As coronavirus continues to kill millions of lives and infect people across the globe, the need for a vaccine is increasing every day. Many European countries are already experiencing a second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
Trials of different vaccine candidates against the Covid-19 has reached various stages.
As a ray of hope, the vaccine candidates have climbed their Covid vaccines to be more than 90 per cent effective in treating the virus. India’s pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech said that it plans to recruit 1,000 to 2,000 volunteers in each metro city like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. It is undergoing phase three trials of its vaccine candidate.
Similarly, America’s Pfizer Inc and Germany’s BioNTech SE have submitted for the emergency use authorisation in the United States for their joint vaccine candidate.
Here are the latest updates on the covid vaccine candidates:-
1. Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech vaccine candidate called Covaxin, has started its phase three trials earlier this week. The company said that volunteers who stay near the trial site and are interested in being a part of the trails can meet the principal investigator for participating in the trial.
The firm said that people below the age of 18 years, as well as those who earlier tested positive for Covid-19, will not be qualified for participating in the trials.
The executive director of Bharat Biotech Sai Prasad said that it will provide Brazil with its vaccine candidate which is the third worst-hit country.
2. Pfizer and BioNTech have sought for emergency use authorisation (EUA) just days after they announced their vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, was found 95% effective without any major safety concerns.
On Friday, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla confirmed that an application has been submitted to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with regards to emergency use authorisation.
Also Read: Pfizer to seek emergency approval for COVID-19 vaccine
3. On Saturday Britain-based AstraZeneca, has started the late-stage trials of an experimental long-acting monoclonal antibody combination drug. The drug is said to protect those who are at the risk of contracting the virus for up to 12 months.
The company plans to enrol around 5,000 people from across the European and also from the US for phase trials of the drug, called AZD7442. The treatment from the said drug would differ from that through a vaccine in that it introduces antibodies, rather than prompting the body’s immune system to make them.