NEW DELHI, May 11:
The Centre appealed to states on Tuesday to prioritise vaccinating those due for second dose of COVID-19 vaccine and reserve at least 70 per cent of the shots supplied from the central pool for the purpose.
States have also been urged to minimise wastage of vaccine doses, the health ministry said in a statement.
All wastage more than the national average hereafter is to be adjusted from the subsequent allocations to that state or union territory.
The urgent need to address a large number of beneficiaries waiting for second dose of vaccine was stressed in a meeting held by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and Dr R S Sharma, the Chairman of Empowered Group on Technology and Data Management to Combat COVID-19, with state officials to review the status of COVID-19 vaccination on Tuesday.
States were urged to “ensure all beneficiaries who have taken the first dose are prioritised for the second doses”, the ministry said in the statement.
In this regard, states can reserve at least 70 per cent of the vaccines supplied to them from the Government of India channel for second dose vaccination and the remaining 30 per cent for first dose. “This however is indicative. States have the liberty to enhance this to as much as 100 per cent. State-wise numbers on CoWIN have been shared with states for their planning purposes.
“The states were asked to undertake awareness campaign for reinforcing the importance of complete vaccination with two doses of the vaccine,” the statement said.
Presenting details of states who have ensured high coverage of priority groups (like population aged 45+, frontline workers and healthcare workers) and the others, the Union Health secretary urged states to ensure that priority groups are vaccinated.
States have been informed in a transparent manner in advance about the COVID vaccines being provided to them from Govt of India channel. The visibility for the forthcoming fortnight is conveyed to them in advance to enable better and more effective planning by them, the statement stated.
The next allocation for the period 15-31th May will be conveyed to them on May 14. It was pointed out that states can utilize the information regarding dose allocation for the next 15 days to plan their vaccination sessions.
States were also urged to minimise vaccine wastage, the statement said. While the overall levels have considerably reduced, Union Health Secretary pointed that there were many states which still needed to substantially reduce the wastage.
It was suggested to states and UTs to retrain and reorient vaccinators to ensure judicious usage of the vaccines.
“All wastage more than the national average hereafter is to be adjusted from the subsequent allocations to that state and UT,” the statement said.
In this context, it was also pointed out that certain states are able to report a negative wastage because the well-trained health workers can extract maximum doses per vial than what is otherwise generally earmarked.
States were also briefed about procurement from the ‘Other than Government of India’ (OGoI) channel which has been opened in the Liberalised Phase-III Strategy of Vaccination.
In view of the payments pending from states to the private vaccine manufacturers, the states were advised to constitute a dedicated team at state level of 2 or 3 senior officers to coordinate with vaccine manufacturers on a daily basis and secure State Govt. Supplies promptly, the statement said.
This team is to also coordinate with private hospitals to facilitate their procurement thereby maintaining the momentum of the overall vaccination exercise in the State.
The CoWIN platform is also being modified to better reflect the changing needs of the vaccination exercise, the statement said.
The states can download a second dose due report to better plan the completion of vaccination of the target groups., the statement said.
The District Immunization Officer and COVID Vaccination Centre Manager can increase the session capacity according to demand and can also visualise the target group in their upcoming sessions. Beneficiaries without relevant photo ID cards like senior citizens at old-age homes, etc., can also be registered, the ministry said. (PTI)
Virus vaccine variants
New vaccine blocks novel coronavirus, variants in animal study
NEW DELHI, May 11:
A new vaccine candidate has proven effective in protecting monkeys and mice from the novel coronavirus and its variants that first emerged in the UK, South Africa and Brazil, as well as related bat coronaviruses that could potentially cause the next pandemic, according to a study.
The finding, published in the journal Nature, is highly relevant to humans, the researchers said.
The pan-coronavirus vaccine triggers neutralising antibodies via a nanoparticle composed of the coronavirus part.
This part allows the vaccine to bind to the body’s cell receptors, and is formulated with a chemical booster called an adjuvant, the researchers said.
“We began this work last spring with the understanding that, like all viruses, mutations would occur in the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19,” said study senior author Barton F. Haynes, from Duke University Human Vaccine Institute in the US.
“The new approach not only provided protection against SARS-CoV-2, but the antibodies induced by the vaccine also neutralised variants of concern that originated in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil,” Haynes said.
The induced antibodies reacted with quite a large panel of coronaviruses, he added.
Haynes and colleagues built on earlier studies involving SARS, the respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-1.
They found a person who had been infected with SARS developed antibodies capable of neutralising multiple coronaviruses, suggesting that a pan-coronavirus might be possible.
The researchers noted that the Achilles heel for the coronaviruses is their receptor-binding domain, located on the spike that links the viruses to receptors in human cells.
While this binding site enables it to enter the body and cause infection, it can also be targeted by antibodies, they said.
The team identified one particular receptor-binding domain site that is present on SARS-CoV-2, its circulating variants and SARS-related bat viruses that makes them highly vulnerable to cross-neutralizing antibodies.
The team then designed a nanoparticle displaying this vulnerable spot.
The nanoparticle is combined with a small molecule adjuvant formulated with alum that boosts the body’s immune response, according to the researchers.
In tests of its effect on monkeys, the nanoparticle vaccine blocked COVID-19 infection by 100 per cent, they said.
The researchers noted that the new vaccine also elicited significantly higher neutralising levels in the animals than current vaccine platforms or natural infection in humans.
“Basically what we’ve done is take multiple copies of a small part of the coronavirus to make the body’s immune system respond to it in a heightened way,” said study lead author Kevin Saunders.
“We found that not only did that increase the body’s ability to inhibit the virus from causing infection, but it also targets this cross-reactive site of vulnerability on the spike protein more frequently,” Saunders added.
The team said that is why this vaccine is effective against SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2 and at least four of its common variants, plus additional animal coronaviruses. (PTI)
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