Counterfeiting vaccine supply in India is bad news for the world: the fact against coronavirus and fiction

by

India typically produces more than 60% of all vaccines sold worldwide and is home to the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer.

This great manufacturing capacity is why the country is a major player in COVAX, the global vaccine sharing initiative that provides free doses or discounts for lower-income countries.

According to an initial agreement announced last year, the SII would manufacture up to 200 million doses for up to 92 countries. But the situation in India has changed drastically since then, write Jessie Yeung and Esha Mitra.

A second wave of pandemic that began in March has quickly surpassed the first in terms of cases. On Monday, the country reported nearly 274,000 new infections, the highest figure in a single day to date, and 1,619 new deaths, the highest in nearly ten months. In the last five days alone, it has registered more than a million cases and surpassed 15 million cases on Monday, just after the United States worldwide.

States and cities impose new restrictions, including weekend and night curfews in the capital region of Delhi, where 19 million people live.

All in all, the supply of vaccines has dried up on the ground, with at least five states reporting severe shortages and urging the federal government of India to act. To date, only 14.3 million people have been completely vaccinated; just over 1% of the country’s population is 1.3 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Faced with the crisis, the government and SII have shifted the focus of vaccine supply to COVAX to prioritizing their own citizens at home.

Subsequent delays will affect developing countries awaiting deliveries. The director of Africa’s disease control body warned that controlling India’s exports could be “catastrophic” for the continent, while Pakistan, one of the program’s biggest recipients, decided to allow imports and sales of private vaccines filled the gap.

YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.

Q. If I already had Covid-19, should I continue to be vaccinated?

A. “Yes. Because of the serious health risks associated with COVID-19 and the fact that COVID-19 reinfection is possible, you should be vaccinated regardless of whether you already have COVID-19 infection,” the CDC says. .

“Experts still don’t know how long someone will be protected from the disease again after recovering from COVID-19.”

In some cases, a vaccine can provide stronger protection than antibodies produced after being infected, said epidemiologist Dr. Larry Brilliant. . Young people can also transmit the virus to more vulnerable people. Here’s what you need to know about Covid-19 vaccines.

Submit your questions here. Are you a healthcare worker fighting Covid-19? Send us a message on WhatsApp about the challenges you face: +1 347-322-0415.

WHAT’S IMPORTANT TODAY

Demand for gunfire is declining in some parts of the US

Vaccine suppliers in some parts of the United States report a sharp drop in demand for Covid-19 shots, especially among young Americans and rural communities. Experts estimate that between 70 and 85% of the country needs to be immune to the virus to suppress its spread. But the United States is still not even close to these levels, and the slowdown in demand means that getting there can be a higher task than some local officials expected.
That’s why President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama joined a list of celebrities last night to urge Americans to get vaccinated during a special NBC hour.
To do their part to increase uptake, pop and rock stars, including Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, J Balvin and HER, are planning a global broadcast and a special broadcast to support the equal distribution of vaccines.

Doctors welcome the cause of blood clots potentially related to Covid-19 vaccines

Doctors are studying the cause of blood clots that may be related to certain coronavirus vaccines. Although the link is not yet strong, it is called vaccine-induced thrombotic immune thrombocytopenia or VITT.

A team led by Dr Marie Scully, a haematologist at University College London Hospitals, studied 22 patients who developed rare blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine and found they had an unusual antibody response. These so-called anti-PF4 antibodies had only previously been seen as a rare reaction to the use of common blood thinner heparin.

If vaccination can cause the disease, it would be important to recognize and treat it properly, as regular treatment of blood clots for VITT is not recommended. Patients should receive anticoagulant medications, but not heparin, and infusions of a blood product called intravenous immunoglobulin can replace depleted platelets.

Brazil is asking women “if possible” to delay pregnancy for Covid variants

Brazil has warned women to postpone pregnancy until the worst of the pandemic has passed, saying coronavirus variants in the country have had a greater impact on pregnant women.

“We do not have any national or international study, but the clinical view of experts shows that the new variant has a more aggressive action on pregnant women,” said on Friday the Secretary of Primary Health Care of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, Raphael Camara .

ON OUR RADAR

Queen Elizabeth II takes the place for the funeral service of her late husband, Prince Philip, at Windsor Castle in England.
  • The British royal family strictly adhered to the local regulations of the Covid-19 during Prince Philip’s funeral, which meant the queen had to sit alone during the service for her 73-year-old husband.
  • According to new advice released on Friday, pregnant women “of any age” in the UK will be offered Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna Covid-19 vaccines.
  • The overall death toll from Covid-19 has exceeded 3 million. The United States has recorded the highest number of deaths, followed by Brazil and Mexico.
  • A body that later tested positive on Covid-19 landed in the Pacific island country, Vanuatu. In response, he banned travel from his main island.
  • The UK will have to rehearse a socially non-distance outdoor concert with 5,000 attendees to try to get the audience back to live events safely this summer.
  • Canada is struggling to cope with a third wave of the pandemic, as several provinces have broken records for new daily cases of Covid-19, as well as hospital admissions and intensive care.
  • Phoenix nonprofits are looking to vaccinate 500 homeless people in five days.

THE MOST TIP TODAY

Check the fit of this double mask if you want to be better protected against Covid-19.

According to a new study published Friday in JAMA Internal Medicine, the additional protection provided by double masking is not so much about adding layers of fabric, but about removing any gaps or poor adaptation areas of a facial covering.

TODAY’S PODCAST

“The love and concern I feel for my family in Zambia is as valuable as the love and concern I feel for an American for their American family or a European for theirs.” – Melissa Mahtani, senior producer and reporter for CNN’s live news team

There are still several countries that do not have access to Covid-19 shots. CNN’s Melissa Mahtani shares her views on global inequalities in vaccine distribution and how they have affected her family and her feelings about inoculation. Listen now.

.Source