This comes after drugmaker Pfizer on November 18 said that their coronavirus vaccine candidate has shown 95 percent efficacy in the late-stage trial. The efficacy of vaccine was consistent across age and ethinicity demographics and there were no major side effects.

The vaccine is developed with German partner BioNTech SE.

Moderna had also announced that its experimental Covid-19 vaccine ‘mRNA-1273’ was 94.5 percent effective in preventing coronavirus.

In India, the third phase trial of Indian vaccine candidate Covaxin is also set to start on November 20 in Haryana. The trials will take place at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science, Rohtak in Haryana.

Covaxin is being developed indigenously by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Meanwhile, those worried whether the vaccines can protect against coronavirus mutation can relax. A new study involving a University of York virologist has said that vaccines currently being developed for Covid-19 should not be affected by recent mutation in the virus.

Most vaccines under development worldwide have been modelled on the ‘D-strain’ of the virus.
Since then, the virus has evolved to the globally dominant ‘G-strain’, which now accounts for about 85 per cent of published SARS-CoV-2 genomes.

There had been fears that the G-strain, within the main protein on the surface of the virus, would negatively impact vaccines under development. But the research by Australia’s national science agency – the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) – found no evidence that the change would adversely impact the efficacy of vaccine candidates.

The post Delivery of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine could start on Dec appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Harsh Vardhan, at a Group of Ministers meeting, said, “We’re expecting that early next year we should have the vaccine in the country from maybe more than one source. Our expert groups are formulating strategies to plan on how to roll out the distribution of the vaccine in the country.”

Harsh Vardhan’s remarks on the availability of coronavirus vaccine in India and its distribution in the country has come a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) said it believes a coronavirus vaccine would be ready for registration by December 2020 or early next year at the earliest.

The minister had said that considering the large population size of India, one vaccine or vaccine manufacturer will not be to fulfill the requirements of vaccinating the whole country.
India is the second worst affect country by the coronavirus pandemic after the United States.

The post Coronavirus vaccine expected in early 2021 from more than one source: Health Minister appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Teachers of public schools in Abu Dhabi can register for a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine which is on trial in the UAE and three other Arab countries. An official circular sent to school principals said: “The UAE has announced the emergency use of the vaccine for frontline workers who deal with Covid-19 patients, with the aim of safeguarding these heroes and protecting them from any dangers they may face due to the nature of their work. We would like to inform you that teachers and other academic staff have been included among the priority groups for getting the Covid-19 vaccine.”

On September 19, AbdulRahman bin Mohammed Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine in accordance with his Ministry’s move to administer the vaccine to frontline health workers, who are at higher risk of contracting the virus.

“The country seeks to protect people from any dangers that they may face due to the nature of their work,” said Al Owais. “Positive results of clinical trials are encouraging … The vaccine is safe and effective. It is compatible with the laws and regulations that allow a faster review of licensing procedures,” he added.

Phase III clinical trial of the Covid-19 inactivated vaccine was rolled out in Abu Dhabi on July 16.

As part of its intensified testing campaign, MoHaP announced 674 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of cases in the UAE to 84,916 on September 20. An additional 761 individuals had fully recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries to 74,273. The Ministry added that no COVID-19-related deaths were recorded.

The post Abu Dhabi offers Covid-19 vaccine for priority groups appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

As the entire global healthcare sector is busy containing the coronavirus pandemic, a UK health expert has warned that coronavirus will stay here, even if we succeed in developing a vaccine. These remarks are being made by Sir Mark Walport, a key member of the UK government’s Scientific Advisory Group.

According to Walport, COVID-19 is not like smallpox which can be wiped out from the world using vaccination. He also made it clear that the coronavirus could stay in the world in one form or another, and the only possible way to stay away from infection is by taking annual immune boosters.

Earlier, Soumya Swaminathan, a top WHO official had also revealed that vaccination is not capable enough to completely eradicate coronavirus from the planet. Soumya believes that humans should learn to live with the virus, as a complete safe haven in the near future is completely impossible.

A few weeks back, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases had suggested that coronavirus is a perfect storm with no end in near sight. He also added that the virus will resurge whenever it gets a chance, and it is highly necessary to adopt healthy social distancing norms to stay away from the pandemic.

Amid all the attempts to contain this pandemic, coronavirus is continuing its killing spree in all nooks of the world. According to the latest statistics, there are 23 million positive cases in the world, and the total number of deaths has already crossed 8,12,000.

In India alone, there are more than 3.1 million recorded positive cases. The number of deaths in India has crossed 57,000, and this count is expected to go up in the coming days, considering the rate at which this pandemic is spreading in the rural areas of the country.

The post Coronavirus is here to stay even in the presence of effective vaccine, says health expert appeared first on The Gulf Indians.