Pfizer has sought permission from India’s drug regulator to allow the import, sale and distribution of its Covid-19 vaccine in the country.
The company has applied to the Drugs Controller General of India for emergency use authorisation for the Covid-19 mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 in the country, the Press Trust of India agency reported.
Pfizer is the first drug maker to seek approval in the country and submitted its application to the regulator on December 4, Indian media reported on Sunday.
The company has not responded to emails for confirmation.
The UK and Bahrain are the only two countries that have granted emergency use authorisation for the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
Trials showed Pfizer's vaccine was 95 per cent effective in protecting people from coronavirus spurring hope of an end to a pandemic that has taken more than a million lives and hammered world economies.
The vaccine will be distributed in the UK from next week with the healthcare workers and elderly in care homes given the first priority for vaccination.
Concerns remain in India about the transport of the vaccine that must be stored at -70°C (-94F) posing logistical challenges in ensuring the double doses reach primary health centres in remote and rural areas.
Indian officials have also backed local vaccines being tested by drug makers that are in the third phase of safety and efficacy trials.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told citizens that a Covid-19 vaccine would be available in India within a few weeks.
Mr Modi said last week that the federal government was working closely with the states to identify priority groups for vaccination.
“About eight potential vaccines, currently in different stages of trials, will be manufactured in India and that includes three indigenous vaccines,” Mr Modi said after visits to three vaccine manufacturing facilities.
The country is struggling to cope with surging coronavirus cases with 36,011 new Covid-19 cases and 482 fatalities reported in a single day.
India has recorded more than 9.6 million Covid-19 cases with the death toll crossing 140,180 deaths placing it behind the US for the highest number of casualties.
The number of active Covid-19 cases has reached 403,248, with more than 9.1 million recoveries.
India is the largest buyer of Covid-19 vaccines globally with 1.6 billion doses, according to a recent US study.
India is followed by the European Union that has confirmed the purchase of 1.58 billion doses and the US with over a billion doses, an analysis by Duke University’s Global Health Innovation Centre found.
India tackles spiralling pandemic – in pictures
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Specs
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
4.5/5
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETamer%20Ruggli%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENadine%20Labaki%2C%20Fanny%20Ardant%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Kanye%20West
%3Cp%3EYe%20%E2%80%94%20the%20rapper%20formerly%20known%20as%20Kanye%20West%20%E2%80%94%20has%20seen%20his%20net%20worth%20fall%20to%20%24400%20million%20in%20recent%20weeks.%20That%E2%80%99s%20a%20precipitous%20drop%20from%20Bloomberg%E2%80%99s%20estimates%20of%20%246.8%20billion%20at%20the%20end%20of%202021.%3Cbr%3EYe%E2%80%99s%20wealth%20plunged%20after%20business%20partners%2C%20including%20Adidas%2C%20severed%20ties%20with%20him%20on%20the%20back%20of%20anti-Semitic%20remarks%20earlier%20this%20year.%3Cbr%3EWest%E2%80%99s%20present%20net%20worth%20derives%20from%20cash%2C%20his%20music%2C%20real%20estate%20and%20a%20stake%20in%20former%20wife%20Kim%20Kardashian%E2%80%99s%20shapewear%20firm%2C%20Skims.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
