Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

sivab · Post by **sivab** » 27 May 2021 22:18

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1397854183374561280

We'll have to prepare to give 1 cr doses in a day. It'll be possible in few weeks, we'll have to prepare. We made possible 43 lakh doses in a day. We should bring it up to 73 lakh in next 3 weeks. We should make a system to achieve it: Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog,to ANI

GoI is ramping up vaccination in next few weeks.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 27 May 2021 22:18

Suraj wrote: Yes it's way off the mark.

To summarize some details, between mid Jan and May to date, we have done 202.7 million doses and exported a further 67 million doses, for a total 270 million doses. This does not count wastage, vaccines in pipeline etc. Assuming high single digit wastage percentage and the latest statements about in pipeline, the total here is about 310-320 million . I'm being conservative with wastage estimate and how much time it takes to clear QA especially as production volume grows.

My estimate for cumulative production to April was 330 million. For simplicity, we can assume that production to month N will be consumed up to month N+1 (or N+2 as production rises).

Thus recent trailing production increase data will herald rise in vaccinations a few weeks hence. I don't yet have enough data, though I've seen some interesting estimate, such as this:

Some posts in this thread about 30% wastage in states like Jharkhand are disappointing, or they're being stolen and used to vaccinate people in places like Bangladesh, Nepal or other states.

Of the vaccine production estimates into Dec 201, Covaxin and Covishield will probably be fully successful. Others may take longer to get to the numbers estimated. Do you happen to know what the estimates are for export requirement by Indian companies to fulfil the WHO COVAX program?

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 27 May 2021 22:23

I think the large 'wastage' numbers beyond a point (lets say 10%) simply reflect unreported CoWin vaccinations. I think the 'exported to Bdesh/Nepal' are a stretch, and short of a demontrated supply chain system managing that, is not a credible argument. These are not tomatoes. It requires not just handling, but a supply of ancillary equipment like syringes suited to the purpose, not just any syringe.

Only SII (Covishield and Covovax) has COVAX obligations. To be eligible for COVAX, a vaccine needs WHO EUL. Covishield has it. Novavax is applying for it, just as Covaxin is.

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 27 May 2021 22:31

Deans wrote:https://www.livemint.com/science/news/h ... 60541.html

There are concerns about Covax, This article covers them.
If Covax does no deliver, it will be only one of the factors affecting our ability to ramp up vaccine production.

https://the-ken.com/story/covid-taskfor ... r-plan-b/#
(you can read this free by registering)

Thoughts ?

Some thoughts:

0. BB's folks should hire a professional PR agency to do the statements. Some of their statements appear to be churlish and amateurish in a world dominated by pin-striped white men with silver hair and shark grins

1. What is not clear is how did the Brazilian agency reach the conclusion about chances of live virus making it to final vaccine vials. Did they publish anything that says they found evidences of live or viable virus? The article is not clear

2. Some opinons about how BB was late to the party, compared to Modena and Pfizer, which has zero relevance

3. If BB has vast experience (as article says) in inactivated virus vaccines, then why would they bungle up for their magnum opus is kind of odd

4. Key theme is "everything is hurried up for BB by GoI", which is what Trump and now Biden is also doing. Heck, in his own goofy way Trump even unambiguously named it "Warp Speed" incase anyone had any doubts. So why pillory BB or GoI when everyone is desperately struggling to save lives in good faith?

5. The Livemint article talks about some chap from a Delhi Science Forum. A cursory look at the articles they post in their site shows they are more pro-China than pro-India

https://delhiscienceforum.net/

6. Also some names like Gangadeep Kang etc bring their own political baggages, while carefully offering only generic opinions.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 27 May 2021 22:33

I agree it is unlikely for vaccines to be "exported" from states, but the difficult ancillary equipment would be transport refrigeration/cooling. Syringes and needles (21 gauge) are small and readily available for these vaccines.

