Page 17 - Coronavirus Vaccine

India will not witness a fourth wave of Covid-19, say health experts

Dr Pragya Yadav, senior scientist at the government's ICMR-NIV institute in Pune, said there is no cause for worry until new variants of concern (VoCs) spread in India

Data story: India logs 5,910 new Covid cases; death toll at 528,007

India has added 46,722 cases in the past 7 days

Data story: India logs 6,799 new Covid cases; active tally at 55,114

India has added 57,419 cases in the past 7 days

UK approves second 'bivalent' booster for Omicron and Covid strain

The UK health authorities on Saturday approved a second bivalent vaccine to be used as a booster vaccine to target both the Omicron and original strain of COVID-19. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the updated booster vaccine made by Pfizer/BioNTech was found to meet its standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. The jab targeting two coronavirus variants has been approved for use in individuals aged 12 years and above. In each dose of the booster vaccine called Comirnaty bivalent Original/Omicron, half of the vaccine (15 micrograms) targets the original virus strain and the other half (15 micrograms) targets Omicron (BA.1). The clinical trial of the Pfizer/BioNTech bivalent vaccine showed a strong immune response against the Omicron BA.1 variant as well as the original strain, said Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive. Bivalent vaccines are helping us to meet the challenge of an ever-evolving virus, to help protect people against COVID-19 ...

Only 25 % people in Odisha took Covid-19 precaution dose, says official

The Odisha government appealed to the people on Saturday to take the precaution dose against coronavirus as soon as possible as few weeks are left for the period of free jabs and only a quarter of the targeted population got vaccinated with the third shot. A total of 80.90 lakh people, including frontline workers and those in the 18-60 age group and above 60 years, have taken the precaution dose, Health Director Bijay Panigrahi said at a press briefing in Bhubaneswar. "Around 25 per cent of the targeted population have taken the precaution dose while many are yet to take the jab," he said, adding that 23 lakh beneficiaries of the first shot had the second one due even now. Panigrahi appealed to people to take the precaution dose by September 30, the deadline set by the Union government for giving free jabs at public healthcare institutions. The COVID-19 tally rose to 13,28,244 on Saturday as 174 more people, including 13 children, tested positive for the infection, a health bulleti

Over 2.01 bn Covid vaccine doses provided under vaccination drive: Centre

Union Government provided over 201.36 crore vaccines to states and UTs in the fight against Covid-19 and of these more than 5.47 crore doses are still available, according to official data

New Covid boosters for Omicron strains to roll out soon as CDC gives nod

New COVID-19 boosters that target today's most common omicron strains are set to begin soon after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed the updated shots. The decision by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Thursday came shortly after the agency's advisers said if enough people roll up their sleeves, the shots could blunt a winter surge. They can help restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination and were designed to provide broader protection, she said in a statement. The tweaked shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna offer Americans a chance to get the most up-to-date protection at yet another critical period in the pandemic. They're combination or bivalent shots half the original vaccine and half protection against the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron versions now causing nearly all COVID-19 infections. The CDC's advisers struggled with who should get the new booster and when because only a similarly tweaked vaccine, not the exact recipe, has been studied in

India-made cervical cancer vaccine Ceravac to cost Rs 200-400 per dose

Serum India's product made in collaboration with state-run biotechnology department, expected to bring down prices

Data story: India logs 7,946 new Covid cases; 37 deaths in 24 hrs

India has added 57,419 cases in the past 7 days

Germany's BioNTech gains emergency US approval for Omicron booster

The US FDA granted emergency use authorisation for a 30-microgram booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, bivalent and Omicron BA.4/BA.5, for individuals aged 12 years and above

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley order staff to return to office full-time

Goldman will let employees outside New York enter offices regardless of vaccination status, with no requirement to participate in regular testing or wear face coverings

Covid booster jabs see 10% dip from last week despite govt push

Just five of 36 states/UTs have covered at least a third of the adult population with a booster dose

News updates: AAP MLAs to meet CBI chief, seek probe into 'Operation Lotus'

From India's GDP data for the April-June quarter to Covid-19 updates, catch all the latest news here

Data story: India records 9,808 new Covid cases; death toll at 527,874

India has added 60,198 cases in the past 7 days

IISc's SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particle may lead to new Covid-19 vaccine

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore have developed and tested a novel SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particle that can potentially be developed into a COVID-19 vaccine candidate. To study the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the researchers need to isolate the virus from the samples, create multiple copies of it, and analyse its transmissibility and efficiency at entering living cells. However, working with such a highly infectious virus is dangerous and requires a Bio Safety Level-3 (BSL-3) lab, only a handful of which across the country are equipped to handle such viruses. To address this problem, the team developed and tested a novel virus-like particle (VLP) -- a non-infectious nanoscale molecule that resembles and behaves like the SARS-CoV-2 virus but does not contain its native genetic material. Such VLPs can not only be used to safely study the effect of mutations that may arise in SARS-CoV-2, but can also potentially be developed into a vaccine candidate that can trigger

Covid: 'Only 12% of people in 18-59 age group have taken precaution dose'

Around 12 per cent of the eligible 77 crore population in the age group of 18-59 years have taken the precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine so far, officials said on Tuesday. Besides, 35 per cent of the 16.80 crore population aged 60 years and above, healthcare and frontline workers have been administered the precaution dose, officials said. A total of 15.66 crore precaution doses have been given till now with 10.39 crore doses being administered since July 15 till now after the 'COVID Vaccination Amrit Mahotsava' was launched, official sources said. The precaution dose coverage among the 64,89,99,721 eligible population between 18-59 years was 8 per cent till July 14. Under the campaign which was launched on July 15, 9,28,598 special vaccination camps have been organised so far by all the states and UTs. This includes camps at railway stations (4,259), bus stations (9,183), airports (370), schools and colleges (1,16,675), on the way to religious places (3,522) and camps at other pl

Covishield usage highest as precaution dose for Covid, says report

The usage of Covishield has been the highest as the precaution dose for COVID-19 as compared to other vaccines, said Union Health Ministry sources

RIL 45th AGM Live: Ambani announces Giga factory for power electronics

From Reliance Industries 45th Annual General Meeting to Covid updates, catch all the latest news here

US likely to authorise updated Covid booster shots for new Omicron variants

The US Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve new ovid-19 booster shots for newer Omicron strains this week, making them accessible to people in the country

Data story: India logs 7,591 new Covid cases; death toll at 527,799

India has added 66,763 cases in the past 7 days