HOUSTON: India’s launch of Covid-19 vaccines in collaboration with leading global institutions “rescued the world” from the deadly coronavirus and the country’s contributions should not be underestimated, said a leading American scientist.
India is called the pharmacy of the world during the Covid-19 pandemic, with its vast experience and deep knowledge in medicine. The country is one of the largest drug manufacturers in the world and an increasing number of countries have approached it to obtain vaccines against the coronavirus.
Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, during a recent webinar, said the two mRNA vaccines may not impact the world’s middle and low-income countries, but India’s vaccines, made in collaboration with universities around the world, such as BCM and the University of Oxford, “rescued the world” and their contributions should not be underestimated.
During the webinar, “Covid-19: Vaccination and possible return to normality – if and when,” Dr. Hotez, an internationally recognized medical scientist in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development, said the launch of the Covid-19 vaccine is “from India present” to the world in fighting the virus.
The Indian drug regulator gave emergency use authorization to Covishield, produced by the Serum Institute of India, based in Pune, after obtaining a license from British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and Covaxin, developed locally jointly by Bharat Biotech of Hyderabad and scientists of the Indian Medical Research Council.
The webinar was organized by the Greater Houston Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACCGH).
“This is something very special and I see it myself because I am on weekly conference calls with our colleagues in India, you make a recommendation and in a few days it is done and not just done, but it is done well and with incredible rigor and reflection and creativity”, said Dr. Hotez, emphasizing that he felt compelled to make this statement because “India’s enormous efforts to combat the global pandemic is a story that is not really being released in the world.”
Dr. Hotez, considered the authority on vaccinations, is working on an affordable coronavirus vaccine in collaboration with Indian pharmaceutical companies.
There is growing evidence that vaccines not only “stop symptomatic disease and keep you out of the hospital”, but also stop asymptomatic transmission. However, the worrying news is that vaccines work well against variant B.1.1.7 in the United Kingdom, which is now accelerating in the United States, but does not work as well against the variant from South Africa.
It is likely that all vaccines require reinforcement for two reasons: the durability of vaccine protection is unknown and to create an additional immune response that is best adapted for the South African variant.
The Consul General of India in Houston, Aseem Mahajan, along with an illustrious panel of doctors attended this webinar, which tracked the possibilities of a return to some resemblance to normality due to the accelerated launch of vaccines across the country.
Appreciating Dr. Hotez for praising India’s efforts to bring vaccines to the world, Consul General Mahajan said: “In keeping with our tradition of sharing with the world, India has exported vaccines to many countries around the world.”
India has supplied 56 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccines under assistance to several countries. Vaccines were sent to Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles.
There was also an increase in collaborative medical partnerships emerging between the US and India during this pandemic. In addition, India is one of the fourth largest destinations in Asia for the manufacture of medical devices and many US companies have expressed interest in collaborating on this front, said Mahajan.
IACCGH’s founding secretary / executive director, Jagdip Ahluwalia, said that “India’s response to the Covid crisis, recognized by Dr. Hotez, has been in line with the Chamber’s vision. Since its inception 21 years ago, India would a future global player in key areas such as technology, medicine, manufacturing and international trade. This belief has been proven time and time again, particularly in the last decade. ”
House Speaker Tarush Anand expressed pride that India is up to this global challenge, leveraging the brilliance of its scientific community and extensive manufacturing capacity in the most efficient way to help the world recover from a deadly pandemic.
Describing vaccines as “one of the greatest expressions of science in pursuit of humanitarian goals”, the chief director of radiation therapy and moderator, Dr. Vivek Kavadi, noted that more than 28 million people have contracted the virus in the United States and more than half million Americans died tragically. Lives and businesses have been cut, but advances in the vaccine field have been one reason for cautious optimism.
More than 73 million doses of vaccine have been administered to date, 15 percent of the population has received 1 dose, while 7 percent has received both doses, said Dr. Kavadi.
India is called the pharmacy of the world during the Covid-19 pandemic, with its vast experience and deep knowledge in medicine. The country is one of the largest drug manufacturers in the world and an increasing number of countries have approached it to obtain vaccines against the coronavirus.
Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, during a recent webinar, said the two mRNA vaccines may not impact the world’s middle and low-income countries, but India’s vaccines, made in collaboration with universities around the world, such as BCM and the University of Oxford, “rescued the world” and their contributions should not be underestimated.
During the webinar, “Covid-19: Vaccination and possible return to normality – if and when,” Dr. Hotez, an internationally recognized medical scientist in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development, said the launch of the Covid-19 vaccine is “from India present” to the world in fighting the virus.
The Indian drug regulator gave emergency use authorization to Covishield, produced by the Serum Institute of India, based in Pune, after obtaining a license from British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and Covaxin, developed locally jointly by Bharat Biotech of Hyderabad and scientists of the Indian Medical Research Council.
The webinar was organized by the Greater Houston Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACCGH).
“This is something very special and I see it myself because I am on weekly conference calls with our colleagues in India, you make a recommendation and in a few days it is done and not just done, but it is done well and with incredible rigor and reflection and creativity”, said Dr. Hotez, emphasizing that he felt compelled to make this statement because “India’s enormous efforts to combat the global pandemic is a story that is not really being released in the world.”
Dr. Hotez, considered the authority on vaccinations, is working on an affordable coronavirus vaccine in collaboration with Indian pharmaceutical companies.
There is growing evidence that vaccines not only “stop symptomatic disease and keep you out of the hospital”, but also stop asymptomatic transmission. However, the worrying news is that vaccines work well against variant B.1.1.7 in the United Kingdom, which is now accelerating in the United States, but does not work as well against the variant from South Africa.
It is likely that all vaccines require reinforcement for two reasons: the durability of vaccine protection is unknown and to create an additional immune response that is best adapted for the South African variant.
The Consul General of India in Houston, Aseem Mahajan, along with an illustrious panel of doctors attended this webinar, which tracked the possibilities of a return to some resemblance to normality due to the accelerated launch of vaccines across the country.
Appreciating Dr. Hotez for praising India’s efforts to bring vaccines to the world, Consul General Mahajan said: “In keeping with our tradition of sharing with the world, India has exported vaccines to many countries around the world.”
India has supplied 56 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccines under assistance to several countries. Vaccines were sent to Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles.
There was also an increase in collaborative medical partnerships emerging between the US and India during this pandemic. In addition, India is one of the fourth largest destinations in Asia for the manufacture of medical devices and many US companies have expressed interest in collaborating on this front, said Mahajan.
IACCGH’s founding secretary / executive director, Jagdip Ahluwalia, said that “India’s response to the Covid crisis, recognized by Dr. Hotez, has been in line with the Chamber’s vision. Since its inception 21 years ago, India would a future global player in key areas such as technology, medicine, manufacturing and international trade. This belief has been proven time and time again, particularly in the last decade. ”
House Speaker Tarush Anand expressed pride that India is up to this global challenge, leveraging the brilliance of its scientific community and extensive manufacturing capacity in the most efficient way to help the world recover from a deadly pandemic.
Describing vaccines as “one of the greatest expressions of science in pursuit of humanitarian goals”, the chief director of radiation therapy and moderator, Dr. Vivek Kavadi, noted that more than 28 million people have contracted the virus in the United States and more than half million Americans died tragically. Lives and businesses have been cut, but advances in the vaccine field have been one reason for cautious optimism.
More than 73 million doses of vaccine have been administered to date, 15 percent of the population has received 1 dose, while 7 percent has received both doses, said Dr. Kavadi.