- Thursday, April 18, 2024
British researchers are making a breakthrough in lung cancer treatment by developing the world's first vaccine for the disease. This vaccine, called LungVax, is being created by a team of scientists from the University of Oxford, the Francis Crick Institute, and University College London (UCL). It uses similar technology to…
CAMBRIDGE, the English city renowned for its university, scientific breakthroughs and status as a technology hub, has its sights on becoming the next Silicon Valley. The British government is providing funds for new infrastructure projects such as housing and transport that it says will help Cambridge, north of London, become…
THE minister of state at the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), Lord Tariq Ahmad, has spoken to Eastern Eye about his recent trip to India, during which he tried to negotiate deals on such issues as climate change, pharmaceuticals, cyber and education with the prosperous states of Tamil Nadu…
The Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, recognised as Vaxzevria in Europe and licensed as Covishield in India, is confronting a legal challenge in the High Court in London, a media report said on Thursday (9). According to ‘The Daily Telegraph', UK-based pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca could face a number of further claims based…
Prime minister Rishi Sunak emphasised the significance of India's diversity and its remarkable achievements, asserting that it is the opportune moment for the nation to assume the G20 presidency. He praised prime minister Narendra Modi's leadership over the past year and highlighted that India's leadership in the G20 comes at…
BOSSES running Britain's biggest listed companies enjoyed payrises of 16 percent last year as workers' wages struggled with the worst cost of living crisis in a generation, research published Tuesday (22) found. According to independent think-tank the High Pay Centre, the median FTSE 100 chief executive officer was paid 118…
ENGLAND’S world cup winning cricketer Adil Rashid is among the British Asian names recognised in King Charles’s inaugural Birthday Honours List announced today. With doctors, politicians, educators, authors, community leaders and philanthropists among the 11 per cent of recipients coming from an ethnic minority background, the list showcases the immense…
I was born in South London, but like millions of British people, my family’s story embodies the “living bridge” that connects the UK and India. My father moved to Glasgow with only £5 to his name. He worked hard, initially on the railways, studied hard to become an accountant and…
BRITAIN has appointed an India-born healthcare leader as the country’s trade commissioner for south Asia and deputy high commissioner for western India. Harjinder Kang, who will be based in Mumbai, said he is committed to “fostering a strong relationship between the UK and south Asia.” In his new role, he…
A number of Indian medical experts on Monday supported calls from an eminent British Indian cardiologist for a full safety review into the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, administered in India as Covishield, over feared serious side effects such as heart attack and stroke. Dr Aseem Malhotra, a National…
Even as India and the United Kingdom recently wrapped up round six of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), Britain's High Commissioner Alex Ellis highlighted that after covering a lot of ground now the question is down to not just the technical details but political will on both…
British-Indian parliamentarian Lord Karan Bilimoria on January 19 referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "one of the most powerful persons on the planet", while underscoring the importance of the UK's ties with the fastest-growing major economy in the world. "To conclude, as a boy, Narendra Modi sold tea at…
COVID-19 in some ways will be there forever but the worst days of the pandemic are "absolutely" over, Dr Ashish K Jha, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, said on Tuesday. Speaking at the 20th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Jha said given the high levels of immunity in the population…
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis is inflammation of the lining outside the heart. In both cases, the body’s immune system causes inflammation in response to an infection or some other trigger. In their most severe and rare…
It is critical for the world to prevent the overuse of antibiotics and the India-UK collaboration in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the next big frontier after the vaccine partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Thursday. His comments at the India Global Forum’s UK-India Week…
Moderna and the UK government on Wednesday announced a deal for the US biotech firm to build a cutting-edge centre to develop and produce mRNA vaccines for respiratory diseases, including Covid.The company and the health ministry said in a joint statement that work could start on the manufacturing and research…
AN East London solicitor died from a rare blood clot weeks after taking the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, an inquest heard this week. Oli Akram Hoque, 26, from Ilford, received a dose of the vaccine on March 19 last year before suffering increasingly 'excruciating' headaches, reported the MailOnline. After a seizure,…
BRITAIN has approved a new coronavirus vaccine by the Austrian-French drugmaker Valneva, the UK regulatory authority MHRA said on Thursday (14). "An approval has been granted after the Valneva Covid-19 vaccine was found to meet the required safety, quality and effectiveness standards," the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said…
People with the "hybrid immunity" of having been both fully vaccinated and previously infected with Covid-19 have the strongest protection against the virus, two new studies said on Friday. After two years of a pandemic that has seen nearly 500 million people infected and billions vaccinated, the studies highlighted the…
BRITAIN's medicines regulator has approved AstraZeneca's antibody-based Covid-19 treatment for adults with poor immune response, marking a major step in the fight against the pandemic as infections surge globally amid the spread of the Omicron variant. The decision to grant approval for the treatment was endorsed by the government's independent…
AN AWARD-WINNING young innovator said the experience of watching his mother on a ventilator in his childhood, as well as the difficulties faced by patients during the Covid-19 pandemic, inspired him to develop his product. Oxford-based Mihir Sheth, 28, developed RespiTrain, a device that keeps a patient’s muscles working when…
INDIAN vaccine maker Biological E. Ltd said on Monday (21) its Covid-19 vaccine received an emergency use approval in the country for use in children aged 12 to 18. The company's shot, called Corbevax, is the third vaccine approved for use in children aged 12 and above in India, joining…
By Kemi Badenoch THE spectacular successes of the vaccination and booster rollouts have gone a very long way in pushing omicron into retreat, allowing us to relax the ‘Plan B’ Covid restrictions imposed before Christmas. Yet, there are five million or so people in this country – many from our…
BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson has extended greetings to India on its Republic Day as he focused his message on the launch of free trade agreement (FTA) talks and the India-UK vaccine partnership.Johnson said he is proud of the friendship shared by the two “diverse democracies” and looked forward to…
Britain-India pact will open doors in every nation of the UK, Jayawardena says A BRITISH minister has made it clear for the first time that all parts of Britain will benefit from a UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Ranil Jayawardena, parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department of International…
THE Indian drug regulator's subject expert committee on Wednesday (19) recommended full approval for Covishield and Covaxin, the two Covid-19 vaccines that have dominated the country's inoculation drive. Covishield, developed by the University of Oxford and Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc, is produced in India by the Serum Institute of India.…
INDIA'S drug regulator on Wednesday granted approval to Bharat Biotech for conducting late-stage trials of its nasal Covid-19 vaccine to be used as a booster shot, according to a Mint report, which cited ANI. The vaccine maker submitted the late-stage trial application to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI)…
INDIA started vaccinating children aged 15 to 18 against the coronavirus on Monday (3) as it quickly expands its inoculation effort to cover the world's largest adolescent population amid fears the Omicron variant will drive a new surge of infections. Authorities on Monday (3) reported 33,750 new Covid-19 cases and…
INDIA has approved Merck's Covid-19 pill and two more vaccines for emergency use as the world's second most populous country braces for a possible spike in coronavirus cases due to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant. Asia's third-largest economy has already said it will allow Covid-19 booster shots for some of…
THE Labour party has claimed that ministers are risking the emergence of other Covid variants like Omicron by thwarting a bid by poorer countries to manufacture their own vaccines, The Guardian reported. According to the opposition party, the government has “actively blocked countries in Africa and across the developing world from…
A three-dose course of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine is effective against the rapidly-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant, the pharmaceutical company said on Thursday (23), citing data from an Oxford University lab study. Findings from the study, yet to be published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, match those from rivals Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna…
THE UK donated more than four million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to Bangladesh through the Covax mechanism. Bangladesh’s fight against the pandemic and its economic recovery will be reinforced by the donation, the British government said in a statement on Thursday (23). At the G7 meeting this year, the…
ASTRAZENECA PLC said on Tuesday (21) it is working with Oxford University to produce a vaccine for the Omicron coronavirus variant, joining other vaccine-makers who are looking to develop the variant-specific vaccine. "Together with Oxford University, we have taken preliminary steps in producing an Omicron variant vaccine, in case it…
THE risk of reinfection with the Omicron coronavirus variant is more than five times higher and it has shown no sign of being milder than Delta, a study showed, as cases soar across Europe and threaten year-end festivities. The results of the study by Imperial College London were based on…
THE UNIVERSITY of Oxford has announced plans to establish a new Poonawalla Vaccines Research Building with a funding commitment of £50 million from India's Serum Life Sciences. Serum Life Sciences is wholly-owned by the Poonawalla family, owners of the Adar Poonawalla-led Serum Institute of India and the proposed research facility…
SERUM Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has pledged £50 million to the University of Oxford for establishing a research campus that would also house the institute behind the AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 jab, Reuters reported. The university on Wednesday (15) said the investment was made through Serum Life…
TWO doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines generate lower levels of antibodies against the Omicron variant of coronavirus, according to a study which suggests that those previously infected or vaccinated may be at an increased risk of infection. Researchers from the University of Oxford in the UK analysed the…
AT LEAST one person has died in the UK after contracting the Omicron coronavirus variant, prime minister Boris Johnson said. The death on Monday (13) is the first publicly confirmed death globally from the swiftly spreading strain. Since the first Omicron cases were detected on Nov. 27 in Britain, Johnson…
BRITAIN on Friday (10) saw the highest number of Covid infections since January as the government seeks to slow the spread of the new variant. Communities secretary Michael Gove said the country faces a "deeply concerning situation" as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly, with case numbers doubling every two to three days in England.…
India has detected 25 cases of the emergent Omicron variant of the coronavirus and all have shown mild symptoms, the health ministry said on Friday (10), adding that there was no immediate plan to authorise vaccine boosters. Vaccine supplies have surged in India in recent months thanks to the Serum…
GLOBAL vaccine-sharing network Covax is still seeing strong demand for India-made doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 shot, its co-lead Gavi said, following comments from producer Serum Institute of India (SII) that uptake had slowed sharply. The SII, the world's biggest vaccine maker, told India's CNBC-TV18 this week it would temporarily…
SCIENTISTS seem to have found "the trigger" behind the rare blood clots in individuals after taking the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. A team in Cardiff and the US add in great detail how a protein in the blood is attracted towards a key component of the vaccine. They believe it kicks off…
BRITAIN said on Wednesday (1) it had agreed deals to buy 114 million more Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccine shots, saying it had sped up signing the new contracts in light of the emergence of the new Omicron variant. The deal involves an additional 60 million Moderna shots and 54…
WHEN the coronavirus pandemic was at its peak in India during the second wave driven by the delta variant, the efficacy of the Covishield vaccine stood at 63 per cent - according to a recent study published in The Lancet journal. The efficacy of Covishield against the delta variant was…
INDIA stands ready to "expeditiously" send more Covid-19 vaccine to Africa to help fight the Omicron variant, New Delhi said late on Monday (29) after China pledged 1 billion doses to the continent. India and China have close ties with many African countries but Beijing has pumped much more money…
THE British scientist who led the research underpinning AstraZeneca's coronavirus jab said Saturday (27) a new vaccine could be developed against the emerging Omicron variant "very rapidly" if needed. Prof Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, also said existing vaccines should work against the new strain, but…
THE world's largest vaccine maker Serum Institute of India has resumed exports of Covid-19 shots, it said, in a boost for poorer countries that have struggled to secure supplies. The shipment to Tajikistan under the COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative agreement was the company's first in seven months. "This will go a…
TO increase the diversity of participants, AstraZeneca is planning to allow more people take part in clinical trials from their homes, The Guardian reported. Recruiting volunteers to clinical trials is a crucial step in the development of new drugs, tests, devices and other interventions. Diversity among trial participants is crucial,…
INDIA is not considering authorising booster Covid-19 doses yet as many in the country have been naturally infected and the government believes two doses of a vaccine offers sufficient protection for now, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. As vaccine supplies have increased, some doctors and public health…
