Heena Sharma Blog

  Amid the global shortage of the Covid-19 vaccines , a study conducted by Oxford University has found out that alternating doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines generate robust immune responses against the coronavirus. According to the study, 'mixed' schedules of these vaccines induced high concentrations of antibodies against the SARS-CoV2 spike IgG protein when doses were administered four weeks apart. This study, published on the Lancet pre-print server, means all possible vaccination schedules involving the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines could potentially be used against Covid-19. "The Com-COV study has evaluated 'mix and match' combinations of the Oxford and Pfizer vaccines to see to what extent these vaccines can be used interchangeably, potentially allowing flexibility in the UK and global vaccine roll-out," said Professor Matthew Snape, Associate Professor in Paediatrics and Vaccinology at the University of Oxf

  In a much-awaited move, India has allowed Covid vaccination for all above 18 years of age, starting May 1. The decision, taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, is expected to change the course of the pandemic currently raging through the country. India Inc and political parties have for long demanded the opening up of vaccination for all adults. In a departure from the current policy, the government has also allowed states to procure additional vaccine doses directly from the manufacturers. Vaccine supply to open market and industries has been permitted as well with conditions. In fact, the government will allow the imported ready-to-use vaccines to be entirely utilised in the open market. While the pricing arrangements have not been revealed, the latest announcement clubbed with the recent proposal to fast-track clearances could attract a host of foreign vaccine-makers, according to officials. Vaccination would continue free of cost in government

  The second phase of India’s Covid-19 vaccination started on Monday and the Co-WIN portal also started a self-registration process for the 270 million people eligible for these shots. Under this phase, people above 60 years of age – and those over 45 years of age and with co-morbidities – are to be inoculated. The registration portal could be accessed at https://selfregistration.cowin.gov.in/ . The government has issued a list of 20 specified co-morbidities to determine the eligibility of people who can be administered a vaccine shot on priority. If someone is more than 45 years old and suffers from conditions like diabetes or has suffered a heart attack in the past year, they will be eligible to get a Covid-19 vaccine shot. Here’s the full list of specified co-morbidities: 1. Heart failure with hospital admission in the past one year. 2. Post cardiac transplant/ Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD). 3. Significant left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVEF < 40%). 4

  Results of an interim analysis of the Phase III programme conducted by Oxford University with AZD1222, peer-reviewed and published in The Lancet on Wednesday demonstrated that the vaccine is safe and effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and that it protects against severe disease and hospitalisation. The interim analysis for efficacy was based on 11,636 participants accruing 131 symptomatic infections from the Phase III UK and Brazil trials conducted by Oxford University. As announced on November 23, the primary efficacy endpoint of the programme statistical plan, based on the pooling of two dosing regimens, showed that the vaccine is 70.4 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 occurring more than 14 days after receiving two doses of the vaccine. A secondary efficacy endpoint of prevention of severe disease demonstrated no cases of severe infections or hospitalisations in the vaccine group. Read More        

  AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford face mounting questions about their Covid-19 vaccine trial results after acknowledging a manufacturing error. While an announcement earlier this week by Astra and Oxford showed their shot was 70 per cent effective on average in a late-stage study, the scant details released by the UK partners have sparked worries, with some expressing doubts about whether US regulators would clear it. Astra and Oxford had said their vaccine was 90 per cent effective when a half-dose was given before a full-dose booster. Two full doses showed an efficacy of 62 per cent. But the head of the US vaccine program known as Operation Warp Speed said the next day that the dose showing the higher level of effectiveness was tested in a younger population. Read More

  Three more volunteers were administered the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine candidate at a medical college in Pune on Thursday as part of the phase II clinical trial of the medicine, a senior doctor from the medical facility said. Earlier, two volunteers, aged 32 and 48, were given a shot of the 'Covishied vaccine, being manufactured by the city-based Serum Institute of India (SII), on Wednesday when the phase II clinical trial of the medicine began at Bharti Vidyapeeth's Medical College and Hospital here. "On Thursday afternoon, three more volunteers - two females and a male - were administered the vaccine candidate after their reports of RT-PCR test for COVID-19 and antibody test came negative," said Dr Sunita Palkar, in-charge of the research cell at the medical college. Read More                 

India reported 37,148 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 11,55,191, according to the Health Ministry. This is the sixth consecutive day when Covid-19 cases increased by more than 30,000. India, which has a population over four times as big as the US', has conducted 14,381,303 tests in total, or just 10,175 tests per 1 million people. On a postive side, the early-stage human trial data has revealed that the Covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University is safe and induces immune response, with mild side effects in some participants, which the scientists say can be treated with the commonly available pain medication paracetamol. This is indeed raising hopes it could contribute to ending the pandemic. Medical experts in India on Monday hailed the results of Oxford University's early-stage human trials with some saying it's the "most scientifically done" among all such exercises, while others expressing

Oxford University will start human testing with a Covid-19 vaccine they developed from Thursday, the UK government said in a coronavirus press conference. The Oxford team – led by Professor Sarah Gilbert, is testing ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, a candidate based on a chimpanzee adenovirus modified to include the spike or ‘S’ protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. The government funded the vaccine project with 20 million pounds to Oxford University and another 22 million pounds to a second vaccine project at Imperial College, London, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Wednesday, adding the project will help support phase 2 trials and help prepare for a larger phase 3 study. Read More