Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: India reports 18,139 new cases in a day, active cases at 2.25 lakh

Coronavirus Live updates: Seek centre's help for free COVID-19 vaccine in Maharashtra, says Devendra Fadnavis

BJP leader and former chief minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis has asked the MVA government in Maharashtra to seek the assistance of the Centre to provide free COVID-19 vaccine in the state to the poor and the middle-class.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here on Thursday night, the former Chief Minister said the Shiv Sena-led government regularly complains about not getting enough funds from the Union government.

Asked about the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, the Leader of Opposition in the assembly said the MVA government should seek the Centre's help to provide free doses to the poor and middle-class families in the state.

Coronavirus Live updates: Thane district records 452 new COVID-19 cases, 6 deaths

With the addition of 452 new coronavirus cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra rose to 2,45,853, an official said on Friday. The virus claimed the lives of six more persons, pushing the death toll in the district to 6,006, he said. So far, 2,35,800 patients have recuperated from the infection, showing a recovery rate of 95.91 percent, the official said.

The COVID-19 mortality rate stood at 2.44 percent, he added. There are now 4,047 active cases in the district, the official said. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count stood at 44,505 and the death toll at 1,192, another official said.

Coronavirus Live updates: India reports 18,139 new cases in a day, active cases at 2.25 lakh

India has reported 18,139 new Covid-19 cases, 20,539 recoveries, and 234 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the country's count to 1,04,13,417, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said on Friday. While 1,00,37,398 people have recovered from the novel coronavirus so far, 1,50,570 persons have succumbed to the deadly virus in the country. There are 2,25,449 active coronavirus cases in India, as per the Union Health Ministry.

As many as 17,93,36,364 samples have been tested for Covid-19 up to January 6 including 9,35,369 samples tested on Thursday, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) informed. Kerala continues to be the worst affected state by the pandemic with 65,252 cases. According to the Health Ministry, there are 11,939 active cases in UP, 9,109 active cases in Chhattisgarh and 4,481 active cases in Delhi.

With 3,729 new COVID-19 cases and 72 deaths in Maharashtra, total cases in the state stand at 19,58,282. Karnataka reported 761 new COVID-19 cases, and seven deaths today. The total cases in the state reached 9,24,898 cases. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu reported 805 new COVID-19 cases, 911 discharges, and 12 deaths in the last 24 hours, talking the state's tally to 8,23,986 cases. Andhra Pradesh reported 295 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The total cases in the state stand at 8,84,171 cases.

Coronavirus Live updates | COVID-19 vaccine: Check legal options for recipients having severe side effects

After months of effort, the COVID-19 vaccines are ready to administer. The distribution has begun and some countries have started inoculations. India's drug regulator has granted restricted emergency use to Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield and the indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech in the country. But, what if the vaccine recipients experience severe side effects after getting a COVID-19 vaccine? Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive of Serum Institute of India that is manufacturing Covishield, wants indemnity. But, the Centre has said nothing on the matter. However, legal experts suggest that, irrespective of the stance that the government takes on indemnification, vaccine recipients still have some existing recourse in case of an adverse effect following immunisation (AEFI), reported Business Standard.

According to the experts, the compensation mechanisms may be different for recipients in India depending upon the vaccine they inoculate. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given different kinds of approvals to Covishield and Covaxin. The DCGI has licensed the indigenous product developed by local firm Bharat Biotech for “emergency use in a clinical trial mode”. With this, the government has clarified that Covaxin’s use is an extension of phase III trials.

Coronavirus Live updates: Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine appears effective against mutation in new coronavirus variants, says Study

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine appeared to work against a key mutation in the highly transmissible new variants of the coronavirus discovered in the UK and South Africa, according to a laboratory study conducted by the U.S. drugmaker. The not-yet peer reviewed study by Pfizer and scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch indicated the vaccine was effective in neutralizing virus with the so-called N501Y mutation of the spike protein.

The mutation could be responsible for greater transmissibility and there had been concern it could also make the virus escape antibody neutralization elicited by the vaccine, said Phil Dormitzer, one of Pfizer's top viral vaccine scientists. The study was conducted on blood taken from people who had been given the vaccine. Its findings are limited, because it does not look at the full set of mutations found in either of the new variants of the rapidly spreading virus.

