Coronavirus India Highlights : PM Modi to launch nationwide inoculation drive on Jan 16

The WHO team of international researchers that arrived in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday hopes to find clues to the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The visit has been shrouded in secrecy, with neither China nor the WHO revealing exactly what the team will do or where it will go. The search for the origins is likely to be a years-long effort that could help prevent future pandemics. So, Why Wuhan? We explain here.

A new study conducted by Public Health England (PHE) says that people infected with COVID-19 in the past are likely to be protected against reinfection for several months, supporting similar findings surrounding immunity from this disease.

Even so, experts have warned that even people with immunity may still be able to carry the virus in their nose and throat and therefore have a risk of transmitting it to others. Therefore, it is important that individuals who have acquired the disease and recovered from it continue to take all precautions such as wearing masks, regularly washing their hands, and maintaining a distance of at least two metres from others. Click here to read our Explainer.

Pakistan on Thursday reported 3,097 new Covid-19 cases, the highest number in about a month, pushing the total number of infections in the country to 5,11,921. The country also reported 46 more deaths, taking the coronavirus toll to 10,818. The surge came as Sindh province reported 1,769 cases in the last 24 hours, news agency PTI reported citing the Ministry of National Health Services.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Thursday said the Delhi government is fully prepared for the COVID-19 vaccination roll-out starting January 16, with over 8,000 healthcare workers to be immunised every scheduled day in the city.

Addressing an online media briefing, he said the city government has received a total of 2.74 lakh doses of the vaccine so far from the Centre, which would be sufficient to cater to 1.2 lakh healthcare workers.

"Every person will receive two doses, and the Centre has given 10 per cent extra in stock in case of any mishappening like damage of vials. There are a total of 2.4 lakh healthcare workers in Delhi who have registered for vaccination, and more doses are expected to arrive soon," he said. (PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the rollout of India’s Covid-19 vaccination programme on January 16, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. He is likely to interact via video link with some healthcare workers from across the country who will be receiving the shots on the first day, according to sources.

Modi is also likely to launch the Co-WIN (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network) App, a digital platform created for real-time monitoring of Covid-19 vaccine delivery and distribution, they said.

Around three lakh healthcare workers will get vaccine shots at 2,934 sites across the country on the first day of the massive nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive, a senior official said. (PTI)

Japan expanded a coronavirus state of emergency to seven more prefectures Wednesday, affecting more than half the population amid a surge in infections across the country. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also said Japan will suspend fast-track entry exceptions for business visitors or others with residency permits, fully banning foreign visitors while the state of emergency is in place.

Suga's announcement comes less than a week after he declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and three nearby prefectures. The new declaration, which adds seven other prefectures in western and central Japan, takes effect Thursday and lasts until Feb. 7.

The severe situation is continuing, but these measures are indispensable in turning the tide for the better," Suga said at a news conference, bowing as he sought understanding from the public.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Thursday said that all preparations for the Covid-19 vaccination drive, set to commence on January 16, are done and reviewed by the state government. Giving out details of the inoculation exercise in Delhi, he said that 81 centres will be allocated for the drive on Saturday. For four days a week--Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday-- about 100 people will be vaccinated at each of the centres everyday. These centres will be increased from 81 to 175 in a few days and then to 1,000 across the state, he added. 

COVID vaccination starts from 16 Jan all over the country. Delhi govt has made all preparations. Reviewed all preparations today.

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 14, 2021

Kolkata has been allocated the highest number of COVID vaccines in West Bengal, at 93,500, for the first phase of the vaccination drive scheduled to begin on January 16, a senior health official said on Thursday. North 24 Parganas district has been allocated the second-highest number of COVID vaccines at 47,000, followed by Murshidabad at 37,500, he said.

"All necessary preparations are on the track for the vaccine rollout. The district-wise allocation has been made as per data uploaded on CoWIN portal as on January 12, 9.45 am for the first dose of COVID vaccination of health workers and personnel of armed forces," the Health Department said in a communication to the CMOHs in all the districts. West Bengal has been allocated 6,44,500 vaccines for the first phase of the drive.

China reported its biggest jump in COVID-19 cases in more than 10 months as infections in northeastern Heilongjiang province nearly tripled, underscoring the growing threat ahead of a major national holiday when hundreds of millions of people usually travel.

