Covid vaccine ~ challenges in storage, transport, administration and insurance !!

Corona, the global pandemic has already caused the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives and disrupted the lives of billions more. As well as reducing the tragic loss of life and helping to get the pandemic under control, introduction of a vaccine will prevent the loss of billions to the global economy every month. Global equitable access to a vaccine, particularly protecting health care workers and those most-at-risk is the only way to mitigate the public health and economic impact of the pandemic.

Vaccines save millions of lives each year. Vaccines work by training and preparing the body’s natural defences --- the immune system--- to recognize and fight off the viruses and bacteria they target.  If the body is exposed to those disease-causing germs later, the body is immediately ready to destroy them, preventing illness.   Immunization currently prevents 2-3 million deaths every year from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza and measles. There are now vaccines to prevent more than 20 life-threatening diseases, and work is ongoing at unprecedented speed to also make COVID-19 a vaccine-preventable disease.

A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease.  A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins, or one of its surface proteins. The agent stimulates the body's immune system to recognize the agent as a threat, destroy it, and to further recognize and destroy any of the microorganisms associated with that agent that it may encounter in the future. Vaccines can be prophylactic (to prevent or ameliorate the effects of a future infection by a natural or "wild" pathogen), or therapeutic (to fight a disease that has already occurred, such as cancer).  The administration of vaccines is called vaccination. Vaccination is the most effective method of preventing infectious diseases.

The terms vaccine and vaccination are derived from Variolae vaccinae (smallpox of the cow), the term devised by Edward Jenner (who both developed the concept of vaccines and created the first vaccine) to denote cowpox. He used the phrase in 1798 for the long title of his Inquiry into the Variolae vaccinae known as the Cow Pox, in which he described the protective effect of cowpox against smallpox

Hopefully the vaccines should be invented and hit the market in a few more months, after which mankind may be able to fight and win over the Covid.  That would also require mass production, millions of vaccines, the manufacture, pricing, handling, transportation, warehousing, distribution – are all going to be big challenges.  This would be new business for manufacturers, pharma giants, distributors, logistics handlers and Insurers too.  A couple of months ago, came the news that Lloyd’s of London, the world’s largest insurance market, plans to begin offering coverage of coronavirus vaccine deliveries. Parsyl Inc., a U.S. insurance technology company, has teamed up with Lloyd’s to provide policies covering the storage and shipping of potential Covid-19 vaccines and other medicines, according to a Lloyd’s statement.  Vaccine delivery can be expensive to insure because underwriters are concerned about the risk of medicines being spoiled by excessive heat or cold. There are possible losses due to thefts and attacks too.  The new business, known as Syndicate 1796, was developed by Parsyl together with insurers Ascot Group and a unit of AXA SA, broker McGill & Partners and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, an international public health group that focuses on delivering new vaccines to the world’s poorest countries.

It is further reported that  Pharmaceutical companies and health authorities will store COVID-19 vaccines in secret locations to prevent theft as vaccine makers plan to deploy GPS software to track distribution and plot fake shipments to confuse criminals.  Pfizer Inc. is among the vaccine makers that will have GPS software on shipments, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company is also planning to carry out fake shipments in dummy trucks in a bid to confuse any potential thieves.  The safeguards are being put in place amid concerns that the highly-awaited vaccines could be stolen when being distributed.  Health authorities fear criminal rings will try and steal the vaccine when it is being given to prioritized groups like health care workers and before it is made publicly available.

Moderna, another maker, says it has enhanced security as the leading candidates inch closer to having a vaccine.   'You are going to have people that will want to have access to the vaccine earlier,' said Juan Andres, who is Moderna's chief of technical operations.  Glass maker Corning Inc., which was given federal funding earlier this year to boost manufacturing of vials to store COVID-19 vaccines, will fit its vials with black-light verification to stamp out potential fake treatments.  There are also a number of other safeguards being considered across the country to protect the vaccine. Manufactures in some states plan to ship the vaccine straight to hospitals and other approved sites to prevent road stops. Empty dummy trucks and GPS locators are also an option.  Some hospitals are also increasing security within their pharmacies. Philadelphia's Jefferson Health hospital system has already committed to installing security cameras, cages and keypad authorizations for freezer rooms where the vaccine will be stored.