Is Covaxin Nasal being evaluated by WHO? This could be a big game changer for the world.

sankum · Post by **sankum** » 27 May 2021 22:48

The whole article points to lapses not considering the best have to be made of the emergency situation.
If it finally works all objections are negated. If by December 15 Cr doses are made per month then it is a win win situation.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 27 May 2021 22:55

hnair: the Brazil story is a domestic cat fight there. Their government and health ministry have had an ongoing months long political fight, with the former trying to order Covaxin and the latter blocking it. In fact, their health ministry launched a second bid to import Covaxin days ago:
Brazil seeking to import 20 mln doses of India's Covaxin vaccine (article dated May 25)
Meanwhile, Ocugen, Bharat Biotech's US backer, has submitted the 'master file' to FDA for US EUA application. Mexico has already given EUA to Covaxin, arguably the most developed nation to have done so - they are much more developed than Brazil is.

Meanwhile, Brazil has depended on a combination of Astra Zeneca (including Covishield) ... and Sinovac. They have signed a deal with Pfizer for 100m doses, of which they've so far received 1% . Brazil situation summarized. They can't get Pfizer, and the Chinese aren't sending them Sinovac raw material. All round bad situation and they would be best advised to stop d1cking around with Covaxin for their domestic political agendas.

tl;dr - that article is a hit job with no mitigating balance.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 27 May 2021 22:57

Mort Walker wrote:I agree it is unlikely for vaccines to be "exported" from states, but the difficult ancillary equipment would be transport refrigeration/cooling. Syringes and needles (21 gauge) are small and readily available for these vaccines.

Is Covaxin Nasal being evaluated by WHO? This could be a big game changer for the world.

Syringes are not readily available. In normal times yes, but not right now. In fact entire vaccination programs have been held up by lack of syringes:
Japan to discard millions of Pfizer vaccine doses because it has wrong syringes
Covid-19 Vaccines Are Wasted as Special Syringes Run Short

Zynda · Post by **Zynda** » 27 May 2021 23:10

arshyam wrote:"and even offer protection from transmission."

I thought all existing vaccines did that to an extent - don't they?

Not an expert but I think earlier this year CDC said it is quite possible that mRNA vaccine (I think they based their data primarily on Pzifer vaccine) has shown reduction in transmission as well.

This is what BB lists wrt to its nasal vaccine

They are not making any such claims for Covaxin AFAIK.

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 27 May 2021 23:23

hnair wrote:
Deans wrote:https://www.livemint.com/science/news/h ... 60541.html

There are concerns about Covax, This article covers them.
If Covax does no deliver, it will be only one of the factors affecting our ability to ramp up vaccine production.

https://the-ken.com/story/covid-taskfor ... r-plan-b/#
(you can read this free by registering)

Thoughts ?
Some thoughts:

0. BB's folks should hire a professional PR agency to do the statements. Some of their statements appear to be churlish and amateurish in a world dominated by pin-striped white men with silver hair and shark grins

1. What is not clear is how did the Brazilian agency reach the conclusion about chances of live virus making it to final vaccine vials. Did they publish anything that says they found evidences of live or viable virus? The article is not clear

2. Some opinons about how BB was late to the party, compared to Modena and Pfizer, which has zero relevance

3. If BB has vast experience (as article says) in inactivated virus vaccines, then why would they bungle up for their magnum opus is kind of odd

4. Key theme is "everything is hurried up for BB by GoI", which is what Trump and now Biden is also doing. Heck, in his own goofy way Trump even unambiguously named it "Warp Speed" incase anyone had any doubts. So why pillory BB or GoI when everyone is desperately struggling to save lives in good faith?

5. The Livemint article talks about some chap from a Delhi Science Forum. A cursory look at the articles they post in their site shows they are more pro-China than pro-India

https://delhiscienceforum.net/

6. Also some names like Gangadeep Kang etc bring their own political baggages, while carefully offering only generic opinions.

delhiscienceforum.net probably started by some scums from AAP with George Soros and Jack sh1t funding

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 28 May 2021 00:36

Pact signed between Bharat Biotech, Gujarat Covid Vaccine Consortium: Hester Biosciences

Hester Biosciences NSE 7.06 % on Thursday said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between vaccine maker Bharat Biotech and Gujarat Covid Vaccine Consortium (GCVC) for contract manufacturing the drug substance for Covaxin.