Coronavirus Live updates: China study says Wuhan COVID infections three times higher than official figure

The number of people who have been infected with COVID-19 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus was first identified, could be around three times the official figure, according to a study by Chinese researchers based in the city. The paper, published by the PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases journal on Thursday, analysed blood samples from more than 60,000 healthy individuals taken from locations across China from March to May 2020.

It found that 1.68% of those from Wuhan contained antibodies for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, compared to 0.59% in surrounding Hubei province and 0.38% in the rest of China. With the city's total population at more than 10 million, the researchers estimated that as many as 168,000 Wuhan residents were infected with the virus, compared to the official number of 50,340 hospitalised cases.

The study suggested at least two thirds of the total number were asymptomatic, and thousands could have been infected after the "elimination" of clinical cases, raising the possibility the virus could exist in a community for a long period without causing hospitalisations.

Coronavirus Live updates | COVID-19 vaccination dry run: States flag connectivity issue, urge Centre to allow offline registrations

Ahead of the second nationwide COVID-19 vaccination dry run, several states have raised concerns regarding software, connectivity and broadband issues. Many have even asked the Union Health Ministry to upgrade its Co-WIN platform with details of the time and quantity of vaccine that will be made available to them. Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on January 7 held a virtual meeting with health ministers of all states on preparation and protocol for the dry run.

The dry run is aimed at familiarising the state, district, block and hospital-level officers on all aspects of COVID-19 vaccination rollout. The drill will be held in three sessions at sites of 736 districts across 33 states and Union Territories, the health ministry said in a statement.

Jammu and Kashmir's representative asked the government to allow offline registrations and management of vaccine beneficiaries instead of the online Co-WIN system. "We have a serious connectivity issue with most state in the 2G network… Since the whole exercise is driven by the Co-WIN platform, this is a challenge," said Rajiv Bhatnagar, advisor to the lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

Coronavirus Live updates: Centre should sponsor COVID vaccination drive, says Maharashtra health minster

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday said that they are ready to execute an inoculation drive whenever it is instructed by the Central government. He also stated that the COVID-19 vaccination drive must be sponsored by the Centre. "We had a meeting with Union Health Minister. We insisted that the COVID vaccination drive must be sponsored by GoI. We also pointed out all lacunae in maintaining cold storage of vaccines. We're ready to execute inoculation drive whenever it is instructed," said Tope.

Meanwhile, the government has prepared a detailed draft for air transportation of COVID-19 vaccines and the movement of vaccine to different parts of the nation is likely to begin by January 7 or January 8. Transportation of COVID vaccine module has been finalised by the central government. Sources indicated Pune will be the central hub from where the distribution of vaccine will take place. Passengers aircraft will be allowed to transport vaccines in the belly of the carrier. Since the Pune airport is under the Indian Air Force, they will also be a part of it," sources said.

India has reported 20,346 new Covid-19 cases, 19,587 recoveries, and 222 deaths on January 7, taking the country's count to 1,03,95,278, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said on Thursday. While 1,00,16,859 people have recovered from the novel coronavirus so far, 1,50,336 persons have succumbed to the deadly virus in the country. There are 2,28,083 active coronavirus cases in India, as per the Union Health Ministry.

Coronavirus Live updates: Nearly 1.5 million people have been vaccinated against COVID, says UK PM Boris Johnson

Almost 1.5 million people have been vaccinated against COVID-19, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday, vowing to quickly expand a programme to inoculate the most vulnerable in Britain by mid-February.

After recording 52,618 new COVID-19 cases and 1,162 deaths within 28 days of a positive test for the virus, Johnson told a news conference that the government was increasing the number of places where people could get vaccinated and the number of people who could give the vaccination.

On Wednesday, Britain had recorded 62,322 new coronavirus infections and 1,041 deaths.

The data also showed that 1.3 million people had received their first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine in figures for the week ending Jan 3, before Johnson provided the updated figures.

Coronavirus in France LIVE Updates | France will keep its restaurants, cinemas and ski resorts closed while it cranks up its COVID-19 vaccination rollout because the coronavirus is still spreading too fast and hospitals remain under severe pressure, Prime Minister Jean Castex said. he said that restaurants would remain shuttered until at least mid-February and ski resorts might not open before the February holidays. A nightly curfew would be extended until at least January 20 and further national restrictions could not be ruled out, he added. (Reuters)