Maharashtra records 2,949 COVID-19 cases, 4,610 recoveries; 60 die

Mumbai city reported the highest single-day cases in the state with a spike of 477, while the Nagpur Municipal Corporation areas saw a rise of 242 infections.

PTI

December 14, 2020 / 09:22 PM IST

Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally rose to 18,83,365 with the addition of 2,949 fresh cases on December 14, while more than 4,600 patients recovered from the infection, the health department said.

With 60 new deaths being reported during the day, the state's fatality count increased to 48,269, it said in a statement here.

A total of 4,610 patients were discharged from hospitals, which took the number of recovered persons to 17,61,615 so far, the department said.

Mumbai city reported the highest single-day cases in the state with a spike of 477, while the Nagpur Municipal Corporation areas saw a rise of 242 infections.

Pune city recorded 216 cases, the statement said. Of the total deaths reported on Monday, seven were from Mumbai city. In Nashik and Nagpur cities, six and five persons, respectively, died due to the disease.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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