Switzerland licenses the use of the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine

India is preparing to vaccinate 300 million people against "Corona" ... and China begins with "basic groups"

Checking the temperature of passengers at a train station in India.

EPA

The Indian government began its preparations to vaccinate about 300 million people against the emerging corona virus (Covid-19), including health workers and people over 50 years old, in an initial stage starting from January to next August, while China announced that it would start vaccinating the main groups against Corona. In winter and spring, Switzerland announced its approval of licensing the use of the "Pfizer-Biontech" vaccine to prevent infection with the virus.

The head of the Indian Task Force on "Covid-19", Vinod Kumar Ball, said that three candidate vaccines have requested emergency permission from the Medicines Control Authority in India.

A decision on one or more of these candidate vaccines is expected soon.

India has become the second country after the United States to record more than 10 million cases of coronavirus (Covid-19), according to data from the Indian Ministry of Health yesterday.

The ministry indicated that it recorded 27,022 new infections, which brought the total number of cases of "Covid-19" to 10004893 cases.

The death toll was 144,789, after 338 new deaths were recorded.

In addition, a senior official in the health sector in China said yesterday that his country will focus first on vaccinating the "basic groups" with the Coronavirus vaccine during the winter and spring seasons, before expanding the vaccination scope to include the masses of people.

Director of the State Council's working group in charge of vaccine research and development, Zeng Yixin, warned that China's efforts to prevent "Covid-19" are coming under increasing pressure as temperatures drop.

He added in a press statement: “Vaccinating some basic population groups against the emerging corona virus during the winter and spring seasons is of great importance in preventing the pandemic.”

A report by the "South China Morning Post" newspaper yesterday indicated that the country plans to vaccinate up to 50 million people before the start of the Lunar New Year holiday in February 2021, indicating that Beijing will distribute 100 million doses of vaccines from Sinopharma and Sinovac Biotech.

In Japan, the Japanese Ministry of Health requested local departments to prepare vaccination programs against the Corona virus, so that medical workers can start receiving vaccines next February.

Yesterday, the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation reported that Ministry of Health officials had submitted a draft vaccination plan to prefectural and municipal administrations across the country.

The draft says a system should be created to allow the vaccination of about 10,000 healthcare professionals to begin by late February.

The Japanese radio indicated that it is expected to start vaccinating the remaining medical personnel, numbering about three million, around mid-March.

The ministry also hoped to start vaccinating elderly citizens around late March.

For the rest, they may get vaccinated in April or later.

Priority will be given to people who are already ill.

Switzerland has allowed the use of the emerging anti-corona virus vaccine (Covid-19), which was developed by the laboratory «Pfizer-Biontech», according to what the National Health Regulatory Authority (Swissmedic) announced yesterday.

The authority said in a statement: "After careful study of the available information, Swissmedic concluded that the (Pfizer / Biontech) vaccine against (Covid-19) is safe, and that its benefits outweigh the risks."

This is the first vaccine against the emerging "Corona" to be licensed in Switzerland.

Swissmedic director Raymond Bruheen said, "Patient safety is a prerequisite, especially with regard to licensing vaccines."

He added, "We were able to reach a quick decision, while ensuring that the three basic conditions are respected: safety, efficacy and quality."

In Germany, the CEO of the German Town Association, Helmut Dede, confirmed that the local vaccination centers against Corona virus in Germany are on standby.

He added that the centers have been provided with the materials, space and administrative support they need since December 15.

It is expected to start vaccination in Germany on December 27, if the vaccine is approved before that.

The Japanese Ministry of Health begins vaccinating medical staff with an anti-corona vaccine in February.

Vaccination centers in Germany are preparing to start the vaccination campaign within days.

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