Covid-19 vaccination dry run being conducted in Lucknow on Tuesday. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)With 20 more infections, the number of people tested positive with the new UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 went up to 58 on Tuesday, the Health Ministry said. “All these people have been kept in single room isolation in designated healthcare facilities by respective state governments and their close contacts have also been put under quarantine,” the ministry said on Monday. Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others.
The Union Health Ministry Tuesday said based on the feedback of dry-run, the central government is ready to roll out Covid-19 vaccine within 10 days from date of emergency use authorisation. The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) had given emergency use authorisation to two vaccine candidates by Oxford Astrazeneca and indigenous Bharat Biotech on January 3.
India recorded the lowest Covid-19 cases in over 6 months with 16,375 new cases reported on Tuesday, taking the total number of infections to over 1.03 crore. Active cases further dropped to 2.31 lakh, while recoveries continued to rise and stand at over 99.75 lakh. A total of 201 deaths were reported on Monday, the toll currently stands at over 1,49,850. Results of a data cleaning exercise saw Maharashtra’s confirmed cases rise by 4,875 on Monday, though the day’s rise was only 2,765. Kerala reported 3,021 new cases.
Amid questions raised by experts and Opposition over the restricted use approval given to Covaxin despite no efficacy data from Phase III trials, Bharat Biotech MD Krishna Ella Monday said the company had “tremendous experience” in developing vaccines and that criticism against it was a “backlash against Indian companies”. Addressing a virtual press conference, Ella said his company’s work was no less than Pfizer’s, which also came out with a vaccine for coronavirus.
India is set to commence its mass vaccination programme in the “near future” as the centre has told vaccine manufacturers of Covishield and Covaxin to prepare to ship “a significant amount” of doses to over 30 vaccination hubs in the country. In the first phase, India plans to vaccinate over 30 crore priority citizens — healthcare workers, people with comorbidities & people above the age of 50 — will likely be completed in August. Everything you need to know about approved Covid-19 vaccines here.
New Delhi: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan visits Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital to review the dry run drill for administering COVID-19 vaccine, in New Delhi. (PTI)
Four people succumbed to Covid-19 in Punjab on Tuesday. Punjab has the highest Covid fatality rate in the country, standing at 3.2 per cent as compared to the national average of about 1 per cent.
Punjab's nodal officer for Covid-19 Dr Rajesh Bhaskar said that the last time four Covid deaths were reported were on June 11 and 12. On June 9, Punjab recorded two deaths. On June 10 there were no deaths and on June 11 and 12 there were four deaths each on a single day.
The four deaths on Tuesday took the total count of Covid death in the state to 5,404.
A total of 211 new cases of infection were recorded in the state, driving up the total tally of persons testing positive for the contagion to 1,67,652. As per the official media bulletin issued by the Punjab government, 1,59,265 patients had been discharged, 2,983 were active cases out of which 84 were on oxygen support and three on ventilator support.
After reporting three COVID-19 deaths each on two consecutive days, Mumbai on Tuesday saw nine new fatalities while the tally of cases went up by 539, the city civic body said.
Mumbai's cumulative caseload now stands at 2,95,524 and the count of fatalities is 11,147, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
On Sunday, Mumbai reported three COVID-19 deaths, which were the lowest in a single day since March last year. The city saw three COVID-19 deaths on Monday as well.
Meanwhile, the number of recoveries in Mumbai increased to 2,76,413 on Tuesday with 379 more patients getting discharged from hospitals. (PTI)
More Chinese cities have begun mass COVID-19 vaccinations after the New Year holidays, days after China granted conditional approval for its domestically produced vaccine as the country prepares for the Spring Festival holiday next month.
Given the goal of vaccinating 50 million people ahead of the Spring Festival, which also marks the Chinese New Year holidays, a number of cities -- including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province, Luliang and Linyi -- have already started mass inoculations of the vaccine, covering nine key groups of people, the state-run Global Times reported on Tuesday.
The vaccination drive is taking place amid reports of sporadic COVID-19 cases in different cities.
China's National Health Commission on Tuesday said 33 new COVID-19 cases were reported from the Chinese mainland on Monday. (PTI)
Delhi recorded 442 Covid-19 cases and 12 new fatalities on Tuesday, even as the positivity rate slumped to 0.55 per cent, authorities said.
The overall infection tally in the city has now gone past 6.27 lakh and the death toll reached 10,609, they said.
The 442 new cases came out of the 79,777 tests conducted the previous day, including 41,633 RT-PCR tests and 38,144 rapid antigen tests, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.
The active cases tally on Tuesday dropped to 4,562 from 4,689 the previous day.
