Regulators that normally work within their own countries or regions will likely harmonize efforts on potential COVID-19 vaccines to speed up their approvals once they become available, WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said on Friday.

Swaminathan, answering questions on social media platforms, also said testing vaccines for safety and efficacy – usually a years-long process – could be accelerated to just six months in the midst of the pandemic, if data satisfied regulators that they have enough information to issue approvals. Read More here

In a study in mammalian cells, an extract from edible seaweeds was found to outperform remdesivir, in effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Heparin, a common blood thinner, and a heparin variant stripped of its anticoagulant properties, performed on par with remdesivir in inhibiting the virus.

The research, published online in Cell Discovery, was done by researchers at the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, US. Read More

US President Donald Trump on Friday signed four executive orders aimed at lowering the prices Americans pay for prescription drugs, as he faces an uphill re-election battle and criticism over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump has previously proposed most of the changes made by the executive orders he signed on Friday, but this is the first time they have made it into signed executive orders.

One order would allow for the legal importation of cheaper prescription drugs from countries like Canada, while another would require discounts from drug companies now captured by middlemen to be passed on to patients, Trump said. Another measure seeks to lower insulin costs while a fourth, which may not be implemented if talks with drug companies are successful, would require Medicare to purchase drugs at the same price that other countries pay, Trump said.

A week after revoking sweeping new restrictions on international students, federal immigration officials on Friday announced that new foreign students will be barred from entering the United States if they plan to take their classes entirely online this fall.

In a memo to college officials, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said new students who were not already enrolled as of March 9 will “likely not be able to obtain” visas if they intend to take courses entirely online. The announcement primarily affects new students hoping to enroll at universities that will provide classes entirely online as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

A recent serological survey in Delhi found the presence of coronavirus-specific antibodies in about 23% of the samples tested. The results of that survey are being interpreted to suggest that about 46 lakh people in Delhi could so far have been infected with the novel coronavirus, and that “herd immunity” could be approaching. Even Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made the suggestion on Friday.

Scientists, however, caution against drawing such broad conclusions. The serological surveys were carried out to answer a very specific question. Any talk of “herd immunity” at this stage is not only premature but also misplaced. Amitabh Sinha explains why talk of herd immunity at this stage is misplaced.

With nearly 50,000 cases (48,916) on the second consecutive day, the total number of coronavirus infections in India crossed the 13 lakh-mark to reach 13,36,861 on Saturday. Also, 757 deaths in the last 24 hours pushed the death toll to 31,358. Currently, India has 4,56,071 active cases and 8,49,431 people have been treated and discharged.

Beijing partially reopened movie theatres Friday as the threat from the coronavirus continues to recede in China's capital. Cinemas in parts of the city deemed at low risk of cross-infection began admitting moviegoers under social distancing rules. Tickets must be booked in advance, attendance is capped at 30% of capacity and no eating or drinking is allowed during the show.

As with most venues in China, a temperature check and online travel record were required for entry. Cinemas have been closed for around six months but began reopening this week in major cities throughout the country. China reported just 21 new virus cases on Friday, six of them imported, with the rest in the Xinjiang region and Jilin province. Beijing has gone more than two weeks without any cases of local transmission, spurring authorities to lift many restrictions on activities.

BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena is among the 958 people who tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Rajasthan where eight more COVID-19 deaths were reported on Friday, officials said. The total number of coronavirus infection cases reported in the state so far has reached 34,178 of which 9,029 patients are under treatment and 23,536 have recovered. The death toll has climbed to 602. (PTI)

AIIMS Delhi has administered the first dose of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to a 30-year-old maleFriday, days after the medical institute received approval from the ethics committee to start the human trials. The subject will be monitored for two weeks after which he will be given the second dose.

The country’s top medical institute is among the 12 sites selected by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) for conducting Phase I and II randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical trials of Covaxin.

Rigorous implementation of pandemic lessons, systematic containment, and proper planning and procurement to plug the gaps in health infrastructure are key, the Centre has told nine states that are currently facing a surgein novel coronavirus infections.

At a high-level review meeting that went on for three hours over a video link on Friday, the Centre emphasised six main issues to the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, top sources told The Indian Express.

While swimming in itself is seen as the safest sport with its virus-killing chlorine cover, getting into the pool and back is fraught with risks. Given the inability to enforce strict social distancing on land, authorities in India have been reluctant to open pools for amateur swimmers, whose numbers will need to be severely restricted. Click here to read our explainer.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences administered the first dose of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to a 30-year-old man on Friday, days after it received approval from the ethics committee to start human trials. He will be monitored for two weeks and then given the second dose. The country’s top medical institute is among 12 sites selected by the ICMR to conduct Phase I and II randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical trials of Covaxin.

“The first dose of 0.5 ml of the intramuscular vaccine was administered to him on Friday. He was kept under observation for two hours. A diary has been handed over to him for continuous monitoring of the conditions. We will also coordinate with him daily for at least a week to understand if he is facing any medical issues,” Dr Sanjay Rai, principal investigator of the Covid-19 vaccine trial at AIIMS, told The Indian Express.

Covaxin, being developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR and National Institute of Virology (NIV), recently got the nod for human clinical trials from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

Even as the country inches towards 13 lakh coronavirus cases, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Friday reiterated that India has one of the world’s lowest COVID-19 infection and death rates. India saw a record single-day spike of 49,310 cases, taking the country’s tally to 12,87,945. However, for the third day in a row, the number of recoveries in a 24-hour span saw another record high, pushing the recovery rate to 63.45 per cent.