In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is deeply honoured to be a 'long-trusted' partner in meeting the healthcare needs of the global community and that supplies of the vaccines to several countries will commence on Wednesday, and more will follow in the days ahead.
Congratulating the medical staff for administering over one crore doses in the national capital, Kejriwal said there was an acute shortage of vaccines for which inoculation could not be scaled up.
Poonawalla, who is in London, however, noted that the company is making every effort to enhance production of Covishield amid the second wave of COVID in the country.
Out of the 447 adverse events following immunisation, only 3 required hospitalisation.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated and vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2.
Researchers at Public Health Scotland and the University of Edinburgh, UK, found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine offered better protection against the Delta variant compared to the Oxford-AstraZeneca preventive, known as Covishield in India.
Union ministers Prakash Javadekar and Giriraj Singh, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari were among those who got the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on the fifth day of the second phase of vaccination on Friday.
The WHO chief warned governments against opening up too quickly, as that could enable the coronavirus to come back in full strength.
The technical advisory group will now meet on November 3 for a final assessment.
The Bombay high court on Saturday directed the central government to file an affidavit detailing the manner and methods of allocating COVID-19 vaccines to states.
India is committed to supplying COVID-19 vaccines to other nations and such supplies are likely to begin by the end of this year, as the abundant production will not just meet domestic needs but also generate surplus for exports a top government official said on Monday.
In September, Bharat Biotech aimed to supply 35 million doses, and take this up to 55 million by October. This is still less than what the Indian government expects from the company.
The active cases comprise 0.89 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.78 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.
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.
To mark the completion of administering of 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses, the largest khadi tricolour in the country, weighing around 1,400 kg, will be displayed at the Red Fort on Thursday, official sources said.
The volunteer said he had also volunteered 10 years ago for clinical trials for a vaccine against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus.
Trinamool Congress leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy on Thursday claimed that West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar could also be involved in the fake vaccination camp scam.
'he Centre has not issued any mandate, the stand of centre is that it should be 100 per cent but it is not a mandate'
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that more pharma companies should be allowed to manufacture the COVID-19 vaccine in the country during the pandemic to scale up production.
Starting July 1, private hospitals in the country will no longer be allowed to directly procure COVID-19 vaccines from manufacturers and have to place orders on the Centre's CoWIN portal.
The more people get vaccinated, the better it will be for the country and the economy, the National Conference vice president said.
The death toll due to the disease has climbed to 4,48,062 with 311 daily fatalities being recorded, according to the data updated at 8 am.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday said the COVID-19 vaccination drive will be extended in the coming days and asserted that there should not be any misconceptions about the two Indian vaccines being administered in the country.
The World Health Organisation's technical advisory group will meet on October 26 to consider the Emergency Use Listing (EUL) of Covaxin, a vaccine developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech protecting against COVID-19, the global health agency's chief scientist said.
The Centre on April 19 had announced a ''liberalised'' policy, making all above 18 years of age eligible to get vaccinated from May 1. It has also allowed state governments and private hospitals to purchase vaccines from manufacturers.
The number of active cases has risen to 3,40,639, comprising 1.02 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 97.65 per cent, according to the data updated by the ministry at 8 am.
The active cases declined to 3,67,415, the lowest in 148 days, and comprise 1.14 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020.
Addressing a press conference, NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul said concerns about adverse effects and serious problems post immunisation, as of now, seem to be unfounded, negligible and insignificant, and stressed that both the vaccines -- Covishield and Covaxin -- are safe.
The Covishield maker's forte throughout the past half a century has been a combination of affordable vaccines and high volumes. Its tetanus, diphtheria and measles vaccines are known throughout the world, reports Sohini Das.
Lauding the scientists and technicians for the 'Made in India' vaccines, he said the country is proud of them.
"The president pledged America's steadfast ongoing support for the people of India, who have been impacted by the recent surge in the COVID-19 cases," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.
Loud applause and cheers rang out as the first jabs were administered to frontline workers at hospitals and healthcare centres across the country on Saturday at the start of the gargantuan COVID-19 vaccination exercise, hailed as a 'momentous' occasion in India's fight against the pandemic.
'Though I am a little scared of needles, but I still got myself vaccinated today. I urge people to please get vaccinated as soon as they can! #GotTheDose #We4Vaccine #CovidVaccine'
The distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine is underway across the world. To provide a convenient and safe place for people to receive COVID-19 vaccines, countries around the world transform shopping malls, churches, airports, subway stations and museums to vaccination centers. Some also offer vaccination services on the river and mountain.
Private hospital chains Fortis Healthcare and Apollo Hospitals have started administering Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V at two of their hospitals in Delhi-NCR, officials said.
Facing accusations of delay in placing orders for vaccines, the government on Thursday defended its vaccine procurement policy saying it has been pursuing Pfizer, J&J and Moderna since mid-2020 for the earliest possible imports, and has even waived local trials for well-established foreign vaccine makers.
Antibody levels are higher when people receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the afternoon as compared to the morning, according to an observational study.
Five labourers had died in the fire that broke out in a five-storey building in the SII's Manjari premises in Pune on January 21.
India is ready, after battling the pandemic for two years, to travel once again.
Covaxin is being indigenously developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
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