Bharat Biotech - The African Mirror

Jul

2021

Botswana pays $15 a dose for vaccine

BOTSWANA’S health minister said on Friday that the government was paying the equivalent of $15 a dose for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech and almost $29 a dose for U.S. company Moderna's shot. African countries have struggled to procure enough vaccines in the global scramble for doses, with coverage secured through World Health Organization (WHO) and African Union (AU)-backed schemes so far falling short of the continent's needs. Under pressure over a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, health minister Edwin Dikoloti revealed how much the diamond-rich southern African country was paying in bilateral deals with pharmaceutical companies…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Brazilian lawmaker denouncing vaccine deal wears bullet-proof vest to hearing

WORLD

MARIA CAROLINA MARCELLO A Brazilian congressman who has denounced alleged wrongdoing in a 1.6 billion reais ($323 million) COVID-19 vaccine contract signed by Brazil's government arrived at a Senate commission inquiry wearing a bullet-proof vest for safety. Congressman Luis Miranda and his brother Luis Ricardo Miranda, the whistleblower at the Health Ministry who raised suspicions about the vaccine deal with India's Bharat Biotech, are the key witnesses in a hearing underway on Friday. The parliamentary inquiry is looking into the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than half a million people in Brazil, and accusations that…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Serum Institute, Bharat Biotech to begin trial of intranasal COVID-19 vaccine

COVID-19

SERUM Institute of India and Bharat Biotech are expected to pursue late-stage clinical trials of intranasal COVID-19 vaccines in the coming months once they receive regulatory approval, India's health minister has announced. Dr Harsh Vardhan said the late stage trial generally involves thousands of participants, sometimes 30,000 to 40,000. Of the vaccines currently in Phase 3 trials, all are administered by injection, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). On Saturday, India's Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said they have received renewed approval to conduct late-stage clinical trials in India of the Russian COVID-19…