Beneficiaries at a vaccination center in Karave Gaon Health Post in Navi Mumbai. Coronavirus India Live Updates: Around 40 cases of the Delta plus variant, classified as a variant of concern (VOC), have been detected in Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
“As of now among the samples sequenced (45000+) in India, Delta plus variant – AY.1 – has been observed sporadically in Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, with around 40 cases identified so far and no significant increase in prevalence,” the ministry said in its statement. The Centre has advised the three states to strengthen surveillance and take appropriate public health measures.
India reported 50,581 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, according to data released by the Union Health Ministry. The active caseload has dropped to 6,43,194, the lowest in 82 days. Meanwhile, the number of fresh cases recorded on Wednesday are 111 in Delhi, 863 in Mumbai, 1,008 in Bengaluru, 178 in Kolkata and 396 in Chennai.
In other news, Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech is set to meet with the World Health Organization (WHO), where it is expected to submit its proposal for an Emergency Use Listing of the Covaxin vaccine. The EUL would make it easier for Covaxin — developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) — to receive recognition in other countries where it has not received regulatory approvals.
Over 16 lakh people in Delhi have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus, while more than 50 lakh have received at least one dose so far, AAP MLA Atishi said on Wednesday. She said 84,539 doses were administered in the city on June 22. Of this, around 52,000 jabs were given to people in the 18-44 age group.
"We have been saying that the vaccination number goes up whenever doses for youth are available. Tuesday's figures reflect the same thing," Atishi said. She said 66,87,438 vaccine doses have been administered since the inoculation exercise began on January 16. (PTI)
Six people in Jharkhand's Palamu district were administered Covishield vaccine as their second dose against coronavirus on Wednesday, though they had received a shot of Covaxin as the first, an official said.
This happened because of a mistake, but the change in the vaccine will not have any significant negative effect on them, Chief Medical Officer of the district, Dr Anil Kumar Singh, said. "Those six people went to a community health centre at Hariharganj to receive their second dose of Covaxin. However, they were given Covishield due to lapse on the part of the employees there," Singh said.
They will be under observation for 24 hours. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu reports 6,596 new COVID cases, 10,432 recoveries and 166. Chennai recorded 396 fresh infections.
Maharashtra carried out 6.02 lakh vaccinations till 7 pm on Wednesday, the highest in the state so far.
West Bengal reports 1,925 new cases and 38 deaths. Kolkata recorded 178 fresh infections.
Karnataka reports 4,436 new cases and 123 deaths. Out of the new cases, 1008 infections were recorded in Bengaluru.
Mumbai reports 863 new cases and 711 patient discharges. The recovery rate is now at 95%.
With 55 fresh COVID-19 fatalities, the cumulative death toll in Uttar Pradesh rose to 22,336 while total cases in the state climbed to 17,04,790 with 208 new infection cases. Of the 55 deaths, 15 were reported each from Lucknow and Prayagraj, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement issued here on Wednesday. Of the 208 fresh COVID-19 cases, Lucknow reported 14 and Prayagraj 13 cases. (PTI)
If effective containment strategies and Covid appropriate behaviour are followed, the number of cases in the third wave will not be to the extent that the health system comes under strain, a senior health ministry official said on Wednesday.
Health ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said 2.2 per cent of India's population has been affected by the disease so far."This should also make us wary of protecting the still vulnerable or susceptible 97 per cent population. We cannot let our guards down, hence, continued focus on containment is critical. "If we keep following containment and Covid appropriate behavior, then the third wave, even if it comes, will not have the number of cases that will put the health system under strain," he said.
Noting that one of the challenges being faced in the anti-Covid vaccination programme is vaccine hesitancy, Agarwal said many beneficiaries, especially in rural and tribal areas, fail to get themselves vaccinated owing to myths, rumours, misinformation and disinformation about vaccine shared on social media. (PTI)
Uttarakhand reports 149 new cases, 152 recoveries and 5 deaths.
At the moment, we can’t say if Delta Plus is a variant of concern because there's no such proof present in our country, says Dr Pragya Yadav, scientist in charge of Maximum Containment Laboratory, NIV Pune.
