India’s first indigenous mRNA Covid-19 vaccine technology has been developed by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and will be tested against the coronavirus infection. It is currently at a pre-clinical study stage.
Almost 90% effective against Covid-19 in the mouse model, mRNA vaccines can also be used to neutralize diseases like malaria, dengue and tuberculosis, The Times of India reported.
“The team at the Atal Incubation Centre attached to the CCMB led the development of the vaccine candidate within a year of the project inception,” Dr Vinay Nandicoori, director of the CCMB, told TOI.
Meanwhile, the drug regulatory authority of India is upset with Pune-based vaccine-maker Gennova Biopharmaceuticals over the alleged violation of clinical trial protocols for its mRNA vaccine against Covid-19, News18 reported on Friday.
The vaccine, known as GEMCOVAC-19, is the country’s first homegrown mRNA Covid- 19 vaccine, which is a heat stable product and pegged as a game-changer for the future of the healthcare industry.
While Gennova had submitted interim data on its mRNA Covid vaccine to the drug regulator seeking the emergency use authorisation in March, the regulatory agency, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), has noticed at least five modifications in the trial protocol which were undertaken without seeking approval from the drug regulator, thus violating the protocols.
“The modifications went unnoticed even by the subject expert committee (SEC) and now deliberations are going on with the company to seek more clarity,” a top official at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare told News18.com. “The violations of the protocol are taken very seriously.”
Here are live updates:
-Delhi reports 673 fresh Covid-19 cases, 1,074 recoveries, and four deaths in the last 24 hours.
– New Zealand Leader Jacinda Ardern Tests Positive for COVID-19 | New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has tested positive for COVID-19 but said she still plans to travel to the U.S. later this month for a trade trip and to give the commencement speech at Harvard University.
Ardern on Saturday posted a photo of her positive test result on Instagram and said she was disappointed to miss several important political announcements over the coming week, including the release of the government’s annual budget and a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“I’m gutted to miss being there in person, but will be staying in close touch with the team and sharing some reckons from here,” she wrote.
Ardern, who is fully vaccinated, had been isolating at her Wellington residence since Sunday after her fianc Clarke Gayford tested positive for the virus. Under New Zealand’s health rules, people must isolate for seven days if somebody in their household tests positive.
– North Korea Reports 21 Deaths of People with Fever Amid COVID – KCNA | North Korea reported 21 new deaths on Friday among people with fevers, the state news agency reported on Saturday, as the country battles its first COVID-19 outbreak which state leader Kim Jong Un has called a “great turmoil”.
About 280,810 people were being treated and 27 people have died since a fever of unidentified origins started to be reported in the country since late April, KCNA news agency said.
State media did not say whether the new deaths were due to COVID. KCNA said on Friday that one death had been confirmed to be due to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
– Covid: 899 Fresh Cases, 4 More Deaths in Delhi; Positivity Rate 3.34 Pc | Delhi on Friday recorded 899 new Covid cases and four more deaths, the highest single-day fatality count in over two months, while the positivity rate stood at 3.34 percent, according to data shared by the health department here. The city had logged three Covid deaths on March 7 and four fatalities due to the disease on March 4.
The city on Thursday had recorded 1,032 fresh COVID-19 cases and zero death, while the positivity rate was 3.64 percent. With the fresh cases, the national capital’s overall Covid tally has increased to 18,99,072 while the death toll has mounted to 26,188.
– India reports 2,858 fresh Covid cases, 11 deaths | India on Saturday reported 2,858 fresh Covid cases, against the 2,841 infections registered the previous day, the Union Health Ministry.
In the same period, the country also reported 11 Covid fatalities, taking the nationwide death toll to 5,24,201.
The active caseload of the country has marginally declined to 18,096 cases, accounting for 0.04 per cent of the country’s total positive cases.
The recovery of 3,355 patients in the last 24 hours took the cumulative tally to 4,25,76,815 Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.74 per cent.
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