Pharma

Around 89 lakh children under the age of five, as per provisional data, were given polio drops across the country on Sunday on the occasion of Polio National Immunization Day, also known as "Polio Ravivar", the Union health ministry said. The vaccination was done at around 7 lakh booths which were staffed with 12 lakh vaccinators and 1.8 lakh supervisors. "The...

The last shots were given at about 3:45 AM, out on the street, with literally no time to spare. All night, staff and volunteers with Seattle's Swedish Health Services had been rushing to administer hundreds of doses of the coronavirus vaccine set to expire early in the morning after a freezer malfunction. Finally, they had only a few dozen shots...

The vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech appears to retain its effectiveness against coronavirus mutations in worrying new variants that have emerged recently in Britain and South Africa, the firms said Thursday. Several new variants -- each with a cluster of genetic mutations -- have sparked fears over an increase in infectiousness as well as suggestions that the virus could...

Pharma giant AstraZeneca has defended the efficacy of its Covid-19 vaccine after media reports said the German government had doubts about its effectiveness among those over 65.  The Handelsblatt economic daily reported Monday that Berlin had estimated the efficacy of the jab among over-65s was just 8 percent, citing sources. Bild also said that Berlin did not expect the vaccine --...

Merck & Co. is discontinuing development of its two experimental Covid-19 vaccines after early trial data showed they failed to generate immune responses comparable to a natural infection or existing vaccines. The U.S. drug giant, which has a long history of successfully developing vaccines, had adopted a different strategy from rivals Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, using...

Germany will become the first European Union country to start using the same experimental antibodies treatment credited with helping Donald Trump recover from Covid-19, health minister Jens Spahn said Sunday. "The government has bought 200,000 doses for 400 million euros ($486 million)," Spahn told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, working out at 2,000 euros per dose. Patients will receive them free...

Despite dozens of deaths of people shortly after they were vaccinated against coronavirus, scientists say the evidence available so far does not incriminate the new anti-Covid vaccines. Health agencies stress however that the vast majority of post-vaccination fatalities were elderly, already vulnerable and often sick. Here's a review of the situation: Elderly, vulnerable Norway sparked alarm last week when it reported the deaths...

South Africa's health regulatory body has granted approval to the world's largest drug manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) to supply COVID-19 vaccine to the country. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced on Friday that the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has granted approval to the SII, which is producing the vaccine in collaboration with the University of Oxford...

A massive fire broke out today at vaccine-maker Serum Institute of India's Pune facility, at a building that is under construction. It is unlikely to hit the production of Covishield, the coronavirus vaccine developed by the SII in partnership with the Oxford University and British-Swedish pharma firm AstraZeneca. Massive efforts are on to put out the blaze and several fire...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be vaccinated in the second phase of the Covid inoculation drive launched last week, sources said today. All Chief Ministers, MPs and MLAs above 50 will also receive vaccines. The vaccine drive was launched on January 16 with healthcare workers and others at the frontline of the coronavirus fight receiving jabs of two vaccines -...