Coronavirus live updates: Next 2.5 months crucial in fight against Covid-19, says health minister

Fastest-ever growth in global virus cases as Europe tightens screws

Fresh restrictions loomed for millions of Europeans at the weekend after the highest-ever worldwide number of coronavirus infections in a single day, while pharma giant Pfizer said Friday it could apply for emergency US authorisation for its vaccine next month. An AFP tally based on official data showed that more than 400,000 new cases were reported across the world on Thursday, a figure only partly explained by increased testing since the first wave of the pandemic in March-April.

Panel recommends granting permission to Dr Reddy's for phase 2 trials of Russian Covid vaccine

An expert panel at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on Friday recommended granting permission to Dr Reddy's Laboratories for conducting phase 2 clinical trials of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, in India, sources said. The Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical firm had on October 13 reapplied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking permission to conduct combined phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials of the vaccine in the country.

Sabarimala temple: 250 people are allowed darshan per day, Covid-19 negative certificate is mandatory for visiting the temple

Chandigarh: 55 fresh cases take COVID-19 tally to 13,532; death toll reaches 206

WHO trial to assess other antibody, antiviral drugs after remdesivir doubt

The World Health Organization said on Friday it would assess monoclonal antibodies and other antiviral drugs in its trial of medicines that could potentially treat COVID-19, after the trial found Gilead's remdesivir had no impact on survival rates. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference the so-called Solidarity Trial would continue after it was launched in March in 500 hospitals in 30 countries to assess the efficacy of remdesivir and several other drugs in patients with COVID-19.

Highest single-day spike of 3,771 new COVID-19 cases take West Bengal's tally to over 3.13 lakh; toll rises to 5,931 with 61 more fatalities

Next 2.5 months crucial in fight against coronavirus, says health minister Harsh Vardhan

Vardhan, who is also Science and Technology Minister, said three vaccine candidates are progressing well in India with one of them in the advanced stage-III clinical trial and two others in stage-II trial.He expressed hope that India will soon have indigenous production of vaccine against coronavirus.“The next two-and-a-half months are going to be very crucial for us in our fight against corona because of the winter season and the festival season. It becomes the responsibility of every citizen to not let our guard down and follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour to curb the spread of the infection,” Vardhan said.

Refund money to flyers as soon as you get same from airlines; don’t issue vouchers in such cases: DGCA warns travel agents

US testing 3 drugs to tamp down coronavirus

The US National Institutes of Health says the study will enroll 2,100 hospitalised adults with moderate to severe COVID-19 in the United States and Latin America. All will get the antiviral drug remdesivir plus one of the three “immune-modulating drugs” or a placebo. The drugs are Bristol Myers Squibb's Orencia and Johnson & Johnson's Remicade, which are sold now for rheumatoid arthritis and an experimental drug from AbbVie called cenicriviroc. The drugs work in different ways to inhibit “cytokine storm,” an overproduction of chemicals the body makes to fight infections that can damage lungs, kidneys, the heart and other organs.

3,428 new cases, 22 deaths and 3,197 recoveries/discharges/migrations reported in Delhi today; total cases rise to 324,459

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 697 new cases and 8 deaths today

The total positive cases in the UT rises to 86,754 including 8,909 active cases, 76,479 recoveries and 1,366 deaths

Andhra reports 3,967 new Covid-19 cases on Friday taking the tally to 7,75,470

Toll rises to 6,382 with 25 more deaths

Gujarat in 24 hours added 1,191 Covid-19 positive cases, taking the total to 1.57 lakh

The state also recorded 11 deaths, taking the toll to 3,620

549 cases of Covid-19 reported in Uttarakhand today; tally now 57,042

EU medicine agency could approve Covid-19 vaccines early next year

The European Medicines Agency could approve three Covid-19 vaccines early next year, its Executive Director Guido Rasi said on Friday, according to a report by Italian news agency ANSA. "If everything goes well, in the first months of 2021, there could be three vaccines approved by EMA. But everything has to go well. There's a little hitch behind every corner," the agency quoted Rasi as telling Sky TG24 news in an interview.

Kerala: State count touches 3.23 lakh with 7,283 cases; 250 health workers affected

Covid-19 pandemic renewed focus on nutrition, health, immunity: Vardhan

"FSSAI's Eat Right India movement targets to promote safe and healthy food for everyone in an environmentally sustainable way. It is a part of its mandate to provide safe and wholesome food for all citizens. This will improve the food safety ecosystems and lift the hygiene and health of our citizens," Vardhan stressed, while presiding over an event organised by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

Britain changes vaccine rollout measures for Covid and flu

Britain said on Friday it had changed its rules around administering and distributing vaccines to make the speedy rollout of any Covid-19 vaccine easier and increase the number of people able to give jabs. The change comes into force after a consultation on the plans, which include giving Britain's medical regulator the ability to grant temporary authorisation for any coronavirus vaccine that meets safety and quality standards but before it has received a full licence. The new rules also allow more healthcare workers to give Covid-19 and flu vaccines.

Tamil Nadu adds 4,389 cases taking tally to 679,191

57 deaths took toll to 10,529; 89,497 underwent tests. Active cases touch 40,959