THE government has urged people to get Covid-19 booster vaccines ahead of Christmas as the National Booking service will open on Monday (22) to people aged 40-49 for their booster jab, and people aged 16-17 for their second jab, a statement said. People can book by calling 119 or get…
ASTRAZENECA on Thursday (18) cemented its lead in bringing a preventative Covid-19 shot for the non-infected to market for people who do not respond well to vaccines, saying its antibody drug cocktail offered 83 per cent protection over six months. The injected therapy, called AZD7442 or Evusheld, had previously been…
BRITAIN'S Covid-19 booster vaccine rollout is to be extended to people between 40 and 49 years old, officials said on Monday (15), in a bid to boost waning immunity in the population ahead of the colder winter months. Currently all people over 50, those who are clinically vulnerable and frontline…
BRITISH pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca said Friday (12) it has begun to sell its Covid vaccine at a profit as the company posted a third-quarter loss on higher costs. AstraZeneca, which has sold its vaccine at cost during the pandemic in contrast to rivals including US giant Pfizer, said it expects…
INDIA could resume deliveries of Covid-19 shots to global vaccine-sharing platform COVAX in a few weeks for the first time since April, two health industry sources said, ending a suspension of supplies that has hurt poor countries. The World Health Organization (WHO), which co-leads COVAX, has been urging India to…
BRITAIN said India’s Covaxin will be added to its list of approved Covid-19 vaccines for international travellers from November 22, meaning that those inoculated with the Bharat Biotech-manufactured jab will not have to self-isolate after arrival in England. The move follows the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Emergency Use Listing for…
THE WHO on Wednesday (3) said it granted emergency use listing (EUL) to Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin. This comes after the Technical Advisory Group (TAG), an independent advisory committee of the WHO, recommended EUL status for Covaxin. "WHO has granted emergency use listing (EUL) to #COVAXIN (developed by Bharat…
BHARAT Biotech's Covaxin has been included in the approved list of Covid-19 vaccines for travel to Oman without quarantine. In a tweet, Bharat Biotech said: "Covaxin has now been added to the approved list of #COVID19 vaccines for travel to Oman without quarantine. This will facilitate travellers from India vaccinated…
OF NEARLY 7,400 people admitted to hospital in England in recent weeks, about 2,500 had yet to receive a single dose and a further 400 had been given only their first, The Times reported citing official figures. Around five million people aged over 16 in the UK are still unvaccinated,…
THE UK government is likely to block again the progress on sharing information on manufacture of vaccines as fresh figures have revealed how the country’s Commonwealth allies, including India, are struggling to meet their goal of vaccinating their populations. The UK government’s move is expected to come ahead of an…
ASTRAZENECA'S experimental Covid-19 antibody drug cocktail succeeded in reducing severe disease or death in non-hospitalised patients in a late-stage study, the British drugmaker said on Monday (11). The drug, called AZD7442, reduced the risk of developing severe Covid-19 or death by 50 per cent in patients who had been symptomatic…
VACCINATED Indians will not be required to quarantine on arrival in the UK from Monday (11) as Britain has scrapped tough Covid-19 quarantine requirements for 47 destinations. Travellers vaccinated in those countries, including India and Pakistan, will be treated the same as returning fully vaccinated UK residents, so long as…
PRESIDENT of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly Abdulla Shahid has said he had received his two doses of the Covishield vaccine manufactured in India, as have a “large portion” of other countries around the world. The Covishield vaccine, which has been developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca,…
BRITONS visiting India this month will have to undergo mandatory quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, in retaliation for the UK’s curbs on Indian citizens, a senior government source in New Delhi said on Friday (1). The new rules, which take effect from Monday (4), follow the…
SOME of India's private hospitals have cancelled orders for Russia's Sputnik V vaccine as they struggle to sell Covid-19 shots amid surging supplies of free doses of other vaccines offered by the government. Industry officials said low demand and the extremely cold storage temperatures required have spurred at least three…
THE Covid-19 pandemic badly hit enrolment into clinical trials for drugs to treat cancer, heart disease and other conditions, an industry body said in a report on Wednesday (29), adding that a recovery in recruitment was lagging some European peers. Last year saw the ground-breaking development of Covid-19 vaccines in…
INDIA'S drug regulator on Tuesday (28) allowed vaccine maker Serum Institute to enrol children aged 7-11 years for its Covid-19 vaccine trial as the country prepares to protect children from the coronavirus. It has already administered more than 870 million doses to adults among its population of nearly 1.4 billion.…
THE UK government has said that COVID-19 vaccine certification from all countries must meet a 'minimum criteria' and that it is working with India on a 'phased approach' to its international travel norms. It follows Covishield, the Serum Institute of India manufactured Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, being added as eligible to an…
INDIA'S government will not buy Covid-19 shots from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, three government sources told Reuters, mainly because domestic output of more affordable and easier-to-store vaccines has jumped. That essentially means the globally popular vaccines, which their makers have pledged not to sell to private parties during the pandemic, will…
BRITISH firm Oxford Biomedica on Wednesday (22) said that Serum Institute of India (SII) will invest £50 million ($68m) in the company to help fund the development of a plant that manufactures Covid-19 shots. Serum - the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume - and Oxford Biomedica both produce AstraZeneca's Covid-19…
THE UK government on Wednesday (22) added Covishield, the India-manufactured Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, to an updated international travel advisory. The move comes a day after the Indian government warned of “reciprocal measures” over “discriminatory” action against a UK-licensed product. There was widespread condemnation of the Serum Institute of India-manufactured vaccines…
INDIA’S foreign minister on Tuesday (21) urged Britain to remove a rule requiring Indians visiting there to quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated. India's Covishield vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and manufactured in India by Pune-based Serum Institute, is not recognised by Britain under new rules despite being identical to…
Mayor Burnham emphasises need to build trust and people-to-people ties MANCHESTER, which is apparently “the most liveable city in the UK”, is taking the whole business of attracting inward investment from India very seriously. Last Thursday (9), it held an “in person” Manchester India summit which was attended by more…
IT would be unnecessary to give Covid booster shots to everyone because immunity for most was "lasting well", the scientist behind the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine said. Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert told the Daily Telegraph that vulnerable groups may require the booster jab but called for doses to be sent to countries…
AN Indian court has ordered the government to offer a choice of a shorter four-week gap between doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to those paying for the shots, down from 12 to 16 weeks now. India doubled the gap between doses of the locally-produced Covishield vaccine in May, to help…
BRITAIN will give severely immunosuppressed people a third dose of Covid-19 vaccine to increase their chances of generating a better immune response, although officials stressed the offer was separate from any broader booster vaccine programme. With the move, Britain follows the United States, which last month authorised a third dose…
INDIA'S rising output of Covid-19 vaccines and the inoculation of more than half its adult population with at least one dose are raising hopes the country will return as an exporter within months, ramping up from early next year. After donating or selling 66 million doses to nearly 100 countries,…
The risk of rare blood clotting after receiving Covid-19 jabs is far lower than from the virus, a large-scale study by researchers from the University of Oxford found on Friday. Fears over rare cases of clotting conditions have prompted some countries to rule out or limit rollout of the Oxford-developed…
BRITAIN is already gearing up for Covid-19 booster jab rollout and have already set the ball in motion by ordering for 35m Pfizer booster shots to be delivered in the second half of next year. The latest order has raised eyebrows when already by last week Britain had more than…
PROTECTION against Covid-19 offered by two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines begins to fade within six months, underscoring the need for booster shots, according to researchers in Britain. After five to six months, the effectiveness of the Pfizer jab at preventing Covid-19 infection in the month…
Hundreds of sex workers at Bangladesh's largest brothel have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in a one-day inoculation drive the participants hope will revive an industry devastated by the pandemic. Bangladesh, one of the few Muslim nations where prostitution is legal, has at least 11 brothels operational across the country of…
VAXXERS: The Inside Story of the Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine and the Race Against the Virus is a truly wonderful book about the design and development of the life-saving vaccine by two women who write their respective chapters as “Sarah” and “Cath”. This is a must-read book for the British Asian…
SRI Lanka announced a 10-day lockdown starting on Friday (20) night in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, as surging infections and deaths overwhelm the island's health system. The Indian Ocean nation recorded its highest single-day death toll of 187 and 3,793 cases on Wednesday (18). "Nationwide…
The effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19 declines faster than that of the AstraZeneca jab, according to a new study published on Thursday (19). "Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech have greater initial effectiveness against new COVID-19 infections, but this declines faster compared with two doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca," researchers at Oxford…
DOUBLE-JABBED people also spread the Delta variant of Covid-19 just as much as those who are not fully vaccinated, claimed media reports on Thursday (19) citing the largest study of its kind led by Oxford University and the Office for National Statistics. As per the reports, scientists from the…
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday (16) said it has identified counterfeit versions of the India-made Covid vaccine Covishield at the patient level in Uganda and India, claiming that the Indian producer has also confirmed that listed products are fake. "The genuine manufacturer of Covishield (Serum Institute of…
COVID booster shots are not currently needed and the doses should be given to other countries, Oxford vaccine chief Andrew Pollard said on Tuesday (10) in contrast to the position taken by Britain's health minister Sajid Javid amid reports that the UK is set to "hoard" up to 210 million…
MORE than three quarters of adults in the UK have now received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, latest data shows. Moreover, according to the data 60,000 deaths and 66,900 hospitalisations have been prevented by the vaccines. A total of 86,780,455 doses have been administered in the UK, with 47,091,889…
THE UK on Sunday (8) eased travel restrictions for India by moving the country from its red to amber list, which means fully vaccinated Indian passengers will no longer be subjected to a compulsory 10-day hotel quarantine on their arrival in Britain. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)…
INDIAN health minister on Saturday (7) said that the country has approved Johnson & Johnson's single-dose Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use. This is the fifth vaccine approved in the country. Mansukh Mandaviya said that this will further boost the country's collective fight against the deadly disease. "India expands its vaccine basket!…
TO encourage more people to get their Covid jabs, leading figures of the nightlife industry – including venues Ministry of Sound and Heaven – have joined the vaccination drive. The industry will share vaccine messaging online and at their venues, along with Heaven hosting a vaccine event this Sunday (8),…
BHUBANESWAR, the capital of the eastern Indian state of Odisha and its largest city, reached a milestone over the weekend. According to its officials, the city has succeeded in vaccinating its entire eligible population. For a city with a population of more than 1.1 million, it is not a small…
The Serum Institute of India (SII) said on Friday (30) it had partnered with an industry body to expand the reach of COVID-19 shots in India's countryside as it had "plenty of supply" of the AstraZeneca drug. India has reported more than 31.5 million coronavirus infections in the world, the…
ASTRAZENECA'S Covid-19 vaccine carries a small extra risk of rare blood clots with low platelets after the first dose and no extra risk after the second, a study led and funded by the drugmaker showed on Wednesday (28), after worries over side-effects. The study, published in the Lancet medical journal,…
Over half south Asians still unprotected The vaccine minister, Nadim Zahawi, is urging south Asians not to waste the chance of getting a Covid vaccination. He also backed family doctors who are demanding patients continue to wear masks in surgeries, even though restrictions were lifted last week (19). In an…
INDIA’S high commissioner to the UK, Gaitri Issar Kumar, on Monday (26) visited Wockhardt UK’s Wrexham manufacturing facility in north Wales. A subsidiary of India-based pharmaceutical and biotech company Wockhardt Ltd, it has played a key role in the UK’s Covid-19 vaccination drive. The company’s Wrexham manufacturing facility in north…
INDIA has briefed the Foreign Office about the pandemic situation in India and encouraged UK ministers to consider a review of the travel ban on visitors from India, Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said last Saturday (24). India remains on the red list although Shringla said many big…
A mixed vaccination of first AstraZeneca and then a Pfizer Covid-19 shot boosted neutralising antibody levels by six times compared with two AstraZeneca doses, a study from South Korea showed. The study involved 499 medical workers - 100 receiving mixed doses, 200 taking two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech shot and…
RESEARCHERS have backed proposals for Covid boosters in the autumn as UK studies revealed that protective antibodies can wane substantially within weeks of second vaccine shots, reported the Guardian. Scientists said that if the decline of antibodies persist the effectiveness of the vaccines may diminish. The UCL Virus Watch study…
