The expert committee of CDSCO met on 30/12, 01/01 and 02/01 to deliberate on accelerated approval of vaccines. Recommendations made on each day have been officially published.
π£ In this thread, we take a look at the timeline of events that lead to the approval. Must read.
1/n
30th December: #Covaxin: Bharat Biotech presents status of Phase 3 trials and updated safety data.
π£ Committee recommends that updated safety and EFFICACY data of Phase 3 trials have to be presented for further consideration.
2/n
30th December: #Covishield: SII presents safety and efficacy data of Phase 2/3 trials from UK, Brazil, SA along with data from ongoing Indian trials. SII mentions that UK has provided EUA.
π£ Committee asks for complete details of UK approval to be submitted.
3/n
1st January: #Covaxin: Bharat Biotech presents data from Phase 1,2 trials as well as ongoing Phase 3. Efficacy yet to be demonstrated.
π£ Committee asks for Phase 3 recruitment to be expedited and present Phase 3 efficacy data for consideration for emergency use approval.
4/n
1st January: #Covishield: SII presents details of UK approval.
π£ Committee reviews data and notes that the safety/immunogenicity data of India trials is comparable to overseas trials.
Decides to recommend for restricted emergency use.
5/n
Conditions of #Covishield restricted approval:
β Approved for >= 18 years of age.
β 2 doses, 4 to 6 weeks apart.
β SII should submit details of of ongoing Phase 3 studies.
β Safety data to be submitted every 15 days for first 2 months.
β Submit risk management plan.
6/n
2nd January: #Covaxin: Bharat Biotech presents data. Requests for approval in light of new mutated strain.
π£ Committee recommends for emergency use in clinical trial mode as a precaution, to have more vaccine options in light of mutant strains.
Phase 3 to continue.
7/n
In summary:
β Approval for Covishield provided on 01/01 after reviewing UK approval and trial data globally and in India.
β #Covaxin: In the meetings held on 30/12 and 01/01, SEC had asked for Phase 3 efficacy data to be presented for approval considerations.
8/n
In the meeting on 02/01, SEC decides to recommend Covaxin for emergency approval in clinical trial mode, without efficacy data from Ph 3 trials.
Reason given being to have more vaccine options in light of mutated strains. Clarification of clinical trial mode not provided.
9/n
Israel's vaccination sprint: Around 14% of Israel's total population have already received the 1st dose of Covid19 vaccine. A sprint that has taken Israel to the top of the per capita vaccination chart.
How did the country of 9M people achieve this? A thread.
1/n
Small size: Israel is a small country of 9 million people - slightly larger than Chennai and less than half of Mumbai's population. The size makes distribution/logistics easier and can't be compared to the challenges of larger countries. But, the story goes beyond it's size.
2/n
Healthcare system: At the center of Israel's swift vaccination progress is the universal, vertically integrated, digitised healthcare system. Health care is a fundamental right in Israel, with mandatory health insurance run by 4 health maintenance organizations.
3/n
A (long) thread on Bharat Biotech - ICMR's #Covaxin vaccine.
1. Type of vaccine: #Covaxin is a whole virion INACTIVATED vaccine.
In such vaccines, the whole #sarscov2 virus is inactivated to make it harmless and used to make the vaccine. Seed virus provided by NIV Pune.
1/n
2. How is it different from #Covishield? Covishield is a VIRAL VECTOR vaccine. Here, the spike protein of #sarscov2 is sequenced. A weakened virus that causes common cold in chimpanzees called Adenovirus is used as the vector to carry the spike protein in the vaccine.
2/n
3. Phase 1 trial: 375 persons in trial, done across 11 sites in 9 states.
Age profile: 18 to 55.
375 persons divided into 4 groups. 3 groups of 100 each received 3 different formulations of the vaccine and 1 control group of 75 received placebo.
Dosage: 2 doses, 14 days.
Before we sign off from 2020, take few minutes and let us know how the year was for you.
Your experiences of a truly unique year, deserves to be documented!
1. Do you think 2020 was a good year for you personally.
1/9
2. How did the pandemic affect your personal relationships after March 2020?
2/9
3. How did the pandemic affect your professional/student life?
3/9
#sarscov2mutation What does it mean for us?
Mutation of viruses is part of it's evolutionary process. Once inside the host, viruses start replicating. Errors during this replication process results in changes to the genetic makeup of the virus - leading to mutations.
1/9
Depending on where in the genome the changes happen, mutation can impact the survivability of the virus. #SARSCoV2 is an RNA virus (like dengue) and is prone to more mutations than a DNA virus (eg. smallpox).
π£ As of Sept. abt. 12k mutations of #SARSCoV2 were documented.
2/9
What about the new strain reported in UK? Named "VUI-202012/01" (Variant Under Investigation in Dec 2020), it has a set of 23 mutations (out of close to 30k genetic letters). Most notable being the change in spike protein that is used by the virus to bind to our host cells.
3/9
This set of polls is for those of you who are students (school, college, doctoral).
The pandemic has been disruptive for you, with adoption of virtual learning, uncertainty around exams etc. Let us know how your experience has been.
1. Are you still having virtual classes?
1/9
2. How effective have the virtual classes been, with respect to learning and comprehending subjects?
2/9
3. How ENGAGING have the virtual classes been, compared to classroom teaching?
3/9