Active Covid cases in country rise to 61,233

India has recorded 7,633 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases have increased to 61,233, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

The death toll has increased to 5,31,152 with 11 deaths.

While four deaths were reported from Delhi, one each was reported from Haryana, Karnataka and Punjab while four fatalities were reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.47 crore (4,48,34,859) The active cases now comprise 0.14 per cent of the total infections and the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.68 per cent, the ministry said.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,42,42,474 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.18 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.66 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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