It comes as a Food and Drug Administration meeting on COVID-19 vaccines that is scheduled for Thursday will discuss criteria for allowing emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer Inc, Moderna Inc and AstraZeneca could provide early analyses of late-stage trials of their experimental vaccines as early as this month or the next.  The FDA earlier this month told coronavirus vaccine developers it wants at least two months of safety data before authorizing emergency use, a requirement that likely pushes any U.S. vaccine availability past the Nov. 3 presidential election. The meeting, which is open to the public for comments, is another example of steps health regulators are taking to assuage public distrust related to coronavirus vaccines, that are being developed at unprecedented speed.

There are no approved vaccines for the coronavirus, except two in Russia that are yet to finish Phase 3 clinical testing.

                                     Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro overruled his own health minister today, rejecting the announced purchase of 46 million doses of CoronaVac, a potential vaccine against COVID-19 being tested in Sao Paulo state. Health minister Eduardo Pazuello announced the purchase on Tuesday alongside Sao Paulos Gov. Joo Doria, a foe of Bolsonaros whose state government is participating in the vaccines development. The cost of the acquisition was estimated at 2 billion Brazilian reals ($360 million).

The Brazilian people will not be anyones guinea pig, Bolsonaro said on his social media channels, adding that the shot made by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac is yet to finish its testing phase which is true of all potential vaccines. My decision is to not purchase such a vaccine. It is common practice for governments to purchase doses of promising vaccines, to build a stockpile in case they are proven effective. That investment is usually not refundable if the shot fails. Brazil counts more than 153,000 deaths by COVID-19, second only to the United States. The South American nation also confirmed 5.2 million cases of the disease, the third biggest in the world, behind the U.S. and India.

Bolsonaro and Doria have had an adversarial relationship since the start of the pandemic, with each taking opposite stances regarding stay-at-home recommendations and restrictions on activity. The governor of Brazils most populous state heeded the counsel of public health experts and adopted such measures, which the president blasted, arguing the economic fallout could kill more than the disease.

With regards – S  Sampathkumar

21.10.2020.

  

Indian History ~ Gandhi's defeat in Gujarati Sahitya Parishad elections !

History was read with interest during school days .. .. it was Mughals, British colonization and how Congress got us freedom.  One feels that so many needed details were lost as they were never part of our text books.  For example, ever read of Lunavada State ? – there were Princely States and this too was one which acceded to Union of India in 1948.   

The leader who got us freedom - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar (Sudamapuri), a coastal town on the Kathiawar Peninsula and then part of the small princely state of Porbandar in the Kathiawar Agency of the Indian Empire.  Here is some history of the man himself ! .. ..

On 10 Aug 1888, Gandhi aged 18, left Porbandar for Bombay. In few months,  he sailed from Bombay to London, with his brother seeing him off. Gandhi attended University College, London which is a constituent college of University of London. Gandhi, at age 22, was called to the bar in 1891 and then left London for India, where he learned that his mother had died while he was in London and that his family had kept the news from him.  His attempts at establishing a law practice in Bombay failed because he was psychologically unable to cross-examine witnesses ! He returned to Rajkot to make a modest living drafting petitions for litigants.  In 1893, a merchant in Kathiawar named Dada Abdullah engaged Gandhi for his  distant cousin in Johannesburg as they preferred someone with Kathiawari heritage. Gandhi was offered a total salary of £105  .. ..later with the turn of events, he was to return to India in 1915.   Gandhi took the leadership of Congress in 1920 and had all been portrayed as a successful person, whom the British feared most  

The not so highlighted fact  is inside Congress, Gandhi and Nehru had a clash with Nethaji Subash Chandra Bose who had been elected President in 1938.  Despite Gandhi's opposition, Bose won a second term as Congress President, against Gandhi's nominee, Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya; but left the Congress when the All-India leaders resigned en masse in protest of his abandonment of the principles introduced by Gandhi. Gandhi declared that Sitaramayya's defeat was his defeat but by mass resignations ensured that Bose left and Congress was in their reigns.

Ever heard of - Gujarati Sahitya Parishad (Gujarati Literary Council)  ?   It was founded by Ranjitram Mehta with the aim of creating Gujarati  literature appealing to all classes of society and cultivating a literary sense among the people. Parab is the monthly magazine of the Parishad.  Rao Bahadur Hargovinddas Dwarkadas Kantawala (1844 – 1930) was a Gujarati writer, editor and  researcher  on medieval Gujarati literature. He was the president of the sixth session of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad.

