Tag: COVID19

Pfizer reports record revenue, expects Covid-19 vaccines to be commercialized later this year

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In its 2022 fourth-quarter earnings call, company executives said that they expect sales of Covid-19 vaccines to decrease, in part because they still have shots that the government purchased last year to distribute.
The decline in revenue also comes in part because an estimated 24 percent of the population will receive a Covid-19 vaccine this year, down from 31 percent in 2022 as fewer people comply with federal recommendations.
“Fewer people are expected to receive their primary doses,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said. “And for the most part only those who are older or at higher risk are expected to continue receiving more than one booster per year.”
Pfizer expects to account for about two thirds of Covid vaccinations, and Bourla estimated about 102 million shots of its vaccine, called Comirnaty, would be distributed this year. The company is not expecting any new Covid variants that would prompt more people to get vaccinated.
The company also noted that the U.S. government had previously purchased a set number of Covid-19 vaccines; but moving forward, there will be less demand once the vaccine is sold on the commercial market.
Company executives did not mention how much they plan to charge for their Covid products on the commercial market but have previously stated it would be somewhere between $110 and $130 per dose. Moderna, which also makes an mRNA Covid-19 vaccine, has floated a price of $110 to $130 per dose.
On Monday, the White House announced that it would end the Covid-19 emergency declarations in May. And last week, the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee discussed the steps it would need to take for a simplified Covid-19 vaccine regimen as it moves toward a model of managing the virus on a yearly basis, similar to the way flu shots are developed and administered.
Pfizer has its sights set on future iterations of Covid-19 vaccines, which it expects will be needed as immunity wanes as the virus continues to mutate.

“We expect to see an increase in Covid-19 vaccination rates assuming the successful development and approval of a Covid-flu combination product,” Bourla said, noting that about half of eligible adults receive a flu shot annually.
Other products in the pipeline: Pfizer also noted that it expects to launch its RSV vaccine for adults 60 and older this year. The FDA said Tuesday that it would convene its external vaccine advisory committee to discuss its application in late February.
The company is also developing an mRNA-based flu vaccine and an mRNA-based shingles vaccine.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 1, 2023
Covid-19 Still International Health Emergency: WHO

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SRINAGAR: The WHO has said that the Covid-19 pandemic still constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the WHO’s highest alert level.
The announcement came amid the recent increase of weekly reported deaths worldwide. After its quarterly assessment meeting on the Covid-19 pandemic on Friday, the WHO’s International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee announced on Monday that Covid-19 continues to constitute a PHEIC, which has been concurred by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Covid-19 remains a dangerous infectious disease with the capacity to cause substantial damage to health systems, the committee said in a statement, while acknowledging that the Covid-19 pandemic may be approaching an inflection point, Xinhua news agency reported.
Although infection or vaccination may lead to higher levels of population immunity globally and limit the impact of morbidity and mortality, “there is little doubt that this virus will remain a permanently established pathogen in humans and animals for the foreseeable future,” the committee added.
It then called for long-term public health action that will prioritise the mitigation of Covid-19 impact on morbidity and mortality.
Meanwhile, the committee recommends that countries should achieve 100 per cent vaccination coverage of high-priority groups, improve reporting of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance data to the WHO, and ensure long-term availability of medical countermeasures, such as Covid-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

January 31, 2023
COVID-19 still a global health emergency, says WHO

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The verdict is in: The COVID-19 pandemic is still a global health emergency, the World Health Organization has concluded. But it might not be for much longer.
The decision from the WHO — exactly three years after COVID-19 was first declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) — comes after a meeting of the COVID-19 emergency committee on January 27. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus concurred with the committee’s advice that there is a continued risk posed by COVID-19.
The news comes as countries increasingly deliberate how to move forward from the acute phase of the pandemic, with the U.S. looking at annual COVID-19 boosters, for example. However, the committee found that, globally, there are still a high number of deaths from COVID-19 compared to other infectious respiratory diseases; vaccine uptake is still insufficient in low- and middle-income countries and there is uncertainty about emerging variants.
But the reality is that the pandemic no longer poses the same threat as it did when it spread like wildfire through the globe in 2020. The committee acknowledged this, saying the crisis “may be approaching an inflection point.”
As for exactly how the world will transition away from a PHEIC and into endemicity is still up for debate, with the committee acknowledging that it is unlikely that the virus can be eliminated from human and animal reservoirs. The committee recommended that a proposal be developed for an alternative mechanism that would maintain international focus on COVID-19, even after the crisis is no longer classified as a PHEIC.
For now, Tedros has asked countries to continue work in several areas, including maintaining their focus on vaccination of high-priority groups, improving reporting of COVID-19 surveillance data and increasing uptake of COVID treatments and tests.
“Today’s announcement is a recognition that the global threat posed by COVID-19 is not over,” said Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “While the world has made remarkable progress over the last two years, implementing the largest and fastest global vaccine rollout in history, we cannot afford to be complacent.”

