COVID-19 vaccine by AstraZeneca to receive Swiss approval by this month: Report

Switzerland authorities could grant approval to COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca-Oxford as early as this month, reported NZZ newspaper on January 16 citing two unnamed sources familiar with the matter. As per the report, the watchdog Swissmedic is planning a meeting at the end of this month to sign an agreement regarding the jabs in the European nation. Swiss regulators have already approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

The paper quoted the Swissmedic spokesperson saying that if everything proceeds in an “exemplary manner” and the authorities receive the required data soon, the next approval decision can arrive “very quickly”. However, the person did not give a definitive date. Meanwhile, Switzerland had already ordered at least 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in total after assigning at least $449 million for jabs.

The intense global demand for vaccine doses amid the COVID-19 pandemic and limited production has further restricted the circulation of doses. But the Swiss government has reportedly said that the country’s 8.6 million citizens will be immunised for free by mid-2021.

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India vaccinates 1,65,714 people

Meanwhile, as India kickstarted its vaccination programme on January 16, the Health Ministry in a statement said that at least 1,65,714 people received the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines and no post-vaccination hospitalisation have been reported till now. The first person in India to receive the jab was sanitation worker Manish Kumar after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the vaccination drive. Kumar received his shot at capital’s All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) which is one of the 3,006 vaccination centres across the country. 

During the launch, PM Modi said, "Normally, it takes many years to make a vaccine but in such a short span of time, not one, but two 'Made in India' vaccines are ready. Meanwhile, the work on other vaccines is progressing at a fast pace. This is a living example of India's capability and talent. India's vaccination programme is based on a very important principle that those who are in need of the vaccine will get vaccinated first. Our doctors, nurses, medical & paramedical staff, sanitation workers in hospitals - be it private or hospital are entitled to get vaccinated. This will be done on priority.”

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