Rajasthan, placed second behind toppers Kolkata, have eight wins in 11 matches and still favourites to make the top two in the playoffs
cricket10 hours ago
Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, sees AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate as a “very good” option, giving it a major vote of confidence after some experts raised questions around its trial data.
Serum Institute of India (SII), which has partnered with the British drugmaker to conduct trials on its Covishield vaccine in India and produce the vaccine candidate if it secures approval, plans to apply for an emergency use licence for the vaccine in the next two weeks, said SII’s Chief Executive Adar Poonawalla.
“This vaccine is a very good one,” said Poonawalla, via a virtual press briefing following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to SII’s campus on Saturday.
“What we found with Covishield in its global trial is there were zero hospitalisations, which means even if you do get infected you’re not going to have a severe attack and secondly even those who got the disease were not infecting others,” he said.
Poonawalla’s comments come as a boost to AstraZeneca after some scientists raised doubts about the robustness of results showing the shot was 90 per cent effective in a sub-group of trial participants who, by error initially, received a half dose followed by a full dose.
He also noted that the AstraZeneca vaccine, along with the vaccine from Novavax - the US vaccine developer that SII has also partnered with - offered a significant edge over the vaccine candidates of certain rivals, which need to be stored at much lower temperatures.
“Both our vaccine candidates can be stored in 2 Celsius to 8 Celsius and India has lot of storage and infrastructure for that temperature range. It has slightly less storage capacity for -20 C and almost nothing for -70 C,” said Poonawalla.
US vaccine developers Moderna and Pfizer recently announced strong efficacy results on their respective vaccine candidates, but both of their vaccines need to be stored at very low temperatures that would present challenges for many developing economies.
Moderna has said its vaccine can be stored at normal fridge temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius for 30 days and it can be stored for up to 6 months at -20C. Pfizer’s experimental vaccine must be stored at -70C over longer durations.
Rajasthan, placed second behind toppers Kolkata, have eight wins in 11 matches and still favourites to make the top two in the playoffs
cricket10 hours ago
The Pakistani Prime Minister also offered condolences to the family of Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohammed and all members of the Al Nahyan family
uae11 hours ago
Griffiths' comments came during a session at the Arabian Travel Market where he said a lot of calculations had gone into designing the new terminal
uae12 hours ago
The authority warned residents of the dangers of sending students to school with unlicensed drivers
uae12 hours ago
This is the first Golden Ball to go for auction
football12 hours ago
Facility showcases its exciting proposition at the 2024 arabian travel market
uae12 hours ago
Dube has established himself as one of the most destructive middle-order batters in the IPL, scoring 350 runs at a 170-plus strike rate
cricket13 hours ago
Fraser-McGurk has blasted 309 runs in seven matches for the Delhi Capitals at a strike-rate of 235.87
cricket13 hours ago