India’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 94.99 lakh, while the total number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 89 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to over 94 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.
While the COVID-19 appears declining in India, several countries are braced for the "next wave". Hong Kong is limiting most gatherings to just two people, and United Kingdom is mulling for for tier-based lockdown.
World leaders, the top leadership of the UN and vaccine developers will address a two-day, special session of the UN General Assembly on COVID-19 this week and discuss the pandemic’s impact as well as the multi-faceted, coordinated response required to address the greatest global health crisis in decades.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the updates:
Fresh guidelines for plasma therapy
The Health Department has revised the guidelines regarding the administration of convalescent plasma therapy (CPT) to COVID-19 patients so that the treatment option is more evidence-based and offered only to those who might derive a benefit from it.
The department’s new advisory insists on screening for antibody levels in patients so that the CPT can be prioritised for risk groups with recent symptom onset, who may actually benefit from the CPT.
Plasma donors will also be screened for detecting the levels of neutralising antibodies against COVID-19 in them, before accepting plasma from them.
‘No move for universal vaccination’
The government has never spoken about vaccinating everyone against COVID-19, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on Tuesday, speaking at a press conference in the national capital.
Mr. Bhushan added that it is important to discuss such scientific issues based on factual information only. “Vaccination would depend on the efficacy of the vaccine, and our purpose is to break the chain of virus transmission. If we’re able to vaccinate a critical mass of people and break virus transmission, then we may not have to vaccinate the entire population,” said Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Balram Bhargava, who was present at the press meet.
Odisha reports significant fall in cases
Odisha has reported significant fall in COVID-19 cases, with daily infections dropping below the 500-mark consecutively for past two days. The daily fatalities have also come down proportionately.
The State on Tuesday recorded 378 active cases, while it was 418 on Monday.
The State’s total caseload grew to 3,19,103 while total active cases stood at 5,241, which accounts for 1.64% of the total positive cases.
“I am glad to share that Odisha has recorded daily positive cases of less than 500 for the first time since July 16. I appreciate the hard work and sacrifice of our COVID-19 warriors for helping Odisha fight back the pandemic,” said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He warned people not to be complacent and exhorted them to wear masks till vaccine became available.
59% will not rush to take COVID-19 vaccine: survey
In a survey, 59% have said that they would not rush to take a COVID-19 vaccine, even if it was available in the near future.
LocalCircles, a community social media platform, conducted a survey between October 15 and 20 and found that 61% expressed hesitancy in getting the vaccine. This was before any of the vaccines were announced, according to a press release.
EU plans vaccines as regulator sets approval deadline
European countries were on Tuesday given a clear timeframe for the start of their vaccination programmes after the bloc’s medicines regulator said it would decide by December 29 whether to grant emergency approval for the first COVID-19 jabs.
France plans to prioritise the most fragile and exposed groups in early 2021, followed by a second campaign for the rest of the population between April and June, President Emmanuel Macron announced.
Germany has already said it is hoping to launch its immunisation drive in the first quarter of 2021 and is preparing vaccination centres across the country.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Tuesday said it would hold an extraordinary meeting on December 29 “at the latest” to consider emergency approval for a vaccine developed by Germany’s BioNTech and US giant Pfizer.