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Status of Covid-19 vaccines
US-based pharma companies Pfizer and Moderna have said that their vaccine has shown over 90 percent effectiveness. While Pfizer Inc has revealed that the final analysis of clinical trial data showed that its Covid-19 vaccine was 95% effective against the disease. Similarly, Moderna Inc has said that it's 94.5 percent effective in preventing Covi-19.
The University of Oxford also announced on Monday that their vaccine candidate developed in collaboration with British pharma company AstraZeneca has shown 70% effectiveness. The official release also said that interim results show that the vaccine candidate ChAdOx1 nCoV-2019 (AZD1222), is 90 percent effective in half dose.
Russia's Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Healthcare Ministry has also claimed that the Sputnik V vaccine's efficacy is over 95% 42 days after the first dose is administered.
Are there any side effects?
According to an article by Daily Mail, volunteers who participated in the Pfizer vaccine have experienced a 'severe hangover'. They also said that they had headaches, fever, and muscle aches. The volunteers compared it to the side effects of a flu vaccine and said that it cleared up quickly. Similarly, volunteers who were injected with Moderna's vaccine have complained of low-grade fever, muscle aches, joint aches, headaches and pain, and redness around the injection site.
Doctors in the United States have also urged the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) to warn people about possible side effects. While the vaccine is considered safe, doctors fear that in the case of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine where two doses are needed, people may skip the second one due to unpleasant side effects.
A report by Bloomberg says that the CDC is planning to send daily texts to those who are vaccinated for the first week and then weekly texts for six weeks. The US regulatory body Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will also be monitoring side effects in real-time.
How will India deal with side effects?
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned of possible side effects of the vaccine.
"Even medicines popular for 20 years and used by hundreds of thousands of people lead to reactions in some, even today. It's possible with vaccines too. Any decision on them should only be weighed on a scientific scale. Whatever vaccine makes it through the world's certified processes, we will have to accept them and move ahead,” said PM Modi during a video conference with the chief ministers.
The health ministry has also asked states to prepare to deal with side effects.
"The preparations are underway for conducting COVID-19 vaccinations in the states and districts, starting with certain priority groups. In connection with this, steps need to be taken to strengthen Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) surveillance following Covid-19 vaccinations to maintain confidence in the safety of vaccines," a Health Ministry official was quoted by news agency ANI.
The Health Ministry has said that these initiatives have to be implemented at the earliest so that required changes take place well before the COVID-19 vaccine is introduced in the state and district.