Category:

Non-Life

Brazil pharma flags ‘retaliation’ risk over bill to drop vaccine patents

In a joint statement, five of Brazil’s leading pharmaceutical associations sided with his administration.

“The approval of a bill that allows for the weakening of intellectual property could lead to international retaliation and reduce the supply of pharmaceutical inputs.We cannot support measures that could generate more instability and scenarios that may have irreversible consequences, in the short, medium and long term for Brazil,”it said. 

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US may be winning war against Covid with vaccinations

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 34 per cent proportion of the US population already have some immunity to the virus from having been exposed to the virus.

Added to this is the vaccination campaign, the report said. More than 43 per cent of the population has now gotten at least one shot, and a third are fully vaccinated. That’s getting very close to where other countries, such as Israel, started to turn the corner and experience a precipitous drop in infections, it added.

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Indian scientists flag evasive virus mutations

“We are seeing some mutation coming up in some samples that could possibly evade immune responses,” said Shahid Jameel, chair of the scientific advisory group of INSACOG and a top Indian virologist. He did not say if the mutations have been seen in the Indian variant or any other strain.

“Unless you culture those viruses and test them in the lab, you can’t say for sure. At this point, there is no reason to believe that they are expanding or if they can be dangerous, but we flagged it so that we keep our eye on the ball,” he said.

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Everything falls on my shoulders but can’t do it alone: Adar Poonawalla on vaccine pressure in India

On the charge of profiteering as the cost of Covishield was recently hiked, he termed it as “totally incorrect” and added that Covishield will still be “the most affordable vaccine on the planet” even at a higher price.

“We have done the best we can without cutting corners or doing anything wrong or profiteering. I’ll wait for history to judge,” he said.

“I’ve always had this sense of responsibility to India and the world because of the vaccines we were making, but never have we made a vaccine so needed in terms of saving lives,” he added.

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Liberty Mutual puts Australian coal project on hold

“As part of our investment processes, we’ve been evaluating alternatives for our Baralaba investment for some time and will not be submitting an environmental impact assessment for the South Mine at this stage,” a Liberty Mutual spokeswoman said. “We remain committed to collaborating with all stakeholders,” she added in emailed comments.

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