Spicejet to provide logistical support for Covid vaccine delivery
NEW DELHI Low cost carrier Spicejet will be giving logistical support for delivery of Covid-19 vaccine.the airline’s dedicated cargo arm, Spicexpress, will be transporting the vaccine through a specialised service called Spice Pharma Pro.
Spicejet spokesperson said the airline has tied up with global leaders in cold chain solutions offering active and passive packaging with dedicated equipment to perform seamless cold chain operations.
“Spicexpress has the capability to transport extremely sensitive drugs and vaccines in controlled temperatures ranging from -40°c to +25°C. Spicexpress is ready for the enormous task of distributing sensitive goods both domestically and internationally including Covid-19 vaccines that require stringent transportation conditions,” the spokesperson added.
Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, Spicejet said, “We have been preparing for the humongous task of transporting medicines, vaccines, blood samples and temperature-sensitive cargo by developing end-to-end cold chain logistics solutions. With a dedicated fleet of 17 cargo aircraft, Spicexpress is capable of flying cargo to both domestic and a wide list of international destinations.” “The airline also offers a plethora of other benefits such as a network of warehouses equipped with deep freezers to enable change of cool packs and ground vehicles and containers to help transport sensitive cargo,” he added.
Spicejet has transported 85,000 tonnes of cargo since the lockdown in March and the airline’s international cargo network now spans over 50 international destinations pany’s production base in Belgium next week.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the development as “fantastic,” while a “thrilled” health secretary Matt Hancock reiterated his belief that normalcy would return by April.
Johnson said: “It’s the protection of vaccines that will ultimately allow us to reclaim our lives and get the economy moving again”.
Hancock, however, sounded a note of caution, asking Britons to see through the winter months by following restrictions until vaccines are rolled out on a wide scale. “We can’t lower our guard yet”, said Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer.
The world’s big powers have been racing for a vaccine for months in an attempt to be first to begin the long road to recovery. The deadly virus has killed nearly 1.5 million people globally, hammered the world economy and upended normal life.
The approval of a vaccine for use almost exactly a year since the coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, is a triumph for science, Pfizer boss Albert Bourla and his German biotechnology partner Biontech.
China has already given emergency approval for three experimental vaccines and has inoculated around 1 million people since July. Russia has been vaccinating frontline workers after approving its Sputnik V shot in August before it had completed late-stage testing on safety and efficacy.
But the European Union’s drug regulator said on Wednesday that its longer approval process for Covid-19 vaccines was safer, as it was based on more evidence and checks that the emergency procedure chosen by Britain.
British leaders said that, while they would love to get a jab themselves, priority had to be given to those most in need the elderly, those in care homes and health workers.
Arrangements are being made by the National Health Service (NHS) for mass vaccination across the UK in the near future.
The MHRA spokesperson added: “The NHS has decades of experience in delivering large scale vaccination programmes and will begin putting their extensive preparations into action to provide care and support to all those eligible for vaccination”.
“To aid the success of the vaccination programme it is vital everyone continues to play their part and abide by the necessary restrictions in their area so we can further suppress the virus and allow the NHS to do its work without being overwhelmed.”
The MHRA is also analysing data from trials of the University of Oxford-astrazeneca and Moderna vaccines; the former is expected to be the mainstay of countering the virus in the UK, India and elsewhere due to its low cost and logistical ease. ‘Historic moment’
The US drugmaker said UK’S emergency use authorisation marks a historic moment in the fight against Covid-19. Pfizer announced its vaccine breakthrough on November 9 with stage 3 clinical trial results.
“This authorisation is a goal we have been working toward since we first declared that science will win, and we applaud the MHRA for their ability to conduct a careful assessment and take timely action to help protect the people of the UK,” said CEO Bourla.
“As we anticipate further authorisations and approvals, we are focused on moving with the same level of urgency to safely supply a high-quality vaccine around the world.”
UK’S medicines regulator approved the vaccine in record time -- partly by doing a “rolling” concurrent analysis of data and the manufacturing process while Pfizer raced to conclude trials.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to meet on December 10 to discuss whether to recommend emergency use authorisation of the Pfizer/biontech vaccine and the European Medicines Agency said it could give emergency approval for the shot by December 29.
“The data submitted to regulatory agencies around the world are the result of a scientifically rigorous and highly ethical research and development programme,” said Ugur Sahin, chief executive and co-founder of Biontech.
Pfizer has said the shots can be kept in thermal shipping boxes for up to 30 days, from up to 15 days previously guided.
Afterwards, the vaccine can be kept at fridge temperatures for up to five days.
MHRA did not cut any corners in the rolling review process, its chief executive June Raine said, describing the review as thorough and rigorous. “Our expert scientists and clinicians have worked round the clock, carefully, methodically, poring over tables and analyses and graphs on every single piece of data, hundreds, over a thousand pages of data and, absolutely critically, analysing the pre-clinical evidence, the clinical trials, the manufacturing and quality controls, and then down to the final sampling.”
Though, their first round of talks on Tuesday did not yield a breakthrough but both sides agreed to hold the next round of talks on Thursday.
In a statement, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), an umbrella outfit of the farmer unions, said the talks remained inconclusive.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other states have been protesting for seven consecutive days at the borders of the national capital against three farm laws.
The protesting farmers on Wednesday demanded that the central government call a special session of Parliament to repeal the new farm laws and threatened to block other roads of the national capital if their demands are not met.
Addressing a press conference, farmer leader Darshan Pal accused the Centre of dividing farmer organisations, but it will not happen. He said that protesting farmers will continue their agitation till the three farm laws are repealed.
Another farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chadoni said that if the Centre does not withdraw the new laws, more steps will be taken in the coming days to press their demands.
The farmers have expressed apprehension that the Centre’s farm laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporates.
The government has maintained that the new laws will provide farmers with better opportunities. It has also accused the opposition parties of misleading farmers.
Meanwhile, farmers at the Delhi-uttar Pradesh border in Ghazipur intensified their protest on Wednesday and police stepped up security as thousands blocked key gateways into the national capital. The protest at the Delhi-uttar Pradesh border also led to the closure of a key route connecting the national capital with Uttar Pradesh.
While the police have kept the Haryana-delhi border at Singhu and Tikri closed for traffic, the protest at Ghazipur, the city’s border with Uttar Pradesh, has also intensified, an official said. Two more border points connecting the national capital with Gurgaon and Jhajjar-bahadurgarh were also closed as precautionary measures on Tuesday.
With this, five border points, including Singhu and Tikri, have so far been closed due to the protest.
The traffic police said the borders at Tikri, Jharoda and Jhatikra are closed for all kinds of “traffic movement”.
The Delhi border points remained under heavy police deployment with concrete barriers and multi-layered barricades in place. “Cemented barriers and multi-layered barricades have been put up besides heavy security personnel at Ghazipur border near UP gate where many farmers have been protesting since Saturday,” a senior police officer said.
seven people died on the spot, a woman died in the district hospital during treatment.
The district magistrate also said that all possible help will be provided to the family members of those killed in the accident.
The deceased have been identified as Shashi Gupta, 35, Om Gupta, 10, Prakashani Gupta, 50, Richa Gupta, 28, Poonam, 40, Sneha Gupta, 15, Soma Tiwari, 16 and the driver Shivraj, 24.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath directed all possible relief to the survivors and the families of those killed. The chief minister has also given instructions for the treatment of the injured.
“He has expressed condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the peace of the departed souls,” the chief minister’s office said in a statement.