TWO doses of Pfizer or AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine are nearly as effective against the highly transmissible Delta variant as they are against the previously dominant Alpha variant, a study published on Wednesday (21) showed. Officials say vaccines are highly effective against the Delta variant, now the dominant variant worldwide, though…
The UK government on Sunday (17) declared it had hit its target of offering every adult in the country a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of this month ahead of time. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said a total of 81,959,398 doses of COVID vaccines have been…
BRITISH health secretary Sajid Javid on Saturday (17) said he had tested positive for Covid-19, but that his symptoms were mild and he had had two doses of the vaccine. Javid, who has been health secretary for three weeks, has backed prime minister Boris Johnson's plan to fully re-open England's…
THE Indian government has ordered 660 million vaccine doses for August-December, its largest procurement, local media reported on Friday (16). State authorities and health experts in the country have recently warned that shortages could leave millions vulnerable if coronavirus infections surge again. On Friday, India reported 38,949 new coronavirus cases…
BRITONS who have taken the India-made AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine have to wait for a month before they can travel to nearly half of Europe, it has been reported. The Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), which manufactured the jabs and was administered to nearly five million people in the UK,…
A latest antibody surveillance report shows almost 100 per cent of people tested positive for antibodies 14 days after taking the second dose of a Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine. Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI conducted the study over 207,337 participants across England using a finger prick test between May…
BANGLADESH will lift its nationwide coronavirus lockdown for the country's second-biggest religious festival, the government said on Tuesday, even as new infections soared to record levels. The cabinet said all restrictions would be eased in the Muslim-majority country of 169 million people from Thursday ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival…
THE Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Serum Institute of India (SII) unveiled plans on Tuesday (13) to start production of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine from September to meet the surging demand in the country. RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund, which promotes the vaccine globally, said the plan was to…
MORE than 80 million Covid-19 vaccines have been administered across the UK, the Department of health and social care declared on Friday (9), adding that every Briton now has a chance to be double-jabbed by mid-September. About 86.8 per cent of Britons have received the first dose while 65.3 per…
INDIA expects to receive foreign-made Covid-19 vaccine doses through the COVAX global vaccine-sharing programme for the first time, with 3-4 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna shots potentially arriving by August, two sources have said. India, the world's biggest producer of vaccines, was initially the main source of Covid-19 shots…
THE Delta variant is already the dominant strain of Covid-19 in the US, according to data modelling done by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the health agency's estimates, the Delta variant became dominant in the country over the two weeks ended July 3, with…
THE Bangladesh health minister announced on Tuesday (6) that one million doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine could be received from the COVAX facility this month. Zahid Maleque also revealed that the Serum Institute of India (SII) could resume supplies from August. Densely populated Bangladesh is in desperate need of vaccines…
Missed the headlines last week? Eastern Eye presents some of the highlights from the past seven days: 1. UK opens new immigration route for graduates: [caption id="attachment_148727" align="aligncenter" width="500"] iStock image[/caption] A new immigration route opened on Thursday (1), allowing international graduates to kick-start their careers in…
TEN countries in the EU said they will accept the Indian-made version of the AstraZeneca jab at their borders following anger from Britons who unknowingly received the vaccine, reported The Telegraph. The countries include Greece and Spain, two of Britain's most popular overseas holiday destinations. Besides, eight EU states including…
A SIKH pensioner who was honoured by the Queen for motivating people to stay fit during the pandemic lockdown is seen chatting to the Duchess of Cambridge in the royal box at centre court in Wimbledon on Friday (2). Rajinder Singh or the 'Skipping Sikh', as he is popularly known,…
PRIME MINISTER Boris Johnson on Friday (2) said he saw no reason why people who received Indian-made AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines should be left out of vaccine passport schemes after the European Union did not initially recognise it. About five million people in Britain are thought to have had the vaccine…
AS MANY as five million Britons could remain locked out of their European holidays because the vaccine they took against Covid-19 is not recognised by the European Union’s passport scheme. Millions of vaccines administered in the UK are yet to qualify for the EU’s vaccine passport scheme since they have…
A PAKISTAN province has suspended 70 paramilitary personnel without pay after they refused to receive Covid-19 vaccines, officials said. The personnel, working in the southern Balochistan province, were suspended on Wednesday (30) "after repeated written warnings and verbal requests" to get the jabs, said Habib Ahmed Bangalzai, a senior local…
BANGLADESH’S army and police patrolled empty streets on Thursday (1) as a strict week-long Covid-19 lockdown began, with people confined to their homes except for emergencies and purchase of essentials. The government said the country of 168 million people is seeing an "alarming and dangerous" rise of new infections, blamed…
INDIA has administered more Covid-19 vaccine doses in the last two weeks than the number of people who signed up for shots during the period, government data showed on Tuesday (29), signalling improving supplies after widespread shortages. Indians struggled to book scarce inoculation slots after Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened…
HUNDREDS of desperate Pakistanis overwhelmed a government-run coronavirus vaccination centre in the capital of Islamabad on Monday (28) as the nation grappled with a shortage of life-saving shots. Most of those clamouring to be vaccinated were Pakistanis who work overseas - mainly in the Gulf Arab nations such as Saudi…
JOHNSON & JOHNSON will not be undertaking local trials for its single-shot Covid-19 vaccine in India and is looking at ways to accelerate its availability in the country, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday (29), citing a company spokesperson. J&J said in April it was in talks with India's government…
THE vaccine booster programme that starts later this year would offer Covid vaccine and a flu jab at the same time using high street pharmacies, The Times reported. This week, NHS executives will outline a “one in each arm” programme that will run from September, ahead of a winter surge…
SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla said he is trying to resolve the issues faced by Indians vaccinated with Covishield while traveling to the European Union (EU). He hoped to resolve the matter soon, having raised it at the highest level. Covishield is the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine…
AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford on Sunday (27) began new trials to test a modified vaccine against the Beta variant, which first emerged in South Africa. The 'booster' vaccine's trial will involve around 2,250 participants from Britain, South Africa, Brazil and Poland. They include people who have been fully…
INDIAN police said on Friday that around 2,000 people were injected with fake Covid-19 vaccines in Mumbai, and another 500 -- some of them disabled -- may have suffered the same fate in a second major city. Vaccination rates rose sharply this week after the Indian government made shots free…
INDIAN police said Friday (25) that around 2,000 people were injected with fake Covid-19 vaccines in Mumbai, and another 500 -- some of them disabled -- may have suffered the same fate in a second major city. Vaccination rates rose sharply this week after the Indian government made shots free…
PAKISTAN on Thursday (24) a global institution like the WHO should decide which coronavirus vaccine is acceptable for travel across the world, instead of leaving the decision to individual nations. Planning minister Asad Umar, who is also the head of the country’s Covid-19 response agency National Command and Operation Centre,…
BRITAIN'S vaccination programme continues to roll on at an unprecedented pace as new data reveals more than three in five adults in the United Kingdom have received a second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. With 75,188,795 million doses administered in total, 43,448,680 million people across the UK have now been…
PAKISTAN will procure 13 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer, the country's health minister Faisal Sultan said on Tuesday (22). He said the doses will arrive by the end of 2021 under an agreement the government has made with the manufacturer. Pakistan faced initial vaccination hesitancy and a shortage…
UK health secretary Matt Hancock failed to tell prime minister Boris Johnson about a Public Health England (PHE) study showing the effectiveness of vaccines against the delta variant during a key meeting to decide whether to extend Covid restrictions, according to a report in The Telegraph. Hancock had known about…
A "huge number" of poorer countries have had to suspend their coronavirus vaccination programmes due to a lack of doses, the World Health Organization said on Friday. The shortages often mean people who have received one dose of Covid-19 vaccine have to wait too long before they can get their…
BANGLADESH plans to initiate a mass Covid-19 vaccination programme from July. Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, the principal secretary to prime minister Sheikh Hasina, said on Thursday (16), “if everything goes well, we plan to start mass vaccination from July.” His remarks have days after the health minister said the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination…
THE government will sign an agreement with South Korea to set up an international institute for vaccine production, including for Covid-19, Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina announced on Wednesday (16). She told parliament that “issues relating to ratification, accession, and approval of the agreement by the cabinet are under process”. “Government-to-government (G2G)…
AN INVESTIGATION has been launched in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand following media reports that private labs faked Covid-19 tests. Private labs were hired by the Uttarakhand government to screen visitors for the virus ahead of the Kumbh mela Hindu festival. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Uttarakhand…
TWO doses of Covid-19 vaccines are "highly effective" in preventing hospital admission with the Delta variant, Public Health England (PHE) said on Monday (14). Scientists said two jabs of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine stopped the need for in-patient treatment in 96 per cent of cases. With a double dose of the…
Saudi Arabia announced Saturday it will allow 60,000 residents vaccinated against Covid to perform this year's hajj, but Muslims from abroad will be barred for a second straight year. The hajj - a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lives - typically packs millions of pilgrims into…
JAPAN has responded positively to Sri Lanka’s request for 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for Covid-19. Sri Lanka has requested Japan to provide 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in an attempt to complete administering the second dose to citizens. Sri Lanka’s presidential office said on Thursday (10) that Japan…
THE UK variant (Alpha) of Covid-19 has been detected in nine localities of Sri Lanka. The B.1.1.7, UK variant (Alpha) has been identified from Colombo, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Kuliyaputiya, Wariyapola, Habaraduwa (Matara), Thissamaharama, Karapitiya, and Ragama. Director of the allergy, immunity and cell biology unit at the Sri Jayewardenepura University Dr.…
INDIA will provide free Covid-19 vaccines to all adults, prime minister Narendra Modi said on Monday (7), in an effort to rein in a pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands and led to the world's second-highest tally of infections. Modi's announcement on national television came after weeks of criticism…
BRITISH prime minister at next week's Group of Seven (G7) summit will urge leaders to commit to vaccinate the whole world by the end of 2022, Downing Street said in a statement on Saturday (5). Britain will host the event in Cornwall in southwestern England starting June 11 with leaders…
INDIA's envoy to the US has said that the country will be a "significant recipient" of US vaccines as president Joe Biden announced details of his administration's decision to send 25 million Covid-19 shots to countries across the globe. In a phone call on Thursday (3), Modi and US vice…
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN on Thursday (3) laid out how the United States would share some 25 million of a planned 80 million Covid-19 vaccine doses with the rest of the world. However, the 25 million doses Biden announced today will not include supply from AstraZeneca, the White House said. He…
BRITAIN will host health ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) countries in Oxford on Thursday (3) for a two-day summit, as pressure intensifies to do more to broaden access to Covid-19 vaccines across the world. British foreign secretary Dominic Raab has said that equitable access to coronavirus vaccines will…
BRITAIN is in talks with Oxford and AstraZeneca for additional doses of their Covid-19 vaccine that has been modified to better target the "beta" coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa, and it will fund trials of the shots. Britain has previously secured 100 million doses of the vaccine, developed…
INDIA could have as many as 10 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines available per day in July and August, compared with just under three million now, the government said, trying to allay concerns about shortages and mishandling of the programme. The world's second most populous country has suffered a disastrous…
WORLD bodies have warned richer countries, including the UK, to donate jabs to poorer nations or face the grim prospect of millions more global deaths and future lockdowns. In a joint plea, the heads of World Health Organization (WHO), the International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group and the World…
THE Pfizer vaccine is slightly less effective against the more transmissible Indian strain of the Covid-19 virus, a study by France's Pasteur Institute said, adding that it still “probably protects” against the strain. Olivier Schwartz, the institute's director and a co-author, wrote in the study that “despite slightly diminished efficacy,…
