Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Oxford University to test vaccine response among children for first time

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Second dose of COVID-19 vaccination for begins in Tamil Nadu

The second dose of COVID-19 vaccination for health care workers in Tamil Nadu commenced on Saturday, 28 days after they took the first shot, with a senior official saying that it would soon be available to members of the public.

Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan, who inspected the administering of the second dose to healthcare workers at the Government Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital here, said the vaccination drive would soon be extended to the public-.

Speaking to reporters, he said nearly 2,27,340 people, including 1.9 lakh health workers, 19,405 frontline workers and 9,789 police personnel have so far been vaccinated.

PTI

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Pakistan approves fourth COVID-19 vaccine

Pakistan has approved the emergency use of a second Chinese COVID-19 vaccine, making it the fourth drug to be cleared by the regulatory authority to tackle the deadly virus, which has claimed over 12,000 lives in the country. Chinese company Cansino Biologics Inc's vaccine was approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) on Friday. Drap officials said that after its approval for emergency use, the supply of the doses will start in a few weeks. Cansino Bio is the only vaccine for which Pakistan conducted a clinical trial, with around 18,000 volunteers participating from across the country. (PTI)

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Goa govt starts giving second dose of COVID-19 vaccine

The Goa government on Saturday started administering the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine to the healthcare workers in the state, an official said. Those healthcare workers who had taken the first dose of the vaccine 28 days ago were given the second shot on Saturday, state immunisation officer Dr Rajendra Borkar said.

Ranganath Bhojje, a healthcare worker from Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), near here was the first person to get the vaccine shot on January 16, when the nationwide vaccination programme had started. He was again the first person to get the second dose of the vaccine, the official said.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Maharashtra's 2nd round of vaccination to start from February 15

The Maharashtra government will start giving the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine to the healthcare workers in the state from February 15, an official said on Saturday. Those healthcare workers, who have received their first dose of the vaccine and completed the four-week period, will be eligible for the second dose as per the standard guidelines laid down by central health ministry, the official from the state health department. Till Friday, a total of of 6,48,573 healthcare and frontline workers have received their first dose of the vaccine in the state. (PTI)

Coronavirus Live updates | Oxford University to test COVID-19 vaccine response among children for first time

The University of Oxford has launched a study to assess the safety and immune response of the COVID-19 vaccine it has developed with AstraZeneca Plc in children for the first time, it said on Saturday. The new mid-stage trial will determine whether the vaccine is effective on people between the ages of 6 and 17, according to an emailed statement from the university.

Around 300 volunteers will be enrolled and first inoculations are expected this month, Oxford said. The two-dose Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has been hailed as a 'vaccine for the world' because it is cheaper and easier to distribute than some rivals. AstraZeneca has a target to produce 3 billion doses this year and aims to produce over 200 million doses per month by April. (Reuters)

Coronavirus Live updates | 229 new cases in Chhattisgarh

With 229 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths reported on Friday, Chhattisgarh's caseload rose to 3,08,701 and death toll reached 3,766, a health official said.  The number of people who have recovered rose to3,01,648 after 22 people were discharged from hospitals, while 245 patients completed their home isolation during the day. The state has 3,287 active cases now, he said. Raipur district reported 82 new cases, taking its total count to 54,496, including 792 deaths. (PTI)

Coronavirus Live updates | No fresh COVID-19 case in Andamans

No new COVID-19 case was reported in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Saturday, a health official said. Two more people have recovered from the disease, he said. The Union territory's caseload stood at 5,007, of which 11 are active cases, while 4,934 people have recovered from the disease and 62 patients have succumbed to the infection so far, the official said. The administration has so far tested over 2.4 lakh samples for COVID-19, he added.

Coronavirus Live updates | Goa govt starts giving second dose of COVID-19 vaccine

The Goa government on Saturday started administering the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine to the healthcare workers in the state, an official said. Those healthcare workers who had taken the first dose of the vaccine 28 days ago were given the second shot on Saturday, state immunisation officer Dr Rajendra Borkar said.

Ranganath Bhojje, a healthcare worker from Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), near here was the first person to get the vaccine shot on January 16, when the nationwide vaccination programme had started. He was again the first person to get the second dose of the vaccine, the official said. Those who received the second dose of the vaccine will develop immunity against the infection after 14 days, he said.

Coronavirus Live updates | Two white tiger cubs in Pakistan likely died of COVID, zoo officials say

Two 11-week-old white tiger cubs that died in a Pakistani zoo last month appear to have died of COVID-19, officials said. The cubs died in the Lahore Zoo on January 30, four days after beginning treatment for what officials thought was feline panleukopenia virus, a disease that zoo officials said is common in Pakistan and targets cats' immune system.

But an autopsy found the cubs' lungs were badly damaged and they were suffering from severe infection, with pathologists concluding they died from COVID-19. Although no PCR test for the new coronavirus was conducted, zoo deputy director Kiran Saleem told Reuters the zoo believes the cubs were the victims of the pandemic that has killed 12,256 people in Pakistan. "After their death, the zoo administration conducted tests of all officials, and six were tested positive, including one official who handled the cubs," Saleem said. "It strengthens the findings of the autopsy. The cubs probably caught the virus from the person handling and feeding them."

Coronavirus Live updates | Maharashtra's 2nd round of vaccination to start from February 15

The Maharashtra government will start giving the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine to the healthcare workers in the state from February 15, an official said on Saturday. Those healthcare workers, who have received their first dose of the vaccine and completed the four-week period, will be eligible for the second dose as per the standard guidelines laid down by central health ministry, the official from the state health department. Till Friday, a total of of 6,48,573 healthcare and frontline workers have received their first dose of the vaccine in the state. The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive began on January 16.

Coronavirus Live updates | No new deaths due to COVID reported in 17 states, UTs in India, says Health ministry

The distribution of daily deaths among states and union territories in a span of 24 hours reflects a significant decline, with 17 of them not reporting any new COVID-19 fatality, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday. A total of 17 states and union territories that have not reported any new deaths in the last 24 hours are Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Ladakh, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tripura, Lakshadweep, Arunachal Pradesh and Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. While a total of 13 states and UTs have reported between 1-5 new deaths due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, India has vaccinated close to 80 lakh beneficiaries against COVID-19, the ministry said.

Coronavirus Live updates | Oxford University to test COVID-19 vaccine response among children for first time

The University of Oxford has launched a study to assess the safety and immune response of the COVID-19 vaccine it has developed with AstraZeneca Plc in children for the first time, it said on Saturday. The new mid-stage trial will determine whether the vaccine is effective on people between the ages of 6 and 17, according to an emailed statement from the university.

Around 300 volunteers will be enrolled and first inoculations are expected this month, Oxford said. The two-dose Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has been hailed as a ‘vaccine for the world’ because it is cheaper and easier to distribute than some rivals. AstraZeneca has a target to produce 3 billion doses this year and aims to produce over 200 million doses per month by April.