GCVC comprises Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC), Hester Biosciences and Omnibrx Biotechnologies Pvt Ltd, Hester Biosciences said in a regulatory filing.

As per the MoU, Bharat Biotech shall provide the technology for the production of the drug substance for Covaxin and GBRC will act as an advisor and mentor and will facilitate the technology transfer from Bharat Biotech, it added.

Hester shall provide the complete infrastructure at its Gujarat plant for the manufacturing of the drug substance and Omnibrx shall act as a technology support partner, the filing said.

"If everything goes as per the schedule, the drug substance would be available from August 2021 which will be supplied back to Bharat Biotech for producing Covaxin," it added.

Hester has estimated an outlay of Rs 40 crore for this project, the company said.

The entire process is facilitated by the Department of Biotechnology, it added.

Not clear what this "drug substance" is. Hopefully it is one of the imported components that is in short supply now.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 28 May 2021 01:34

Posted this on twitter:

If the rest of week reports >2m doses a day too, it will be the first 7-day period with that performance since end of April.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 28 May 2021 05:50

^^^ This is the 7 day rolling average for vaccine shots -

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 28 May 2021 06:53

Apollo Hospitals to start administering Sputnik V vaccine from 2nd week of June

Apollo Hospitals will start the Russian Covid-19 Sputnik V vaccination from the second week of June, the group announced on Thursday.

“…Sputnik the third vaccine approved in India [and] will be available through the Apollo system from the 2nd week of June. We believe that no one is safe till everyone is vaccinated,” said Shobana Kamineni, executive vice-chairperson, Apollo Group of Hospitals, in a statement.

According to the statement, the group has completed one million vaccinations across 80 locations in India, prioritising frontline workers, high-risk populations, and corporate employees.

“…As the largest vaccinator in the private sector, we will continue to support the Union and State Governments in the fight against this pandemic. We will further ramp up our immunization program. We took 3 weeks to do the first million, in June we will do a million every week and double that in July. We are on track to complete 20 million jabs by September 2021. We would like to thank the Union and State governments and the vaccine manufacturers of Covishield and Covaxin for their support..,” she added.

On May 17, both Apollo Hospitals and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories announced the launch of a limited pilot program for the Sputnik V vaccine as part of the soft launch by the latter.

The first phase of the programme kicked-off with vaccinations in Hyderabad on May 17, and in Visakhapatnam on May 18 at Apollo Hospitals in those cities.

Dr Reddy’s is yet to commercially launch Sputnik V anywhere in India.

Apollo Group was one of the few hospital chains in the country that started vaccination in the 18-45 age group on May 1 as part of the government Liberalized and Accelerated Phase-3 Strategy of Covid-19 Vaccination that started from May 1.

Way to go!

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 28 May 2021 06:55

Delhi: Covaxin in June only to those due for 2nd shot

The 91,960 doses of Covaxin that the Delhi government is expected to get in June will only be used to give second shots to people who got their first shot in May.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told The Indian Express that the decision has been taken to make sure that recipients of Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine do not miss their second dose in the 4-6-week window.

The decision will be applicable to recipients in the age group of 18-44, who became eligible for the vaccine on May 1.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 28 May 2021 07:08

Deans wrote:https://www.livemint.com/science/news/h ... 60541.html

There are concerns about Covax, This article covers them.
If Covax does no deliver, it will be only one of the factors affecting our ability to ramp up vaccine production.

https://the-ken.com/story/covid-taskfor ... r-plan-b/#
(you can read this free by registering)

Thoughts ?

Covaxine has been under attack since day one. This is just a continuation of the same.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 28 May 2021 09:42

Syringes are not readily available ..

