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India administers 1 crore vaccine doses for third time in last 11 days
New Delhi: For the third time in the last 11 days, India...
Govt determined to vaccinate everyone by December this year: Union Minister Kishan Reddy
”We want to reach out to the last person to be vaccinated in the country, in the most remotest part by December this year. It is also a matter of great pride that India was one of the two countries which invented a vaccine for COVID, besides USA, this raised the stature of Indian scientists and the country in the world,” the release quoted Kishan Reddy as saying.
”As many as 153 countries have sought our vaccines and some even paid the respective companies advance amount, but the government placed an embargo on export till people in our country are vaccinated,” he said.
Covid-19 vaccine pricing to help governments ensure minimal costs for people, says Pfizer
“Our pricing strategy is an outcome of volume, advanced commitment, equity and affordability principles. We are pricing in a way that can help governments to ensure that there is little to no out-of-pocket costs for their populations.We remain committed to engaging with the Government of India and explore opportunities to make this vaccine available for use in the country,” the statement said.
No amount of govt intervention adequate for pandemic-hit economy: FM
On the next Budget, she said that public expenditure, including on capital and infrastructure, will be kept up. Sitharaman said several sovereign and pension funds are willing to come to India with long-term commitments, which is leading to the higher inward flow of FDI than comparable economies.
For the first time in 70-year history, UNICEF to feed hungry children in UK
“The coronavirus crisis is having an unprecedented impact on children’s lives– their support systems ripped apart, their education lost, their access to food impacted,” Euro News quoted Anna Kettley, director of programmes at UNICEF UK as saying.
Moderna Covid-19 vaccine all set for FDA emergency approval
If Moderna’s vaccine is approved by the FDA, it will become the second shot to be greenlighted in America. Moderna’s vaccine is based on the same technology as Pfizer’s – mRNA. The actual virus is not embedded inside these vaccines and people who get the shots can’t catch the virus from it. Instead, the vaccine contains a piece of genetic code that trains the body’s immune system to recognize the spike protein on the surface of the Covid-19 virus and helps mount an organic defence when the attack comes.
Oxford says vaccine has good immune response with two-dose regime
“The booster doses of the vaccine are both shown to induce stronger antibody responses than a single dose, the standard dose/standard dose inducing the best response,” the university said in a statement.
Vaccination in Asia-Pacific expected mid or late 2021, says World Health Organisation
“The development of safe and effective vaccines is one thing. Producing them in adequate quantities and reaching everyone who needs them is another,” WHO Regional Director Dr. Takeshi Kasai told reporters in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
While some countries that have independent vaccine purchase agreements might start vaccination campaigns in the coming months, others could see vaccination begin in the middle or late 2021, said Dr. Socorro Escalante, WHO’s coordinator for essential medicines and health technologies.
India may need to spend $1.8 billion on COVID-19 vaccines in first phase, documents show
India, which has the world’s second highest caseload of coronavirus behind the United States, plans to inoculate 300 million people over the next six to eight months, likely with vaccines from AstraZeneca, Russia’s Sputnik, Zydus Cadila and India’s own Bharat Biotech.
The Indian government has not provided any estimate of the cost of its vaccine programme, though it has said all resources will be provided to protect the population.
New kind of loans and bonds could fill $28 billion Covid funding gap: WHO
The WHO and GAVI vaccine alliance aim to provide poor and middle-income countries with diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines through a fund known as the Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, which was set up last April.
Bruce Aylward, a senior WHO adviser and its ACT coordinator, said that new financing mechanisms – including concessional loans and catastrophe bonds – were discussed at a meeting of the ACT facilitation council on Monday, co-chaired by Norway and South Africa.
UV-emitting LED lights can kill novel coronavirus quickly & efficiently, says study
In order to disinfect a bus, train, sports hall, or plane by chemical spraying, the scientists said physical manpower is needed along with time for the chemicals to act on the surface.
“Disinfection systems based on LED bulbs, however, can be installed in the ventilation system and air conditioner, for example, and sterilise the air sucked in and then emitted into the room,” Hadas Mamane, co-author of the study from the American Friends of Tel Aviv University in the US. said.
‘1.8bn people depend on healthcare facilities without basic water services’
The report titled, ‘Global progress report on WASH in health care facilities: fundamentals first’, comes as the ongoing pandemic is exposing key vulnerabilities within health systems, including inadequate infection prevention and control, reports Xinhua news agency.
Worldwide, one in four healthcare facilities has no water services, one in three does not have access to hand hygiene where care is provided, one in 10 has no sanitation services, and one in three does not segregate waste safely.