Aggressive containment measures including lockdowns, travel curbs and mass screenings have helped China bring cases down to a fraction of what it saw at the height of the pandemic in early 2020. But the country has yet to be able to completely stamp out the disease, which has now killed nearly 2 million worldwide, even as COVID-19 vaccinations have begun.

This flareup, concentrated in the northeast, which is now seeing its worst wave yet, coincides with the arrival of the World Health Organization-led team of experts in Wuhan, where the disease first emerged in late 2019. The team will spend around a month, including two weeks of quarantine, for their investigation into the origins of the pandemic.(Reuters)

India recorded 16,946 new Covid-19 cases, in the last 24 hours ending 8 am Thursday, taking the total tally to over 1.05 crore. Out of these, active cases further dropped to 2.13 lakh, while recoveries went up to over 1.01 crore. With 198 deaths reported on Wednesday, the death toll stands at over 1.57 lakh.

India reports 16,946 new #COVID19 cases, 17,652 discharges and 198 deaths in last 24 hours, as per Union Health Ministry

Total cases: 1,05,12,093
Active cases: 2,13,603
Total discharges: 1,01,46,763
Death toll: 1,51,727 pic.twitter.com/dJSXeRAJC1

— ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2021

Delhi recorded 357 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the infection tally in the city to over 6.31 lakh, even as the positivity rate slipped to 0.50 per cent. This is also the tenth time the daily incidences count stood below the 500-mark in January.

The infection tally in the city stood at over 6.31 lakh and the death toll mounted to 10,718 with 11 new fatalities, they said. This month, 585 cases were reported on January 1 and 494 on January 2; 424 on January 3; 384 on January 4, and 442 on January 5; 654 on January 6; 486 on January 7 and 444 on January 8; 519 on January 9 and 399 on January 10; 306 on January 11 and 386 on January 12. The active cases tally on Wednesday stood at 2,991, while the positivity rate dropped to 0.50 per cent.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had earlier said that the positivity rate had been below one per cent for the past several days, indicating improvement in the pandemic situation here.(PTI)

As much as 95 per cent of 1.1 crore Covishield vaccine doses purchased by the Indian government have been been delivered across the country a day after transportation of the vaccine began, sources said on Wednesday. The first consignment of the Covishield vaccine against coronavirus from the Oxford/AstraZeneca stable rolled out of the Serum Institute of India manufacturing facility in Pune on Tuesday morning. Planes ferried vaccine consignments to 13 cities from Pune on the same day. "So far 95 per cent of the doses of the total purchase order (of 1.1 crore doses) have been delivered. Remaining over one lakh doses will be delivered shortly," saidsources involved in the transportation arrangements. (PTI)

The full initial procurement of 1.65 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines has been allocated to all states and UTs in proportion to their healthcare workers database, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday. As the country is set to begin a massive anti-coronavirus inoculation drive from January 16, the ministry said each vaccination session will cater to a maximum of 100 beneficiaries per day and it has advised states not to organise "unreasonable numbers of vaccination per site per day".

"States have been advised to organise vaccination sessions taking into account 10 percent reserve/wastage doses and an average of 100 vaccinations per session each day.

"Therefore, any undue haste on the part of states to organize unreasonable numbers of vaccination per site per day is not advised," the ministry said.

It also said that states and UTs have also been advised to increase the number of vaccination session sites that would be operational every day in a progressive manner as the vaccination process stabilizes and moves forward. (PTI)

Coronavirus deaths in the US hit another one-day high at over 4,300 with the country's attention focused largely on the fallout from the deadly uprising at the Capitol. The nation's overall death toll from COVID-19 has eclipsed 380,000, according to Johns Hopkins University, and is closing in fast on the number of Americans killed in World War II, or about 407,000. Confirmed infections have topped 22.8 million.

With the country simultaneously facing a political crisis and on edge over threats of more violence from far-right extremists, the US recorded 4,327 deaths on Tuesday by Johns Hopkins' count. Arizona and California have been among the hardest-hit states.
The daily figure is subject to revision, but deaths have been rising sharply over the past 2 1/2 months, and the country is now in the most lethal phase of the outbreak yet, even as the vaccine is being rolled out. New cases are running at nearly a quarter-million per day on average.

More than 9.3 million Americans have received their first shot of the vaccine, or less than 3 per cent of the population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is well short of the hundreds of millions who experts say will be need to be inoculated to vanquish the outbreak.