Delhi had recorded 384 cases on Monday, the lowest in over seven months, and the positivity rate was 0.76 per cent. (PTI)
Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri: "We took a decision on limited resumption of civil aviation traffic between India and the United Kingdom based on an assessment of available facts. We decided that RT-PCR test which was done 72 hours ahead of travelling was not enough,
"So, we made it compulsory to test again on arrival. We will review the situation if any steps have to be taken. Total number of flights to UK have been reduced from 60 a week to 30." (ANI)
The Union government has not banned the export of any Covid-19 vaccine that has been granted restricted emergency use approval by the drug regulator, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday, while urging the media to guard against the spread of such misinformation.
Responding to a question during a press briefing on Tuesday, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bushan said, "The Union government has not banned the export of any one of the Covid-19 vaccines and this should be absolutely clear."
"When I say Union government, it means there are three ministries --- Ministry of Health, Ministry of Commerce, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade with the Ministry of Commerce and Directorate General of Foreign Trade -- which can initiate, in a hypothetical scenario, such an action."
"But none of them have taken any such action. Therefore, our request to our media friends would be that we should be on guard when such misinformation is sought to be spread," Bhushan said. (PTI)
Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday recorded 137 new COVID-19 cases, while six deaths took place in the last 24 hours, taking the total caseload to 1,21,923 and the death toll to 1,897, officials said.
Of the fresh cases, 71 were from Jammu division and 66 from Kashmir division of the Union territory, they said. The officials said Jammu district recorded the highest with 49 cases followed by 22 in Srinagar district.
While five districts -- Kulgam, Poonch, Rajouri, Shopian and Reasi -- did not report any fresh cases, 11 other districts had fresh cases in single digits. (PTI)
The Himachal Pradesh government on Tuesday decided to restore the usual six-day week schedule in government offices and not to extend the night curfew imposed in four districts of the state, an official spokesman said.
The state cabinet in its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur decided not to extend the night curfew in Shimla, Kangra, Mandi and Kullu districts, he added.
In order to contain the spread of COVID-19, the state government had decided to impose night curfew in the four districts from November 23 to December 15 which was later extended till January 5.
The HP dispensation has decided to restore the usual six-day week schedule in government offices in the state.
It has also planned to allow coaching classes in Himachal Pradesh with 50 per cent capacity, the spokesman said, adding that the state education department would issue standard operating procedures (SOPs) in this regard. (PTI)
Daily positivity rate of Covid-19 is continuously declining and has been less than 3 per cent from December 23, 2020 to January 5, 2021, says Health Ministry.
The Union Health Ministry Tuesday said based on the feedback of dry-run, the central government is ready to roll out Covid-19 vaccine within 10 days from date of emergency use authorisation. The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) had given emergency use authorisation to two vaccine candidates by Oxford Astrazeneca and indigenous Bharat Biotech on January 3.
Health Ministry says the overall burden on healthcare infrastructure in country on account of COVID-19 has declined appreciably. Based on feedback of dry-run, govt said it is ready to introduce COVID-19 vaccine within 10 days from date of emergency use authorisation, the ministry added. (PTI)
The Maharashtra government will seek some clarifications from the Centre on the two COVID-19 vaccines approved for the restricted emergency use before launching a mass inoculation drive in the state, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Tuesday.
On the availability of COVID-19 vaccine, Tope said the Centre might inform the state government in the next 10 days about the largescale availability of the dosages.
He said cold storage facilities and supply chains are being set up in Maharashtra, which he said is ready to launch the mass vaccination.
"There are some clarifications we are seeking from the Centre about the approved vaccines, as they have been cleared for use citing the emergency situation. Maharashtra will raise its concerns about the vaccines during national video conference with Union health minister scheduled on January 7," Tope said. (PTI)
Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech issue a joint statement saying: "We are fully aware of the importance of vaccines for people and countries alike, we hereby communicate our joint pledge to provide global access for our Covid-19 vaccines." (ANI)
Covishield is the Indian variant of AZD1222, the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and University of Oxford. Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) developed and manufactured Covishield through a licence from AstraZeneca and Oxford.
It is a “non-replicating viral vector” vaccine, which means it makes use of another weakened and genetically modified virus — in this case a common cold chimpanzee virus — to help the body develop immunity against the coronavirus. The vaccine carries just the code to make the spike protein (the spike on the virus’s surface). The body’s immune system is supposed to recognise this protein as a threat, and work on building antibodies against it.
