Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: UK begins COVID-19 vaccine rollout, William Shakespeare among first to get a shot

Coronavirus vaccine India LIVE Updates | To roll out vaccines for 1.3 billion people, India may have to borrow the just-in-time concept

The vaccine ecosystem may need to borrow the concept of just-in-time, which is widely used in the auto sector, to store, distribute and administer the couple of billions of COVID-19 vaccines that will be required in India.

This is especially so given the complexity of storing and transporting some of the vaccines that are being developed, and that includes the one by Pfizer and BioNtech that needs to be stored at -70 degrees.

"Just like in an auto assembly line, the system here also should run efficiently. Everything will be determined by capacity to administer the vaccine," RS Subramanian, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, DHL Express India, told Moneycontrol in a recent interaction.

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Coronavirus in China LIVE Updates | A year on, markets bustling in Chinese city where COVID-19 emerged

Hundreds of shoppers pack a wet market on a December weekday morning in the Chinese city of Wuhan, jostling to buy fresh vegetables and live fish, frogs and turtles.

Almost a year since the city reported the world's first cases of COVID-19 in one of its handful of vast wet markets, and even as several other countries remain firmly in the grip of the subsequent pandemic, life in Wuhan has largely returned to normal.

Few hints remain of Wuhan's early role in the coronavirus pandemic, which has since infected more than 67 million people globally, killing around 1.5 million people.

China first alerted the World Health Organization to 27 cases of "viral pneumonia" in Wuhan on December 31. Authorities shut down a wet market in the city the next day, after discovering some patients were vendors or dealers.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Antibodies in mucous membrane may dominate early COVID-19 immune response: Study

Scientists have assessed the immune response against the novel coronavirus in over 150 COVID-19 patients and found that the antibodies found in the mucous membrane are activated much earlier than other types, an advance which may lead to the development of new vaccines against the disease. According to the scientists, including those from Sorbonne University in Paris, the IgA antibodies found in the mucosa dominate the early response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus compared to other antibodies such as the IgM and IgG. They said the findings, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, are "somewhat unexpected" since IgM antibodies are usually the immune system's first responders. 

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Microsoft founder Bill Gates has said he is optimistic that growth will return once a COVID-19 vaccine rolls out, which he expects will be available on a broad basis by the spring of 2021. Speaking virtually at the Singapore FinTech Festival, Gates said he expected six COVID-19 vaccines to be approved and ready for distribution by the spring of 2021, as efforts to combat the spread of the deadly virus gains pace.

Read more | Bill Gates says COVID vaccine will aid growth, expects 6 jabs by spring 2021

Coronavirus Vaccine LIVE Updates | The second person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine - marking the start of the UK's mass vaccination programme against the deadly disease -- is William Shakespeare from Warwickshire, the BBC reported.

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I Just Got A COVID-19 Vaccine. Now What?

Pfizer has said side effects in trial volunteers were mostly mild to moderate, and cleared up quickly. The most severe side effects occurred after the second dose: fatigue in 3.8 percent of volunteers…

Coronavirus Vaccine LIVE Updates | A 90-year-old woman from Northern Ireland today became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine - marking the start of the UK's mass vaccination programme against the deadly disease. Margaret Keenan, from Enniskillen, said she felt "so privileged" to receive the jab at University Hospital, Coventry. Keenan became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine outside trial conditions, the BBC reported.

Coronavirus in Maharashtra LIVE Updates | Thane district's COVID-19 case count goes past 2.33 lakh

The COVID-19 tally in the Thane district of Maharashtra has risen to 2,33,324 with the addition of 402 fresh infections, an official said today. With seven more people succumbing to the viral disease, the toll in the district went up to 5,751, he said. The case recovery rate now stands at 94.56 percent while the mortality rate is 2.46 percent. The number of active patients stood at 6,953, the official added. (PTI)

Coronavirus in India LIVE Updates | PM Modi says mobile technology to be used for COVID-19 vaccination drive

With the chances of a COVID-19 vaccine being available soon increasing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the mobile technology will be used for mass inoculation against the pandemic. Speaking at the India Mobile Congress, he said mobile technology has enabled benefits worth billions of dollars to reach the deserving and also helped the poor and vulnerable during the pandemic.

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UK Rolling Out COVID-19 Vaccine To Public As World Watches

Public health officials are asking the public to be patient because only those who are most at risk from COVID-19 will be vaccinated in the early stages.

Coronavirus in Mizoram LIVE Updates | The Mizoram government has appointed Municipal Commissioner K Laldingliana the administrator of the Aizawl Municipal Corporation (AMC) as the term of the present board is due to expire on December 10, officials said today. The term expires on Thursday and the election could not be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they said. The state poll panel also suggested the government that in the wake of the COVID-19 situation in Aizawl city, holding elections is not in the interest of public health, Deputy Chief Minister Tawnluia said. (PTI)

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | As many as 26,567 new cases of novel coronavirus were reported, with India’s total COVID-19 cases now above 97 lakh, as per the health ministry’s update. Reporting of new cases is now the lowest in five months since July 10. India reported 385 new deaths (below the 500 mark for the third day) and 39,045 recoveries in the last 24 hours, the latest release shows. Active cases continue to drop, to 3,83,866 (the last approximate number of cases was reported back on July 21) now with a fall of 12,863 cases in a day. India now ranks eighth in the world in active cases moving down from seventh.

Read more | COVID-19 cases explained in charts