Coronavirus April 26 Live News: The Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) has given restricted emergency use authorisation for Biological E’s COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax for those aged five to 12 years and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for children in the age group of six to 12 years, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday. The DCGI has also granted emergency use authorisation to Cadila for its ZyCoV-D for an additional dose of 3mg with a two-jab inoculation schedule 28 days apart for those aged above 12 years, reported PTI.
Meanwhile, India recorded 2,483 fresh Covid-19 cases and according to the official data shared by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday morning. The country’s active cases dipped to 15,636 and the number of recoveries stood at 1,970 in the last 24 hours. A reduction of 886 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The death toll climbed to 5,23,622 as Assam reconciled 1,347 deaths and Kerala 47 due to the infection, the data updated at 8 am stated.
#AmritMahotsav#Unite2FightCorona#LargestVaccineDrive
???????????????????? ????????????????????https://t.co/o9p3XDIXOm pic.twitter.com/xaT3gdRbLv— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) April 26, 2022
Goa government’s expert committee on Covid-19 has said that a possible fourth wave of the pandemic will hit the coastal state in June or July. The head of the committee, Dr Shivanand Bandekar, has said that the experts have warned against lowering guard on Covid-19, reported PTI. Bandekar has advised people to keep their mask on in public places to ensure the infection does not spread. As per the PTI report, committee members have reviewed the preparations to face another coronavirus wave and have said that the state has enough stock of medicines to deal with any situation.
Financial Express Online brings you live updates on Covid situation in India and from around the world.
Coronavirus India Live News: Covid-19 Cases and Deaths in India, Covid New Guidelines and Restrictions Live Updates
Odisha on Tuesday recorded nine new COVID-19 cases, which took the tally 12,88,007, a health department bulletin said. The death toll remained at 9,124 as no fresh fatality due to the infection was reported for the sixth straight day, it said. Fifty-three other coronavirus patients have died due to comorbidities so far. (PTI)
xperts have predicted that the COVID-19 fourth wave may peak after June and have its effects till October, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said on Tuesday as he stressed on learning to live with the virus by taking precautionary measures like vaccination and wearing masks. He said the prevalent variants of the virus is said to be Omicron's sublineages and an official report in this regard is likely in a couple of days. (PTI)
With an uptick in COVID-19 cases and expansion of the vaccination process, the Delhi government has decided to continue the services of all additional doctors and staff hired for vaccination, testing, surveillance and management of the infection in Covid hospitals and district health centres till June 30. Ajay Bisht, deputy secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, issued an order in this regard in compliance with the directions of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). (PTI)
Seventy per cent of the people who received a booster dose of the Covid vaccine did not contract the disease during the third wave, according to a new study that covered around 6,000 people in India. The study led by Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman of the Indian Medical Association’s national task force on coronavirus, said that 45 per cent of the vaccinated people who did not take a precautionary dose reported Covid in the third wave. The survey covered 5,971 vaccinated people, of which 24 per cent were aged below 40 and 50 per cent belonged to the 40-59 age group. Women accounted for 45 per cent of the people surveyed, while 53 per cent were healthcare workers. (PTI)
President Joe Biden's administration is taking steps to expand availability of the life-saving COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid, as it seeks to reassure doctors that there is ample supply for people at high risk of severe illness or death from the virus. Paxlovid, produced by Pfizer, was first approved in December. Supply of the regimen was initially very limited, but as COVID-19 cases across the country have fallen and manufacturing has increased it is now far more abundant. (AP)
With COVID-19 cases registering a spike in NCR, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday stressed for taking preventive measures and significantly increasing testing to combat the threat in the state. Minimum 1.5 lakh tests should be performed every day and all necessary arrangements should be made for the treatment of infected persons, he said. He said infected persons who are being isolated in their homes should be given complete information about the Covid protocol they have to follow, an official spokesman said. (PTI)
A drug used to treat asthma and allergies can reduce replication of SARS-COV-2 in human immune cells by blocking a crucial protein produced by the virus, according to a study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) – Bengaluru. The drug, called montelukast, is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has been around for more than 20 years, the researchers said. Montelukast is usually prescribed to reduce inflammation caused by conditions like asthma, hay fever and hives, they said. (PTI)
With only 4.64 lakh people taking their third Covid jab since April 10, Indians could be grappling with vaccine fatigue, a reluctance to take a booster shot that experts attribute to a combination of fear, confusion and misinformation. As India's Covid graph inches upwards, not enough people are getting their booster shots. Among the reasons for the apparent lethargy are the fear of adverse effects, the view that Covid is now a mild infection and doubts over whether a precaution dose is indeed useful, said scientists, public health experts and industry insiders. According to virologist Dr T Jacob John, vaccine fatigue has set in, also because the “cacophony of new experts” has been confusing. (PTI)
The Tamil Nadu Health Department has informed that IIT Madras has reported 31 more positive cases of Coronavirus, taking the tally to 111, news agency ANI reported.