England's health care system may move patients into hotels to ease pressure on hospitals struggling to handle rising COVID-19 admissions. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Wednesday that the National Health Service was looking at various ways to reduce the strain on hospitals, including moving patients to hotels when appropriate. Discussions about the issue were first reported by the Guardian newspaper.

"We would only ever do that if it was clinically the right thing for somebody," Hancock told Sky News. "In some cases, people need sit-down care, they don't actually need to be in a hospital bed."

Two districts of Karnataka on Wednesday received 2.52 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield, as Health Minister K Sudhakar said the state would soon also get 20,000 doses of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. According to the minister, the only difference between the two vaccines is Covishield has five ml of vaccine in a vial and Covaxin has 10 ml.

One vial can vaccinate 20 people. Both the vaccines will be given in the state, he said, adding that the vaccination drive will start from January 16 in line with the Centre's guidelines. Frontline workers will get the vaccine first. (PTI)

Uttar Pradesh recorded 487 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday which took its tally to 5,94,641 while 15 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 8,529. This is the first time in almost seven months that the state has reported less than 500 infections in a day, said Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad.

The number of active cases in the state stands at 10,132. Of these, 3,746 are in home isolation, 1,010 are undergoing treatment in private hospitals, and the remaining are being treated in government facilities, he said. So far, 5,75,980 people have recovered from the infection and been discharged from hospitals. The recovery rate of the state stands at 96.86 per cent, he added.

There have been 8,529 deaths due to COVID-19, Prasad said. So far, over 2.57 crore tests have been done in the state, with over 1.38 lakh conducted on Tuesday alone, he said. (PTI)

A new potentially life-saving inhaler-based treatment which is hoped will protect COVID-19 patients from developing severe illness has begun a major trial at UK hospitals. It involves inhaling a protein called interferon beta-1a (SNG001), which the body produces when it gets a viral infection, and the hope is it will stimulate the body's immune system and prime cells to be ready to fight off viruses.

Synairgen's SG018 trial is a randomised placebo-controlled study being conducted in approximately 20 countries enrolling a total of 610 COVID-19 patients who require supplemental oxygen. "We need treatments as well as vaccines to fight highly pathogenic viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 [COVID-19]. Development of treatments like ours will remain necessary in cases where vaccines are not effective, for those who do not get vaccinated, and in case the virus mutates to the point where vaccines become less effective," said Richard Marsden, CEO of Synairgen. (PTI)

Japan expanded a coronavirus state of emergency for seven more prefectures Wednesday, affecting more than half the population as infections spread across the country.

Prime Minister Yoshide Suga's announcement comes less than a week after his January 7 emergency declaration for Tokyo and three nearby prefectures. The new declaration adds seven other prefectures in western and central Japan. The measure, which focuses on requests for bars and restaurants to close at 8 p.m. and for people to avoid nonessential outings, takes effect Thursday and lasts until February 7.

China's COVID-19 cases crossed the 100-mark for the first time in recent months, ahead of Thursday's visit of the WHO team to Wuhan to probe the origins of the coronavirus. The number of coronavirus cases in China climbed to 115 on Tuesday, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Wednesday, adding that 107 of the infections were locally transmitted and the rest arrived from outside. Of the locally transmitted cases, 90 were reported in north China's Hebei Province, which neighbours Beijing; 16 in Heilongjiang Province and one in Shanxi Province, the NHC said.

As of Tuesday, China reported a total of 87,706 COVID-19 cases and 4,634 deaths due to the virus. The sudden spike in cases after China contained the virus raised concern as the surge comes ahead of the Spring Festival, the biggest annual holiday in the Chinese lunar calendar. The week-long festival, which also marks the Chinese New Year, will commence on February 12 during which millions of Chinese travel to home and abroad to celebrate the holidays. (PTI)

The Delhi government on Wednesday allowed all schools in the national capital to reopen for Classes 10 and 12 from January 18 in view of board exams, according to officials of the Directorate of Education.

Students will attend schools only with consent of parents and physical attendance is not compulsory, while schools will follow all COVID-19 guidelines, they said. "In order to conduct activities pertaining to pre-board preparations and practical work, the head of government, aided and unaided recognised schools may call students of Classes 10 and 12 only to school with effect from January 18, 2021," a senior official at the Directorate of Education (DoE) said.

However, a child should be called to school only with the consent of parents and following standard operating procedures, he said.

The AAP government will provide coronavirus vaccine free to the people of Delhi if the Centre fails to do so, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday. He said he has already appealed to the Centre for ensuring free vaccination in the country since there are many people who may not afford the life-saving shot.