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

January 30, 2023
India’s first intranasal COVID-19 vaccine iNNCOVACC launched

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New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday unveiled the COVID-19 vaccine, iNNCOVACC in the presence of Union Minister of State (IC) for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh.
iNNCOVACC is the world’s first intranasal Covid-19 vaccine to receive approval for the primary 2-dose schedule, and as a heterologous booster dose. It is developed by Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) in collaboration with Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a PSU under the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.
Expressing his elation at the event, Mandaviya said that over 65 per cent of vaccines supplied in the world are from India.
Congratulating the BBIL team and the Department of Biotech for bringing about the world’s first nasal vaccine, he stated that “being the world’s first intra-nasal Covid-19 vaccine, this marks a glorious tribute to the call for Atmanirbhar Bharat.”
The Union Health Minister added that India’s vaccine manufacturing and innovation capability is appreciated all over the world as it has made a mark in producing quality and affordable medicines.
Congratulating BBIL for innovating another vaccine in collaboration with BIRAC, Jitendra Singh said that “India has taken a lead in developing vaccines and medicines for diseases common in the developing world.”
He also stated that ZyCoV-D, the world’s first and India’s indigenously developed DNA based vaccine for Covid-19 to be administered in humans including children and adults 12 years and above, was also developed in partnership with the Department of Biotechnology in the Ministry of Science & Technology under ‘Mission Covid Suraksha’ through BIRAC.
iNCOVACC is a cost effective Covid-19 vaccine which does not require syringes, needles, alcohol wipes, bandage, etc, saving costs related to procurement, distribution, storage, and biomedical waste disposal, that is routinely required for injectable vaccines.

It utilises a vector-based platform, which can be easily updated with emerging variants leading to large scale production, within a few months. These rapid response timelines combined with the ability of cost effective and easy intranasal delivery, makes it an ideal vaccine to address future infectious diseases.
A rollout of iNCOVACC is expected to begin in private hospitals that have placed advance orders. Initial manufacturing capacity of several million doses per annum has been established, this can be scaled up to a billion doses as required. iNCOVACC is priced at Rs 325 per dose for large volume procurement by State Governments and Government of India.
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#Indias #intranasal #COVID19 #vaccine #iNNCOVACC #launched
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 26, 2023
Pfizer CEO avoids question on ineffectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine

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The chief executive officer (CEO) of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Albert Bourla ignored questions regarding the ineffectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine when confronted by Rebel News at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Friday.
In a video, the CEO is bombarded with questions such as, “Mr Bourla, can I ask you – when did you know the vaccines did not stop transmission? How long did you know that before saying it publicly?”. He responds by saying, “Thank you very much.”
When the reporter questions Bourla on why the latter did not disclose that vaccines cannot stop transmission, Bourla remained mum.
“You said it was 100% effective, then 90%, then 80%, then 70%, but we now know that the vaccines do not stop transmission. Why do you keep that secret?” asked the reporter to which Bourla replied, “Have a nice day.”
When asked how much money he made from the vaccine, Bourla kept quiet.
According to a report by the news agency AFP, Pfizer offered 23 of its patented drugs to poor countries during the peak of the pandemic. It was offered on a no-profit basis. Last year Pfizer announced its new initiative – An Accord for a Healthier World – that would include off-patent drugs, a total of 500 products.
“The Accord portfolio offering now includes both patented and off-patent medicines and vaccines that treat or prevent many of the greatest infectious and non-communicable disease threats faced today in lower-income countries,” Pfizer said.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 22, 2023
Chinese health expert claims 80 pc of people in China infected with COVID-19

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Beijing: About 80 per cent of China’s population has been infected with COVID-19, that is nearly eight in 10 people, a prominent government scientist has claimed, CNN reported.
Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention has claimed that the present “wave of epidemic has already infected about 80% of the people” in the country of 1.4 billion population.
Wu Zunyou’s claim comes amid concerns that the travel rush that takes place around the Lunar New Year holiday time could spread the virus to the countryside and lead to the second wave of infections.
Speaking on his personal social media account, Wu claimed that the scenario was unlikely as many people in China have already been infected with COVID-19. Wu claimed that the possibility of a large scale COVID-19 rebound is very small in China.
“In the next two to three months, the possibility of a large-scale Covid-19 rebound or a second wave of infections across the country is very small,” CNN quoted Wu Zunyou as saying.
On Thursday, Chinese health authorities said that visits to clinics for fever and COVID-19 hospitalizations in China have reduced since their peaks in late December and early January respectively.
The authorities have said that the number of people infected with COVID-19 who need critical care in hospitals has also peaked. Nearly 60,000 people infected with COVID-19 died in Chinese hospitals between December 8 and January 12 after Beijing abruptly ended its “zero-Covid” policy, CNN reported citing government data.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organization’s executive director for health emergencies Mike Ryan said that the numbers released by China “under-represent the true impact of the disease” with regards to hospital, ICU admissions and deaths.

Meanwhile, more than 26 million passenger trips were taken on the eve of the Lunar New Year, CNN reported citing Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. Over 4.1 million people travelled by train and 756,000 people travelled by air for holiday reunions on the day prior to the start of the Lunar New Year, as per the news report.
China’s road transport system registered over 20 million passenger trips on the eve of the Lunar New Year, a rise of 55.1 per cent witnessed from 2022, CNN cited CCTV report. As of Friday, China’s transport system managed more than 560 million passenger trips in the first 15 days of the 40-day ongoing Spring Festival travel.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 22, 2023