It is India - which has been suppling these syringes to whole world..The Indian factory making 6,000 syringes a minute..Rajiv Nath, who heads India's largest syringe factory, says he is turning down as many as 40 requests for syringes from across the world.

sanjayc · Post by **sanjayc** » 28 May 2021 10:37

hnair, is there an email ID where I can get in touch with you?

Deans · Post by **Deans** » 28 May 2021 12:27

hnair wrote: Some thoughts:

0. BB's folks should hire a professional PR agency to do the statements. Some of their statements appear to be churlish and amateurish in a world dominated by pin-striped white men with silver hair and shark grins

Hari Sir, This is true more than any other point. Not just BB, but Govt (Min of health and GOI) need good PR. I'm not sure why we cannot have
simple fact based regular briefings to the media and then support that with a media campaign, to for e.g. remove vaccine hesitancy and also
address rumors and fake news. Moreover BB is up against very sophisticated players like Pfizer.
All those concerned with vaccination need to put out info transparently. I am for e.g. unable to find any info to reconcile what BB has produced
vs. what has been consumed & stock (production should equal vaccinations + stock).

There are a lot of ways to look at numbers more positively:
1. Compare UP to Indonesia and Brazil (similar populations) to see who is doing a better job.
2. What is the percentage of our Urban over 60 pop who have got at least 1 shot (hint - its probably the same as US & EU).
3. Why are US and EU, with literally 10 times the health budget and a more sophisticated and accessable population not able to vaccinate
significantly more people than India.

sooraj · Post by **sooraj** » 28 May 2021 13:51

sanjayc · Post by **sanjayc** » 28 May 2021 18:47

Media Note from Bharat Biotech
From Vaccine to Vaccination

May 28, 2021

The manufacturing, testing, release and distribution of vaccines is a complex and multifactorial process with hundreds of steps, requiring a diverse pool of human resources. For vaccines to result in actual vaccination of people, highly coordinated efforts are required from international supply chain, manufacturers, regulators and State and Central government agencies.

Production scale-up of vaccines is a step-by-step process, involving several regulatory SOPs of GMP (Standard Operating Procedures of Good Manufacturing Practices). There is a four-month lag time for COVAXIN® to translate into actual vaccination.

The timeline for manufacturing, testing and release for a batch of COVAXIN® is approximately 120 days, depending on the technology framework and regulatory guidelines to be met. Thus, production batches of COVAXIN® that were initiated during March this year will be ready for supply only during the month of June.

Based on Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation(CDSCO) guidelines, all vaccines supplied in India are mandated by law to be submitted for testing and release to the Central Drugs Laboratory, Government of India. All batches of vaccines supplied to State and Central Governments are based on the allocation framework received from the Government of India.

The timeline for vaccine supplies to reach the depots of the State and Central Governments from Bharat Biotech’s facilities is around two days. The vaccines received at these depots have to be further distributed by the State Governments to various districts within their respective states. This requires additional number of days. Pandemic vaccines are distributed by respective governments equitably across all sections of the population. Vaccines once available at the vaccination centers are then administered to recipients over a period of time, based on demand.

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 28 May 2021 19:42

Regarding the Initial Non-Authorization of Covaxin in Brazil Portguese Translated to English. From 31/03/2021

Regarding the data analysis, it is noteworthy that the technical report on the evaluation of the vaccine issued or published by the health authority of India was not presented, in disagreement with § 3 of art. 16 of Law 14.124 / 2021. This law determines that the said report must be able to prove that the product meets the quality, efficacy and safety standards established by the WHO or the ICH and the PIC / s.

The denial also occurred after evaluating the available technical information, mainly those related to the inspection of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) at the manufacturer Bharat Biotech International Limited, which culminated in the publication of the rejection of the certification request.

The findings verified in the GMP inspection bring a very strong element of evidence to the health authority and, therefore, under these circumstances, it is not possible to grant authorization for import, since the vaccine will be manufactured in these facilities. However, to the extent that the necessary adjustments occur in the manufacturing plant, there is no obstacle for new import orders to be made.

