Covid-19 vaccine updates: UK begins assessing Pfizer’s data, SII hopes for early emergency use licence

Governments across the globe apart from testing their citizens for Covid-19 are also racing against time to find a vaccine, which perhaps is the most effective way to fight the disease

Several countries are witnessing a sharp spike in cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) with experts suggesting that the spread of the disease will be more severe due to the winter season. According to worldometer figures, Covid-19 has affected nearly 220 countries and 1,401,827 have lost their lives till now.

China, which was the epicentre of the disease, has seemed to contain the outbreak and economic activities in the country resumed with considerable pace. But, a rise in locally transmitted cases last week across three cities has led to authorities closing schools, ramping up their testing capacity and imposing lockdowns.

Governments across the globe apart from testing their citizens for Covid-19 are also racing against time to find a vaccine, which perhaps is the most effective way to fight the disease. Vaccine manufacturers, both at the government and private level, have seen effective results from their human clinical trials and await a license for emergency use so that their doses can be provided to those most in need of it.

Here are the latest updates on the Covid-19 vaccine: 

1. The University of Oxford and pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca on Monday said that their vaccine was up to 90 per cent effective in late-stage clinical trials. They will now approach regulators with full data from the trial to obtain an emergency license to provide shots to those who need it the most -- front-line workers and people who are most vulnerable.

2. The United Kingdom regulator of medicines pointed out it has started assessing the data derived from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine candidate which has shown a 95 per cent effectiveness against the viral disease. Based on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA’s) assessment and approval, the vaccine might be available from December.

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3. Public health experts in Tamil Nadu have said they are gearing up to vaccinate people as soon as a Covid-19 vaccine is rolled out. Two out of the four vaccine candidates in the country are being tested in the state. Clinical trials for Covishield of Oxford University and AstraZeneca and Bharat Biotech International Limited’s Covaxin vaccines are being conducted. The second phase of Covishield would be completed soon.

4. Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Serum Institute of India (SII), said that 90 per cent of the manufacturer’s doses of Covishield would be sold in India at Rs 250 adding that he is hoping for an emergency use license so that some doses of the vaccine can be rolled out by January.