A second wave of Covid driven by the Delta variant engulfed the country in May-June bringing the health system to its knees and leaving people gasping for help.
Asked if the government has decided to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to the entire population free of cost on priority basis and if so, the target fixed to administer the doses, the health minister said according to Revised Guidelines for Implementation of National COVID Vaccination Program, which came into effect from June 21, all citizens aged 18 years and above, irrespective of their income status, are entitled to free vaccination at all government vaccination centres.
'The US has invoked the Defence Act and banned export of raw materials.' 'This is as good as banning vaccines.'
The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 1,57,930 in the country with 77 more fatalities, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed.
The COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.44 per cent.
'All the vaccines that are available in most countries, right now, are all highly effective and safe.'
The COVID-19 vaccines can be "tweaked" to provide protection against new variants of the virus, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, Director Dr Randeep Guleria said.
'We are hoping by March, the government allows us to export and give it to the private market.'
Even as the inoculation drive against COVID-19 is set to start in two days, a Maharashtra government official said on Thursday that it will take six to seven months for the vaccine to become available for those who are not in the high-risk category.
'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.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the first phase of the pan India roll-out of COVID-19 vaccination drive at 10.30 am via video conferencing.
The Centre told the apex court that it has fast tracked the emergency approvals for foreign produced COVID-19 vaccines that have been granted approval in other countries
About 18-19 coronavirus vaccine candidates are in different clinical trial stages and may be available in the coming months, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Monday.
Expressing concern over the COVID-19 situation, the chief minister urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to widen the vaccination ambit to cover those younger than 60 as the mutant has been found to be infecting young people more, an official statement quoting him said.
India has the capacity to store vaccines that may require a lower temperature in the range of -15 to -20 degrees Celsius and there are over 29,000 cold chain points (CCPs) across the country where vaccines are stored at the recommended temperatures, the Centre has told the Supreme Court.
The prime minister in his intervention at the session on "global economy and global health" also flagged the issue of facilitating international travel and talked about the mechanism of mutual recognition of vaccine certification as a means of achieving this, according to the text of his intervention shared by his office.
An expert panel of the country's drugs regulatory authority had recommended against granting such approval to the firm at this stage just two days ago, officials said.
Procurement of coronavirus vaccines and raw materials to boost domestic production is set to be a major focus area of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's five-day visit to the United States beginning Monday.
This means fully vaccinated Indian passengers will no longer be subjected to a compulsory 10-day hotel quarantine on their arrival in Britain.
The production of Covaxin will increase from the current 10 million doses per month to 60 million-70 million by July-August.
Responding to a question on the Rajasthan government's claim that there is a shortage in COVID-19 vaccine stock, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the central government regularly monitors the availability of vaccine supply in all states and UTs and their consumption on a daily basis.
Two men, aged 32 and 48, were given the first shot of the 'Covishield' vaccine, being manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, at Bharti Vidyapeeth's Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday. The dose will be repeated after one month, an official said.
Apollo Hospitals and Fortis Healthcare are open to importing vaccines.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Friday soft-launched imported COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V, with Deepak Sapra, a senior executive of the drug-maker, taking the first shot in Hyderabad.
For vaccination, online registration is mandatory. Thereafter, eligible beneficiaries will be informed on their registered mobile number about the nearest vaccination facility, and the date and time of vaccination.
'When there is so much anxiety, the Government of India should assure people on the vaccine issue and help the states demanding more supply that they will be provided the required quantities.' 'Any Centre-state conflict at this point of time is counter-productive and enhances people's anxieties that should be avoided.'
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,02,28,753, pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 96.66 per cent.
The recoveries have crossed 1.02 crore.
The PM's visit would signal a strong intent towards making sure India becomes a beneficiary as vaccines become a massively traded commodity in the coming years.
Registering a steady increase for the 17th day in row, the active cases have increased to 4,52,647 comprising 3.80 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 94.85 per cent, the data stated.
The protection gained after being fully vaccinated with both doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines against Covid-19 wanes over time, a new UK study reported on Wednesday.
According to the advance visibility provided by the Centre to states and Union territories, a total of 5.86 crore Covid vaccine doses will be provided free of cost to them from May 1 to June 15, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.
'He came back from the US only to work for his country.' 'He has invested his fortunes to build this company and is married to his work.' 'Rarely does one see such commitment.'
Bharat Biotech recruited 13,000 participants for the Phase-3 clinical trial of Covaxin. This is one of the largest efficacy trials held in the country.
As per RDIF, Sputnik V has a number of key advantages, including that there are no strong allergies caused by Sputnik V.
Drawing inspiration from the recent performance of the Indian cricket team in Australia under trying circumstances, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asserted that India is well-poised to truly be the land of promise and hope in the post-COVID-19 world.
'There is more likelihood of dying from lightning than from vaccine induced blood clots.'
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 1,03,94,352, pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 96.96 per cent, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.44 per cent.
Dr Fauci said that India needs to immediately build makeshift field hospitals like what China did a year ago.
Cautioning that the country is passing through a phase when there are festivals and potential gatherings, he said this is a critical phase as the virus can spread again.
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