Latest Update on their site from 26/05/2021

In this sense, the consent for conducting the clinical study with the Covaxin vaccine in Brazil has already been published by the Agency , according to Resolution RE 1,938, of May 13, 2021 .

Regarding the fulfillment of Good Manufacturing Practices by the manufacturer Bharat Biotech, one of the main aspects that motivated the previous decision, the company filed a new certification request at Anvisa, referring to the production line of the finished product

Complementing the previous information, a new request for certification of Good Manufacturing Practices for the biological input produced by Bharat Biotec was filed on Tuesday.

The application for certification of the production of the input comes one day after the new application for certification of the vaccine production line. The two requests for certification, input and production of the vaccine, cover the entire manufacturing chain of the immunizer.

GMP certification of all stages of vaccine production is a prerequisite for the registration of the immunizer in Brazil. For the exceptional import order, only the minimum data of Good Production Practices are analyzed, but without the need for the certificate in question.

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 28 May 2021 20:12

Dr Reddy’s fixes price of DRDO’s 2-DG anti-COVID drug at Rs 990 per sachet

New Delhi: Dr Reddy’s has fixed the price of DRDO’s 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) anti-COVID-19 drug at Rs 990 per sachet.

However, the anti-COVID-19 drug will be supplied to government hospitals, the central and state governments at a discounted price, ANI reported.

On Thursday, while launching the 'Services e-Health Assistance and Tele-consultation (SeHAT)' OPD Portal via video conferencing, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that 10,000 sachets of 2-DG will be available in the market from Thursday (May 27).

He said that with help of Dr Reddy`s Lab, DRDO has produced an essential anti-COVID drug 2-DG, adding that many states have expressed interest in buying the drug.

"It is yielding positive results. I have been receiving information from many states that they want 2-DG. I am delighted to say that 10,000 sachets are coming to market today," Singh said.

DRDO Chairperson Dr G Satheesh Reddy had informed that the first batch of 2-DG would only be available to AIIMS, Armed Forces Hospitals, DRDO hospitals, and other places in need, while for other hospitals the drug will be available from June.

Earlier, Hyderabad based Dr Reddy's had stated that the anti-COVID-19 drug is expected to launch in the market by mid-June.

Uttam · Post by **Uttam** » 28 May 2021 21:09

COVID-19 Vaccination Update- Day 133

More than 28 lakh Vaccine Doses administered today till 7 pm

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 28 May 2021 23:57

Thanks for posting direct links to the Anvisa reports, pgbhat. I had found the first one, but not the second. It looks like their health ministry are again pushing this and Bharat Biotech has obliged with new GMP data.

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 29 May 2021 01:01

AP finally bent the curve. Can someone from AP comment if this is true on the ground?

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 29 May 2021 01:39

Uttam wrote:COVID-19 Vaccination Update- Day 133

More than 28 lakh Vaccine Doses administered today till 7 pm

Applying Suraj San's formula:

Today's actual total = Cumulative Day 133 - Cumulative Day 132 = 20.86cr - 20.54cr = 0.32 cr = 32 lakhs = 4 lakhs more than what is reported as daily total by PIB

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 29 May 2021 01:46

PIB Release availability of Covaxin:

Busting Myths of Vaccination

Production of Covaxin Vaccine to hit 6 Cr by July/August under Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 Mission COVID Suraksha

Stringent Quality Control on newly produced vaccines Prohibit their Immediate Distribution

Over 3.11 Cr doses of Covaxin have been supplied and are in the pipeline

Almost 90 Lakh Covaxin doses committed for the month of June

Posted On: 28 MAY 2021 8:46PM by PIB Delhi
Government of India has been supporting the efforts of States and UTs for an effective Vaccination drive under the ‘Whole of Government” approach since 16th January this year. In order to streamline the availability of the vaccine doses, Central Government has been constantly in touch with the vaccine manufacturers and has opened up different procurement options for states/UTs since May 2021.

There have been some unfound media reports on unaccounted vaccine dosesofBharat Biotech. These reports are incorrect and are not supported by full information on the matter.

