The number of new coronavirus cases reported in India in a span of 24 hours dropped below 40,000, taking the country's Covid-19 tally to 82.67 lakh, while the total recoveries crossed the 76 lakh-mark, according to the Union health ministry's data updated on Tuesday. India's Covid-19 caseload mounted to 82,67,623 with 38,310 fresh infections, while the death toll reached 1,23,097 after 490 new fatalities were reported, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Coronavirus vaccine update: German biotech firm CureVac's experimental coronavirus vaccine has triggered an immune response in humans in the phase 1 trials. Meanwhile, the UK has started rolling review of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine to begin manufacturing process.

As the race to develop the first coronavirus vaccine against the Covid-19 infection heats up, Germany's CureVac has said that its experimental coronavirus vaccine has triggered an immune response in humans in the phase 1 trials. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has started an accelerated "rolling" review for AstraZeneca's potential coronavirus vaccine to see clinical data in real-time. The review of Pfizer Inc's Covid-19 vaccine candidate has also started.

In rolling reviews, regulators are able to see clinical data of the potential coronavirus vaccines in real-time and have a dialogue with drug makers on manufacturing processes and trials to accelerate the approval process.

CUREVAC'S COVID VACCINE PRODUCING IMMUNE RESPONSE
German biotech firm, CureVac, has said it is encouraged by the phase 1 clinical trial data of its experimental coronavirus vaccine, known as 'CVnCoV', which, it said, has triggered an immune response in the humans. The immune response from CureVac's coronavirus vaccine puts it on track to start mass testing this year.

"We are very encouraged by the interim Phase I data," Chief Executive Officer Franz-Werner Haas said in a statement.

CureVac's trials for its coronavirus vaccine had started in July. The biotech firm is using the so-called messenger RNA (mRNA) approach, the same as Moderna as well as BioNTech and its partner Pfizer.

VACCINE DEVELOPED NEUTRALISING ANTIBODIES, WAS 'WELL-TOLERATED'
CureVac said its potential vaccine, CVnCoV, was generally "well-tolerated". It also said the trial results of the Covid-19 vaccine strongly supported the company's plans to launch the final stage of testing involving about 30,000 participants before the end of the year.


It said the volunteers who were injected with the CureVac coronavirus vaccine candidate developed a level of neutralising antibodies on a par with people who had recovered from a serious case of Covid-19 infection.

CureVac's hopes of offering a vaccine at much lower doses than its mRNA competitors may have been dented as it has picked the highest concentration of five dosages - from 2 to 12 micrograms per shot - for its prospective Phase III trial.

BRITAIN STARTS ROLLING REVIEW OF ASTRAZENECA'S COVID-19 VACCINE
AstraZeneca Plc has said Britain's health