Page 7 - Coronavirus Vaccine

Statsguru: Covid-19 fears return; vaccination rates still low in India

Around 50 per cent of people over 60 years of age are fully vaccinated. Vaccination is significantly lower for the rest of the country

India reports 227 fresh Covid-19 cases; active tally rises to 3,424

) India recorded 227 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases increased to 3,424, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,77,106) . The death toll stands at 5,30,693 with two fatalities with one reconciled by Kerala and one death reported in Maharashtra in the last 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the ministry. An increase of 27 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,42,989, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.05 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed

China claims 'adequate' medical supplies for Covid amid reports of shortage

Amid a rise in Covid-19 cases, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that they have "expanded production capacity" of medical supplies amid reports of a shortage of fever and cold drugs

New defence spending law ends Covid-19 vaccine mandate for US troops

US military forces around the world will no longer be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine, after the mandate was lifted under an USD 858 billion defence spending bill passed by Congress and signed into law on Friday by President Joe Biden. The Pentagon is now likely to strongly encourage troops to get the shot, but has 30 days to work out the details for rescinding the vaccine mandate. Biden had opposed the Republican-backed provision, agreeing with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin that lifting the mandate was not in the best interests of the military, according to White House officials. But he ultimately accepted GOP demands in order to win passage of the legislation. The contentious political issue, which has divided America, forced more than 8,400 troops out of the military for refusing to obey a lawful order when they declined to get the vaccine. Thousands of others have sought religious and medical exemptions. The new law effectively ends those exemption requests, but questions

T'gana urges Centre to supply vaccines to administer booster doses

Telangana Health Minister T Harish Rao on Friday urged the Centre to supply COVID-19 vaccines to step up booster dose coverage in the state. Rao, who attended a video conference held by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, said Telangana has achieved 48 per cent booster dose coverage against national average of 23 per cent, an official release said. He asked the Centre to inform the states on various issues, including spread of virus, its impact and treatment in view of the rise in Omicron sub-variant BF 7 cases in different countries. This will help the states in improving their preparedness, he said. Rao suggested taking steps in advance to prevent any shortage in oxygen supply. As part of this, oxygen plants should be linked to the nearby hospitals. He also sought steps to ensure that the ventilators and others provided by the Centre to the state remain readily available, the release said. Amid fresh concerns over COVID-19, Rao on Thursday directed officials to ensure ...

States to conduct mock drills next week to review Covid preparedness

Specific focus on oxygen plants, ventilators, logistics and human resources; aim is to check whether the equipment is in running condition, or needs refurbishment

Nearly 83% people in Indore didn't take Covid-19 precautionary dose

Nearly 83 per cent of eligible population in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district has not taken the precautionary dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, an official said on Friday. The stock of Covidshield vaccine has also gotten over in Indore, which was one of the worst affected districts in the state amid the pandemic, the official said. At least 30 lakh people have taken the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, but only five lakh have taken the precautionary booster dose, district vaccination officer Dr Tarun Gupta said. This indicates that there are still 25 lakh people who have not taken the precautionary jab of the vaccine, he said. However, people have again started showing interest in getting inoculated with the booster dose since the last few days and the authorities have also increased the number of vaccination centres in the district, the official said. Dr Gupta further said that the stock of Covishield vaccine has gotten over in the district and a request has been sent

Corbevax maximises protection in Covishield vaccinated people: Study

Amidst the concerns of a new Covid wave in India following massive surge in cases in some countries, researchers at the AIG Hospitals here have published results of a significant scientific study proving the immunity benefits of indigenous heterologous vaccine booster, Corbevax in combating Omicron variants. Breaking down the key aspects of the study, Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman, AIG Hospitals and one of the researchers on board, in a press release said the study was done on 250 healthcare workers who had received two doses of Covishield as the primary vaccine regimen not more than 6 months ago. "The first aspect was to test the safety of this combination. We are extremely happy to report that none of the 250 participants had any adverse events following the administration of Corbevax booster dose. This further cemented our belief that mixed vaccines are absolutely safe," Dr Reddy said. The second aspect of the study was to measure the antibody response as well as the T-cell ...

Experts see 'a very hard road ahead' for China as Covid-19 cases spiral

Nearly three years after it was first identified in China, the coronavirus is now spreading through the vast country. Experts predict difficult months ahead for its 1.4 billion people. China's unyielding zero-COVID approach, which aimed to isolate all infected people, bought it years to prepare for the disease. But an abrupt reopening, which was announced without warning on December 7 in the wake of anti-lockdown protests, has caught the nation under-vaccinated and short on hospital capacity. Experts have forecast between a million and 2 million deaths next year. Predicting deaths has proven tricky throughout the pandemic, since it is influenced by varied factors and China presents an especially complicated case because of opaque information sharing. It's not clear exactly how large the current outbreak is, as China has reduced testing and stopped reporting most mild cases. But in cities and towns around Baoding and Langfang, in Hebei province, an area that was among the first to