THE drug regulators of Pakistan will register the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday (1) after its sudden arrival under the COVAX initiative. Pakistan has registered Sinopharm, Sinovac, Cansino, AstraZeneca, and Sputnik-V vaccines for use and after registration; Comirnaty will be the sixth vaccine. On Friday (29) over 100,000 Pfizer vaccines…
INDIA reported on Monday (31) its lowest daily rise in new coronavirus infections since April 11 at 152,734 cases over the past 24 hours, while deaths rose by 3,128. The South Asian nation's tally of infections now stands at 28 million, while the death toll has reached 329,100, health ministry…
US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said that the US and India are united in trying to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic together and Washington is determined to help India with its coronavirus crisis. Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who has spent the past week in the US seeking help…
A SINGLE-shot coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson is now approved for use in the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced on Friday (28). This is the fourth Covid jab to be approved in the country, joining Pfizer/BioNTech, the AstraZeneca jab developed with Oxford University, and…
INDIA scrapped local trials for "well-established" foreign coronavirus vaccines on Thursday (27) as it tries to accelerate the vaccination rollout to counter the world's worst surge in infections. India this month recorded its highest Covid-19 death toll since the pandemic began last year, accounting for just over a third of…
INDIA'S recovery rate went up to 90 per cent while daily Covid-19 infections of 2,11,298 took the total tally to 2,73,69,093, according to the union health ministry data on Thursday (27). The death toll due to Covid rose to 3,15,235 with 3,847 new fatalities being reported in a span of…
SRI LANKA on Wednesday (26) received a second batch of 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines from China. In March, China donated 600,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines to Colombo. On Tuesday (25), the Sri Lankan government agreed to buy 14 million doses of Sinopharm. Sri Lanka is facing a shortage of…
US drugmaker Pfizer is in talks with the Indian government over supplies of its Covid-19 vaccine, the company said on Tuesday (25), as New Delhi scrambles to bridge shortfalls, having pledged to fast-track approvals for overseas vaccines. "Pfizer remains committed to continuing our engagement with the government of India towards…
By Dr Nik Kotecha OBE WATCHING the hundreds of funeral pyres light up the night’s sky, as many regions of India struggle to bring the latest wave of Covid-19 under control, has touched the world. This must have been first and foremost during prime minister Boris Johnson’s recent call with…
INDIA's official tally of daily infections of coronavirus fell to the lowest in nearly six weeks in the past 24 hours, offering hope that a devastating second wave is ebbing, but government leaders said shortages of vaccines were a big concern. Barely three per cent of the country's 1.3 billion…
BANGLADESH is desperate to get vaccines from the US, China, Canada, Russia, the UK and India, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said. He made various appeals through ITV News and CNN to secure coronavirus vaccines for the country's emergency needs. Amid fears that the Indian variant of Covid-19 could rapidly…
PFIZER and the Indian government are seeking to resolve tensions over a demand by the US drugmaker for legal protection from any claims linked to the use of its Covid-19 vaccine in one of the world's biggest markets, two sources told Reuters. India has not given any manufacturer of a…
Indian citizens will be given priority to the covid vaccine despite the global demand for it, the Serum Institute of India (SII) has announced. The company has frozen the export of vaccines to other countries till the end of 2021. Adar Poonawalla, chief executive of SII said, “We continue to…
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have announced a disaster relief center to be built in Mumbai to help people battle Covid-19 as the couple marked their third anniversary earlier this week. A Community Relief Centre will be built in collaboration with World Central Kitchen (WCK), the couple said.…
THE UK government has invited India to join the 2021 G7 Health Ministers' Meeting virtually, which will be held at Oxford University on June 3 and 4. The event will bring together the world's leading democracies to agree on life-saving action in critical areas of global health, the UK government…
BRITAIN has launched the world’s first-ever Covid-19 booster shot trials today with nearly 3000 volunteers to explore if giving a third dose would be safe and effective in extending immune protection against COVID-19. The trial is backed by £19.3 million government funding and will be the first in the world…
Bangladesh will receive about 106,000 doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on June 2, according to a health ministry official. Ministry spokesperson Maidul Islam confirmed on Tuesday (18) that the vaccines will arrive in Bangladesh under the COVAX scheme, which is co-led by the World Health Organization, the Gavi vaccine…
MIXING dose of Pfizer’s vaccine with the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine is highly effective, a study revealed. The Combivacs study conducted by Spain's state-backed Carlos III Health Institute, found the presence of IgG antibodies in the bloodstream was between 30 and 40 times higher in people who got the…
VACCINATION-related issues alone will not pose a hindrance for any Pakistani from performing Haj this year provided Saudi Arabia decides to keep its current travel policy during Haj time as well, the country’s top official confirmed on Tuesday (18). Commenting on the reports of vaccine shortage in the country, the…
EMINENT American civil rights leader Rev. Jesse L Jackson has urged president Joe Biden to release 60 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to India, which is experiencing one of the worst outbreaks of thee pandemic in the world. Rev Jackson will be joined by a number of prominent Indian leaders…
THE world's largest vaccine maker has said that it hopes to resume delivering Covid-19 jabs to Covax and other countries by the end of this year, after India restricted exports to combat a massive rise in infections at home. The Serum Institute of India has been producing hundreds of millions…
A NEW study has revealed that 96.42 per cent of people who received of dose of Covid-19 vaccine had developed antibodies after 28 to 34 days. That rose to 99.08 per cent within seven to 14 days of the second jab. The findings are based on a study of 8,517…
INDIA is unlikely to resume major exports of Covid-19 vaccines until at least October as it diverts shots for domestic use, three government sources said, a longer-than-expected delay set to worsen supply shortages from the global COVAX initiative. Battling the world's biggest jump in coronavirus infections, India halted vaccine exports…
An analysis of adverse health effects in people who received the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in India found that the number of blood clot cases was "minuscule", the health ministry said Monday. Some countries have restricted or dropped AstraZeneca shots from national vaccine campaigns over very rare blood clots, though experts…
THE CURRENT stock of the Covid-19 vaccines in Bangladesh will be able to support the second dose of vaccination for only one more week. The declaration came from Prof Nazmul Islam, spokesperson for the Covid 19 management of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), in a press conference on Sunday…
WORLD Health Organization (WHO) has given a grim warning that the second year of the pandemic is going to be "far more deadly.” "We're on track for the second year of this pandemic to be far more deadly than the first," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The statement comes…
Saturday's infections are lowest rise in almost 3 weeks Testing rates also at their lowest since Sunday India a huge concern as second year seen more deadly -WHO India panel recommends longer gap between AstraZeneca doses INDIA reported a smaller rise in daily coronavirus infections on Saturday (15), but deaths…
BANGLADESH is expected to extend its countrywide lockdown till May 23 to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The ongoing lockdown, in force since April 14, will end on Sunday and the government will issue a fresh order to continue the restrictions for another week, state minister for public administration Farhad Hossain…
INDIA'S tally of coronavirus infections climbed past 24 million on Friday (14), amid reports that the highly transmissible variant first detected in the South Asian nation was spreading across the globe. The Indian B.1.617 variant has spread to Canada and the United States, said Jairo Mendez, an infectious diseases expert…
By Pooja Shrivastava INDIA’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh (UP), will spend up to $1.36 billion to buy COVID-19 shots for its people. Talks were held early this week with companies such as Pfizer and the local partner of the maker of Russia's Sputnik V, a state official said on…
By Pooja Shrivastava VACCINE registration for persons aged 30 years and above in Pakistan is set to start from Sunday (16). The announcement was made by National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) chief Asad Umar on Wednesday (12) on Twitter. "As vaccine supply continues to improve and vaccination capacity gets…
INDIA made the "incorrect assumption" that it was finished with the Covid-19 pandemic and opened up prematurely that has left the country in such "dire straits", America's top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci told senators. India has been severely affected by the unprecedented second wave of the coronavirus and…
PFIZER is seeking approval from Britain for the use of its COVID-19 vaccine among 12- to 15 years old. The company has submitted data to the health regulator, paving the way for the vaccination of adolescents in the country. "I can confirm we've submitted data on the efficacy of the…
By Pooja Shrivastava Inter-provincial travel restriction has been imposed in Sri Lanka with immediate effect. The announcement was made by Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday (10) after meeting with health sector stakeholders. The restrictions will remain effective until May 30. Apart from travel restrictions, the president instructed to…
BRITAIN is seeking constructive engagement with the US and other World Trade Organization members on the issue of IP waivers for Covid-19 vaccines, a government spokesman said after pressure from charities to back US proposals. US president Joe Biden last week threw his support behind waiving intellectual property rights for…
AFTER India's new coronavirus cases and deaths held close to record highs on Monday (10), there was increased pressure on the government of prime minister Narendra Modi to impose nationwide lockdown. The 366,161 new infections and 3,754 deaths reported by the health ministry, takes India's tally to 22.66 million with…
By Pooja Shrivastava Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho has inaugurated Pakistan’s largest vaccine centre at Expo Centre Karachi on May 9, Sunday. An estimated 25,000 people can be inoculated in a day at the centre with round-the-clock services. “We want to immunise a maximum number of people in…
PAKISTAN received its first shipment of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX Facility on Saturday (8). The consignment of 1,238,400 doses of vaccines, which will be followed by another of 1,236,000 in a few days, will support the Government of Pakistan’s ongoing historic drive to bring the pandemic to an…
Pakistan on Saturday began a nine-day shutdown affecting travel and tourist hotspots in a bid to prevent a surge in Covid-19 cases during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. Already battling a third wave of infections and increasingly nervous about the crisis across the border in India, the government has…
New Covid-19 deaths surged past 4,000 for the first time in India on Saturday in one of the world's worst outbreaks, as EU pressure mounted on Washington to end vaccine export limits and offer a concrete plan to lift patents. "I call very clearly on the United States to put…
SRI LANKA is battling a third wave of coronavirus. To curb the number of cases the government has approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. It is the first South Asian country to approve Pfizer’s vaccine ‘The government would order 5 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine,’ said Dr. Sudharshani Fernandopulle, the minister…
The global fight against coronavirus just got stronger as the World Health Organization (WHO) has granted emergency approval for the Covid vaccine made by the Chinese state-owned company Sinopharm. The WHO on Friday said it had validated the "safety, efficacy and quality" of the Sinopharm jab developed by the Beijing…
By Amit Roy BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson said “in the last week the British people have stepped up in their thousands to support our Indian friends during this terrible time in a demonstration of the deep connection between the UK and India”. He was speaking on Tuesday (4)…
By Rithika Siddhartha INDIA’S coronavirus caseload topped 20 million on Tuesday (4) with some cities expected to reach the peak of the second wave in the next few days. More than 350,000 new cases were reported in India on Tuesday, a fall from the high of 402,000 last week as…
THE total worth of Oxford Nanopore bosses is now more than £70 million after the latest investment round which valued the Covid mutation tracking firm at around £2.48 billion. Oxford Nanopore had raised £195m in fresh cash from backers including Temasek, Wellington Management, M&G Investments and Nikon, reported The Telegraph.…
THE UK opened new state-of-the-art labs to test the effectiveness of vaccines against new Covid-19 variants on Wednesday (5). The government will invest £29.3 million in the new testing facilities at Porton Down through the Vaccines Taskforce in Public Health England, a statement said. The funding will increase the site’s capacity…
VACCINE maker the Serum Institute of India is set to invest in facilities in Britain and could even manufacture inoculations in the UK in future, prime minister Boris Johnson said on Monday (3). Downing Street said the £240 million project would include a sales office, "clinical trials, research and development…
INDIA reported more than 300,000 new coronavirus infections for a 12th straight day on Monday (3), as scientists predict a peak in the pandemic in the coming days. With 368,147 new cases over the past 24 hours, India's total infections stand at 19.93 million, while total fatalities rose by 3,417…
India's devastating Covid-19 surge further accelerated on Saturday with more than 400,000 new cases in 24 hours, as vaccinations opened to all adults despite shortages of shots. The hard-hit capital New Delhi meanwhile extended its shutdown for another week while top US pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci said that India should…
The Maldives is still welcoming Bollywood stars and other rich Indians to its secluded beaches and crystal-clear lagoons even as countries ban flights because of a brutal Covid surge. The Indian Ocean archipelago of more than a thousand islands reopened its international borders in mid-July after being shut for three…
The first US emergency aid to India arrived on Friday as several states said they would be unable to begin vaccinating all over-18s from this weekend as planned. The supplies arrived as India recorded another 385,000 new cases in the past 24 hours -- a new global record -- and…