"We will see what the Centre does. If need be and the Centre does not provide the vaccine free of cost, we will make it available free of cost for the people of Delhi," he told reporters here.

The Chief Minister also appealed for not spreading rumours about the vaccine. "I understand that the Centre and our scientists have brought the vaccine following all the protocols and safeguards. So, there should not be any doubt and people should come forward for vaccination," he said.

Gujarat police have collected fines worth Rs 3.63 crore between January 8 and 11 from people violating the mask rule for COVID-19 prevention and those spitting in public, officials said on Wednesday. The fine for not wearing a mask in public places in the state is Rs 1,000.

On an average, around 9,000 people were fined every day from January 8 to 11 for the COVID-19 related violations  in Gujarat, the state police said in a release. "A penalty of Rs 3.63 crore was collected in the four days from 36,510 people who were found moving out without mask or spitting in public," the police said. (PTI)

The second consignment of 1.47 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccines arrived here on Wednesday from the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, a health official said. The first consignment of about 6.48 lakh doses of Covishield vaccines had reached Bengaluru on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters here, the District Health Officer Dr Shashikant Munyal said the vaccine stock is meant for distribution in eight districts. "vaccine doses were packed in 14,700 bottles.. Each bottle covers 10 dose units and will be administered twice, whereas the second dose will be given after 28 days. After administering the dose, each person will be observed for three hours and will be discharged if no side effects are noticed," Munyal said.

As many as 56,500 doses of Covisheild were flown into Agartala this morning. The doses were transferred to a special storage unit at National Health Mission (NHM) office at Gorkhabasti in Agartala. Speaking to indianexpress.com, State Immunization Officer Kallol Roy said the doses will be distributed to all districts today.

The number of people in India who have tested positive for the new UK variant of coronavirus has climbed to 102, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. Till January 11, the number of people affected by this strain of the coronavirus was 96. On Wednesday, the ministry said, "The total number of persons found to be positive with the new UK variant genome stands at 102 today." All these people were kept in single-room isolation in designated healthcare facilities by respective state governments. Their close contacts have also been put in quarantine and comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others.

The first consignment of Covidshield vaccine from Pune-based Serum Insititute of India arrived at the Cochin international airport here on Wednesday morning to combat COVID-19, official sources said. The Go Air flight carrying the vaccine for Ernakulam and Kozhikode landed at the airport at 10.35 am, they said. Special refrigerated vans were arranged to transport the vaccine safely to the respective centres. Transfer of vaccine boxes from the plane to vans was completed in 10 minutes, they said. The second flight carrying the vaccine is expected to reach Thiruvananthapuram international airport this afternoon. (PTI)

The first batches of Covaxin, the Bharat Biotech's coronavirus vaccine, left Hyderabad early this morning for Delhi, Haryana and 10 other places, a day after Serum Institute of India rolled out its vaccine against COVID-19

Delhi: Three boxes of #Covaxin being taken to Kurukshetra in Haryana.

The first consignment of the #CovidVaccine by Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech, arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport earlier this morning. https://t.co/vZQVm0UutF pic.twitter.com/SaRlTV140F

— ANI (@ANI) January 13, 2021

Indonesian President Joko Widodo became the first person in the country to receive a COVID-19 vaccine shot on Wednesday, as the government launched an ambitious vaccination campaign in a bid to stem one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Asia. The immunisation campaign aims to inoculate 181.5 million people, with the first to be vaccinated receiving the CoronaVac vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech, which Indonesia authorised for emergency use on Monday. Dressed in a white shirt and wearing a face mask, the president, who is known as Jokowi, received the jab in his left arm at the presidential palace

About half a crore doses of Serum Institute of India’s (SII’s) Covishield vaccine were shipped out of Pune to cities across India on Tuesday as the country launched its final phase of preparations for the mass inoculation drive against the novel coronavirus that begins on Saturday. The first consignment of 2.64 lakh doses of the vaccine took off for Delhi on a SpiceJet flight soon after 8 am, landing in the national capital a little before 10 am. A GoAir flight to Chennai and an Air India flight to Ahmedabad followed. The last flight of the day with the vaccine cargo, an IndiGo flight to Lucknow, left Pune at 2.10 pm.

The Delhi High Court Tuesday asked the Delhi government to hold a fresh review of its order on reservation of ICU beds for Covid patients in private hospitals before January 18. The Delhi government on Tuesday argued that the petition against reservation has become infructuous as it has been brought down to 40 per cent.

