European countries to buy 300m doses of corona vaccine

BERLIN: Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands have signed an agreement with pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca to guarantee the supply to the EU of 300 million doses of a possible coronavirus vaccine, the German government announced on Saturday.

The four countries have signed an agreement with the group, formed in 1999 from the merger of the Swedish company Astra and the British company Zeneca, which provides for the supply of a vaccine to all EU member states as soon it is discovered, said the German Ministry of Health.

The development of a vaccine could be successfully completed by the end of the year, German government sources told AFP. The doses "must be distributed to all member states that want to participate, depending on the size of their population," the ministry said. "In order for the vaccines to be available in large numbers very quickly after their possible approval this year or next year, production capacities must be guaranteed by contract now," it said.

According to the World Bank, the EU has a population of around 447 million. The European Commission defended the idea on Friday that EU countries should join up to guarantee privileged access to a future vaccine, arguing strongly for the establishment of advance purchase contracts.

With the laboratories trying to find a vaccine in record time -- 12 to 18 months instead of several years in normal times - these advance payments allow them to invest in production, even though the clinical trials on humans have not yet been finalised.

This commitment would give member states the right to buy doses at a certain price once the vaccine is available, in return for the risk taken in terms of investments. Major pharmaceutical groups are engaged in a race to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus. -- AFP

News report: Meanwhile, the Indian Health Ministry recommended the use of antiviral drug remdesivir in moderate stage of COVID-19 while backtracking from its earlier stance on hydroxychloroquine, saying the anti-malarial drug should be used in the early course of the disease and not on critically ill patients, foreign media reported.

It also okayed off-label application of tocilizumab, a drug that modifies the immune system or its functioning, and convalescent plasma for treating coronavirus-infected patients in moderate stage of the illness.

In its revised 'Clinical Management Protocols for COVID-19' the ministry dropped the use of azithromycin in combination with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in severe cases and requiring ICU management.

According to the revised protocols, convalescent plasma therapy may be considered for patients with moderate illness with no improvement in condition despite the use of steroids.

Hydroxychloroquine has demonstrated in-vitro activity against SARS-CoV2 and was shown to be clinically beneficial in several small single-centre studies though with significant limitations, it stated.

"Nonetheless, several large observational studies with severe methodologic limitations have shown no effect on mortality or other clinically meaningful outcomes.

"As such, the evidence base behind its use remains limited as with other drugs and should only be used after shared decision making with the patients while awaiting the results of ongoing studies," the revised document stated.