SEVERAL Indian states have run out of Covid-19 vaccines a day before a planned widening of a nationwide inoculation drive, authorities said on Friday (30), as new infections in the crisis-hit country surged to another daily record. India is the world's biggest producer of vaccines but does not have enough…
INDIA on Friday (30) posted another global record for daily coronavirus infections, pushing worldwide cases past 150 million as a pandemic that has killed almost 3.2 million worldwide continues to wreak devastation. India recorded another 385,000 cases in the past 24 hours -- a new global record -- and almost…
INDIA's total Covid-19 cases passed 18 million on Thursday (29) after another world record number of daily infections, as gravediggers worked around the clock to bury victims and hundreds more were cremated in makeshift pyres in parks and parking lots. India reported 379,257 new infections and 3,645 new deaths on…
Britain announced on Wednesday it was sending three oxygen generation units to Covid-struck India following a first consignment of aid this week, but said it had no spare vaccines to offer. The three units, dubbed oxygen factories, are each the size of a shipping container and can produce 500 litres…
By: Mohnish Singh Amidst the devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in India, Priyanka Chopra has expressed her concern about the horrific situation in the country. Taking to Twitter, she said that the United States of America ordered more vaccines than it required, and urged US President Joe Biden…
THE first emergency medical supplies trickled into Covid-stricken India on Tuesday (27) as part of a global campaign to staunch a catastrophic wave in the latest pandemic hotspot, with the US also pledging to export millions of AstraZeneca vaccine doses. India's infection and death rates are growing exponentially, overwhelming hospitals,…
VITAL medical supplies poured into India on Tuesday (27) as hospitals starved of life-saving oxygen and beds turned away coronavirus patients, while a surge in infections pushed the death toll towards 200,000. A shipment from Britain, including 100 ventilators and 95 oxygen concentrators, arrived in Delhi, said Reuters partner ANI,…
The World Health Organization chief voiced alarm on Monday at India's record-breaking wave of Covid-19 cases and deaths, saying the organisation was rushing to help address the crisis. "The situation in India is beyond heartbreaking," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. He spoke as India battles a catastrophic coronavirus wave that…
IN Britain, people aged 44 and above will now be able to book their Covid-19 jab starting on Monday (26) as the UK's National Health Service (NHS) vaccine programme expands further to more younger age groups. Around half a million 44-year-olds will receive a text message inviting them to get…
BRITAIN and the US rushed ventilators and vaccine materials to India on Monday (26) as the country battles a catastrophic, record-breaking coronavirus wave that has overwhelmed hospitals and set crematoriums working at full capacity. London has sent more than 600 pieces of equipment to New Delhi to support its fight…
New infections at record for fifth day Neighbouring Bangladesh closes border for 14 days Tech hub of Bengaluru faces lockdown from Tuesday INDIA's new coronavirus infections hit a record peak for a fifth day on Monday (26). The southern state of Karnataka, home to the tech city of Bengaluru, ordered…
Overwhelmed hospitals in India begged for oxygen supplies on Saturday as the country's coronavirus infections soared again overnight in a "tsunami" of disease, setting a new world record for cases for the third consecutive day. Max Healthcare, which runs a network of hospitals in north India, tweeted that it had…
Prime minister Narendra Modi urged all citizens to be vaccinated and exercise caution, saying the "storm" of infections had shaken India, as the country set a new global record of the most number of COVID-19 infections in a day. The United States said it was deeply concerned by the massive…
A British government official, who visited India last month to secure vaccine supplies for the UK, has tested positive for COVID-19 on his return and is among those believed to have unwittingly carried the so-called Indian variant of the contagion to Britain, according to a media report on Sunday. David…
UK government is looking to help India with medicines and equipment amid a surging second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. According to reports, British officials are in talks with India and ministers hope some of the supplies of surplus medical equipment can be send to hospitals there…
India is reeling from a new coronavirus surge, stretching hospitals to the limit with dire shortages of beds, oxygen and drugs. With more than 2,000 people dying daily, we look at the reasons for the vicious new wave and why the health care system is overwhelmed. - 'Herd immunity' -…
A total of 168 people have suffered rare blood clots after taking the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in Britain, and 32 have died, the UK's medicines regulator has said. The figures for clots or "thromboembolic events" run up to April 14, by when 21.2 million people had received first doses of…
A UK research has found that Covid-19 infections in adults of all ages fell by 65 per cent after a first dose of AstraZeneca or Pfizer shot. Scientists say the study has shown that vaccine is effective and impact of Britain's immunisation drive is a proof. Moreover, the research was…
INDIA recorded the world's highest daily tally of 314,835 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday (22) as a second wave of the pandemic raised new fears about the ability of crumbling health services to cope. The health ministry data on Thursday is the most of any country since the pandemic began,…
BRITAIN on Tuesday (20) said it would launch a new international expert group to help bolster the world's preparedness for the next pandemic and expedite the development of vaccines against future diseases. Launched under Britain's Presidency of the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations, the Pandemic Preparedness Partnership (PPP) will…
INDIA is hopeful the United States will soon lift ban on the export of vaccine raw materials after the foreign ministers of both the countries spoke on this issue, government sources told Reuters on Monday (19). According to an Indian government official, Joe Biden administration has told India that its…
THE Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's biggest vaccine maker, on Friday (16) urged the US president Joe Biden to lift an embargo on US exports of raw materials that is hurting its production of Covid-19 shots. "Respected @POTUS, if we are to truly unite in beating this virus,…
THE pace of Covid-19 vaccinations in India has slowed considerably from its record high early this month, as daily caseload spirals amid a shortage of doses in the country. After having given and sold tens of millions of Covid-19 doses abroad, India is suddenly facing shortage of shots. Now to…
INDIA extended a record daily run of new Covid-19 infections on Friday (16), spurred by hundreds of positive tests at a major religious gathering, as politicians pushed ahead with election rallies against advice they could worsen the outbreak. India is battling a massive second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, with…
The NHS on Tuesday (13) expanded the COVID-19 vaccination programme to the next cohort on its age-based priority list to all above 45 years of age, after it announced that the target to cover over-50s had been met ahead of the April 15 deadline. The government had set a target…
INDIA's central drug authority has recommended on Monday (12) granting approval to Russia's Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V for emergency use in the country with certain conditions. The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) today took up Dr Reddy's Laboratories’ application seeking emergency use authorisation…
India's coronavirus epicentre Maharashtra went into a state-wide weekend lockdown on Saturday as the country battled exploding infection numbers and shortages of vaccines, drugs and hospital beds. Having let its guard down with mass religious festivals, political rallies and spectators at cricket matches, India is experiencing a ferocious new wave…
INDIA is currently experiencing a surge in Covid-19 infections and in order to ramp up the vaccination programme in the country, Serum Institute of India (SII) has nearly diverted all its production to the domestic market. But the world's biggest vaccine maker's efforts to boost domestic supplies could get hampered…
A panel of experts is investigating for any cases of blood clotting as a side effect of the two Covid-19 vaccines being used in India, a newspaper reported on Friday (9). India is currently administering Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and branded Covishield, and…
THE EU drugs regulator on Wednesday (8) said European countries should make their own decisions on the usage of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines following reports of rare blood clot events. Several countries in Europe have restricted the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in younger people, after link of very rare events…
HEALTH SECRETARY Matt Hancock assured the British public to remain confident that the system to monitor Covid-19 vaccines is working following changes were made to the giving of Oxford-AstraZeneca shots to young people. "People can be reassured that we have the high class safety system run by our world class…
INDIA reported a record 126,789 COVID-19 cases on Thursday (8) as several states struggle to contain a second surge in infections, complaining of vaccine shortages and demanding inoculations be expanded to younger people. Daily infections, which surpassed 100,000 for the first time on Monday (5), have now exceeded that mark…
THE small UK trial testing of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in children and teenagers was paused as University of Oxford waits for more data on rare blood clotting events in adults. The trial disruption comes as a latest blow to the vaccine, after several countries restricted its use due to events…
INDIA'S second wave of Covid-19 infections continued to surge as the country reported a record 115,736 new cases on Wednesday (7), which was a 13-fold increase in just over two months. The increase in daily infections has put the Narendra Modi-led government under pressure to ramp up the vaccination drive.…
BRITAIN has rolled out Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday (7) in Wales as its stock of other shots has fallen due to a supply crunch from AstraZeneca. In the race to vaccinate its population, Britain is ahead of the rest of Europe with almost half of its citizens having had…
RESTRICTIONS on exporting its Covid vaccines have left India's Serum Institute needing financial help from the government, its CEO said, with the world's largest jab manufacturer under pressure at home from soaring cases. Prime minister Narendra Modi's government last month put the brakes on exports of AstraZeneca jabs made by…
AMID concerns over rare blood clots events in younger people, Britain's health regulator is considering a proposal to restrict the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, according to a Channel 4 News report. "Two senior sources have told this programme that while the data is still unclear, there are growing arguments…
BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson said on Monday (5) everyone in England will be able to take a Covid-19 test twice a week in a new drive to track the pandemic as society reopens and the vaccine rollout continues at its rapid rate. Johnson, who is expected to confirm plans…
BRITAIN has so far administered 18.1 million people with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, out of which 30 have developed blood clots, the regulator has said. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) confirmed that of those 30 people, seven had died as of March 24. However, on Saturday (3) the…
UK regulators said they have identified 30 cases of rare blood clot events after the use of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. However, the health officials said they still believe the benefits of the vaccine in the prevention of Covid-19 far outweigh any possible risk of blood clots. The Medicines and Healthcare products…
THE European Union has asked India to allow it to buy 10 million doses of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine from Serum Institute of India, a government official said, the latest sign of growing pressure on Delhi to export more of its production to other countries. The EU wants the doses from…
INDIA began vaccinating tens of thousands of people above the age of 45 on Thursday (1) in its biggest push yet against a surging coronavirus that has hit the highest daily count since early October, officials said. Data released by the health ministry on Thursday showed 72,330 new Covid-19 infections,…
INDIA itself has received more than a third of the nearly 28 million Indian-made AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses delivered so far by the global programme for poor countries, according to data from UNICEF and a source. The revelation that the largest allocation of doses India has supplied to the COVAX…
BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson said on Monday (29) he hoped that England would not need to go into another lockdown if the public obey the rules and coronavirus vaccines continue to be effective. People in England rushed outside Monday to enjoy sports, picnics and other previously prohibited activities, as…
INDIA recorded more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday (25) for the first time since November as a new wave of infections takes hold a year after one of the world's tightest Covid-19 lockdowns was imposed. The government and Indian vaccine giant the Serum Institute meanwhile declined to comment…
By Amit Roy PRIME MINISTER Boris Johnson has sent Lord Eddie Lister as his personal envoy to India to try and persuade his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to sanction the export of five million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to the UK. The UK and Indian leaders are due…
CHILDREN in Britain will start receiving a Covid-19 vaccine as early as August under provisional government plans to push for maximum national immunity from the coronavirus, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday (23). That timeline would be months earlier than expected, the newspaper said, citing two sources involved in the plans.…
INDIA reported its most Covid-19 cases and deaths in months on Monday (22), on the first anniversary of the start of a chaotic nationwide lockdown that left many people jobless and shrank the economy. Authorities reintroduced some curbs to slow the spread of the virus, especially in the western state…
ASTRAZENECA's Covid-19 vaccine developed with Oxford University was 79 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic illness in a large trial in Chile, Peru and the US, the company said on Monday (22), paving the way for it to apply for US approval. The vaccine was also 100 per cent effective…
BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson has received his first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and urged the public to do the same, saying "he did not feel a thing." Johnson, 56, received his vaccine on Friday (19) at the same hospital where almost a year ago he was put…