Justice Navin Chawla, after hearing arguments on both sides in the petition filed by the Association for Healthcare Providers (India), adjourned the case for next hearing on January 19. The court earlier asked the hospitals whether they would be able to create some place for Covid patients in case the order for reservation of ICU beds for Covid patients has to go.

During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain argued that not a single hospital has come before the court to say that they have suffered financial losses because of the order, and submitted that even individual hospitals have not come forward before the court. Contending that the State has not taken an uninformed decision, Jain submitted that the Covid situation still was not certain.

“We are still in the grey area. There is nothing certain,” submitted Jain, adding that the earlier order of 80 per cent reservation in 33 hospitals has been superseded and they will continue to review the situation.

Senior advocate Maninder Singh, who represents the petitioner, earlier argued that the state cannot nationalise private hospitals. The association has challenged the government order, which was passed by the state last September, and has been arguing that the reservation amounts to violation of the rights of non-Covid patients.

As many as 93,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccination will be administered to frontline warriors, including healthcare workers and armed forces, in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Tuesday.

Thakur made the announcement while presiding over a meeting to review arrangements made for COVID-19 vaccination besides reviewing bird flu surveillance with the deputy commissioners of the state. He said his government constituted a state-level steering committee to monitor effective administration of the vaccination.

In the first phase of COVID vaccination, 93,000 doses will be administered to frontline warriors at 46 sites across the state.

Haryana on Tuesday reported eight more COVID-19 fatalities that took the death toll to 2,964, while 192 fresh cases pushed the state's infection tally to 2,65,391, according to the health department's daily bulletin

One fatality each was reported from Gurgaon, Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Mahindergarh, Jhajjar and Palwal districts while two deaths were from Sonipat, it said.

The bulletin said that among the districts that reported fresh cases, 56 were in Gurgaon and 34 in Faridabad. The number of active cases in the state is 2,441 and as many as 2,59,986 people have recovered. The recovery rate is 97.96 per cent, it said.

Maharashtra on Tuesday reported 2,936 fresh coronavirus positive cases, taking the tally of infections to 19,74,488, the state health department said.

With 50 more people succumbing to the viral disease, the cumulative death toll in the state mounted to 50,151, an official said. A total of 3,282 patients were discharged after treatment during the day, taking the total count of recoveries in Maharashtra to 18,71,120, the official said, adding that the state is now left with 51,892 active cases.

With 57,505 new tests for coronavirus, the number of tests conducted so far in Maharashtra has gone up to 1,35,00,734, the official said. Mumbai city reported 473 fresh coronavirus positive cases, taking its overall count to 2,99,799. With seven more patients succumbing to the viral infection in the day, Mumbai's overall death toll went up to 11,200.

Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday reported 511 fresh coronavirus cases, raising the tally to 5,94,175.

The death toll due to the infection has reached 8,514 with 10 more fatalities being reported in the past 24 hours. It was 8,504 on Monday. The active cases in the state has now come down to 10,560, of which 4,018 are in home isolation and 1,012 are undergoing treatment in private hospitals, Additional Chief Secretary Health Amit Mohan Prasad said.

The rest are being treated in different government hospitals, he added. So far, 5,75,101 patients have recovered from the infection and been discharged from hospitals, Prasad said.

A 10-member team of WHO experts assigned to probe the origins of COVID-19 will directly fly from Singapore to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in December 2019, amid a resurgence of the deadly disease in several cities close to Beijing, prompting lockdowns.

"Current plan is that they will fly from Singapore to Wuhan on January 14," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here on Tuesday.

He, however, said he has no details whether the experts would have to undergo quarantine and what is their itinerary and how long the team would stay in Wuhan and directed the media to the relevant authorities. Observers say it is significant that the 10-member expert team is commencing their much-delayed probe from Wuhan from where COVID-19 emerged in December last year before it became a pandemic, killing over 1,944,750 people worldwide so far.

The World Health Organisation team's visit has become a bone of contention as Beijing, which questions the widely-held view about the virus' origins in Wuhan, had delayed granting permission to it.

The Health Ministry stated that about 43.96 per cent  COVID-19 patients are in healthcare facilities, 56.04 per cent in home isolation. 

In its press conference Tuesday evening, the Health Ministry stated that the vaccine effectiveness will be seen after 14 days of getting the dose. "Urge people to keep following COVID-appropriate behaviour," it added. 