Uttar Pradesh Tuesday conducted its concluding phase of the Covid-19 vaccination dry run following the successful dry run held at 6 places in Lucknow on Saturday. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the Lohia Institue in Lucknow to inspect the dummy vaccination exercise.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday ordered England into a new national lockdown to try to slow a surge in COVID-19 cases that threatens to overwhelm parts of the health system before a vaccine programme reaches a critical mass.Johnson said a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus was spreading at great speed and urgent action was needed to slow it down. “As I speak to you tonight, our hospitals are under more pressure from COVID than any time since the start of the pandemic,” Johnson said in a televised address to the country as he ditched his regional approach to fighting the pandemic.“We must therefore go into a national lockdown, which is tough enough to contain this variant. That means the government is once again instructing you to stay at home.”
India recorded 16,375 new Covid cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am Tuesday, taking the total number of infections to over 1.03 crore. Active cases further dropped to 2.31 lakh, while recoveries continued to rise and stand at over 99.75 lakh. A total of 201 deaths were reported on Monday, the toll currently stands at over 1,49,850.
Who gets the Covid-19 vaccine first, and how?
Priority groups such as healthcare workers, frontline workers are first on the list, followed by people over the age of 50 years and the persons under 50 years with co-morbid conditions. The eligible beneficiaries will be informed through the registered mobile numbers regarding the health facility where the vaccine will be provided, and the health schedule.
Will it be mandatory to take the vaccine?
The vaccine will be voluntarily. However, it is advisable to complete the vaccine schedule in order to protect ourselves, our near and dear ones, our close contacts, family members, and co-workers.
Is registration with the health department mandatory?
Registration is mandatory for vaccination. The information on the session site (where vaccination will take place) to visit, and the time will be shared with the beneficiary only after registration.
What documents does one need for vaccination?
Documents such as driving licence, health insurance, smart card issued by the Ministry of Labour, MNREGA guarantee card, MNREGA job card, official identity card issued by MPs, MLAs, PAN card, passbook of bank or post office, passport, pension documents, service identity card issued to employees by central/state government or public limited companies, and Voter ID cards can be used for registration.
Are there any preventive measures and precautions that one needs to follow at the session site?
You should rest for at least half an hour after taking the Covid-19 vaccine. Any symptoms or discomfort must be reported to the nearest ANM or ASHA worker.
Will the vaccine be safe?
Safety is the most important factor, and all standard precautions as have been followed in the past for giving vaccine approval will be followed in this case too.
Read our full explainer here
The number of samples detected with the the new, more contagious strain of the novel coronavirus — the UK “variant under investigation” VUI-202012/01 — is now 38, the government said on Monday.
“All these persons (detected with the UK strain of the virus) have been kept in single room isolation in designated Health Care facilities by respective State Governments. Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine. Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimens is going on,” the Union Health Ministry said in a statement issued on Monday.
This variant of SARS-CoV-2, first detected in Kent, England, has now reached over 30 countries around the world. The Ministry said that six labs have so far detected the UK strain during genome sequencing.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Monday filed an FIR against actor Sohail Khan, Arbaaz Khan and Nirvan (Sohail's son) for skipping mandatory institutional quarantine.
The FIR has been lodged at Khar Road Police Station under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.
All three arrived to Mumbai from UAE on December 25. According to the BMC officials, they told aiport authority officials that they had booking at Taj Lands End at Bandra West for institutional quarantine. However, civic officials said that after leaving airport they canceled the bookings in the hotel.
Haryana reported 244 new cases of Covid-19 infections, six deaths and 391 recoveries in the last 24 hours.
At least 17,578 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. For the last few days, except Gurgaon, all the 21 districts of Haryana have reported less than 50 new cases in a single day.
According to Monday evening Covid-19 bulletin released by the state health department, at least 13 districts reported less than 10 new cases.
The recovery rate touched 97.85 per cent on Monday evening. Among the new cases, Gurgaon reported 66 new cases, Faridabad 28, Sonipat 12, Hisar 19, Ambala 17, Karnal 10, Panipat zero, Rohtak 12, Rewari five, Panchkula nine, Kurukshetra six, Yamunanagar 13, Sirsa seven, Mahendragarh six, Bhiwani one, Jhajjar two, Palwal three, Fatehabad three, Kaithal six, Jind 15, Nuh two and Charkhi Dadri two.
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan Monday said the Centre has initiated a series of actions to prevent the spread of coronavirus and that it is now taking up the vaccination drive in a big way.
The minister's remarks came a day after India's drug regulator approved the restricted use of Covid-19 vaccines manufactured by Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech in the country.
"The Centre has initiated a series of actions to prevent the spread (of coronavirus). Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) himself interacted with the Chief Ministers of all states and union territories and all stakeholders to regularly understand issues and collaborate with them for effective COVID management," Vardhan said.
Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja Monday said six people from the state have been infected with the new coronavirus strain first detected in the United Kingdom.
"Six people who recently returned from the UK have tested positive for the new strain.We have placed them under surveillance.Their samples had been sent to NIV, Pune and results received today," the minister told reporters tonight.
Mumbai, which became a Covid-19 hotspot in March itself, is all set to begin immunisation of 1.26 lakh health workers from the day vaccine stock arrives. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has 1,367 trained vaccinators at hand and plans to immunise 8,000-12,000 people in a day across eight centres if there are enough doses supplied to the metropolis.
The BMC has fed data of 1.26 lakh health workers on Covid Vaccine Intelligence Work (Co-WIN) software. Civic officials expect vaccine stock to reach Mumbai after a fortnight. Read on to know more
Bharat Biotech MD Krishna Ella said Covaxin has shown less than 10% adverse reactions, while other vaccines have 60-70% adverse reactions.
"Covaxin has shown less than 10 % adverse reactions, while others have 60-70% adverse reactions.AstraZeneca was giving 4g paracetamol to volunteers to suppress such reactions. We haven’t given paracetamol to any volunteer. I can assure our vaccine is a 200 % safe," he said. Krishna Ella further reassured that Covaxin is 200% safe.
Eight people who returned to Maharashtra from the United Kingdom have tested positive for the mutated strain of coronavirus. Five of them are from Mumbai, while three others are from Pune, Thane and Mira Bhayander.
State Health Minister Rajesh Tope said all of them are in isolation and their contact tracing is underway.
As many as 75 more people who returned to the state from the United Kingdom in the past few days are yet to be traced, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said on Monday.
"The Home department and BBMP have assured to trace them soon. Tracing is delayed as three people have foreign addresses and some immigration issues," he said.
Sudhakar added, "48 passengers were tested positive out of which 34 are UK returnees. Mutant coronavirus is found in 10 people among them. All are recovering in government hospitals."
Bharat Biotech MD Krishna Ella Monday said India has the only BSL-3 production facility in the world, even the US doesn't have it. "We are here to help any of the public health emergency in any part of the world," he further said.
Bharat Biotech MD Krishna Ella Monday said backlash against Indian companies is not right for us. "Many people just gossiping, it's just a backlash against Indian companies. That is not right for us. We don't deserve that. Merck's Ebola vaccine never completed a human clinical trial at all but WHO gave emergency authorization for Liberia & Guinea," he added.
With India's indigenous Covid-19 vaccine being politicised, Bharat Biotech MD Krishna Ella Monday asserted that none of his family members is associated with any political party.
He further went on to saynot only is the company conducting clinical trials in India, but in over 12 countries. "We are doing clinical trials in Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh & other countries. We are not just an Indian company, we are truly a global company," he added.
Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday termed as mentally challenged those opposing the efficacy of coronavirus vaccines made in India.
Pradhan’s remarks came after some Congress leaders raised doubts on the restricted use approval granted to Bharat Biotechs vaccine while its third phase trial is still underway.
Some healtcare experts Monday questioned the government's assertion that Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin can target mutated coronavirus strains and maybe used as a "backup", as they asked for scientific basis for the claim and for the vaccine's safety and efficacy, PTI reported.
The country's drug regulator Sunday granted emergency use approval to Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield and also to indigenously developed Covaxin, even though not enough data on the latter's efficacy and safety was available.
All educational institutions in Bihar, including schools, colleges and coaching centres, reopened on Monday after a gap of over nine months. Physical classes were held for students of standards 9-12 in schools and final year students in colleges. The institutions were closed since March 14 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Wearing of masks, use of hand sanitiser and maintenance of physical distancing have been made mandatory at the educational institutions. Schools have been asked to operate at half the strength to ensure social distancing in classes.
The Union Health Ministry Monday said the total number of people infected with the new strain of coronavirus in India stands at 38, news agency ANI reported.
India has enough stockpile of the Covid-19 vaccine for inoculation of priority groups, including healthcare workers and frontline workers, in the first phase, Niti Aayog member VK Paul Monday said.
Paul, who is also the Chairman of National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) said the government will soon announce its plans for purchase and distribution of Covid-19 vaccine.
"Our first phase (of vaccination) comprises priority groups with high risk of mortality and our healthcare and frontline workers. For them, we believe, we have enough (COVID-19 vaccine) stockpile," he told PTI in an interview.
The chief medical officer (CMO) of Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district died of Covid-19 on Monday, PTI quoted officials as saying.
CMO Jitendra Pal died at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow, Additional CMO Harinandan said.
Pal had tested positive for Covid-19 on December 26, and was taken to the hospital on December 29 after his condition deteriorated, Harinandan said.