BRITAIN will have to wait for fresh shipments of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines as its manufacturer in India has been asked to prioritise the needs of that country first. A spokesperson for the Serum Institute of India (SII) said, “Five million doses had been delivered a few weeks ago to the…
INDIA's coronavirus infections surged to more than a three-month high on Friday (19), led by a record daily increase in the western state of Maharashtra, where authorities have adopted fresh curbs to restrain the spread of the disease. India's overall tally of infections stands at 11.51 million, the highest after…
THE UK is expecting a reduced roll-out of its vaccine from March 29 because of a likely delay in delivery of doses from India, according to reports. A shipment from India's Serum Institute of India (SII), that manufactures the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, has been held up for four weeks, the BBC…
UK prime minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday indicated that the best safety endorsement he can think of for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is to confirm that he would be receiving the jab as he now qualifies under an expanded vaccination drive. As the NHS marked the 100th day of its vaccination…
India is not worried about some EU countries suspending use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine and will continue to roll out the shot in its huge immunisation programme "with full vigour", a senior official said Wednesday. The AstraZeneca shots, produced by India's Serum Institute, account for most of the 35…
QUEEN's oldest son and heir on Wednesday (17) criticised opposition to coronavirus vaccines, as British ministers sought to calm public fears about safety. Prince Charles said there was no need to fear vaccination, as several countries suspended the rollout of AstraZeneca's Covid jab because of suspected links to blood clots.…
THE UK public is cancelling their vaccination appointments in fear after some EU nations paused the use of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine over blood clots concerns. Doctors involved in the mass vaccination drive in the country say that people due for their second dose are calling in to voice concerns about the…
UK health secretary Matt Hancock said Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and urged the public to "listen to the regulators" and "get the jab" as soon they get the opportunity. Britain's medicines watchdog MHRA said that evidence "does not suggest" blood clots due to the jab after some 13 countries suspended…
THE director of the Oxford Vaccine Group on Monday (15) said there was no link between the jab it developed with AstraZeneca and blood clotting, after several countries suspended its use. Andrew Pollard said there was "very reassuring evidence that there is no increase in a blood clot phenomenon here…
ASTRAZENECA is preparing to file for US emergency use authorization (EUA) for its Covid-19 vaccine later this month or early April after accumulating enough data to judge the inoculation's efficacy, sources with knowledge of the ongoing clinical trial told Reuters. The British drugmaker completed enrollment in its trial of more…
INDIA's federal government on Tuesday (9) denied any shortage of coronavirus vaccine doses in a big northwestern state and said it was sending supplies around the country based on demand and consumption patterns. The world's biggest vaccine maker has so far given 23 million doses to some 17 million people,…
Meherun Nisa walks along the narrow lanes of Bangladesh's largest brothel every day, knocking on the doors of small shacks where sex workers live to persuade them to get vaccinated for Covid-19. Nisa feels protective of the 1,900 current and former sex workers -- most aged between 15 to 40…
INDIA has urged the US, Japan and Australia to invest in its vaccine production capacity, an Indian government source told Reuters, as the so-called Quad alliance tries to counter China's growing vaccine diplomacy. Beijing has committed to provide at least 463 million doses of its home-made Covid-19 vaccines through exports…
UK vaccine deployment minister Nadhim Zahawi has defended a shipment of ten million doses of Covishield en route from India amid some concerns that it would impact supplies of COVID-19 vaccines for poorer nations. The minister in charge of overseeing the UK's vaccination programme said the vaccine doses developed by…
BRITAIN's medical regulator on Thursday (4) said it would fast-track vaccines for coronavirus variants, adding that the makers of already-authorised shots would not need new lengthy clinical trials to prove their adapted vaccines will work. There is concern that some variants, such as those first found in South Africa and…
THE UK will receive 10 million AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses made by the Serum Institute of India (SII), the UK government has said. Serum Institute, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, is mass producing the AstraZeneca vaccine, developed with Oxford University, for dozens of poor and middle-income countries. "The…
INDIA's Bharat Biotech's vaccine showed 81 per cent efficacy in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 in an interim analysis of a late-stage trial in India, it said on Wednesday (3), a major boost for the shot shunned by some due to a lack of such data. The positive result also brightens prospects…
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi was inoculated with the first dose of a home-grown coronavirus vaccine on Monday (1), kicking off an expansion of the country's immunisation campaign that began in mid-January with healthcare workers. People above 60, and those who are 45 or more and suffering from certain medical…
HIGH achievers from Britain’s medical and scientific communities were among top winners at the annual GG2 Leadership awards, held virtually for the first time on Thursday (25). Dr Chaand Nagpaul CBE, chairman of the British Medical Association, won the coveted GG2 Hammer Award, presented to a BAME person who has…
INDIA is struggling to convince its health and front-line workers to take a homegrown Covid-19 vaccine controversially approved without late-stage efficacy data, government data showed on Thursday (25), days ahead of a wider roll-out. India has the world's second-highest number of Covid-19 infections after the US, with cases recently surging…
TWO separate studies published in the UK, one in England and another in Scotland, have shown vaccines against Covid-19 are effective in cutting disease transmission and hospitalisations from the first dose. Analysis from Public Health England has shown the vaccine manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech reduces the risk of catching infection by…
CORONAVIRUS vaccines do not contain pork or make you infertile: a celebrity advertising campaign is striving to counter a worrying lag among certain ethnic minorities affecting Britain's otherwise impressive inoculation rollout. But, experts argue, anti-disinformation drives need to overcome mistrust of the government among black and South Asian people, who…
INDIAN pharmaceutical companies Bharat Biotech and Biological E Ltd has said that they could quickly rework their Covid-19 vaccine products to fight new variants once their genetic sequence is known. In recent months, India has confirmed the presence of the variants first identified in Brazil, Britain and South Africa, which…
INDIA'sSerum Institute, the world's biggest vaccine maker by volume, has asked for patience from foreign governments awaiting their supply of Covid-19 shots, saying it had been directed to prioritise India's requirements. "...I humbly request you to please be patient," SII's Chief Executive Adar Poonawalla said in a tweet, adding the…
By Lord Dolar Popat I WAS delighted to read the joint statement on the enhanced trade partnership made during our international trade secretary Liz Truss’s recent visit to New Delhi. India is a country with which we have a huge amount in common, and deepening ties with vast and attractive…
A Pakistani lab will soon receive Russia's Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine for commercial sale, a company official said, making Pakistan one of the first countries to market shots privately as it scrambles to secure supplies. Despite concerns over fairness and higher prices, Islamabad agreed this week to allow the commercial…
Despite stark failures in curbing Covid-19's spread, Britain has scored a notable success with its mass vaccination drive, giving 15 million people a first dose by Sunday. Here are some of the factors behind the speedy rollout. - Early backing - In May 2020 the UK government signed a deal…
THE University of Oxford has launched a study to assess the safety and immune response of the Covid-19 vaccine it has developed with AstraZeneca Plc in children for the first time, it said on Saturday(13). The new mid-stage trial will determine whether the vaccine is effective on people between the…
AstraZeneca, the British maker of a Covid vaccine with Oxford University, said on Thursday(11) that net profit more than doubled last year to $3.2 billion on strong sales of new cancer drugs. Profit after tax, equivalent to $3.2bn, soared 139 per cent compared with 2019, the pharmaceutical giant said in…
By Caroline Dinenage Minister for digital, culture, media, and sport. CONSPIRACY theories are as old as the hills. But with coronavirus forcing us to live more and more of our lives online, they are posing a grave new threat, particularly to Asian communities in the UK. It was Safer…
By CAROLINE DINENAGE, Minister for digital, culture, media and sport TACKLING MISINFORMATION ONLY WAY TO BOOST ASIAN UPTAKE, SAYS MINISTER CONSPIRACY theories are as old as the hills. But with coronavirus forcing us to live more and more of our lives online, they are posing a grave new threat, particularly…
INDIA's Bharat Biotech said on Tuesday(9) it was likely to export its Covid-19 vaccine to Brazil and the United Arab Emirates this week, a major success for the shot approved at home for emergency use without efficacy data from a late-stage trial. Bharat Biotech has already supplied millions of doses…
MIGRANTS living in Britain will be eligible to receive Covid-19 vaccines regardless of whether they have the legal right to live and work in the country, the government said on Monday(8), adding that getting the shot would not trigger immigration checks. The Daily Mail newspaper has reported that those living…
A British junior health minister on Monday(8) said that there is no evidence that the Astrazeneca vaccine does not prevent death or serious illness, and South Africa has only imposed a temporary halt on using the vaccine, South Africa will put on hold use of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 shot in its…
India's decision to export millions of coronavirus vaccine doses to Saudi Arabia has rankled its vast expat community, locked out by the kingdom's months-long flight ban that sparked tense diplomatic wrangling. The plight of Indian workers, who make up the kingdom's biggest expatriate community, underscores the turmoil caused by tightening…
PFIZER Inc said on Friday(5) it had withdrawn an application for emergency-use authorisation of its Covid-19 vaccine in India, after failing to meet the drug regulator's demand for a local safety and immunogenicity study. The decision means the vaccine will not be available for sale in the world's two most…
BANGLADESH's Beximco Pharmaceuticals said on Thursday(4) the Serum Institute of India (SII) had delayed the first supplies of a Covid-19 vaccine for private sale, instead prioritising government immunisation campaigns. Beximco is Bangladesh's exclusive distributor of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca shot that Serum, the world's biggest vaccine manufacturer, is producing in bulk…
By Shaun Bailey WE’VE all had that one person we’ve been worried about during the pandemic. For some it was grandparents. For others it was a partner. For me it was my mum. My mum works in the NHS. She has been on the frontlines every day helping doctors and…
THE UK on Thursday(4) started a clinical trial by mixing doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines. It will be the first in the world to determine the effects of using different vaccines for the first and second dose. Patients taking part in a new clinical study, backed by…
Pakistan will begin administering a Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine to frontline health workers Wednesday, but the country is still months away from a mass roll-out. Beijing has donated about 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine -- which has yet to be fully approved by China's health authorities -- with a further…
PAKISTAN will begin administering a Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine to frontline health workers Wednesday(3), but the country is still months away from a mass roll-out. Beijing has donated about 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine -- which has yet to be fully approved by China's health authorities -- with a further…
By Dr Amir Khan, GP As a GP, I was among the first to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. We are also giving the vaccine to our patients, many of whom are of South Asian descent and face a disproportionate risk of catching the virus. The vaccine rollout is gaining pace,…
THE Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine significantly reduces virus transmission and is highly protective after a single dose, according to an Oxford University study, which the British government said Wednesday(3) vindicated its inoculation strategy. "It does show the world that the Oxford jab works, it works well," health secretary Matt Hancock told BBC…
BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson told EU chief Ursula von der Leyen of his "grave concerns" after Brussels partially suspended terms of the Brexit deal as part of a vaccine export control scheme. Johnson talked to the EU head on the phone and "expressed his grave concerns about the potential…
US biotech firm Novavax has said that its coronavirus vaccine was 89.3 per cent effective in preventing Covid-19 in a trial conducted in the UK, and was nearly as effective in protecting against the more highly contagious variant first discovered in the UK, according to a preliminary analysis. A mid-stage…
Prof Kailash Chand OBE FRCGP Honorary vice-president of the British Medical Association (BMA) THE start of 2021 has hardly been what the public expected, because it seems obvious that the virus has come back at us with a vengeance. However, there is hope in the form of three vaccines,…
EUROPE's fight to secure Covid-19 vaccine supplies sharpened on Thursday(28) when Britain demanded that it receive all the shots it paid for after the EU asked AstraZeneca to divert supplies from the UK. The EU, whose member states are far behind Israel, the UK and the US in rolling out…
THE bilateral relationship between India and the UK has been further strengthened by the collaboration to help fight the Covid-19 virus, a Foreign Office minister has said. Speaking ahead of India’s 72nd Republic Day on Tuesday (26), Lord Tariq Ahmad, the minister for south Asia, said he was “absolutely delighted”…
BRITAIN will share its genomic sequencing capabilities with other countries to help quicker identify new variants of the coronavirus in places with less ability to do so, its health ministry said on Tuesday(26). New variants of the coronavirus have alarmed scientists, and prime minister Boris Johnson has warned the prospect…
Tata Group's healthcare venture is said to have started initial discussions with Moderna Inc for a partnership to launch its Covid-19 vaccine in India, the Economic Times reported on Monday(25). Tata Medical & Diagnostics could team up with the India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to carry out clinical…
