Experts at India’s drug regulator were meeting on Wednesday to consider approving an AstraZeneca/Oxford coronavirus vaccine for emergency use after Britain became the first country to do so, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. But special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and under bilateral “air bubble” arrangements with selected countries since July.
India has formed air bubble pacts with 24 countries including the US, the UK, the UAE, Kenya, Bhutan and France. Under an air bubble pact between two countries, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between their territories.

India is relying largely on two domestically made vaccines from Bharat Biotech International Ltd. and the Serum Institute of India Ltd., which has partnered with AstraZeneca Plc to produce at least one billion doses. Ultra-cold storage requirements for Pfizer Inc.’s shot make it an unlikely choice for widespread use given India’s patchy health networks and infrastructure, especially in rural areas where the bulk of the country’s nearly 1.4 billion people live.

The tourism sector is one of the largest industries and accounts for 6.23 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and provides employment to 8.78 per cent of the population.

It managed to generate around 275.5 billion dollars in revenue in fiscal 2018 with an annual growth rate at 9.4 per cent.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has said preliminary modelling results communicated by the UK on December 19 suggest the variant is 70 per cent more transmissible than previously circulating variants. However, it also said there is no indication of increased infection severity observed related to the variant with multiple mutations in the spike protein.
According to the Health Ministry, the SARS-CoV-2”s UK variant genome was detected in three samples in the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences Hospital (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, two in the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, and one in the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.

Giving a break-up on the basis of the gender and age of those infected with the novel coronavirus, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said 63 per cent of total cases in the country have been reported in males and 37 per cent cases in females.

“Eight per cent cases have been reported below the age of 17 years, 13 per cent in the 18-25 years age group, 39 per cent in 26-44 years group, 26 per cent in 45-60 years group and 14 per cent above 60 years,” he said.

Bhushan said 70 per cent of COVID deaths have been reported in men and 45 per cent fatalities due to this disease have been reported in those below 60 years of age.