The claims of Bharat Biotech having 6 Crore doses is an error of comprehension among some quarters reporting the said matter.

The current production capacity of indigenously developed Covaxin vaccine will be doubled by May-June 2021 and then increased nearly 6-7 fold by July - August 2021 i.e.increasing the production from 1 crore vaccine doses in April, 2021 to 6-7 crore vaccine dose/month in July – August. It is expected to reach nearly 10 crore doses per month by Sep 2021.

This capacity augmentation of Covaxin carried out under Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 Mission COVID Suraksha was announced by the Government of India and implemented by Department of Biotechnology Govt of Indiato accelerate the development and production of Indigenous COVID Vaccines.

Vaccine being a biological product of medical importance takes time for harvesting and quality testing. This cannot be done overnight to ensure a safe product. Thus increase in capacity of manufacturing too needs to be a guided process and an increase in gross production does not translate to immediate supply.

As of data compiled on 28thMay 2021 morning, Bharat Biotech has supplied 2,76,66,860 vaccine doses to Govt. of India. Out of these, 2,20,89,880 doses including wastage, have been consumed by all the States/ UTs in the ongoing COVID-19 Vaccination drive. With this, the balance available doses of vaccines with States/UTs are 55,76,980 doses. Private hospitals have also received 13,65,760 doses of Covaxin in the same month over and above what has been supplied to the GoI and the states.

In the month of May,2021 additional 21,54,440 doses of Covaxin are to be supplied. This takes the total vaccine supplied and in pipeline till date to 3,11,87,060 doses. Almost 90,00,000 doses are committed for the month of June by the Manufacturer.

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 29 May 2021 01:56

Centre creating 'artificial scarcity' of vaccines to benefit Bharat Biotech, SII, alleges AAP

The AAP on Friday alleged that the Centre is creating "artificial scarcity" of COVID-19 vaccines to benefit Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India, a charge termed by the Delhi BJP as "unfounded". Addressing a press conference, AAP spokesperson Atishi said the government's vaccine drive has stopped in schools and this is the case throughout the country while in private hospitals, vaccination is still going on at different rates.

"This is big racket. At government centres where vaccination was given free to the youth, vaccines are in shortage there, while vaccinations are going on at higher prices at hospitals," she alleged.

She further questioned the Centre over not giving emergency approval to more vaccines.

"Many vaccines are being approved across the world. Pfizer vaccine has been approved in 85 countries, Moderna vaccine has been approved in 46 countries and J&J is approved in 41 countries.

"Then why these three vaccines were not given emergency authorisation. If WHO can approve them, why can't India? This clearly shows that the Centre has created this artificial scarcity to favour Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech," she alleged.

She further said these two companies do not have manufacturing capacity but the Centre has not approved more vaccines.

"The Centre created such an artificial scarcity that states have to buy from them only. The Centre should respond to this," she said.

Atmavik · Post by **Atmavik** » 29 May 2021 02:16

^^^^ getting tiered of this AAP nonsense.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 29 May 2021 07:58

I don't know what Delhiites see in these "always-on" activist party - see the contrast with Naveen Patnaik.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 29 May 2021 08:15

arshyam wrote:I don't know what Delhiites see in these "always-on" activist party - see the contrast with Naveen Patnaik.

Delhi is a very privileged city, as Capital with a lot of Central Government employees present plus lot of Corporates would naturally like to have their HQ close to Government, Foreign embassies present. This ensures large Tax collections and heavy infrastructure investment and Central Government will have ensure safety.

Plus like any large City with lot of Corporate HQ means lots of Tax collections, but unlike other cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai there is no hinterland farmers who have to be financially supported, industrial units, ensuring water supply etc. Hell for Delhi it is upto Haryana to ensure it gets adequate water supply.

So as long as one reduce ones greed not to be super corrupt it is a very easy city to Govern.

Media also a lot of manipulation, the Delhi metro was mainly initiative of NDA 1 and Sreedharan but credit went to Sheila Dixit. Plus a whole coterie of Foreign embassies with NGO's brainwashing people.