Serum Institute of India (SII) CE Adar Poonawalla on Tuesday described the dispatch o Covishield vaccines for the January 16 national inoculatio drive a "proud and historic" moment.

Early Tuesday, the first consignment of the vaccine rolled out of the SII facility in Pune for transport t various locations in the country. Speaking to the select media persons at the SI facility, Poonawalla said the real challenge lies in takin the vaccine to the "common man, to the vulnerable groups o people and to healthcare workers".

"Our trucks left the SII facility early morning an now the vaccine is being distributed in the entire country This is a proud and historic moment as scientists, experts an all other stake-holders took great efforts while making thi vaccine in less than a year," he said.

Gujarat received its first tranche of 2.76 lakh COVID19 vaccines, procured by the central health ministry from the Serum Institute of India, Pune by air at Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Tuesday. deputy chief minister Nitin Patel, who also holds the health portfolio who flagged off the flower bedecked vehicle carrying the vaccine out of the airport, told mediapersons, “1.20 lakh dose will be provided to Ahmedabad regional deputy director (RDD) office, housed at the cold storage facility at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. Another 96,000 doses will be kept at Gandhinagar RDD office zone, and 60,000 doses will be sent to Bhavnagar zone within the next two days. Thus this consignment will cater to Ahmedabad city and rural, Gandhinagar city and rural, and Bhavnagar zone".

The second consignment from Pune will reach Surat on Wednesday through special cold chain vehicles by road, containing 93,500 vaccine doses. Similarly, 94,500 vaccine dose consignment will reach Vadodara on Wednesday, and 77,000 doses will reach Rajkot on Wednesday. Patel assured that BJP has taken a decision that until the first two phases of inoculation for healthcare workers and “frontline COVID19 warriors” are completed, “no politician, political leader, or minister will be administered the vaccine.”

“The reason for this decision is to send a message to our citizens that this (vaccine doses) is for the citizens, the people, the healthworkers, the police personnel and their safety and they are our country’s priority followed by those aged above 50 years and then those below 50 years of age with serious comorbidities...to ensure their safety first, is a moral responsibility of governments’ political leaders, ministers, chief ministers etc. At a wedding only after guests are fed, do the hosts eat...it was decided on Monday and notified at the BJP-party level by chief minister Vijay Rupani and Gujarat BJP chief CR Paatil that no minister of ours, member of the assembly or political leaders won’t take the vaccine in the first phase,” explained Patel.

The first consignment of Covishield vaccine has reached Bengaluru from the Serum Institute of India in Pune on Tuesday morning ahead of the commencement of COVID-19 vaccination in India starting from January 16. Karnataka will be getting 7.95 lakh vials of Covid vaccine in the first consignment and it will be stored in the government storage facility near Anand Rao circle,  said Health & Medical Education Minister Dr K.Sudhakar on Tuesday. “Covishield vaccine has already been approved by the DCGI (Drugs Control General of India). The Union government has purchased 1.1 crore doses of vaccine at a cost of Rs 210 per dose. This is the cheapest vaccine in the world,” said  Sudhakar while adding Serum institute Pune is supplying vaccines at a cost of 231 crores and Karnataka will get 7.95 lakh vials of Covi-Shield in the first phase.

“Each dose of vaccine contains 0.5 ml and each vial contains 10 doses of vaccines. The second dose should be given 28 days after the first dosage. The vaccine will generate resistance power in the body and it is safe,” he added. 

According to the minister, ‘Not for sale’ is being written over the vial to avoid misuse. Health warriors will get the vaccine on priority. All guidelines will be followed while giving the vaccine. Every person who is vaccinated will be kept under observation for 30 minutes after vaccination,  Sudhakar explained. (With Darshan Devaiah)

#JUSTIN: Ahead of the commencement of #COVID19 vaccination in #India from January 16, the first consignment of #Covishield vaccine has reached #Bengaluru from the Serum Institute of India in #Pune. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/uRVD4Qxb8O

— Darshan Devaiah B P (@DarshanDevaiahB) January 12, 2021

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told a meeting of ruling party executives on Tuesday he would declare a state of emergency for the three western prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo to stem the spread of COVID-19, Kyodo news reported.

Responding to pressure from Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures in eastern Japan, Suga last week declared a one-month state of emergency for that region until Feb. 7. But the number of coronavirus cases has also climbed in the west, prompting Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo to seek a state of emergency too.

