pharmaceutical Sinopharm Group.
A plane of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Chinese vaccine doses landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 2:00 a.m. local time Saturday, Health Ministry spokesman Maidul Islam Prodhan told reporters.
Abu Zaher, chief health coordinator at Bangladesh's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, received the consignment at the airport.
Earlier on Sept. 11, 5.4 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine arrived in Dhaka from China.
Bangladesh's vaccination drive is now running smoothly in the capital Dhaka and elsewhere largely thanks to China's continued vaccine support.
To fight the alarming spike in COVID-19 cases, Bangladesh has signed an agreement on the co-production of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine doses locally.
Bangladesh began the COVID-19 vaccination drive in January to contain the pandemic that has spread across the country.
The Bangladeshi government subsequently halted administering the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine after India banned vaccine exports.
In June, the vaccination drive resumed in parts of the country with the China-donated Sinopharm vaccine.
Bangladesh has so far received around 25 million Sinopharm vaccine doses from China.
AUGUST 21: India has become the first nation in the world to give emergency approval to use COVID-19 DNA jabs.
India’s drug regulator has granted emergency use approval for Zydus Cadila’s COVID-19 vaccine, the world’s first DNA shot against the coronavirus, in adults and children aged 12 years and above, reported Al Jazeera.
The approval gives a boost to India’s vaccination program, which aims to inoculate all eligible adults by December, and will provide the first shot for those below 18, as the country still struggles to contain the virus spread in some states.
The vaccine, ZyCoV-D, uses a section of genetic material from the virus that gives instructions as either DNA or RNA to make the specific protein that the immune system recognizes and responds to.
Unlike most COVID-19 vaccines, which need two doses or even a single dose, ZyCoV-D is administered in three doses.
The generic drugmaker, listed as Cadila Healthcare Ltd, aims to make 100 million to 120 million doses of ZyCoV-D annually and has already begun stockpiling the vaccine.
India is likely to have its indigenous COVID-19 vaccine for children by September, according to Director of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)'s National Institute of Virology (Pune) Priya Abraham.
KATHMANDU, June 7: The government is preparing to administer the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as an alternative to the booster dose the Covishield vaccine.
The government ‘s decision comes after the Serum Institute of India, the manufacturing company of Covishield vaccine and the COVAX Facility expressed inability to supply additional quantities of Covishield vaccines to Nepal for the time being.
The Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) is planning to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine for those waiting for the booster shot of Covishield as both vaccines are similar in nature and composition.
Director of Family Welfare Division, Department of Health Services, Dr Taranath Pokhrel said that AstraZeneca will be provided to those receiving the first jab of Covishield as both vaccines were developed by the same company being based on the same formula and methodology and it would make no difference in giving the AstraZeneca as an alternative to the Covishield.
The vaccination schedule is yet to be fixed. The booster or second dose is to be taken after 12-16 weeks of getting the first shot.
\Around 1.4 million people above 65 years of age were provided the first shot of Covishield from 7th March to 23rd March. They are waiting for the final shot as the Serum Institute of India expressed its inability to supply one million doses of vaccines that Nepal had procured from the company for the time being in view of the increasing infections rate in India.
So far in Nepal, the number of the population receiving the first shot of COVID-19 jab stands at 2.13 million while 691,184 have received the full course. The government is administering the China –manufactured Vero Cell to the people from 60-64 age group from tomorrow, Tuesday.
HYDERABAD, TELANGANA INDIA, May 14, 2021 14:35 IST
With the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine receiving clearance in India, Deepak Sapra, Global Head of Custom Pharma Services at Dr Reddy's Laboratories received the first jab of the vaccine in Hyderabad.
The first consignment of imported doses of Sputnik V vaccine landed in India on May 1 received regulatory clearance from the Central Drugs Laboratory at Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh on May 13. As per a statement, imported doses of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine are presently priced at Rs 948 (+5 per cent GST) per dose, with the possibility of a lower price point when local supply begins.
Further consignments of imported doses are expected over the upcoming months, the company said in a statement.
Subsequently, the supply of the Sputnik V vaccine will start from Indian manufacturing partners.
The company is working closely with its six manufacturing partners to fulfill regulatory requirements to ensure a smooth and timely supply.
Dr Reddy's said it will work closely with stakeholders in the government and private sector to ensure the widest possible reach of the Sputnik V vaccine as part of the national inoculation effort.
"With the rising cases in India, vaccination is our most effective tool in our battle against Covid-19. Contributing to the vaccination drive in India is our biggest priority right now to help Indians be healthy and safe," said G V Prasad, Co-Chairman and Managing Director.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his second dose of COVID-19 vaccine at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi on Thursday.
"Got my second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS today. Vaccination is among the few ways we have, to defeat the virus. If you are eligible for the vaccine, get your shot soon," tweeted PM Modi. The two nurses who administered the vaccine to PM Modi at AIIMS, Delhi are -- P Niveda from Puducherry and Nisha Sharma from Punjab.
Prime Minister took his first dose of vaccine on March 1.
India, in a landmark achievement, has vaccinated over 9 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses till now.
PM Modi flagged off the first phase of the pan-India rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16.
