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vaccines

Nigeria to build new vaccine plant

Nigeria will start building a vaccine plant by end of the year after signing a contract manufacturing agreement with the Serum Institute of India for local production of the jabs, the country’s health minister said. The country struck the deal with the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer on Wednesday, Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said at a …

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Malaria and the long road to a vaccine that’s a mixed blessing

With Covid-19 figures generally heading south (touchwood and all that!), the big news of the week focussed on older ailments with the bat virus being replaced by the unfriendly neighbourhood mosquito. More than 130 years after the naming of the Plasmodium parasites behind malaria, the world now has its first approved vaccine against them. Many malaria researchers …

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Booster shots, the polio programme: Global Health Today

This is the second in a series of newsletters, offering the expert insight of Lalita Panicker – consulting editor, views, Hindustan Times, New Delhi – into some of the most pressing health issues of the day. To read the first, click here. Booster shots: To boost or not to boost Faced with a rising tide …

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Intellectual property in the era of COVID-19

Much of the conversation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in recent months has focused on access to vaccines – specifically, vaccine accesses in low- and middle-income countries. But to what extent is re-examining intellectual property (IP) rights part of the solution?  As Health Issues India reported in May, “patent waivers for COVID-19 vaccines have been offered …

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Vaccine drive crosses 55 crore, unused doses remain

According to a provisional report, India’s vaccine drive surpassed the milestone of administering 55 crore and set a record in the last 24 hours. However, many vaccine doses provided to states and union territories remain unused. The past 24 hours saw 88.13 lakh doses administered, taking the cumulative number of shots in arms to 554,730,609 …

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Pfizer vaccine talks ongoing with expert group

An expert government panel is in talks regarding the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine, Union Health Minister Mankush Mandaviya told the Lok Sabha on Friday. The Minister said “an expert group of the Indian government is still in talks with Pfizer over COVID vaccine supply.” United States State Department spokesperson Ned Price has announced that the …

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Indemnity offered to Moderna, with conditions

Drugmaker Moderna is said to have secured an offer of legal indemnity regarding its COVID-19 vaccine from the Government, albeit with certain provisions. Individuals familiar with the matter said an offer has been sent to the drugmaker, which is based in the United States, reports The Economic Times. The company’s board of directors are expected …

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Paediatric trials for Covaxin underway

India has commenced paediatric trials for Covaxin, its indigenously-manufactured vaccine against COVID-19.  Covaxin, manufactured by Hyderabad-based firm Bharat Biotech, is one of four vaccines authorised for use in India alongside Covishield (produced by the Serum Institute of India on license from AstraZeneca), the Russian-manufactured Sputnik-V, and the Moderna vaccine. Bharat Biotech announced last month that …

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Moderna vaccine to reach India shortly

The Moderna vaccine is to become available in India by July 15th, reports indicate.  Cipla, a pharmaceutical firm based in Mumbai, received the nod to import doses of the Moderna vaccine from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) last month. It became the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to receive emergency use authorisation from the Centre …

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Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine: Less effective against Delta variant?

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 has registered a lower level of efficacy in preventing the Delta variant first identified in India, according to new data from Israel.  Effectiveness of the vaccine has dropped to 64 percent in preventing infection as the Delta variant spreads in Israel, now accounting for ninety percent of the country’s cases. …

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