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Covid-19 vaccine update: India may produce Sputnik V; Sinovac’s candidate triggers ‘quick’ immune response
America’s Pfizer Inc is preparing to seek emergency use authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate from the US Food and Drug Administration. The candidate, BNT162b2, was found to be more than 90% effective against Covid-19.
A number of vaccines against Covid-19 are at different stages of trials across the world as a global race continues to develop a shot for the coronavirus disease that has affected nearly 56 million and claimed more than 1.3 million lives so far.
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As governments across the world are trying to secure the vaccines for people, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that India may join the list of countries likely to start producing his country’s vaccine candidate, Sputnik V, according to a news agency.
Here are the latest updates on the Covid-19 vaccine development front:
1. India and China may start producing Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate Sputnik V, news agency RIA quoted Putin as saying. Putin, who also virtually hosted the five-nation BRICS summit on Tuesday, further proposed that the creation of a vaccine centre for the member states of the bloc - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - be sped up, news agency TASS reported. Sputnik V is reported to be 92% effective at protecting people from Covid-19.
Also Read | India may start producing Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V, says Putin
2. Chinese biotech firm Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine candidate, CoronaVac, triggered a “quick” immune response, preliminary trial results showed on Wednesday. However, the trial also found that the number of antibodies produced by the vaccine was lower than those in people who had recovered from the disease. CoronaVac is among five vaccine candidates undergoing late-stage trials in China to determine their efficacy in preventing Covid-19.
Also Read | Chinese Covid-19 vaccine also found safe, induces immune response
3. America’s Pfizer Inc, which is developing a vaccine candidate with Germany’s BioNTech SE, on Tuesday said a key milestone has been reached in the study of its vaccine candidate. The company further said it was preparing to submit its data to the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorisation. It has also launched a pilot delivery program for its vaccine candidate in four US states. Earlier this month, the mRNA-based candidate, BNT162b2, was found to be more than 90% effective against the disease.
(With agency inputs)