"Dr Jitendra Pal (around 59) was admitted to the institute on December 29. He was suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure and heart-related problems. As his condition became serious, he was put on a ventilator on January 2. But, on Monday morning at 7.00 am, he died," the SGPGI said in a statement.
Twenty staff members at Chennai’s star hotel, the Leela Palace, have tested positive for COVID-19. This is Chennai’s second luxury hotel to have emerged as a COVID-19 hotspot after the ITC Grand Chola.
Following the outbreak, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) officials said they have instructed the luxury hotels to postpone the scheduled events. A total of 125 hotel employees including 114 from the star-category hotels have tested positive.
According to civic authorities, as many as 4,392 employees of the hotels across the city were tested and the results of 491 of them are awaited. (Read more here)
Britain began inoculating its citizens with the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine against COVID-19 on Monday, giving the shot to Brian Pinker, an 82-year-old dialysis patient, at a hospital a few hundred metres away from where the vaccine was developed.
Pinker, a retired maintenance manager, paid tribute to the scientists who had developed the shot, saying he was looking forward to celebrating his wedding anniversary.
“I am so pleased to be getting the COVID vaccine today and really proud that it is one that was invented in Oxford,” he said in a statement released by the health service. (Reuters)
A day after two Covid-19 vaccines were approved for emergency use in India, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said that he has decided not to get vaccinated for now, as the first shots should be administered to the priority groups. “I have decided that I will not get vaccinated for now, first it should be administered to others. My turn should come afterwards, we have to work to ensure that priority groups are administered with the vaccine,” ANI quoted Chouhan.
A 4,000 square feet building right opposite the Dr RN Cooper hospital’s canteen in Mumbai was earlier supposed to be used as a hostel. In March, it was converted into an isolation facility for Covid-19 patients. On December 29, work to convert it into a model vaccination centre began.
Over 30 labourers are now working on war footing day and night to prepare the model centre in Cooper hospital. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has asked contractor Eckon to hand over the centre by Monday night.
Cooper hospital, along with seven BMC hospitals, has been selected for the first phase of immunisation of healthcare workers. Mumbai has registered 1.26 lakh heathcare workers for vaccination in the first phase.( Read Tabassum Barnagarwala's report here)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday hailed the achievements of the scientists in the fight against the pandemic and said that research is important for a progressive society.
“We’re on the threshold of starting the largest vaccination programme in the world. The entire country is indebted to all scientists and technicians. The Indian scientists have been successful in coming up with two ‘made in India’ COVID19 vaccines. The country is proud of its scientists,” the prime minister said during the inaugural address at National Metrology Conclave. (Read more here)
WITH two Covid-19 vaccines approved, India is set to begin its mass vaccination programme in the “near future”, according to the head of the expert group on the country’s Covid-19 vaccine strategy. The government has told companies manufacturing the two vaccines — Covishield and Covaxin — to prepare to ship “a significant amount” to over 30 vaccination hubs across the country.
According to the government’s Covid-19 vaccines operational guidelines, around 30 crore of the population will be vaccinated on priority in the first phase. This includes healthcare and frontline workers as well as people with co-morbidities and those aged 50 years and above. Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has said the government plans to complete this phase by August 2021, and that the first shots may be given sometime in January.
“The vaccination programme can be undertaken in the near future. The government will put out the exact schedule very soon, of where and how we are mobilising the vaccines,” Dr V K Paul, NITI Aayog Member, Health, and chair of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19, told The Indian Express on Sunday. This shouldn’t take time given that the dry run is over, he said. (Read Prabha Raghavan's report here)
India recorded 16,505 new Covid cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am Monday, taking the total number of infections to over 1.03 crore. Active cases further dropped to 2.43 lakh, while recoveries continued to rise and stand at over 99.46 lakh. A total of 214 deaths were reported on Sunday, the toll currently stands at over 1.49 lakh. . Kerala continues to remain top contributor with 4,602 new cases, while Maharashtra reported 3,282.
Delhirecorded 424 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest in over seven months, and 14 fatalities on Sunday, even as the positivity rate slipped to 0.62 per cent, authorities said.
The infection tally in the city stands at over 6.26 lakh and the death toll linked to the pandemic rose to 10,585, they said. The 424 new cases came out the 68,759 tests conducted the previous day, including 39,217 RT-PCR tests and 29,542 rapid antigen tests, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.
Delhi had recorded 494 cases on Saturday while the positivity rate had stood at 0.73 per cent. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain tweeted on Saturday that the positivity rate had been below one per cent for the past 11 days, and fresh COVID-19 cases were the lowest since May 17. (PTI)