Covid-19: Cumulative vaccine doses administered in India cross 176.47 crore, says Govt

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) started from February 2. The next phase of Covid-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.

The country launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1. The next phase of Covid-19 vaccination has commenced from January 3 for adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years.

Meanwhile, India witnessed a slight increase in fresh coronavirus cases and deaths, recording 15,102 new Covid-19 cases and 278 deaths in the last 24 hours ending at 8 am on Wednesday. The daily positivity rate presently stands at 1.28 per cent, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

With 31,377 Covid patients recovering from the disease since yesterday, the country’s active caseload is now at 1,64,522, while the recovery rate stands at 98.42 per cent. Active cases currently comprise 0.38 per cent of the total caseload.

India generated blueprint for world to deal with future public health crisis, says new report

Despite its huge diversity, India not only addressed the pandemic but also generated a blueprint for the world to deal with future public health crisis, stated two reports released by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday.

The reports also underlined that a strong political commitment and coordination among stakeholders led to the historic feat of administering over 176 crore Covid vaccine doses.

Titled ‘COVID-19-India’s Vaccine Development Story’ and ‘India’s COVID–19 Vaccination Administration Journey’, the two reports have been prepared by the Institute for Competitiveness which is a part of the global network of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness and affiliated to Harvard Business School. (PTI)

Omicron variant silent killer, recovery takes long, says CJI

Chief Justice N V Ramana on Wednesday said that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is a silent killer and it takes a long time to recover from the strain. The CJI also noted that there is a jump of 15,000 cases now.

The remark came after the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president and senior advocate Vikas Singh urged the apex court to revert to a full physical hearing. “It is a silent killer… I suffered in the first wave but recovered in four days, but now in this wave, it has been 25 days and I am still suffering,” Ramana said. (PTI)

Delhi logs 583 new Covid-19 cases, 3 deaths

Delhi on Wednesday reported 583 fresh Covid-19 cases and three deaths, as the positivity rate also rose to 1.05 per cent, slightly higher than that of Tuesday.

With the latest additions, the total number of cases rose to 18,57,598 and the toll to 26,109. The active caseload stood at 2,344.

On Tuesday, Delhi had reported 498 Covid-19 cases at a positivity rate of 0.96 per cent and one fatality.

WHO works to spread Covid-19 vaccine technology to more nations

The World Health Organisation is creating a global training center to help poorer countries make vaccines, antibodies and cancer treatments using the messenger RNA technology that has successfully been used to make Covid-19 vaccines.

At a press briefing in Geneva on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the new hub will be in South Korea and will share mRNA technology being developed by WHO and partners in South Africa, where scientists are working to recreate the Covid-19 vaccine made by Moderna Inc. That effort is taking place without Moderna’s help.

“Vaccines have helped to change the course of the Covid-19 pandemic but this scientific triumph has been undermined by vast inequities in access to these life-saving tools,” Tedros said.

It’s the first time that WHO has supported such unorthodox efforts to reverse-engineer a commercially-sold vaccine, making an end run around the pharmaceutical industry, which has largely prioritized supplying rich countries over poor in both sales and manufacturing. (AP)

Maharashtra records 1,151 new Covid-19 cases, 23 deaths; active tally at 11,604

Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 1,151 fresh coronavirus cases and 23 fatalities linked to the infection, while 2,594 patients were discharged following recovery, the state health department said.

With this, the state’s Covid-19 tally reached 78,61,468, while the death toll increased to 1,43,656, the department said in a bulletin. On Tuesday, the state had recorded 1,080 cases and 47 fatalities.

Mumbai city recorded 168 fresh cases and Pune 186. Both the cities did not report any fatality linked to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, the bulletin said.

Of the 23 fatalities, the Pune region recorded nine, followed by Nashik (five), Akola (four) and the Nagpur region (two). Latur, Kolhapur, Mumbai regions reported one death each, the department said. (PTI)

SC dismisses plea seeking cancellation of offline board exams for classes 10, 12

The Supreme Court Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking cancellation of offline board examinations for classes 10 and 12 to be conducted by the CBSE and several other boards this year, saying such petitions give “false hope” and create “confusion” among students who are going to appear in these exams.

The apex court observed that the petition is “ill-advised” and “premature” and the authorities are yet to take appropriate decision with regard to conducting exams of the various boards. “Such petitions give false hope to the persons who are going to appear in the examinations. Those students will be misled by this petition. Let the authorities take decision. If the decision is wrong, challenge that decision. Here, you want to pre-empt everything,” a bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar told the lawyer appearing for the petitioners.

“This creates not only false hopes, it creates confusion all over to students who are preparing,” said the bench, also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and C T Ravikumar. (PTI)

Study finds limited efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines against Omicron

People who are double-vaccinated and those who have recovered from infection by previous strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have virtually no antibody protection against the Omicron variant, according to a study.

The research, recently published in the journal Allergy, found that only individuals vaccinated with a third or booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine form antibodies that can partially block Omicron. Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna examined an Austrian subpopulation of vaccinated and recovered individuals for their antibody status and protection against the Wuhan, Delta and Omicron variants. They adapted for Omicron a test developed for the previous variants, which investigates whether the virus can bind to the receptor on human cells via its receptor binding domain (RBD).

RBD is used by SARS-CoV-2 to enter human cells via the ACE2 receptor on cells.

The researchers also examined people who had received different vaccines and combinations currently licensed in Austria. (PTI)

Election Commission lifts curbs on rallies and roadshows as Covid ebbs

The Election Commission on Tuesday lifted its restrictions on rallies and roadshows that were imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19. The poll body had allowed 50 per cent attendance in a series of relaxations announced earlier this month.

“Today, the Election Commission took a periodic review of the status of Covid-19 in the country and specially in the poll-bound states. As per the updated information received from the Union Health Secretary, the Covid-19 cases have already declined significantly (3.47 lakh on 21 January, 2022 to just about 13.400 as on Tuesday) and come to a minimal level in the country,” the EC said in a statement.

India-US partnership critical to vaccinating world against Covid-19: Envoy Sandhu

The partnership between India and the US in the healthcare sector is critical to vaccinating the world against the coronavirus, India’s Ambassador here Taranjit Singh Sandhu said.

Observing that vaccinating the world must be the priority strategy against the Covid-19 pandemic, Sandhu on Tuesday said the world’s map of vaccinations presents a story of disparities with the under-developed countries, including those in Africa, lagging at 10 per cent or below.

Sandhu was speaking at a virtual roundtable on Vaccine for All during which eminent participants including Bill Gates discussed how safe, affordable and reliable vaccines can be delivered to all. (PTI)