The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it authorised the use of Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine, with the first inoculations expected within days, marking a turning point in the United States where the pandemic has killed more than 2,92,000 people.
The vaccine can be given to people aged 16 and older. Healthcare workers and elderly people in long-term care facilities are expected to be the main recipients of a first round of 2.9 million doses.
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 latest updates:
30,006 new cases take India’s virus tally to 98,26,775
India’s COVID-19 tally of cases climbed to 98.26 lakh with 30,006 new cases in a day, while 93,24,328 people have recuperated so far pushing the national recovery rate to 94.88% on Saturday, according to the Union health ministry data.
The total coronavirus cases mounted to 98,26,775 and the death toll climbed to 1,42,628 with the virus claiming 442 lives in a span of 24 hours in the country, the data updated at 8 a.m. showed.
The COVID-19 case fatality rate further declined to 1.45%.
There are 3,59,819 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 3.66% of the total caseload, the data showed. - PTI
No celebrations on roads, at public places on New Year’s Eve
Celebrations that draw crowds and revellers on main roads and public places in cities on New Year’s Eve will not be allowed this year, Revenue Minister R. Ashok on Friday said. This rule will be applicable to all cities in Karnataka where public celebrations are the norm.
Addressing presspersons after participating in the State’s COVID-19 Task Force meeting, the Minister said this would be enforced under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has agreed to this and a Government Order on the guidelines will be issued in one or two days, he said.
COVID test data cooked up in Telangana?
An investigation into the low COVID numbers in Telangana has revealed that the test results are being manipulated at the Public Health Centre (PHC) level.
Cooked up names, addresses, phone numbers and fake positive cases were revealed in the months long investigation. Out of the test data of 352, of randomly picked test cases between September and December, about 110 had suspect information.
“We have been given a target of 60 tests per day. We are not getting so many people so we are taking the help of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) staffers to mobilise patients for the tests,” said a lab technician in a PHC. Four ASHA workers were seated near him working on their phones. Their job was to provide a name, an address and a phone number on which a 4-digit code is generated by the Aarogyasri server accessed by the lab technician.