Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Covaxin Shelf-Life Extended to 12 Months by CDSCO Based on Stability Data, Says Bharat Biotech

The Technical Advisory Group of WHO, which met today, has recommended the Emergency Use Listing status for Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, PTI reported. The World Health Organisation’s panel had last week sought additional clarifications from the Hyderabad-based firm.

In its weekly report on the pandemic, the U.N. health agency said new cases jumped by 6%, or 3 million, in Europe compared to an 18% increase the previous week. The weekly number of new infections in other regions either fell or remained about the same, according to the report.

The Covid-19 pandemic is not over in Britain and there are hard months to come as winter nears, England’s deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said on Wednesday. “Too many people believe that this pandemic is now over. I personally feel there are some hard months to come in the winter and it is not over,” Van-Tam told BBC TV.

No COVID vaccination will take place at centres of State Govt and BMC in Mumbai between Nov 4 and Nov 7 owing to #Diwali festivities. The vaccination will begin again on Nov 8: BMC

These Countries Have Approved Covaxin, But Travel For Indians Remains Distant. Read More 

In a massive announcement, Bharat Biotech confirmed that the CDSCO has approved the extension of the shelf life of Covaxin up to 12 months, from the date of manufacture. This approval of shelf-life extension was based on the availability of additional stability data, which was submitted to CDSCO.

PM Modi stressed that there is a need to adopt innovative ways to increase vaccination in districts with low coverage. “So far you’ve been working to take people to vaccination centres, now it’s time to reach every house and work with ‘har ghar dastak’ campaign,” he said. Ensure that the first dose is given to unvaccinated people, but also give equal attention to second dose, the prime minister told the officials. The districts in focus at the meeting were those with less than 50 per cent coverage of the first dose and low coverage of the second dose of vaccine.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asserted that the COVID-19 vaccination drive needed to be taken door-to-door and asked officials of districts having low inoculation to adopt innovative ways to boost the campaign. Modi made the remarks at a meeting, held via video conferencing, with district magistrates of over 40 districts having low vaccination coverage. Pointing out that he recently met Pope Francis at the Vatican City, the prime minister said special emphasis was needed on taking message of religious leaders spreading awareness and encouraging the vaccination drive to the people. He urged the district officials to take the help of local religious leaders to spread awareness about COVID-19 vaccines and fight rumours.

“Progress made so far is due to your hardwork. Every member of administration, ASHA workers worked a lot, walked for miles and took vaccination to remote locations. But if we become lax after 1 Billion, a new crisis can come,” PM Modi said at review meet with district officials where Covid-19 vaccination could pick pace.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday is holding a review meeting with district magistrates of over 40 districts having low COVID-19 vaccination coverage. The meeting, being held via video conferencing, includes districts with less than 50 per cent coverage of the first dose and low coverage of the second dose of vaccine. The 40 districts are spread across Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Meghalaya, among other states, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently holding a meeting with Chief Ministers of the 11 states and District Magistrates of over 40 districts.

“Covid-19 has reduced, people are visiting markets during Diwali festival, but, we’re seeing images of people not wearing masks. I appeal to all to wear face masks. Dengue cases are also rising. By removing all sources of stagnant water, we can prevent dengue,” Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said.

PM Narendra Modi’s review meeting with Chief Minister of 11 states has started. In the virtual meeting, PM Modi will discuss in detail boosting the vaccination capacity of at least 11 states whose current numbers are below the national average.

Scientists have identified and tested an antibody that limits the severity of infections from a variety of coronaviruses, including those that cause COVID-19 as well as the SARS illness. The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine on Tuesday, isolated the antibody by analysing blood from a patient who had been infected with the SARS-CoV-1 virus, which caused the SARS outbreak, and from a current COVID-19 patient.

A final call on the WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) for Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is likely to be be taken today. The WHO Technical advisory group will reconvene today after Bharat Biotech provided additional data on the vaccine to the panel last week. Additional information of the India-made vacine was sought by the WHO panel at its last meeting for the EUL approval on October 26.

Sabarimala Temple opens for devotees for Chithira Attavishesha puja. It’ll close at 9 pm after the puja. Devotees are allowed by virtual queue booking system and they have to produce vaccination certificate or recent RT-PCR test.

American pharma giant Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine shots, manufactured in India by Hyderabad-based Biological E, are ready for export, News18.com learnt. Last week, six batches of more than 1 crore doses were cleared for their safety by the country’s apex laboratory, the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh. “The doses have been cleared by the CDL in Kasauli. The company has expressed the intent to export those doses. According to Form 28 (required for the grant of licence) filled by the company, the vaccine will be exported,” a senior government official at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare told News18.com. “Once the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approves the report sent by CDL and the request filed by the company, the batches can be exported.”

The COVID-19 situation continued to improve in Mizoram, where single-day cases have remained below the 1,000-mark for the last 20 days, as the tally rose to 1,22,992 with 638 fresh infections, an official said on Wednesday. The death toll mounted to 436, as one more patient succumbed to the virus, he said. At least 153 children and a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan are among the newly infected people, the official said. Mizoram now has 6,325 active cases, while 1,16,231 people have recovered from the disease, including 796 since Tuesday.