Hargovinddas Kantawala was born on 16 July 1844 in Umreth, a town in Kaira district (now Kheda) of Gujarat. He started his career as a teacher, and then became headmaster.   He was later  appointed assistant deputy educational inspector, and then principal of the Teacher's Training College, Rajkot. He worked as the dewan (minister) of the principality of Lunavada State in 1905. In 1912, he started a textile mill.  Kantawala was awarded the title of Rao Bahadur by the government in 1903. He was awarded Sahityamartand by Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Maharaja of Baroda State.   In the elections to Gujarati Sahitya Parishad in 1919, he  defeated Mahatma Gandhi  and presided the sixth session of the Parishad.  He wrote two novels: Andheri Nagarino Gardhavasen (1881) and Be Baheno athava Ek Gharsansari Varta (Two Sisters or A Tale of a Family Life; 1898). He wrote a poem titled "Panipat" or "Kurukshetra" (1867), which gives an account of the six battles fought on the battlefield of Panipat.  His other poetical work is Vishwa Ni Vichitrata (Strange Things of Universe; 1913).  In addition, he extensively wrote about social problems, social reforms, moral issues, worldly duties, and promotion of indigenous crafts.

Gandhi contested again won the post in 1925 but his relations with the city of Ahmebadad in Gujarat was sore. .. .. in fact, in life, he perhaps had stayed away  from the city of Ahmedabad was definitive. His last day in Ahmedabad was on 2 Nov 1936.  On 31 October that year, he had presided over the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad, a body that formally came into existence in 1905. It had required strenuous persuasion for Gandhi to assent to be the president of the parishad’s 12th session.   Neither the literary figures nor the wealthy merchant capitalists who had gathered at the Parishad were oblivious to the fact that, in 1917, Gandhi had been frustrated in his attempt to be chosen as the president of the Parishad. The literary classes of Gujarat had preferred an officer of the Baroda State.  By 1936, the Parishad was somewhat, just somewhat, embarrassed by its earlier choice.    

Interesting !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
25.10.2020.
  

Thirukkural 'Impartiality' ~ நடுவு நிலைமை : Rituraj shines in CSK win and memes on MSD

For us the immortal words of Sage Thiruvalluvar ie.,  Thirukkural will always ring a bell.  To those who have not read much, “Thiruk Kural”, is a classic of couplets or Kurals (1330 rhyming Tamil couplets) authored by Sage Thiruvalluvar.  Kural literally means "short verse", and is typified by the Venpa metre that consists of two lines. Thirukkural is a great source of knowledge – 1330 couplets structured in 133 adhikarams [chapters], grouped in 3 sections – Aram (righteousness). Porul (wealth) and Kamam or Inbam (pleasure). 

Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms, primarily the African oil palm Elaeis guineensis, and to a lesser extent from the American oil palm Elaeis oleifera and the maripa palm Attalea maripa.   In India, we have a different one – the ‘palmolein’.  The fad for this oil was so high a couple of decades ago, that the Govt. was importing them in bulk tankers and redistributing to households, who were using this oil moving away from dalda vanaspathi, groundnut oil, gingelly oil, bran oil and other cooking oils. Now refined oils like sunflower, olive, safflower, avocado have all taken over. 

Ever heard of ‘Clever brand’ ~ the other day whilst waiting at signal near City Centre, saw 3 cartons placed on a two-wheeler that was standing in front of me. The curiosity of the carton, made me take a photo and later read its contents and came to know that - Kumar Agro has been in the field of oil industry for more that three decades.  Their manufacturing of palmolein oil under the the name Clever refined palm oil  !

How biased are WE !  .. .. in this World of Social media, every second, we find posts, tweets, and memes which smack of partisan attitude !!

IPL in the Gulf has been far more interesting .. .. In its inaugural year in 2008, underdogs Rajasthan Royals had a spectacular run, winning 11 out of 14 games in the group stage. Standout efforts from Watson, Sohail Tanvir, Pathan and the captain, Warne, all through the season helped them lift the trophy, defeating MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in the final.  This year the same two teams are lying at the bottom of the table !  .. ..

