World’s first needle-free COVID-19 vaccine
COVID-19
India's drug regulator has approved Zydus Cadila’s new needle-free vaccine, ZyCoV-D, for emergency use. It is the first vaccine approved which will be administered to the 12-18 age group. It is indigenously developed in India and the world's first DNA-based vaccine against COVID-19.
It is the sixth vaccine to be approved for use in India after Serum Institute's Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Russia's Sputnik V, the US-made Moderna and Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine.
How does the vaccine work?
DNA and RNA, as building blocks of life, carry the genetic information passed from parents to children. ZyCoV-D uses plasmids or small rings of DNA that contain genetic information, to deliver the jab between two layers of the skin. The plasmids carry information to the cells to make the spike protein which the virus uses to latch on to enter human cells.
According to WHO, DNA vaccines offer a number of potential advantages over traditional approaches.
What makes this vaccine different?
ZyCoV-D is the world's first human DNA vaccine against COVID-19. More than 160 different DNA vaccines are currently being tested in human clinical trials in the US. Most are devoted to treating existing cancers, and a third of the vaccines for treating HIV. It is also the first one to be approved for the 12-18 age group.
What is the dosage?
ZyCoV-D will be given in three doses with an interval of 28 days between each shot. It is administered with a disposable needle-free injector, which uses a narrow stream of fluid to penetrate the skin and deliver the jab to the proper tissue.
Primary efficacy of 66.6% in interim analysis
No severe cases or deaths due to COVID-19 occurred in the vaccine recipients after administration of the second dose. However, its phase three trial data is not yet peer-reviewed. It is emphasised that the plasmid DNA platform is ideally suited for dealing with COVID-19 as it can be easily adapted to deal with mutations in the virus.
Proud day for Indian healthcare
DNA vaccines are relatively cheap, safe and stable
Can be stored at higher temperatures - 2 to 8 degree Celsius
According to Cadila Healthcare, their vaccine had shown good stability at 25 degree Celsius for at least three months - this would help the vaccine to be transported and stored easily
Efficacy still a question mark
Unlike mRNA vaccines - like Pfizer or Moderna - it is difficult for DNA vaccines to reach the nucleus of the human cells and this needs to happen for greater efficacy.
DNA vaccines developed for infectious diseases in humans have failed in the past. Only the complete data could offer a more in-depth idea about the efficacy.
The company said that it can be ready for rollout within 45 to 60 days but the pricing has not yet been decided.
To have a DNA vaccine that works against infection is a big deal. This is definitely something India can be proud of.
India’s INR 11,000 crore palm oil plan: Pushing growth or killing sustainability?
Current Affairs
PM Modi announced an INR 11,000 crore National Edible Oil Mission, Oil Palm earlier this month with an aim to make India self-sufficient in cooking oils and reduce the dependency on imports.
However, is increased palm oil production environmentally sustainable in the country?
Scope for growth
According to a study by the Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research, only 13% of viable land is being used for cultivation currently. The new plan aims to increase cultivation to 1 million hectares by 2025-26 and 1.7-1.8 million by 2029-30.
The scheme has three important aspects to it:
Increased production in the Northeast and Andaman
Price assurance to palm oil farmers
Increased input assistance for the farmers
We discuss the pros and cons of this scheme, and each of these aspects in detail in this article.
Reduced import bill and higher investment
The oil palm trees have a long gestation period. They start producing fresh fruit bunches, four years after their planting. A water guzzling crop, oil palm crop has a challenging harvesting. In the first three years, farmers can grow other crops (except paddy) like groundnut, soybean, etc. Therefore, incentives are required for farmers to make their cultivation remunerative.
The incentives under the scheme will eventually help increase domestic production and thus reduce the import bill and increase capital investment in the country.
Environmental issues in the country
India depends largely on Indonesia and Malaysia for its oil imports. Growing demand for palm oil is linked to large scale deforestation for oil palm agriculture in Indonesia and Malaysia. Ramping up domestic production can reduce our carbon footprint.
However, the concerns with India pushing for cultivation of palm oil are multiple, including water-dependent agriculture system, water shortage, small landholdings, and a long gestation period required for palm oil.
Increasing deforestation
Expansion of production in the Northeast will come with its own sets of additional challenges such as hilly and undulating topography,non-availability of flat land and small land holding of farmers with limited resources. It will also increase deforestation in the region.
Oil palm expansion’s direct contribution to regional tropical deforestation varies widely, ranging from an estimated 3% in West Africa to 50% in Malaysian Borneo. Oil palm is also implicated in peatland draining and burning in Southeast Asia.
Loss of biodiversity
Environmental case studies in forested belts of Sumatra, Borneo and the Malay Peninsula — which produce 90% of global palm oil — have found that cultivation had eliminated pristine forests, thus pushing out wildlife, from orangutans to birds.
The plan seeks to expand plantations in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a fragile archipelago of 572 untrammelled islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. This can lead to serious damage to an already fragile ecosystem.
Focus on northeast region
Of the total 28 lakh hectares, 9 lakh hectares is in the Northeast region. Less than 20% of the potential 218,000 hectares for palm oil crops under six northeastern states was under plantation as of October 2019.
Thus, the scheme will have a special focus in the Northeast region and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for increasing domestic production.
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