Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: COVAX allocates first tranche of 330 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to 'poor' countries

Coronavirus Live updates | Britain trial to test combining Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines in two-shot regimen

Britain on Thursday launched a trial to assess the immune responses generated if doses of the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca Plc are combined in a two-shot schedule. The British researchers behind the trial said data on vaccinating people with the two different types of coronavirus vaccines could help understanding of whether shots can be rolled out with greater flexibility around the world. Initial data on immune responses is expected to be generated around June.

The trial will examine the immune responses of an initial dose of Pfizer vaccine followed by a booster of AstraZeneca's, as well as vice versa, with intervals of 4 and 12 weeks. Both the mRNA shot developed by Pfizer and Biontech and the adenovirus viral vector vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca are currently being rolled out in Britain, with a 12-week gap between two doses of the same vaccine.

Coronavirus Live updates | Global vaccine trust rising, but France, Japan, others sceptical

People's willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is rising around the world and more than half of those questioned said they would take the shot if it were offered next week, an updated survey of global vaccine confidence found on Thursday. But attitudes and confidence vary widely in the 15 countries covered in the survey, with France showing high levels of scepticism and some Asian countries showing declining trust in vaccines, while some European nations see rising confidence.

Overall, vaccine confidence is higher than in November, when the same survey - conducted in 15 countries and covering 13,500 people each time - found that only 40% would be willing to get vaccinated. The survey, co-led by YouGov and Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI), found that people in Britain were the most willing to have a COVID-19 vaccine, at 78%, followed by Denmark at 67%.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | COVAX allocates first tranche of 330 million vaccine doses to poor countries

The COVAX vaccine-sharing facility has allocated at least 330 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for poorer countries and will aim to deliver these and many millions more in the first half of 2021, agencies leading the scheme said yesterday.

Publishing an interim distribution plan, the COVAX Facility said distribution would cover an average of 3.3 percent of total populations of 145 countries taking part in the initial round.

The allocation includes 240 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India, an additional 96 million doses of the same shot made by AstraZeneca, plus 1.2 million doses of Pfizer -BioNTech'S COVID-19 vaccine. (Input from Reuters)

Coronavirus in India LIVE updates | Total confirmed COVID-19 cases in India stand at 1.07 crore. This number includes cases related to foreign nationals, reported active cases, patients who have recovered and the COVID-19 death toll in the country.

While 1.04 crore patients have recovered, 1.54 lakh have died. Total active cases in the country stand at 1.60 lakh.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Total confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the world stand at 10.41 crore, according to the Reuters tracker. This figure includes COVID-19 patients who have recovered and the overall global death toll which stands at more than 22.59 lakh.

With over 2.65 crore reported cases so far, the United States is the worst-affected country in the world. The US is followed by India, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom.

Hello and welcome to Moneycontrol’s LIVE coverage of the novel coronavirus pandemic, its socio-economic impact and the massive vaccination drive across the world.

The COVID-19 outbreak has spread across 220 countries and territories. Today is the 316th day since India implemented a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the infectious disease. Daily cases being reported in India have been dropping consistently over the last couple of months. Thus, the reopening process is also speeding up. Yet, states and Union Territories have continued to impose some local restrictions when and where required.

India began its massive COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16. Over 41 lakh beneficiaries have been given at least the first dose so far.

Stay tuned to this LIVE blog for the latest updates through the day.