The government is finalising plans to do so on Wednesday, and could also consider adding the central prefectures of Aichi – home to Toyota Motor Corp – and Gifu, Kyodo reported, citing government sources. Adding those five prefectures would mean a state of emergency for about half of Japan’s population of 126 million people. (Reuters)

Budget carrier GoAir has operated a flight to Chennai from Pune, containing 70,800 vials of COVID-19 vaccines as the much-awaited roll out of the vaccine commenced on Tuesday. The flight took off for Chennai from Pune early morning on Tuesday, carrying 70,800 vials (7,08,000 doses) of the vaccine, according to GoAir.

"We at GoAir are overwhelmed with the kind of responsibility bestowed upon us to transport the life-saving COVID-19 vaccines. We are grateful that we have got an opportunity to be able to contribute to the vaccine movement and support the noble cause," GoAir chief Executive Officer, Kaushik Khona said in a statement.

"In our efforts to alleviate the complexities of the vaccine movement given the scale of the consignments and logistics, we are taking every possible step to support the institutions and our stakeholders to reach the vaccine in all possible corners of the country," he said.(PTI)

The first consignment of Covishield vaccines reached Delhi from Pune on Tuesday. It had left for the national capital around 8 am, three hours after three trucks with the maiden consignment of the vaccines rolled out of the Serum Institute of India. 

#JUSTIN: The first batch of COVID-19 vaccine at IGI airport. @IndianExpress, @ieDelhi pic.twitter.com/UbWRBSzPvd

— Mahender Singh Manral (@mahendermanral) January 12, 2021

Security has been stepped up at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital from where the first consignment of Covishield vaccines from Pune will be transported to different parts of the city on Tuesday, police said.

A SpiceJet flight carrying the vaccines landed at the Delhi airport around 10 am on Tuesday, four days ahead of the launch of a nationwide drive against the coronavirus. Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport) Rajeev Ranjan said PCR vans along with local police will escort the vehicles carrying vaccines to its designated places.

He said sufficient security arrangements have been put in place to facilitate the transportation of vaccines. Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Manish Agarwal said, "If any schedule and movement of vaccine is shared with us and if facilitation is asked for, we will provide it." The Delhi Traffic Police said it will ensure smooth movement of the vehicles carrying the vaccines.(PTI)

The first consignment of Covishield vaccines reached Delhi from Pune on Tuesday, four days ahead of the launch of a nationwide drive against the coronavirus. A SpiceJet flight carrying the vaccines landed at the Delhi airport around 10 am.

It had left for the national capital around 8 am, three hours after three trucks with the maiden consignment of the vaccines rolled out of the Serum Institute of India (SII) facility, 15 km from the Pune airport. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said four airlines will operate nine flights to transport 56.5 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Pune to 13 cities across the country on Tuesday.

Vaccine movement has started, he said on Twitter, adding that first two flights operated by "SpiceJet and GoAir from Pune to Delhi and Chennai have taken off".

Civil aviation sector launches yet another momentous mission.

Vaccine movement starts.

First two flights operated by @flyspicejet & @goairlinesindia from Pune to Delhi & Chennai have taken off. pic.twitter.com/uo11S4OvqK

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) January 12, 2021

(Express Photos by Ashish Kale)

• Three temperature-controlled trucks rolled out of the Serum Institute gates shortly before 5 am and left for Pune airport, from where the vaccines will be flown across India.
• The trucks carried 478 boxes of the vaccines, each box weighing 32 kg, a source involved in the vaccine transport arrangements.
• From the airport, the vaccines will be dispatched to 13 locations across the country by 10 am, the source said.
• The locations where these Covishield vaccines will be flown from Pune include Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Karnal, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Guwahati, Lucknow, Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar.

with PTI inputs

India recorded 12,584 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, this is the lowest case spike in seven months. The virus testing on Sunday at 6.59 lakh was also the lowest since the third week of August. Active cases further dropped to 2.16 lakh while over 97 per cent of infected people have recovered. A total of 167 deaths were reported on Monday, taking the death toll to over 1.51 lakh.

? 12,584 new cases of #coronavirus detected in ?? Monday, a seven month low

? Tests on Sunday were also the lowest since 3rd week of August

? Total infections confirmed so far has reached one crore and 4.79 lakh. Of these, only 2.16 lakh are active#ExpressExplained (1/3)

— Express Explained (@ieexplained) January 12, 2021