Three fresh cases of coronavirus were confirmed by the Puducherry government at the end of examination of 264 samples on Tuesday, pushing up the overall active cases to seven. While Puducherry logged two new cases the remaining one was traced in Karaikal region. The cumulative case load rose to 1,65,784 while the recoveries stood at 1,63,815. The toll remained 1,962 as no fresh fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours. (PTI)
Three-quarters of Beijing's 22 million people began lining up for COVID-19 tests on Tuesday as authorities in the Chinese capital raced to stamp out an outbreak and avert the kind of city-wide lockdown that has shrouded Shanghai for a month. Beijing residents also began stocking up on food and supplies on worries of any sudden localised lockdowns, as frustration with tough curbs continues to mount in Shanghai, the Chinese financial and commercial hub that is home to 25 million people. (Reuters)
Mizoram on Tuesday reported 102 new COVID-19 cases, five less than the previous day, pushing the tally to 2,26,988, a health department official said. Of the 102 fresh cases, Saitual district reported the highest at 45, followed by Khawzawl district (28) and Serchhip district (26), the official said. The single-day positivity rate dipped to 13.72 per cent from 35.79 per cent on the previous day, he said. Mizoram now has 697 active COVID-19 cases, while 2,25,596 people have recovered from the infection so far, including 105 on Monday, the official said. (PTI)
➡️ Over 83.54 Cr COVID Tests conducted so far.➡️ Weekly Positivity Rate currently at 0.58%.➡️ Daily Positivity Rate stands at 0.55%. pic.twitter.com/KnPZkYHJOS— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) April 26, 2022
➡️ India’s Cumulative #covid19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 187.95 Cr (1,87,95,76,423).➡️ Over 2.70 Cr 1st dose vaccines administered for age group 12-14 years.https://t.co/owvDFRPUQe pic.twitter.com/hQ3ncPXXYX— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) April 26, 2022
The eastern metropolis of Shanghai has reported 52 more deaths, taking the toll during the current outbreak to 190, officials said. Shanghai also reported 15,319 locally transmitted asymptomatic infections of the novel coronavirus Monday, among a total of 15,816 local asymptomatic carriers newly identified on the mainland. (PTI)
Beijing on Tuesday ordered mass testing for its 21 million people after Monday's nucleic acid tests of 3.5 million residents revealed 32 positive cases. Beijing has reported 32 new local COVID-19 cases and one asymptomatic case after testing 3.5 million in the high-profile Chaoyang district on Monday, taking the total number of cases to 135 so far. Beijing's local government has ordered Chaoyang district, home to some 3.5 million residents, to have three rounds of mass nucleic acid testing starting from Monday after the district registered the most COVID-19 cases in the capital's latest epidemic surge, official media reported. (PTI)
For much of the past two years, America has been first in line for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. Now, as drugmakers develop the next generation of therapies, the White House is warning that if Congress doesn't act urgently the U.S. will have to take a number. Already the congressional stalemate over virus funding has forced the federal government to curtail free treatment for the uninsured and to ration monoclonal antibody supplies. And Biden administration officials are expressing increasing alarm that the U.S. is also losing out on critical opportunities to secure booster doses and new antiviral pills that could help the country maintain its reemerging sense of normalcy, even in the face of potential new variants and case spikes. (AP)
With the addition of six new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has risen to 7,08,979, an official said on Tuesday. These new cases were reported on Monday, he said. The death toll remained unchanged at 11,889, he said, adding that the COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane stood at 1.67 per cent. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,63,610, while the death toll stands at 3,407, another official said. (PTI)
