Covaxin neutralises 617 variant of COVID: Expert Dr Anthony Fauci

Covaxin Indiarsquos homegrown COVID19 vaccine has been found to neutralise the B1617 variant or the Indian double mutant strain White House chief medical adviser and Americarsquos top pandemic expert Dr Anthony Fauci saidldquoThis is something where wersquore still gaining data on a daily basis But the most recent data was looking at convalescent Sera of COVID19 cases and people who received the vaccine used in India the Covaxin It was found to neutralise the 617 variantsrdquo he saidDr Anthony Fauci White House chief medical adviserldquoSo despite the real difficulty that wersquore seeing in India vaccination could be a very very important antidote against thisrdquo Fauci addedThe New York Times on Tuesday said Covaxin works by teaching the immune system to make antibodies against the virusDeveloped by Bharat Biotech in partnership with National Institute of Virology and the Indian Council of Medical Research Covaxin was approved for emergency use on January 3 Trial showed the vaccine has an efficacy of 78 per centDr Andy Slavitt White House COVID19 Response Senior Advisor said that a strike team from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is headed over to India to help coordinate this responseHelp pours in for India Biden lsquorushingrsquo suppliesThe US is rushing a whole series of help including lifesaving drugs and machinery that India needs to combat the massive surge in COVID19 cases President Joe Biden has said as he again recalled New Delhirsquos assistance to America when it was in a ldquobindrdquo due to the pandemic ldquoWe are sending the actual mechanical parts that are needed for the machinery they have to build a vaccine and that is being done as wellrdquo he saidScores of other nations have begun sending medical supplies to New Delhi Singapore Minister Maliki Osman on Wednesday flagged off two of Singapore Air Forcersquos C130s with 256 Oxygen cylinders India will airlift more oxygen containersExpressing solidarity over the unprecedented medical emergency India is fighting Canada offered US10 million to Indian Red Cross to support and procure essential supplies On its part South Korea said it will provide India with oxygen concentrators COVID19 diagnostic kits and other aid items to help New Delhi tackle the worldrsquos worst surge in infectionsGermany too is ready to transport a large oxygen production plant to India in about a week which will provide oxygen for quite a number of people German ambassador to India Walter J Lindner has saidIndividuals too are putting up similar efforts IndianAmerican nonprofit body Sewa International USA has raised nearly 47 million to help India On Tuesday it collected a shipment of 2184 oxygen concentrators to be sent to India ldquoThis is a collective effort that can save lives defeat hunger assure distressed people and help India in its decisive fight against COVID19rdquo Sewa saidSingle dose cuts transmission by halfA single dose of AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines have been found to cut COVID19 transmission rates by up to half according to a new Public Health England study on Wednesday Those given a first dose of either of the two vaccines were between 38 and 49 per cent less likely to pass the virus to others702752No of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours148859866Total no of cases worldwide3138755Total no of deaths worldwideThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever