Coronavirus vaccine update: Oxford vaccine price revealed; Latest status from India, Russia, US, UK, China

Coronavirus Vaccine update India, Oxford, UK, USA, Russia, China latest news: India’s two potential Coronavirus vaccines are in phase 1 and 2 of trials. (Reuters image)

Coronavirus Vaccine update India, Oxford, UK, USA, Russia, China latest news: With Oxford-AstraZeneca’s potential Coronavirus vaccine candidate showing positive results, the race to develop much-eluded vaccine has entered into an interesting phase. Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac has started late-stage large scale testing in Brazil. Serum Institute of India (SII) officials have said they will be able to mass-produce Oxford-AstraZeneca’s potential vaccine when it is ready, in India and the price will Rs 1000 per dose. However, Oxford developer has categorically stated that the end of the roll-out of vaccine is “possibility” but “not certainty”. Russia has said its Coronavirus vaccine is ready. India’s two potential Coronavirus vaccines, COVAXIN Aand ZydusCadila, are in phase 1 and 2 of human trials. Around the world, more than 140 vaccines are at the preclinical stage, 27 have managed to reach the human trials and one has been approved for military use in China.

As per the latest information, Arcturus and Duke-NUS Medical School has entered Phase 1 and Phase 2. It has also received approval for conducting human trials in Singapore. North Korea has claimed that it had started clinical trials of a potential Coronavirus vaccine. BioNTech is expected to initiate Phase III trials in July-end.

Chairman of Poonawalla Group Cyrus Poonawalla has said that the company’s Serum Institute of India (SII), which has partnered Oxford University and its partner AstraZeneca to manufacture the vaccine, will mass-produce one billion doses. Poonawalla said that the likely cost of the Coronavirus vaccine will be Rs 1000 per dose.

Meanwhile, India’s two potential Coronavirus vaccines are in phase 1 and 2 of trials. Discussions have already begun how will the vaccines be made available to all those who need it, VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog said. The human trials of India’s indigenous COVAXIN are beginning in AIIMS-Delhi, Redkar Hospital in Goa, and Bhubaneswar’s Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital. The clinical trials of the potential vaccine, which is being developed by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL), and National Institute of Virology, Pune, has begun at AIIMS Patna and PGI Rohtak. Clinical trials of the Covaxin will also begin at Medical institutes and hospitals located in Visakhapatnam, Belgaum in Karnataka, Nagpur, Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur and Kanpur, Tamil Nadu’s Kattankulathur, Hyderabad, and Arya Nagar.

The end of the year 2020 rollout of the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca’s potential Coronavirus COVID vaccine is a possibility but not a certainty, claimed lead developer Sarah Gilbert, as per Reuters report. Oxford-AstraZeneca’s endeavour to develop a potential Coronavirus vaccine has been a ray of hope. On July 20, UK-based medical journal, ‘The Lancet’ published the results of the 1/2 of the Oxford Coronavirus COVID Vaccine trial. The report stated that the potential coronavirus vaccine candidate “safe, well-tolerated and immunogenic.” Oxford-AstraZeneca has already tied up with nine firms across the world to manufacture the vaccine when it is ready.

China’s Sinovac has tied up with Butantan Institute of Brazil to initiate a three-month large scale test of a coronavirus vaccine. As many as 30 million Brazilians will be vaccinated. Bangladesh has also given approval to Sinovac for conducting human trials in Dhaka. Meanwhile, A phase II human trial of a potential corona vaccine candidate was conducted in China. Initial results have shown that it is safe and induces an immune response, a study published in The Lancet was quoted as saying by PTI. Scientists said the results provide data from a wider group of participants than their earlier phase I trial, including a small sub-group of participants aged over 55 years and older.

Russia’s military has said its coronavirus vaccine is ready days after Moscow had revealed that potential COVID19 vaccine was tested and found safe. US-based Moderna is developing a potential Coronavirus vaccine candidate. In fact, Moderna is the first organization to start the human trials of the vaccine candidate on March 16, 5 days after WHO had termed Coronavirus as “pandemic”. The initial results have shown early promise. The firm will begin Phase 3 trials with 30,000 on July 27.