During the study period, 197,535 patients were infected with SARS-CoV-2, and of those 15,786 were admitted to the hospital. A third dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine conferred higher effectiveness against infection and hospitalisation than two doses of the preventive after one month, a study has found. The study, published in The Lancet Regional Health-Americas, … Read more
COVID-19 vaccine makers have been updating their shots to better match omicron in case global health authorities decide the change is needed. Pfizer has begun a study comparing its original COVID-19 vaccine with doses specially tweaked to match the hugely contagious omicron variant. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech announced the study on Tuesday. COVID-19 vaccine … Read more
Israel’s move to roll out booster shots comes amid reports of rising breakthrough infections. (Representational image: IE) Israel has recently started inoculating the country’s elderly residents with compromised immunity with a third dose of Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine. However, after meeting with Pfizer’s chief scientific officer on Monday, officials in the United States said more data … Read more
Israel now plans to conduct a detailed study of vaccinated people in an attempt to assess the vaccine’s efficacy. (Picture courtesy: Indian Express) Data from the Israeli health ministry released recently has showed that the efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 had shown a significant drop in recent weeks. The efficacy of two shots … Read more
The World Health Organization has issued an emergency use listing for the COVID-19 vaccine made by Sinovac for adults 18 and over, the second such authorization it has granted to a Chinese company. In a statement Tuesday, the U.N. health agency said data submitted to its experts showed that two doses of the vaccine prevented … Read more
The European Union on Wednesday asked a Belgian court to impose penalties running to millions of euros per day on for Covid-19 vaccine doses it has failed to deliver to the bloc. The request came as EU countries and their executive, the European Commission, began legal action against the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company for “flagrant violation” … Read more
It’s well before midday but chemical technician trainer Ralf Scharf is already heading to the company canteen. And lunch is the last thing on his mind. He’s here to get a Covid-19 jab, as his German employer Evonik Industries joins a push to ramp up the country’s immunisation drive by including company doctors in the … Read more
If caution is thrown to the wind, we could well be laying out an invitation for a second wave, which the country can ill afford. (PTI Photo/File) If there are reasons for India to take comfort in the declining new cases of the COVID-19 virus, there are equal reasons, if not more, for it to … Read more
Almost all the major platforms to make the vaccines are being carried out in India by at least half a dozen leading Indian vaccine companies and many smaller companies. (AP photo) While the rich nations are facing shortages of COVID-19 vaccines despite their aggressive procurement plans and with the hope of getting the bulk of … Read more
Covishield-maker Serum Institute applies to begin trials of its second COVID-19 vaccine Covovax: The announcement comes a day after Novovax Inc said that its Covid-19 vaccine Covovax was 89.3% effective in preventing Covid-19 in a trial conducting in the United Kingdom.(Representational image; Reuters/File Photo) Serum Institute to begin trial of second Covid-19 vaccine: Makers of … Read more