Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: First Shots Likely in Days as India Set for Massive Inoculation Drive With Oxford-AstraZeneca, Bharat Biotech Vaccines

Russia Inoculates Over 800,000 People Against Covid-19, Issues Vaccination Certificates | More than 800,000 people in Russia have been inoculated so far against the new coronavirus and more than 1.5 million vaccine doses have been dispatched, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said. Russia, which began rolling out its Sputnik V vaccine in early December, has the world's fourth higher number of COVID-19 cases and is putting high hopes on several vaccines it plans to produce.

India's drugs regulator on Saturday recommended for emergency use a locally developed coronavirus vaccine called COVAXIN, which is expected to be a backup to the AstraZeneca/Oxford shot.

Mexican Doctor Hospitalised After Receiving Covid-19 Vaccine | Mexican authorities said they are studying the case of a 32-year-old female doctor who was hospitalized after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The doctor, whose name has not been released, was admitted to the intensive care unit of a public hospital in the northern state of Nuevo Leon after she experienced seizures, difficulty breathing, and a skin rash.

Dry Run for Covid-19 Vaccination Conducted in Chandigarh, Haryana's Panchkula District | Dry runs to check preparations for COVID-19 vaccination were held in Haryana's Panckula district and in the Union Territory of Chandigarh on Saturday. The dry run in Haryana was conducted in Panchkula at four sites with two sites each in urban and rural settings, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rajeev Arora said.  "The sites in urban areas are in Sector-4 dispensary and Sector-8 dispensary, while in rural areas the sites are in Primary Health Centre-Kot and Primary Health Centre-Raipur Rani," he said in a statement.  The platform of the existing universal immunisation programme of the state, with enhanced capacity, will be used for providing COVID-19 vaccine, said the senior Haryana official. 

Health Minister Informs About Co-Win Platform to Facilitate Covid Inoculation

Co-WIN platform to facilitate:

🔹Registration & verification of beneficiaries
🔸Scheduling inoculation
🔹SMS reminders for schedule & follow on dosage
🔸Reporting Adverse Event Following Immunisation
🔹e-Certificate post-vaccination pic.twitter.com/TP4ZHi8KPD

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) January 3, 2021

An expert panel of India's central drug authority has recommended granting permission for restricted use of Bharat Biotech-developed indigenous COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin in emergency situation,…

Sourav Ganguly Tests Negative for Covid-19 | BCCI president and former India skipper Sourav Ganguly, who suffered a "mild" heart attack on Saturday and underwent a quick "primary angioplasty" for clearing a blocked coronary artery, tested negative for COVID-19, a doctor said. "Mr Ganguly tested negative for the COVID-19," he said, adding that the test was conducted before angioplasty was performed on him.

Vatican Likely to Start Administering Covid-19 Vaccinations in Mid-January | The Vatican says it expects to start administering COVID-19 vaccinations in mid-January.  A statement on Saturday says vaccines, enough to cover the needs of the Holy See and of Vatican City State." The brief statement didn't say if 84-year-old Pope Francis would be getting the vaccine. But it specified priority would go to Vatican health and security workers, to the elderly and to the personnel most frequently in contact with the public.

US Braces for Post-holiday Covid Surge as Death Toll Nears 350,000 | The US is braced for a post-holiday coronavirus surge as its death toll nears 350,000, with thousands more predicted to die in the coming month and doctors warning they are at “breaking point”. New Year’s Day saw 160,606 new cases and 2,051 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University, bringing the total caseload to 20.1 million and the death toll to 347,788.

Delhi Recorded 494 Fresh Cases, Lowest in Over 7 Months | Delhi recorded 494 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest in over seven months, and14 new fatalities on Saturday, even as the positivity rate stood at 0.73 per cent, authorities said. The infection tally in the city stands at over 6.26 lakh and the death toll rose to 10,561, they said. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain tweeted that the positivity rate has been below one per cent for the past 11 days.

The Indian government has granted an in-principle approval to two vaccines against Coronavirus, setting the stage for the roll out of the first phase of mass vaccination in the country.

Akhilesh Dubs Country's Anti-Covid Vaccine as BJP's, Draws Sharp Criticism | Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav termed the anti-Covid vaccine to be rolled out in the country a "vaccine of the BJP" and said he would not take the shot, prompting a sharp reaction not only from the ruling party but also from NC vice-president Omar Abdullah. While the ruling BJP accused Yadav of "insulting" doctors and scientists of the country, Abdullah said vaccines don't belong to any political party, but humanity.

England Health Officials Defend Contingency Plan to Mix Covid Vaccines | Officials have defended England’s vaccine regimen after details of a contingency plan to mix the two approved jabs in a small number of cases emerged. Public Health England’s Covid “green book” recommends that “it is reasonable to offer one dose of the locally available product to complete the schedule” if the same vaccine used for the first dose is not available. But it adds: “There is no evidence on the interchangeability of the Covid-19 vaccines although studies are under way," the Guardian reported. 

Dry runs for Covid-19 inoculation being conducted across India. 

Himachal Pradesh: Dry run for implementing the administration of #COVID19 vaccine was held at Deendyal Upadhyay Zonal Hospital in Shimla (2.1.2021) pic.twitter.com/K3KlrvNJhS

— ANI (@ANI) January 3, 2021

COVID-19 Vaccination Dry Run Conducted in Three Bihar Districts | A dry run for COVID vaccination was conducted in three districts of Bihar on Saturday. Altogether 75 personnel took part in the mock exercises that took place at three centres each in Patna, Jamui and West Champaran districts. Top officials of the department visited the primary health centres of Shastri Nagar and Phulwari Sharif in the state capital where the dry run was conducted.