"Why did Modi ji's government send more vaccines abroad, while vaccinating less people in India?"
"I've just received my first Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine dose. Thank you to all of the incredible scientists, NHS staff and volunteers who helped make this happen," he tweeted. "Getting the jab is the best thing we can do to get back to the lives we miss so much. Let's get the jab done," he added in his tweet.
Indian Council of Medical Research Director General Balram Bhargava said the purpose of the COVID vaccine drive would be to break the chain of viral transmission.
The first COVID-19 vaccine shots in India were given on Saturday to nearly two lakh frontline healthcare and sanitary workers as Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the world's largest inoculation drive against the pandemic that has caused 1,52,093 deaths and upended millions of lives in the country.
Israel and Bhutan, however small, illustrate what governments can do, and the mountains they can move, if they really care for their citizens.
Justice Rekha Palli issued notice to the Delhi government and sought its stand on whether it can provide the second dose of Covaxin to those who got the first jab, before expiry of the incubation period of six weeks between the two doses.
Chairperson of the COVID Task Force for All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr Naveet Wig on Thursday said that the COVID-19 crisis is 'a dynamic situation' and to prevent a third wave of the pandemic, there is a need to keep changing strategies.
Citing multiple surges in coronavirus cases in several countries, the Union Health Ministry has written to 13 states and union territories, including West Bengal, Kerala, Maharashtra and Punjab, expressing concerns over declining weekly testing rates and spiking positivity rates in some districts.
Shah said that the complaint was lodged based on the provisional certificate which he got after receiving the shot at a vaccination centre on Thursday morning.
'Scientific data has proven that masks can reduce COVID-91 transmission by 53 per cent...A booster dose of vaccine, even if it works, is just a temporary fix'
On when vaccination for children could start as Zydus Cadila's Covid vaccine has been granted emergency use authorisation for those 12-year-old and above, he said children were not being inoculated against COVID-19 on a large scale anywhere in the world though it has been initiated in some countries in a limited manner.
The daily rise in new coronavirus infections fell below 2,000 after 28 days.
All medical establishments like medical colleges (allopathic, homoeopathic and AYUSH), health centres, private healthcare units and polyclinics have been asked to send the list of workers, the senior official of the Health department told PTI.
Citizens who come to the civic-run vaccination centres to get their jabs from November 12 to 24 will get a chance to win these prizes, according to a release issued by the municipal corporation on Wednesday evening.
The Union Health Ministry on Friday asked all states and union territories to initiate vaccination of frontline workers against COVID-19 from the first week of February.
The Union health ministry has directed states to identify all left-out people and ensure everyone gets their Covid jab through initiatives such as workplace vaccination, as part of the government's "Har Ghar Dastak" campaign. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a review meeting on vaccination progress with Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Puducherry on Monday. In a tweet, the minister said, "Spoke about augmenting Govt's #HarGharDastak vaccine campaign. Requested help from religious leaders, NGOs & political groups to speed-up vaccination coverage." Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan has asked state officials that workplace vaccination should be organised for targeting people due for their doses.
The states were requested to take a stock of hospital preparedness such as availability of drugs and medical oxygen, vaccination coverage against COVID-19 and influenza.
The Indian Council of Medical Research is conducting three different studies to ascertain the facts regarding rising cases of cardiac arrest after the pandemic, Mandaviya said in response to a question in the Lok Sabha.
The prime minister also visited the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi after the milestone was achieved and interacted with hospital officials.
'All the vaccines that are available in most countries, right now, are all highly effective and safe.'
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.44 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 4.30 per cent, according to the ministry.
The government is likely to soon reduce the gap between the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine and the precaution dose from the current nine months to six months, official sources said on Wednesday.
'At the current time, we should be vaccinating all those who are potentially going to get more severe illness, before we start vaccinating very young individuals.'
With talks underway between the central government and Zydus Cadila over the pricing of the COVID-19 vaccine ZyCov-D, the pharma company is learnt to have proposed a price of Rs 1,900 for its three-dose jab that can be given to those above 12 years of age.
Three big private hospital chains -- Apollo, Fortis and Max -- on Friday announced the launch of Covid-19 immunisation drive for the 18-44 age group at limited centres in the country from May 1 while the Delhi government said it will start the vaccination exercise once it receives doses from the manufacturers.
He asked the local administration to help people with full sensitivity and asserted that the cooperation of society as well as the government is necessary to curb the pandemic.
Amid the fear of a possible third wave of COVID-19 pandemic as the country gradually eases restrictions, Neeraj Nischal, Assistant Professor Department of Medicine at All India Institute of Medical Sciences on Sunday said that human behaviour is one of the factors which will determine Covid waves.
The death toll climbed to 5,24,323 with 20 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.
Stating that the fight against COVID-19 is at the final stage, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday cautioned against letting the guard down before it is completely over and requested states to enhance the vaccination coverage and motivate the over 12 crore beneficiaries who are due for their second dose to take it.
Giving more details about the preparations, the senior official said 36 states and Union territories have concluded meetings of State Steering Committees and State Task Force, while 633 districts have concluded meetings of the District Task Force in this regard.
Laxity at any level may nullify the gains achieved in COVID management so far, he underlined.
'The prioritisation of groups for COVID-19 vaccine shall be based on two key considerations -- occupational hazard and risk of exposure to infection, and the risk of developing severe disease and increased mortality'
The Kerala high court on Tuesday asked the Centre whether the 84-day gap between two doses of Covishield was based on availability of the vaccine or its efficacy.
The Bombay high court on Friday said the Union government should look at the door-to-door vaccination programme carried out 'successfully' by Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir, and take a 'sound decision' on its present policy that states door-to-door vaccination was not possible.
The vaccination, available at 48 designated clinics in 15 districts, began on December 24, targeting certain groups of people aged between 18 and 59 years, He Zhenyu, deputy director of the centre for disease control and prevention in Wuhan, told the media in Wuhan.
Hari Shukla from Tyne and Wear said he feels it is his duty to receive his first of the two-dose vaccine, a moment UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed as a "huge step forward" as Tuesday was dubbed "V-Day" or Vaccine Day in the UK.
'We have 25,000 private hospitals participating in this exercise and if each of these hospitals does 200 vaccinations per day, that makes it 50 lakhs.'
Sixteen states -- Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kerala, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal -- are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases.
He also said that in the first phase of distribution of coronavirus vaccine, which would be free for all, shall be provided to most prioritised beneficiaries.
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