This is no Cricket post as such but the ‘partiality’ that exists in human minds.  Supporting any team is OK but the amount of taunting the mercurial MSD and CSK are undergoing this year is immeasurable ! ..  they have lost matches in row but at last won today against RCB. After this win, (till the match between RR & MI) is over – RR is at the bottom most but what a team they have – the best pacer who instills fear in the batsman Jofra Archer, all rounder England Captain Ben Stokes, Internationally acclaimed batsmen Jos Butler & Steve Smith, supported by Indian batters – Robin Uthappa, Sanju Samson,  Riyan Parag and big six hitting Rahul Tewatia – yet they have so far lost 7 of their 11 matches ! ~ honestly tell me, is there any meme on Steve Smith, criticism on his style of leadership ? – why MS Dhoni  is singled out ?? ie., sheer partiality !

Last year read a newsitem on this boy -  "Mahi bhai, Andre Russell scoop aur paddle nahi karta. Short fine leg hataake deep square laga sakte the [Mahi bhai, Andre Russell doesn't play the scoop or the paddle. We could have removed the short fine-leg and put a deep square-leg instead]."  -  that reportedly was Ruturaj Gaikwad who had not played a single game telling his Captain MSD.   "Sharp cricket mind," Dhoni told Gaikwad!

This year he was in trouble right from the start – as CSK trained in Dubai, he had to be isolated and later returned back to   the team's bio bubble after returning two Covid-19 negative tests.  In his first match he was run out for a duck; then scored 5 against Delhi Capitals and was again out for a duck against MI .. .. but today, he played some sparkling strokes and anchored the   the chase with an unbeaten 51-ball 65 while Faf du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu brought urgency at the other end.

In some ways, CSK were done in even before the start of the Tournament for their squad had been shaped and built  for  the slow, turning pitches at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. One must appreciate MSD for still being cool and keeping his expressions under hold.

Moving away to the theme ‘impartiality’ -  Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy recently wrote  an unprecedented letter to the Chief Justice of India SA Bobde making shocking allegations against the second-senior-most judge of the Supreme Court – Justice NV Ramana, accusing him of attempting to influence the High Courts due to his proximity with TDP chief and former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.  In an 8-page letter written to CJI SA Bobde on October 6, the Andhra Pradesh CM has pointed out Justice Ramana’s alleged “proximity” to TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and mentioned about an Anti-Corruption Bureau investigation into the “questionable transactions of land” involving two daughters of Justice Ramana and others in Amaravati.

~ and miles away, in UK – BBC’s  impartiality is under threat from all sides. The corporation is in danger of commercial censorship, wrote a columnist alleging that   BBC TV news is increasingly cautious, and stating that  journalists are asking the wrong questions.  BBC has always been partial and one-sided reporting news about India.  For British, India is under-developed and land of snakecharmers, where still rustics live !  ..  .. .. many news items would showcase that British too is unsafe and lot of bad things occurring. 

The noun ‘impartiality’  - is the opposite of   equal treatment of all rivals or disputants; fairness. Read with interest an article titled ‘the biggest threat to the BBC’s independence is the corporation itself’.  However, if “impartial” means to represent the values of a notional political centre then the BBC is hardly likely to secure itself there, as this centre has been racing to the right for more than 40 years in the UK and globally.  Political power lies more firmly than ever in the grip of the hard right via its monopolies in high finance and the commercial media.  They don’t want balance, they want possession. The modern day media, the newspapers do not report the news: they create it. Every day, massive events happen: environmental disasters, theft and fraud by the very rich, power grabs and attacks on democracy. Instead of reporting them, the newspapers concoct scandals out of marginal topics, or out of thin air.  News in the UK is the propaganda of the oligarch, amplified by the BBC.

Now read this Thirukkural ~ this couplet was written on the middle carton of ‘Clever Palmolein’ that interested me .. ..

கெடுவல்யான் என்பது அறிக  தன்நெஞ்சம்

நடுவொரீஇ அல்ல செயின்.

நடுவுநிலைமை தவறிச் செயல்படலாம் என்று ஒரு நினைப்பு ஒருவனுக்கு வந்து விடுமானால் அவன் கெட்டொழியப் போகிறான் என்று அவனுக்கே தெரியவேண்டும்.

பால்: அறத்துப்பால்;   அதிகாரம்:  நடுவு நிலைமை; குறள் 116:

Thiruvalluvar says the moment one’s heart knows and feels that they are not fair and are feeling partial, it is a clear indication that he is heading for evil and bad.