A group of British doctors have written to England's chief medical officer to tell him to cut the gap between doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine to six weeks from up to 12. Britain is prioritising giving first doses of Covid-19 vaccine, allowing up to 12 weeks before a…
Miss England and frontline National Health Service (NHS) doctor Bhasha Mukherjee has received her first of the two COVID-19 jabs and endorsed the safety of the vaccines being rolled out among those most at risk from coronavirus. The 25-year-old beauty queen and a medical professional has been working on the…
Imams across Britain are helping a drive to dispel coronavirus disinformation, using Friday sermons and their influential standing within Muslim communities to argue that Covid-19 vaccines are safe. Qari Asim, chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) which is leading a campaign to reassure its faithful, is…
India exported its first batch of locally produced coronavirus shots on Wednesday (20), officials said, as the world's biggest vaccine manufacturer scrambled to meet requests from other countries desperate to protect their populations. The Maldives and Bhutan will be the first recipients of India's coronavirus vaccine, while Brazil and South…
OXFORD scientists are preparing to rapidly produce new versions of their vaccine to combat emerging more contagious Covid-19 variants discovered in the UK, South Africa and Brazil, reported The Telegraph. The team behind the vaccine from Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc is undertaking feasibility studies to reconfigure the technology, the newspaper…
A fire broke out Thursday(21) at India's Serum Institute, the world's largest maker of vaccines, but a company source said production of drugs to prevent coronavirus was not affected. The Serum Institute is producing millions of doses of the Covishield coronavirus vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, for India…
BRITAIN's vaccine rollout is limited by a "lumpy" manufacturing process with production changes by Pfizer and a delay by AstraZeneca that could lead to brief supply disruption, Vaccine Deployment minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Monday(18). The UK, which has the world's fifth worst official Covid-19 death toll, is racing to…
INDIA's Covid-19 vaccination drive was still facing some delays on Sunday(17) after it hit a bump on the first day due to glitches in an app used to coordinate the campaign, according to officials in some states. Prime minister Narendra Modi launched on Saturday(16) what his government has described as…
India's Covid-19 vaccination drive had a successful start with more than 224,000 people receiving their first jabs and just three people hospitalised for experiencing side effects, the health ministry said Sunday, as reports emerged about concerns over a homegrown vaccine. Authorities have given emergency-use approval for two jabs -- "Covishield",…
INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday(16) launched one of the world's largest vaccination campaigns, as part of efforts by the populous nation to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control starting with two locally-manufactured shots. Modi asserted that the made-in-India vaccines will ensure a 'decisive victory' for the country over…
THE Serum Institute of India (SII) expects WHO emergency use authorization soon for the Oxford University/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, which it is producing for mid and low income countries, its chief executive said. The World Health Organization (WHO) listed Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 shot for emergency use on December 31 as…
By Amit Roy THE Queen has set an example by letting it be known that she and Prince Philip have both had the Covid-19 vaccine in an effort to reassure those still worried about its safety. The vaccines were administered by a household doctor at Windsor Castle where the royal…
ASTRAZENECA is scaling up releases of Covid-19 vaccine doses to the UK to the point where it expects to be providing 2 million a week by or before the middle of February, a top executive told lawmakers on Wednesday(13). "We've released just over 1.1m doses, to date, and we are…
Indian airlines started delivering batches of COVID-19 vaccines nationwide on Tuesday, preparing for the launch of a campaign to offer shots to 1.3 billion people, in what officials call the world's biggest vaccination drive. Vaccinations are set to begin on Saturday in an effort that authorities hope will see 300…
India's Bharat Biotech has signed an agreement with a medicine distributor to supply its COVID-19 vaccine to Brazil, it said on Tuesday, even as the shot's emergency use approval in its home country has faced criticism. India's drug regulator has given emergency use approval to Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN, as well…
The UK will go through the "most dangerous time" as it enters "the worst" weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, England’s chief medical officer (CMO) said on Monday (11) as he urged the public to strictly follow the stay-at-home lockdown to help curb the transmission of infections. Professor Chris Whitty, who…
THE Indian government has been negotiating with the Serum Institute of India to bring down the price of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, people close to the matter said, delaying the roll-out of the country's immunisation programme. India's drug regulator has approved emergency use of the vaccine developed by Oxford University as…
THE UK has already opened more than 1,000 vaccination sites across the country for the biggest vaccination programme in British history. Health secretary Matt Hancock will set out the UK's Covid-19 Vaccines Delivery Plan on Monday(11) which will lay out the strategies behind the development, manufacturing and deployment of the…
INDIA will start its Covid-19 vaccination drive from January 16 with priority given to about 30 million healthcare and frontline workers, a government statement said. Prime minister Narendra Modi reviewed the preparedness for Covid-19 vaccination programme on Saturday(9), it said. India hopes to inoculate 300 million of its 1.35 billion…
NHS England has said that it had made plans to vaccinate all frontline staff against Covid-19 in the next few weeks following the rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Nikita Kanani, the Nation Health Service(NHS) medical director for primary care, said the vaccine will be administered to "all health and social…
BRITAIN's medical regulator on Friday(8) approved Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine for use, the health ministry said, adding that it had agreed to purchase an additional 10 million doses of the shot as it eyed a spring rollout of the shot. Three Covid-19 vaccines have now been approved for use in Britain,…
THE UK rolled out the new Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine to General Practice led services on Thursday(7) to protect care home residents and other vulnerable people against Covid-19. Trials of the vaccine were conducted at selected hospitals before being sent out to hundreds of community-based local vaccination services. Unlike the Pfizer…
CRITICISM of India's approval of a local Covid-19 vaccine without proof of its efficacy grew on Wednesday(6) after news that a regulatory panel approved the shot just one day after asking the vaccine maker for more evidence it would work. The recommendations of the Indian drugs regulator's subject expert committee…
by LAUREN CODLING ASIANS have been urged to adhere to coronavirus guidelines as data showed positive cases were higher in their community than any other ethnic group in some areas of the UK. The warning comes as England began its third Covid lockdown on Tuesday (5), with the government calling…
BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson's 'herculean' aim to vaccinate around 14 million of the most vulnerable people against Covid-19 by the middle of next month is achievable, his vaccine minister said on Wednesday(6). As major powers eye the benefits of being first out of the pandemic, Britain is rushing to…
SCHOOLS and colleges across Britain closed on Tuesday(5) ahead of a national lockdown as the country battled to control surging coronavirus cases that are threatening to overwhelm its healthcare system. The tough new measures were announced Monday(4) even as Britain began rolling out the Oxford-AstraZeneca shots, a possible game-changer in…
INDIA's drugs regulator approved for emergency use two coronavirus vaccines, one developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and the other by local company Bharat Biotech and a state-run institute. The decisions on Sunday(3) mark the first vaccine approvals in India, which after the US has recorded the most infections of…
BRITAIN began vaccinating its population with the Covid-19 shot developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca on Monday(4), touting a scientific "triumph" that puts it at the vanguard of the West in inoculating against the virus. Britain, which is rushing to vaccinate its population faster than the United States and the…
Prime minister Boris Johnson on Sunday (3) warned that the current tiered system of lockdown to arrest the spread of COVID-19 may have to be toughened further as the UK grapples with the new strain of the coronavirus. As teachers’ unions have been calling for a countrywide closure of all…
BRITAIN will allow people to be given shots of different Covid-19 vaccines on rare occasions, despite a lack of evidence about the extent of immunity offered by mixing doses. In a departure from other strategies globally, the government said people could be given a mix-and-match of two Covid-19 shots, for…
ABOUT two million doses of Covid-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca are set to be supplied every week by the middle of January in the UK, The Times reported. AstraZeneca expects to supply two million doses of the vaccine in total by next week, the newspaper reported, citing…
INDIA's drug regulator on Friday(1) approved a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University for emergency use, two sources said. The decision clears the vaccine's rollout in the world's second-most populous country which, after the US, has the highest number of Covid-19 infections. India wants to start administering the…
Around 50 countries around the world have already started vaccinating their people against Covid-19, barely a year after the first alert by China signalled the start of the epidemic. A snapshot: - China leads the way - China, where the pandemic first emerged, was also the first to start vaccinations…
BRITISH doctors have said a government decision to delay giving a coronavirus vaccine booster shot to vulnerable patients who have already had a first dose will be distressing and disruptive, their trade union said. The government said on Wednesday(30) it wanted to give a first dose to as many people…
BRITAIN on Wednesday(30) became the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, hoping that rapid action would help it stem a surge of infections driven by a highly contagious variant of the virus. Boris Johnson's government, which has already ordered 100…
India has found six cases of a more infectious strain of the coronavirus, which has prompted border closures around the world, in people arriving from Britain and will likely extend a flight ban to guard against it, officials said on Tuesday. All six of the infected people had been kept…
INDIA has found six people who returned from Britain in recent weeks with a more infectious strain of the novel coronavirus that has prompted border closures around the world, even as its daily increase in cases fell to a six-month low. All six patients have been kept in isolation, the…
The UK’s National Health Service is lining up thousands of medics and volunteers on Monday (28) to be ready to deliver jabs up and down the country as the Oxford University vaccine against COVID-19 is on the brink of getting regulatory approval. The vaccine, which is being produced by bio-pharmaceutical…
THE Serum Institute of India, the local maker of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, said on Monday(28) it expected the British and Indian governments to approve shots for emergency use within a few days. "You will be hearing some good news from the UK very soon," Serum's chief executive Adar Poonawalla…
The coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca “should be” effective against the highly transmissible new strain of the virus, a UK media report said on Sunday. The Oxford vaccine, which also has a tie-up with the Serum Institute of India, is expected to win approval in the UK…
INDIA is likely to approve Oxford/AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine for emergency use by next week after its local manufacturer submitted additional data sought by authorities, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. This could be the first country to give the regulatory green light for the British drugmaker's vaccine…
THE Indian state of Maharashtra has imposed a night curfew on cities including the country's financial hub Mumbai because of fears about the new coronavirus strain from Britain, the local government said. In addition, Mumbai airport said Tuesday(22) that all air passengers from anywhere in Europe or the Middle East…
INDIA exceeded 10 million infections of the new coronavirus on Saturday(19), much later than predicted only a month ago as the pace of infections slows, despite many in the country giving up on masks and social distancing. After hitting a peak of nearly 98,000 daily cases in mid-September, daily infections…
INDIA will produce about 300 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines next year, a Russian official was quoted as saying, nearly three times the previously known number as deals have been signed with more manufacturers. Russia is already testing the first samples of Sputnik V that were produced…
Many Indians appear hesitant to get vaccinated for COVID-19 as infections have fallen sharply since a mid-September peak and some people are worried about possible side-effects, according to a survey of 18,000 people released on Thursday. India reported 24,037 new infections on Thursday - fewer than 30,000 for a fourth…
THE UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab on Wednesday(16) said that experts from India and the UK will join forces through a new virtual hub to deliver vaccines for coronavirus and other deadly viruses. Raab met Indian prime minister Modi to discuss the UK and India working together as a force…
BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson will travel to India in January, his first bilateral visit since taking office, to try to strengthen trade and investment ties and work together on tackling climate change, his office said on Tuesday(15). He also accepted his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi's invitation to be the…
INDIA's drugs regulator has said that it had sought more data to make a decision on emergency authorisation for AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine candidate and one developed locally by Bharat Biotech and the government. India, which is the world's biggest vaccine-maker, has said it may authorise some shots in the coming…
INDIA's Serum Institute has sought approval for emergency use of AstraZeneca Plc's Covid-19 vaccine in the country, its chief executive officer said on Monday(7). Serum Institute is the world's largest vaccine producer by volume. The UK pharmaceutical giant is chasing rivals Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc with a vaccine that…