“If the number increases suddenly, then we keep the virus under investigation. So, at the moment it is just a variant. With time, if numbers increase, there's change in pathogenicity and its behaviour towards vaccines, then definitely it would be further characterised,” she adds.
The Union Health Ministry had on Tuesday categorised the Delta Plus variant of the novel coronavirus as a ‘variant of concern’ and directed states to take up immediate containment measures in clusters where the variant has been detected. (ANI)
Jharkhand government extends Covid-induced restrictions under 'Swasthya Suraksha Saptah' till July 1. (ANI)
Kerala reports 12,787 new cases, 150 deaths and 13,683 recoveries. Death toll stands at 12,445 while 27,29,967 patients have recovered so far. The positivity rate is at 10.29%. (ANI)
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said mothers of children in the age group of 1 to 12 years will be vaccinated on priority.
She added, “Many people have been vaccinated with Covaxin and foreign countries are not accepting it. Thus, students who want to go abroad are very worried. I would like to ask the chief secretary to write to the central health secretary for a remedy.”
She further added that Covid cases increased in the state during the last two phases of the Assembly polls. “We had requested to club both the phases…despite requests they didn't listen. Now the positivity rate has been reduced to 3.61%,” she said. (ANI)
All students in degree colleges in Karnataka will be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the first or second week of July, after which the institutions would reopen for classes, Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan said here on Wednesday.
"A committee headed by Dr Devi Prasad Shetty has submitted a report covering all aspects, including the third wave. It has recommended opening degree colleges first.Students will be vaccinated in July, after which the classes will begin," Narayan, who heads the COVID-19 Task Force, told reporters on the sidelines of a function.
In a bid to get students return to colleges, the government has coined the slogan 'Marali College Ge' (Back to colleges), he said. The DCM said the government is awaiting the central government guidelines on reopening colleges. (PTI)
Procuring around 500 pulse oximeters and 100 thermal scanners, setting up an oxygen plant and Covid care facilities inside the campus are some of the steps planned by the Delhi University to tackle a possible third wave of the novel coronavirus infection. At least 40 professors of the varsity have so far succumbed to the infection.
The university will set up an oxygen plant that can fill in medical cylinders (about 50-80 cylinders per day) using the Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technology that will cost less, is safe in a campus setting and needs minimal clearances and approvals from the government," the varsity said in a statement.
The Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) had on June 10 proposed to the varsity administration to set up an oxygen plant in the north campus to prepare for a possible third Covid wave. The varsity said it has had dialogues with vendors in this regard. (PTI)
Scientists have developed a universal vaccine that protected mice not just against COVID-19 but also other coronaviruses while triggering the immune system to fight off a dangerous variant.
While no one knows which virus may cause the next outbreak, researchers from the University of North Carolina (UNC) in the US noted that coronaviruses remain a threat after causing the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the global COVID-19 pandemic. To prevent a future coronavirus pandemic, the team designed the vaccine to provide protection from the current SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and a group of coronaviruses known to make the jump from animals to humans.
The study, published in the journal Science, looked at a second-generation vaccine: one that targets sarbecoviruses. Sarbecoviruses, part of the large family of coronaviruses, are a priority for virologists after two caused devastating disease in the past two decades: SARS and COVID-19. (PTI)
TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty says she has busted a fake Covid vaccination racket in Kolkata
“I was approached by a man who introduced himself as an IAS officer and said he was running a special drive for transgenders and specially abled persons. He requested for my presence,” she said.
“I took Covishield vat the camp to motivate people for taking jabs. But I never received a confirmation message from CoWin. I lodged a complaint with Kolkata Police and the accused was arrested. He was using a car with a blue beacon and a fake sticker,” she added. (ANI)
Table tennis player Manika Batra takes her second dose of Covid vaccine at Kamala Nehru Hospital in Pune. “I will give my 100% in the Olympics,” she says. (ANI)
Delhi reports 111 new cases, 702 recoveries and 7 deaths in the last 24 hours.