11.40 am: Following the Centre’s directive, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation allows lactating women to get Covid-19 vaccines without pre-registration, reports The Indian Express. All pregnant women will produce to get a gynaecologist’s certificate and give a consent form for vaccination.

11.36 am: Russia sends antiviral drug remdesivir vials to India, reports ANI. Russian Deputy Envoy to India Roman Babushkin supplies of coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V is going on according to the contract obligations and schedules. “We are getting some more requests from other Indian companies and state governments and all proposals are being studied very carefully,” he adds.

11.33 am: Uttarakhand Health Department says that no company has responded to the global tender for coronavirus vaccines procurement floated by the state government, reports ANI. The time for submission of interest for tender has been extended till May 31.

11.27 am: The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers says that states and Union Territories have been allotted 19,420 additional vials of Amphotericin-B, the drug used for the treatment of mucormycosis, or “black fungus”, reported ANI.

10.28 am: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren says the state is facing a severe shortage of Covid-19 vaccines and has barely two-three days of shots left for those in the 18-44 age group, reports PTI.

10.26 am: The Gujarat government says it will continue to conduct vaccinations through the system of prior registration and appointment, even as the Centre has now allowed on-site registration, reports PTI.

10.25 am: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan writes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging to float global tender of vaccines in anticipation of a hike in prices of shots, reports PTI.

10.23 am: The social justice and empowerment ministry asks states to ensure that there is no discrimination against transgender persons at vaccination centres, reports PTI.

10.22 am: The Russian Direct Investment Fund and Indian drug firm Panacea Biotec has started production of Sputnik V vaccine in India, reports PTI.

10.17 am: Flight from Russia carrying Remdesivir vials along with other medicines arrives in India.

9.55 am: India reports 1,96,427 new coronavirus cases, taking the infection tally to 2,69,48,874 since the pandemic first broke out in January 2020. This is the first occasion since April 15 that the single-day rise in cases has come under two lakh. The toll climbs by 3,511 to 3,07,231.

9.17 am: National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation chief NK Arora asserts India’s decision to extend the gap between two doses of Covishield and other vaccine-related moves are based on scientific evidence, reports ANI.

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9.12 am: A total of 20,58,112 samples were tested for Covid-19 across the country on Monday, says Indian Council of Medical Research.

9.07 am: Here are the top updates from Monday: