WHO lauds India’s decisive Covid action

Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus yesterday praised India's action and its resolve to end the Covid-19 pandemic as the largest vaccine producer of the world.

"#India continues to take decisive action and demonstrate its resolve to end #COVID19 pandemic. As the world's largest vaccine producer it's well placed to do so," tweeted Tedros.

He also hailed the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the fight against the pandemic. "If we #ACTogether, we can ensure effective and safe vaccines are used to protect the most vulnerable everywhere @narendramodi".

India has one of the largest vaccine manufacturing capacities in the world (including the largest vaccine producer - Serum Institute of India) and has secured authorisation to mass-produce the AstraZeneca, Novavax and Gamaleya Research Institute vaccines. 

Meanwhile, Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech said yesterday they would end a public spat and focus on rolling out Covid-19 shots after executives of both Indian vaccine makers clashed over the approval of their rival shots.

"Both companies respect the great work being carried out by each other and put behind us the miscommunication and misunderstanding caused during the past week," SII's Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla and Bharat Biotech's Chairman Krishna Ella said in a joint statement.

India's drugs regulator on Sunday approved for emergency use a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, which will be manufactured by SII, and another developed domestically by Bharat Biotech.

But the approval for Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN, developed with a government research body, faced criticism from industry experts and others as the company has yet to release efficacy and safety data, and it still has a Phase III trial underway.

"Until we get the efficacy result, how do we know that anything works?" Poonawalla told Reuters on Sunday.

Ella, however, defended both his firm and the approval for the vaccine in an online press conference on Monday.

"I want to say that it hurts as scientists. We work 24 hours. Do we deserve that type of bashing from the people?" Ella said, adding his firm was being picked on because it was Indian.

Ella also took a swipe at AstraZeneca, which said in November a dosing error had led to promising results in a subset of its trial volunteers.

In yesterday's joint statement, the companies said they were fully aware of the importance of vaccines for people and countries and they jointly pledged to provide global access to their Covid-19 vaccines.

OXFORD VACCINE

Mexico on Monday authorised the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford for emergency use in the country, which has one of the world's highest Covid-19 death tolls.

Deputy health minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell announced on Twitter that Mexican regulators had approved the vaccine.

Lopez-Gastell said the vaccine could be available in March. "It depends on the private entities that work on it to specify the production capacity," he explained later during a routine afternoon conference.

It is the second coronavirus vaccine authorized by Mexico, which on December 24 began a mass immunization program using the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, with priority given to health workers, reports AFP.

Israel's health ministry has authorised a Covid-19 vaccine developed by US drugmaker Moderna Inc, the company and an Israeli official said, marking the vaccine's third regulatory authorisation and the first outside North America.

"Ministry of Health of Israel has secured 6 million doses and first deliveries (are) expected to begin in January," Moderna said in a statement on Monday.

Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said he had no knowledge of shipments arriving this month.

"To my regret, we will likely only see the company's shipment in two months," Edelstein told reporters.

"As soon as the vaccines arrive we will use them happily and if the company wants to move the arrival forward we will be happy to receive notification."