COVID-19 Vaccination Drive Begins in the World, India Expected to Decide by Wednesday on Emergency Use of Vaccine
NEW DELHI, Dec 8: The COVID-19 vaccination has officially begun in the world on Tuesday. A 90-year old British citizen was the first in the world to receive the BNT162b2 vaccine developed by the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in collaboration with German biotechnology company BioNTech.
The old lady Margaret Keena became the first recipient of the vaccine after the United Kingdom government approved the emergency use of the vaccine last week. The UK was also the first government in the world to approve emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine though various vaccines for the pandemic are at different stages of trial world-over.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which makes use of a chemical messenger to instruct cells into making proteins that mimic the outer surface of the novel coronavirus, thereby rendering immunity against it. Messenger RNA banks on synthetic genes that can be generated and manufactured rapidly in weeks, and produced at scales much faster than conventional vaccines.
After the UK rolled out plans for emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine, the pharma giant applied for similar approvals elsewhere in the world. But no other country so far has taken a final decision on any of the vaccine candidates on emergency use.
Among the countries progressing quickly on the vaccination front included India where the review process for three vaccines is being accelerated including the one developed by Pfizer, which was the first manufacturer to submit a request to the Drugs Controller General of India for emergency use of its vaccine. Pfizer was followed by Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech with similar requests. A panel of experts is scheduled to review the findings and come out with the result by Wednesday.
The Pfizer and BioNTech have also sought clearance from the European Union, the United States government and Canada for emergency use. The European Medical Agency (EMA) announced on December 1 that it has scheduled a meeting for assessment on December 29, after it’s done with its review process. If the EMA decides that the benefits of the vaccine outweighs its risks, Pfizer will be given conditional approval for rolling out vaccines.
In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has scheduled a meeting of its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on December 10 to review Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. It had earlier in July granted ‘fast track’ status to the vaccine. Canada is all set to launch its vaccination drive in full gear before the end of the current month and was expected to take a decision on Pfizer’s request in a day or two.
(Manas Dasgupta)