All this leads about 60% of the people in Delhi becoming spoilt brats. Especially children of Hindus and Sikhs from Pakjabi lands who show very little loyalty towards India and would like to migrate to foreign lands like their relatives.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 29 May 2021 08:25

Kakkaji wrote:
Uttam wrote:COVID-19 Vaccination Update- Day 133

More than 28 lakh Vaccine Doses administered today till 7 pm
Applying Suraj San's formula:

Today's actual total = Cumulative Day 133 - Cumulative Day 132 = 20.86cr - 20.54cr = 0.32 cr = 32 lakhs = 4 lakhs more than what is reported as daily total by PIB

Correct, Friday vaccinations figure was 3.2 million. I also posted an estimate for the extrapolated ongoing production rate based on weekly consumption rate through end May:

Note that this extrapolation contains a the previous weekend, which averaged only 1.3m day. The weekdays (May 24-28) averaged 2.5m/day . If this weekend trends much higher than last one, it implies a vaccine supply rate of 85-90m monthly production rate by the end of May.

This doesn't mean FOR the whole of May, it means dynamic production rate at this point would equivalent to 85-90m over a 30 day period going forward. So while the total for May may still be around 60m at the most, the total for June will be ~90m or more, topping the high-water mark of April (90.4m doses that month).

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 29 May 2021 08:34

Bharat Biotech to manufacture Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin from its Pune plant

Bharat Biotech is all set to start manufacturing Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin from its plant in Pune.

The company will finalise plans in the next couple of days. This plant is located close to the facility of Serum Institute of India. Bharat Biotech’s plant is located at Manjari near Hadapsar.

Pune district officials have handed over the 12-hectare plot for vaccine production to Bharat Biotech.

According to district officials, the plant could start making Covaxin vaccines by August 2021 and have the capacity to make 15-20 million doses. All regulatory permits and clearances were being expedited and they are expected to be completed in around 40 days.

This facility houses Biovet Private Limited, an associate company of Bharat Biotech, and it has facilities that can be re-purposed for making the Covid-19 vaccine. This facility was earlier owned by Intervet India, a subsidiary of Merck & Co, for production of foot and mouth disease vaccines. Intervet India exited this business and got into an agreement with Biovet to transfer land and manufacturing unit to the company.

The Maharashtra state forest department had objected to the transfer of land from Intervet to Biovet following which an appeal was filed by Bharat Biotech in the Bombay High Court. Bharat Biotech had submitted a proposal to the Maharashtra government to start Covaxin production on the Pune site. The court ordered the state government to handover the site to the company as the country needed vaccines to deal with the pandemic.

Pune district collector Rajesh Deshmukh said the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company, Food and Drug Administration, Central Pollution Control Board and Labor Department were in the process of issuing permits and the company plans to start production of the vaccine by the end of August.

Bharat Biotech had in April 2021 announced plans to expand capacity to manufacture 70 crore vaccines a year across multiple facilities in Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

VK Paul, member, health, Niti Aayog, had on Thursday announced that Bharat Biotech was further scaling up manufacturing of COVAXIN to 10 crore a month by September-October.

Bharat Biotech has also partnered with Indian Immunologicals, Hyderabad, Hafkkine Biopharmaceuticals, Mumbai and Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals, Bulandshahr to manufacture COVAXIN through a technology transfer process.

Sonugn · Post by **Sonugn** » 29 May 2021 11:04

Yesterday 3 million plus doses administered.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 29 May 2021 11:26

Is Pfizer finally allowed to sell their vaccines in India, with all clauses of indemnity annulled?

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 29 May 2021 11:29

Some updates from this week, both having a positive impact on the environment:

ICMR Approves CSIR Lab Developed Fast, Patient-Friendly 'Saline Gargle RT-PCR' Test For COVID-19 Detection - Swarajya

The scientists at Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have developed a 'Saline Gargle RT-PCR Method' for testing COVID-19 samples.

