Latest News: COVAXIN to get WHO approval; Wuhan lab sought hospital care; COVID-19 update

Covaxin Trials For Children Expected To Commence In June, Announces Bharat Biotech

Bharat Biotech's Business Development and International Advocacy Head Dr. Raches Ella informed about the possible commencement of paediatric trials of its COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin from June. Dr. Ella was talking at a virtual conference with members of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) Hyderabad. The company is also expecting approval from World Health Organization (WHO) for Covaxin by the end of the third or fourth quarter, further informed Dr. Ella. 

While responding to a question Dr. Ella said, "I am happy that our hard work is paying off well as the vaccine is working well and saving lives. We have this good feeling when we go back home from work each day. We will be soon ramping up our manufacturing capacity to 700 million doses by the end of this year". 

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Wuhan Lab Researchers Sought Hospital Care Months Before COVID-19 Disclosure: Report

Three researchers from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology had taken ill and sought hospital care in November 2019, months before the country disclosed the existence of the COVID-19 virus, an undisclosed U.S. intelligence report stated.  According to an article by The Wall Street Journal, the report dated during the final days of the Trump administration states that several researchers at the Wuhan lab had become sick in autumn 2019 "with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illness.”

"The information that we had coming from the various sources was of exquisite quality. It was very precise. What it didn’t tell you was exactly why they got sick,” a source told WSJ. 

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Cheetah To Be Reintroduced In India In November, Says Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister

Cheetah, the world's fastest animal will be again seen in India after almost 70 years. Madhya Pradesh forest minister, Vijay Shah, on Sunday said that African Cheetahs will be brought to the state's Kuno National Park in November this year. The world's fastest land animal will be reintroduced in India after it was declared extinct in 1952.  Nearly 10 cheetahs will be brought from South Africa, informed the state's forest minister. 

"We have started the process of creating an enclosure for around 10 cheetahs, including five females, to be brought from South Africa to Kuno in Sheopur district and it is going to be completed by August," PTI quoted Mr. Shah. 

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Yogi Adityanath Takes Initiatives To Tackle COVID-19 And Black Fungus In Uttar Pradesh

In an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced several measures after he chaired a meeting with Team-9, formed by the UP government to deal with the second wave of the pandemic, and issued fresh directions to encounter the spread of the virus.

Talking about the possibility of a third wave and measures to curb it, he added, "In the last four years, Uttar Pradesh has done well in the direction of health infrastructure development. Experts are also anticipating the third wave. 

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COVAXIN Likely To Get WHO Approval In 3rd/4th Quarter Of 2021 Amid COVID-19 Crisis

COVAXIN is likely to get approval from the WHO by the end of the third or fourth quarter of 2021, Bharat Biotech's Business Development and International Advocacy Head Dr. Raches Ella revealed. At present, those on the WHO's Emergency Use Listing include vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Johnson and Johnson, and Sinopharm. The emergency use approval can be a gamechanger amid the COVID-19 crisis as it is likely to encourage countries to import COVAXIN, facilitate its manufacturing abroad and ease global travel for those vaccinated with it.

Speaking with members of the FICCI Ladies Organisation in Hyderabad, Dr. Raches Ella stated that the company is looking to ramp up its capacity to 700 million doses by the end of 2021. Mentioning that the pediatric trials of COVAXIN may begin in June, he asserted that the vaccine for children may get approval in the third quarter of this year.

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