Coronavirus India Updates: Active Cases Drop To 1.6 Lakh Even As Vaccination Drive Slows Down

The Covid-19 pandemic seems to be receding in India, with active cases continuing to drop, at a time the country has begun the world’s largest inoculation drive.

India added more than 11,000 fresh cases in 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on Feb. 3, 2021. That’s lower than the 14,000 recoveries reported in the same period, taking active cases to 1.6 lakh. Active cases, now a mere 1.52% of the total caseload, had crossed 10 lakh in mid September.

Key figures:

• Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 1,07,77,284
• Active cases: 1,60,057
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 1,04,62,631
• Deaths: 1,54,596
• Number of fresh cases in last 24 hours: 11,039
• One-day recoveries: 14,225
• One-day deaths: 110

Over 39 lakh healthcare workers have been vaccinated throughout India, but that’s just a little over half the targeted number of people. Many at the frontlines of the pandemic are refusing Bharat Biotech’s shot -- hesitation that’s largely being blamed on the hasty approval of the vaccine, which is still deep in Phase III trials.

Global Update

AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid vaccine showed 82.4% effectiveness with a three-month gap between two shots, according to a new study that bolsters the U.K.’s controversial decision to adopt the extended dosing interval. Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine provided strong protection in an interim analysis of an advanced clinical trial.

Singapore passed a law that will allow contact-tracing data to be used in certain criminal investigations, while Hong Kong is reportedly considering easing capacity limits on schools. U.S. will test a program to provide coronavirus vaccines directly to pharmacies, as officials try to ratchet up the pace of inoculations.

Globally, Covid-19 cases topped 103.8 million with more than 2.25 million dead from the infection.