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Around 1.33 crore people applied for vaccination on Wednesday while 80 lakh people registered on Wednesday as the government’s dedicated website, CoWIN, opened for registrations on Wednesday.
Many people took to social media to complain about the technical problems they faced trying to register themselves for the third phase of the inoculation drive that is scheduled to begin from May 1. Some of them complained that the portal was not responding while others complained that it had crashed. The Union health ministry, however, clarified that the media reports that the server has crashed “are incorrect and are without any basis”.
The ministry said that it witnessed more than 80 lakh people registered themselves on the portal, with 3 hours from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. It added that the portal received 383 million API hits, initially as high as 2.7 million hits per minute and a total of 1.45 crore SMSs have been successfully delivered.
US Delivering Supplies Worth Over USD100 Million to India | The United States will be delivering COVID-19 relief materials worth over USD100 million to India in the coming days, the White House said as the first flight carrying urgent health supplies left for the country. The flight took off from the Travis Air Force Base on the world's largest military aircraft on Wednesday night, the US Agency for International Development said.
Centre May Waive GST on Vaccines to Reduce Cost | The government may waive Goods and Services Tax (GST) on Covid-19 vaccines to reduce the cost—up to ₹1,200 a dose in private hospitals. The move is an attempt to ease the burden on people and encourage vaccination, people familiar with the matter reportedly said. Earlier the government also waived import duty on most essential pharmaceutical raw materials.
Brazil Nears 400,000 COVID-19 Deaths | Brazil is on the verge of registering 400,000 coronavirus deaths this week, after the Health Ministry on Wednesday reported 3,163 new COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 398,185. Brazil is quickly catching up with the world's worst death toll in the United States, which has seen more than 570,000 casualties in total but less than a thousand deaths per day in recent weeks.
Australia to Investigate Two Deaths for Possible Links to Vaccine | Australia's medicines regulator will investigate two deaths for possible links to the COVID-19 vaccine, raising fresh concerns as the country seeks to accelerate an immunisation programme that has widely missed its initial vaccination targets. Two men died in the country's most populous state of New South Wales (NSW) days after getting their coronavirus vaccine shots, Australian media reported.
Serum Institute Reduces Covishield Cost from Rs 400 to Rs 300 | The Serum Institute of India has reduced the price of Covishield vaccine from Rs 400 to Rs 300 per dose for states. This was announced by SII CEO Adar Poonawalla on Wednesday. The development comes at a time when there has been a raging debate over the pricing of vaccines in the country. The government had earlier asked the SII and Bharat Biotech, makers of the two vaccines currently in use in India, to lower their prices.
As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of @SerumInstIndia, I hereby reduce the price to the states from Rs.400 to Rs.300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds going forward. This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives.
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) April 28, 2021
Indians Rush for Vaccines as COVID-19 Death Toll Passes 200,000 | Indians struggled to register online for a mass vaccination drive set to begin at the weekend as the country's toll from the coronavirus surged past 200,000 on Wednesday, worsened by shortages of hospital beds and medical oxygen. The second wave of infections has seen at least 300,000 people test positive each day for the past week, overwhelming health facilities and crematoriums and prompting an increasingly urgent response from allies overseas sending equipment.
Maharashtra 'Lockdown' Extended by 15 Days, Says Minister | Maharashtra, which is facing lockdown-like restrictions till May 1, will see an extension of the curbs for another fortnight as the state continues to report huge numbers of coronavirus cases, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said. The official announcement is expected soon. “It (the lockdown) will be extended by 15 days," Tope said.
Delhi Records Nearly 26,000 Covid-19 Cases, 368 Deaths | Delhi recorded 368 more COVID-19 deaths and 25,986 new cases of the infection on Wednesday with a positivity rate of 31.76 per cent, according to the latest bulletin issued by the city health department. This is the seventh day on the trot that Delhi has recorded over 300 deaths due to the coronavirus.
Over 80L Registered for Covid Vaccine on CoWIN Today Despite Glitches | As the registration of all citizens above 18 years of age for vaccination against COVID-19 started on the CoWIN portal at 4 pm on Wednesday, many people took to social media to complain about the technical problems they faced trying to register themselves for the third phase of the inoculation drive that is scheduled to begin from May 1. Some of them complained that the portal was not responding while others complained that it had crashed.