By Professor Melinda Mills University of Oxford THE past weeks have brought announcements of promising vaccines against Covid-19. Vaccinations could start by the end of 2020, offering a ray of light to get our lives, family gatherings, work and businesses back to normal. But as our thoughts turn from…
By Professor Melinda Mills, University of Oxford Context and communications among five 'Cs' to counter Anti-vaxx doubt THE past weeks have brought announcements of promising vaccines against Covid-19. Vaccinations could start by the end of 2020, offering a ray of light to get our lives, family gatherings, work and businesses…
By NADEEM BADSHAH GPs will see patients and also administer Covid vaccine LEADING GPs have called for support to help them deal with “workload pressures” during the upcoming rollout of a coronavirus vaccine. Family doctors are set for a hectic few months with a Covid-19 jab expected to be unveiled…
THE Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is assisting an inquiry into an alleged adverse reaction during AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine trial, but has found no reason to recommend halting it, a senior official at the regulator said. A 40-year-old man said in a complaint seen by Reuters that he had…
BRITAIN on Friday(27) asked its regulator to assess AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine for a rollout after experts raised questions about trial data. Meanwhile, the company said that it may run another study to gauge the shot's efficacy. The UK government has secured 100 million doses of the vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca…
by LAUREN CODLING CORONAVIRUS cases are rising in areas with high Asian populations as local authorities voiced concerns about infections increasing within multi-generation households, one week before England is due to lift its lockdown restrictions. Government figures on Monday (23) revealed that infection rates increased within areas with a substantial…
INDIA's Serum Institute will first focus on supplying AstraZeneca Plc's Covid-19 vaccine to Indians before distributing it to other countries. "It's very important we take care of our country first, then go on to COVAX after that and then other bilateral deals with countries. So I've kept it in that…
BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson on Monday(23) hailed the 'fantastic' news that AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine developed with the University of Oxford could be up to 90 per cent effective, but said it still would require safety checks. "Incredibly exciting news the Oxford vaccine has proved so effective in trials," Johnson…
BRITAIN’s AstraZeneca said on Monday(23) its vaccine for the novel coronavirus could be around 90 per cent effective without any serious side effects. The vaccine developed by Oxford University was 90 per cent effective in preventing Covid-19 when it was administered as a half dose followed by a full dose…
by LAUREN CODLING BRITISH ASIANS have been urged to take part in vaccination trials to protect against the coronavirus, as data revealed fewer than five per cent of volunteers were from the community. The participation call comes as phase three clinical trials of pharmaceutical firm Janssen’s Covid-19 vaccine began across…
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THE world's largest vaccine producer Serum Institute of India on Thursday(12) said that it has made 40 million doses of AstraZeneca's potential Covid-19 vaccine. The company would soon begin making Novavax's rival shot. Currently, there are no Covid-19 vaccines approved, but trials are still under way to prove they are…
Bangladesh signed a deal with the Serum Institute of India on Thursday (5) to buy 30 million doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by British drugmaker AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine is seen as one of the most advanced candidates in the race against the novel coronavirus. "Whenever…
A senior Indian scientist on Thursday(5) said that an Indian government-backed Covid-19 vaccine likely to be launched by February 2021, earlier than expected. Senior Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) scientist Rajni Kant told Reuters that last-stage trials begin this month and studies have so far showed it is safe…
BRITISH drug maker AstraZeneca Plc on Monday(26) said that the Covid-19 vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford produces an immune response in both elderly and young people. The firm added that the adverse reactions were lower among the elderly. AstraZeneca is developing the vaccine with Oxford University researchers.…
One of the UK's senior-most medical chiefs has indicated that a vaccine against COVID-19 could be ready to be deployed by the start of the New Year, according to a media report on Sunday. Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s deputy chief medical officer and one of the government’s advisers on the coronavirus…
The UK government’s Vaccine Taskforce, set up to help with the search for an effective vaccine against the novel coronavirus, on Tuesday (13) issued a call out for more ethnic minorities, and over-65 volunteers to join its clinical studies. While 270,000 people have signed up to the National Health Service…
THE UK crossed 500,000 confirmed coronavirus infections on Sunday (4), official figures showed, in the latest grim milestone for the European country worst-hit by the pandemic. Health authorities blamed a technical glitch for a sudden spike in cases announced in evening figures that had kept several thousand cases from the…
A GROUP of wealthy nations representing 13 per cent of the global population has already bought up more than half of the promised doses of future Covid-19 vaccines, according to a report by Oxfam on Wednesday (16). The non-governmental organisation analysed deals struck by pharmaceuticals and vaccine producers for the…
Serum Institute of India has received Indian regulatory approval to resume local clinical trials of AstraZeneca's potential COVID-19 vaccine, a reports said on Wednesday (16). The Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI), however, put in place certain "conditions" such as taking extra care during screening, providing additional information in consent…
PHARMA giant AstraZeneca has resumed British clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine, one of the most advanced in development, after getting the green light from safety watchdogs. The late-stage trials of the experimental vaccine, developed with researchers from the University of Oxford, were suspended this week after an illness in…
Serum Institute of India has put on hold trials of AstraZeneca's potential COVID-19 vaccine in the country until the British drugmaker restarts them, the company said on Thursday (10). "We are reviewing the situation and pausing India trials," Serum, the world's biggest vaccine manufacturer by volume, said in a brief…
PHARMA giant AstraZeneca should know before the end of the year whether its experimental vaccine protects people against Covid-19, the drugmaker's chief executive Pascal Soriot said on Thursday (10), as long as it can resume trials soon. The British company suspended late-stage trials this week after an illness in a…
THE coronavirus has upended everyday life in the six months since the crisis was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). While our understanding of the new respiratory disease has steadily increased since it was first detected in China last year, what lies ahead over the next half-year…
PHARMA giant AstraZeneca Plc on Tuesday (8) said it has paused global trials, including large late-stage trials, of its experimental coronavirus vaccine because of an unexplained illness in a study participant. The vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, has been widely seen as one of the leading global candidates…
Are you looking for in-depth knowledge of the UK's equivalent of the US Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)? In this article, we'll run a breakdown of the FTSE (nicknamed Footsie), its implication on the UK's economy, and how to invest in FTSE 100 CFDs. The FTSE 100 is one of…
THE US has urged states to get ready for a potential Covid-19 vaccine rollout two days before the presidential election, it emerged Wednesday. Across the world, governments are hoping to announce a vaccine as soon as possible to reopen economies shuttered to contain an illness that has killed more than…
RICHARD HATCHETT, the head of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), is worried. His job is to ensure that future vaccines against Covid-19 will be shared on an equitable basis around the world, but the US, Europe and other rich countries have already reserved the first doses for themselves.…
ONE of Bangladesh's largest drugmakers, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, announced on Friday (28) that it will invest with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to ensure Bangladesh gets access to vaccines it is developing for the novel coronavirus. The deal comes after Bangladesh said this month it was ready to hold trials…
INDIA's Serum Institute has started clinical trials for for ‘Covishield’ vaccine developed by the University of Oxford with the first patients screened by Bharati Vidyapeeth deemed university medical college and hospital in Pune. According to reports, the hospital aims to have about 300-350 participants as part of the trial. They…
TRIAL data for the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca's possible coronavirus vaccine could be given to regulators this year but corners cannot be cut to speed up approval for emergency use, a scientist leading the trials said on Tuesday (25). The Oxford vaccine produced an immune response in its first…
BRITISH drugmaker AstraZeneca has begun testing an antibody-based cocktail for the prevention and treatment of Covid-19, adding to recent signs of progress on possible medical solutions to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The London-listed firm, already among the leading players in the global race to develop a successful…
Bangladesh is ready to hold trials of potential Covid-19 vaccines developed by India and will receive early supplies of any successful candidate, officials said, as a Chinese firm continued to await assent for its trial request. New Delhi considers its eastern neighbour Bangladesh a strategic ally and is wary of…
SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA said on Friday (7) it would receive about £115 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the GAVI vaccines alliance to make up to 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses for India and other emerging economies as early as 2021. The candidate vaccines,…
INDIA's drugs authorities had allowed Serum Institute of India, the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, to conduct clinical trials of a vaccine candidate developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca Plc. "Drugs Controller General of India has given approval to Serum Institute of India, Pune to conduct Phase II+III…
INDIAN drugmaker Wockhardt Ltd has said it will supply millions of doses of multiple Covid-19 vaccines to the UK, including the one being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The company has dedicated a fill-and-finish capacity -- the final manufacturing step of putting vaccines into vials or syringes and packaging them…
The UK government has signed deals for access to around 90 million doses of promising coronavirus vaccines under development, bsiness secretary Alok Sharma announced on Monday (20). The senior Cabinet minister said the government has agreed significant partnerships with leading pharmaceutical and vaccine companies BioNTech/Pfizer and Valneva that are developing…
Two COVID-19 vaccine candidates have proven safe for humans and produced strong immune reactions among patients involved in two separate clinical trials, doctors said on Monday. The first trial among more than a thousand adults in Britain found that the vaccine induced "strong antibody and T cell immune responses" against…
Britain and India will be the "energetic champions" of free trade to boost small businesses, UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab said on Friday (10)as he pitched the two nations as leaders in tackling challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Raab acknowledged India’s help at the height of the coronavirus pandemic…
SCIENTISTS at Imperial College London will start the first clinical trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine this week with more than £45 million in backing from the British government and philanthropic donors. The trials are the first human tests of a new technology which the researchers say could transform vaccine…
By Lord Tariq Ahmad Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth AS THE world confronts coronavirus, one of its greatest ever challenges, we need a united global effort to tackle this invisible killer. Coronavirus has brought tragic loss of life and economic hardship to countries around the world. It also…
BRITISH pharma giant AstraZeneca is "on track" to start rolling out up to two billion doses of a coronavirus vaccine along with Serum Institute of India in September, its chief executive said on Friday (5). The company is partnering with Oxford University, which has pioneered the vaccine, and is already…
BRITISH drugmaker AstraZeneca has doubled manufacturing capacity for its potential Covid-19 vaccine to two billion doses in two deals involving Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates that guarantee early supply to lower income countries. The deals with epidemic response group CEPI and vaccine alliance GAVI are backed by the World Health Organisation…
IF the world is to gain access to a vaccine for Covid-19, there's a good chance it will pass through the doors of Serum Institute of India. Serum Institute, the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, is working on several candidates for the novel coronavirus - including potentially mass-producing…
OXFORD UNIVERSITY and AstraZeneca are recruiting around 10,000 adults and children in Britain for trials of an experimental coronavirus vaccine, a day after receiving US backing worth up to $1.2 billion. Institutions across Britain had begun enrolling up to 10,260 adults and children to see how well the human immune…
BRITISH drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc has received the first agreements to supply at least 400 million doses of the potential Covid-19 vaccine it is developing with the University of Oxford. The company said on Thursday (21) it had a total capacity sourced for one billion doses through 2020 and into 2021,…
The UK's biggest COVID-19 vaccine project, currently being tested by the University of Oxford, has shown some promising results in a small study with monkeys. Researchers involved with the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 trials said the vaccine had shown signs of priming the rhesus macaque monkeys’ immune systems to fend off the…
British prime minister Boris Johnson opened a virtual global conference on COVID-19 on Monday (4) by calling on all countries to step up their efforts and work together on fighting the coronavirus pandemic, the “most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes”. The Coronavirus Global Response International Pledging Conference was co-hosted…
The UK-based Astrazeneca said that it has decided to sell the commercial rights of five of its drugs- mainly used to treat hypertension--to Atnahs Pharma. The business offloaded for up to $390 million as it focuses on new potential medicines to boost its market globally. Atnahs will make an upfront…