Covid-19: Bharat Biotech's nasal vaccine gets govt nod as booster shot

The approval for the vaccine comes amid a spurt in Covid cases in China and some other countries

US ready to help China with vaccines to control Covid: State Secy Blinken

"We want to see China get this outbreak under control," Blinken told a press conference

LIVE: Coronavirus' changing nature continues to pose danger, says Mandaviya

Catch all the live updates from across the globe here

Florida high court allows grand jury probe of coronavirus vaccines

The Florida Supreme Court will convene a grand jury at Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' request to investigate any wrongdoing with respect to the COVID-19 vaccines, the court announced Thursday. The Republican governor, who is often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2024, earlier this month called for the investigation. He suggested it would be in part aimed to jog loose more information from pharmaceutical companies about the vaccines and potential side effects. Vaccine studies funded by pharmaceutical companies that developed COVID-19 vaccines have been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, and government panels reviewed data on the safety and effectiveness of the shots before approving them for use. DeSantis' request argues that pharmaceutical companies had a financial interest in creating a climate in which people believed that getting a coronavirus vaccine would ensure they couldn't spread the virus to others. Statewide .

Serum Institute seeks market authorisation of its vaccine as booster dose

The Serum Institute of India (SII) has sought the drug regulator's approval for market authorisation of its COVID-19 vaccine Covovax as a booster dose for those aged 18 years and above who have been administered two doses of Covishield or Covaxin, official sources said on Thursday. Prakash Kumar Singh, director, government and regulatory affairs, SII, submitted a market authorisation application for the heterologous booster dose of Covovax to the drugs controller general of India (DCGI) on October 17. It has been learnt that the DCGI's office had raised a few queries, after which Singh submitted a reply, mentioning about the current emerging situation caused by a new coronavirus variant. Covovax was approved by the DCGI for a restricted emergency use in children aged seven to 11 years in June. The DCGI had approved Covovax for a restricted use in emergency situations in adults on December 28, 2021 and for those in the 12-17 age group, subject to certain conditions, on March 9. Cov

As Covid-19 cases fall, Indians drag feet to get their booster shots

Less than 30,000 booster doses daily in December, vaccine coverage flat for two months

Karnataka makes wearing of face masks mandatory in indoor locations

The Karnataka government on Thursday decided to conduct mandatory testing of Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) in the state amid a spurt in COVID-19 cases in some parts of the world, including China. The government also decided to make face masks mandatory in closed spaces and airconditioned rooms. The two per cent random testing of international passengers arriving in the state will continue until revised directions from the Centre, state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said. We are going to issue advisory to wear masks in indoor locations, closed spaces and air-conditioned rooms. Also, there will be mandatory testing of ILI and SARI cases across Karnataka, Sudhakar said briefing reporters after a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on COVID-19. The meeting was attended by ministers, health department officials and the members of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on COVID-19. Sudhakar said that it was also decided in the .

Centre advises higher surveillance, booster dose amid global surge in Covid

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said states have been asked to focus on heightened surveillance within the community, undertake requisite control and containment measures, and ensure coverage of precaution doses for COVID-19 vaccination, amid a spurt of coronavirus cases in some parts of the world. In a statement in both houses of Parliament, Mandaviya said two per cent random sampling of international travellers arriving at airports has already started from Thursday to minimise ingress of any new variant in the country. "Our enemy is changing with time and we need to continue our collective fight against it with perseverance and determination," he said. The minister said India has been reporting 153 new cases daily on an average as against 5.87 lakh new cases being reported on a daily basis across the world. He said the Ministry of Health was monitoring the situation on a regular basis and has proposed specific interventions to manage the ongoing challenge. "In view

LNJP director asks people to wear masks, take Covid-19 precaution dose

LNJP Hospital medical director Suresh Kumar on Thursday urged people to take the precaution dose of COVID-19 and not let their guard down during the upcoming festive season. Kumar's appeal comes after the Centre urged all states and Union Territories to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive samples to keep track of emerging variants amid a spike in Covid cases in Japan, South Korea, Brazil, China and the US. The British-era hospital located in central Delhi has 2,000 beds and was the first to be turned into a Covid care facility soon after the first case of coronavirus was reported in early March in 2020. At present, the hospital has 450 dedicated Covid beds, including 50 ICU beds, Kumar told PTI. "We have a genome sequencing lab at the hospital. Covid is not over yet but at the same time we are fully prepared," he added. In October this year, the Delhi government issued an order withdrawing the Rs 500 fine for not wearing masks in public places in the capital. The orde

India logs 185 new Covid infections; active cases decline to 3,402

India logged 185 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases declined to 3,402, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The total tally of Covid cases was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,76,515). The death toll stands at 5,30,681 with one fatality being reported from Delhi in the last 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the ministry website. A decrease of six cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,42,432, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.03 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2

Ensure genome sequencing, boost scrutiny as Covid surges: Centre to states

Amid a fresh global surge in Covid-19 cases, the central government has briefed all states to conduct genome sequencing of samples, the additional chief secretary of Health informed