The innovative testing technique has also received the approval of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Ministry of Science and Technology said on Friday (28 May).

According to the ministry, the Saline Gargle method offers a bunch of attractive benefits, all rolled into one. It is simple, fast, cost-effective, patient-friendly and comfortable and also offers instant results and is well-suited for rural and tribal areas, given minimal infrastructure requirements.

Dr. Krishna Khairnar, Senior Scientist, Environmental Virology Cell at NEERI said, “Swab collection method requires time. Moreover, since it is an invasive technique, it is a bit uncomfortable for patients. Some time is lost also in the transport of the sample to the collection centre. On the other hand, the Saline Gargle RT-PCR method is instant, comfortable and patient-friendly. Sampling is done instantly and results will be generated within 3 hours.”

The method is non-invasive and so simple that the patient herself can collect the sample, explains Dr Khairnar.

“Collection methods like nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab collection require technical expertise; they are also time-consuming. In contrast, the Saline Gargle RT-PCR method uses a simple collection tube filled with saline solution," he said.

"The patient gargles the solution and rinses it inside the tube. This sample in the collection tube is taken to the laboratory where it is kept at room temperature, in a special buffer solution prepared by NEERI. An RNA template is produced when this solution is heated, which is further processed for Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). This particular method of collecting and processing the sample enables us to save on the otherwise costly infrastructural requirement of RNA extraction. People can also test themselves, since this method allows self-sampling," Dr Khairnar added.

The method is environment-friendly as well, since waste generation is minimized.

NEERI has further been asked to train other testing labs, to help scale up its adoption across the country.

Nagpur Municipal Corporation has given permission to go ahead with the method, following which testing has begun at NEERI, as per approved testing protocol, the ministry said.

Govt Supported Startup Develops Disinfection System For Masks And PPE Kits, To Reduce Covid-19 Related Bio-medical Waste - Swarajya

An N95 Mask and PPE disinfection system developed by Mumbai-based start-up, Indra Water, has been installed at multiple Government hospitals across Maharashtra and Telangana.

The disinfection system called Vajra Kavach is significantly decreasing the cost of combating the pandemic by making PPE, medical, and nonmedical gear reusable and reducing the generation of excessive Covid19 related bio-medical waste, thereby helping the environment.

It is also making personal protective equipment more available, affordable, and accessible.

The product uses a multistage disinfection process with advanced oxidation, corona discharge, and UV-C light spectrum to inactivate the viruses, bacteria, and other microbial strains present on the PPE with more than 99.999 per cent efficiency.

Indra Water, the startup which was initiated with grant from Department of Science and Technology (DST) for innovations in the water sector, used the Center for Augmenting WAR with Covid19 Health Crisis (CAWACH) grant of the DST, Government of India to modify their technology to make it suitable for combating the Covid19 infection.

“With support from IIT Bombay, they are prepared to manufacture and supply 25 disinfection systems per month,” the Ministry of Science and Technology said in a statement.

The system has been validated and tested by the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering at IIT Bombay and has been found to achieve more than 5 LOG (99.999 per cent) inactivation of viruses and bacteria. It is also CSIR - NEERI approved and IP55 certified and is now being installed in hospitals treating Covid19 patients across India.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 29 May 2021 11:34

Sachin wrote:Is Pfizer finally allowed to sell their vaccines in India, with all clauses of indemnity annulled?

They are allowed without parallel bridging trials, but I don't think the indemnity clause still exists. If waived, it should be done for all manufacturers.

Centre waives 'bridging trials' to allow foreign vaccines for emergency use - TNIE

VK Paul, member (health) Niti Aayog and chairman of the national expert group on vaccine administration for Covid said in a press conference on Wednesday....

“They have requested indemnity from all nations, it's their condition. We are examining this request. There is no decision as of now," he added.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 29 May 2021 12:51

Please avoid depending on paraphrased news on government policy from media. It is not policy until there is a press release on PIB.

sanjayc · Post by **sanjayc** » 29 May 2021 13:17

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