Interesting !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
25.10.2020.

new Bond movie - 'No Time to Die' spends lakhs on Cocoa cola !!

Five years after the capture of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, James Bond has left active service. He is approached by Felix Leiter, his friend and a CIA officer, who enlists his help in the search for Valdo Obruchev, a missing scientist. When it becomes apparent that Obruchev was abducted, Bond must confront a villain whose schemes could see the deaths of millions.  .. .. that reportedly is the plot of the new Bond movie ‘No time to Die’.

Interestingly, the new movie  will not feature the spy in its pre-credits action for the first time in nearly 50 years. Whether he is walking through the streets of Mexico's Day of the Dead festival or involved in an epic car chase, nearly every Bond film has previously featured 007 in action before the credits roll. But No Time To Die will break with that time-honoured tradition by not featuring Bond in the opening scenes for the first time since 1973's Live And Let Die.  Instead, it will begin with a scene performed entirely in French featuring Madeleine Swann, the woman for whom Bond retires at the end of Spectre played by Lea Seydoux.

Be it Pandemic or normal times, perhaps the beverage industry sells more than any other industry does ! Inside Shopping malls, departmental stores and even your neighbourhood friendly shops – you find breathtaking array of soft drinks.  From the days when you had Fanta, Campacola and Goldspot backed up by Kali Mark,  Bovonto and Mapillai Vinayakar in interior places, the industry has come a long way.   Have heard of  too many brands over the years  of :  Cocoa Cola, Limca, 7 Up, LMN, Slice, Maaza, Mountain dew, Slice, Sprite, Mirinda, Thumsup, Pepsi – to name a few.   The soft drink industry has been  growing at a hectic pace and Coke & Pepsi have a lion’s share of the market.  The big players have ensured that their small competitors were strangled and extinguished out of the market .. .. and this is about revenue earned in a strange manner !!  

No Time to Die is a forthcoming spy film and the twenty-fifth instalment in the James Bond film series produced by Eon Productions. The film features Daniel Craig in his fifth and final outing as the fictional British MI6 agent James Bond. The film is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga from a screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Fukunaga, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.  Development began in 2016. No Time to Die will be the first Bond film distributed by Universal Pictures, which acquired the international distribution rights following the expiration of Sony Pictures' contract after the release of Spectre in 2015. The final title was announced in August 2019. No Time to Die was scheduled for release in April 2020, but was postponed worldwide twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now scheduled for release on 2 April 2021. 

Everyone knows how partial James Bond is to a vodka martini, shaken but not stirred. However, the making of the latest 007 film involved vast quantities of a rather different drink – Coca-Cola. The producers of No Time To Die paid £55,000 (approx. Rs.51.20 lakhs) for 8,400 gallons of Coke – not for the crew to drink but  to make cobbled streets at one filming location less slippery for a motorcycle stunt.   According to stunt boss Lee Morrison, Daniel Craig devised the trick allowing his stunt double rider Paul Edwards to hit a 25ft ramp at 60mph, clear a wall and land on cobbles.  Crew members spent hours splashing it around Matera in southern Italy ahead of a spectacular bike jump over a 60ft wall.

The plan was to let the drink dry, leaving a sticky residue that would help the 450cc bike grip the cobbles better when it landed. For the spectacle, stunt rider Paul Edwards had to hit a 25ft ramp at 60mph to clear the wall and land on the cobbles. Stunt boss Lee Morrison said star Daniel Craig had come up with the idea and told him about it in a late-night phone call, adding: 'I spent nearly €60,000 spraying Coca-Cola around Matera. I've been spraying Coca-Cola on slippery surfaces for a very long time.' He told Total Film magazine that the drink also 'makes things look very clean after it washes off'.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that, unusually, Bond will not appear in the action sequence that traditionally precedes the title credits.  In previous opening sequences, the spy has skied off the edge of a mountain before pulling open a Union Jack parachute (The Spy Who Loved Me), made a 750ft bungee jump off a Swiss dam (GoldenEye) and fought a fleeing mercenary on the roof of a speeding train (Skyfall). The Wall Street Journal described the opening scene of No Time To Die as 'visually arresting... and entirely Bond-free'. Bond expert Piers Bracher said the films used 'a fixed recipe', adding: 'It is a predictable formula. That's why we all like it – or hate it – so much.' No Time To Die is said to be Craig's final outing as 007.  

Interesting ! 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

18.10.2020.