It was a repeat of scenes witnessed last month as motorists struggled to manoeuvre their vehicles on flooded roads and subways while showers led to traffic congestion in Chennai and suburbs.
Pfizer's chief executive Dr Albert Bourla told the BBC that he is of the view that annual vaccinations would be needed to maintain a "very high level of protection" against the deadly disease that has claimed over five million lives across the world.
'During the course of these two years, as new people have joined, we have no mental picture to associate with them and hence, have little connection with them.'
'An individual who maybe has had two vaccines, or has had two vaccines, and a booster, is going to be pretty well protected.'
The technical advisory group will now meet on November 3 for a final assessment.
According to the police, the doors of the markaz were opened at around 12.30 pm.
While some experts believe that a large part of India is still vulnerable to the virus that could trigger a third wave, others feel the country is not likely to be engulfed by another deadly wave unless a new variant emerges.
A surge in international oil prices may translate into an increase in the retail selling price of petrol and diesel in India as oil companies face extreme margin squeeze, sources said. Petrol and diesel prices have remained unchanged for 12 days but now the international rate surge is exerting pressure. Current prices of petrol and diesel in the international market are higher by around $4-6 per barrel as compared to average prices during August. However, no increase in retail prices has been affected by oil companies so far, sources said.
Swiss brokerage Credit Suisse expects the economy to continue to show positive surprises and record up to 9 per cent growth in the next fiscal. For the current financial year too, the brokerage anticipates growth to be higher than the consensus forecast of 8.4-9.5 per cent, and printing in at around 10.5 per cent. As a policy, Credit Suisse does not provide absolute growth numbers in its forecast.
As the Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 takes centrestage, vaccine makers in India are of the view that scaling up the existing vaccines to make them more effective is possible.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which monitors data related to the pandemic, said the sub-lineage known as BA.2 shows a low number of cases in the country, with the original Omicron lineage BA.1 still dominant.
Dr Mishra further explained the effect of hybrid immunity on the vaccinated population and said that it is likely to give protection to people along with the Indian vaccines administered.
Scientists have identified and tested an antibody that limits the severity of infections from a variety of coronaviruses, including those that cause COVID-19 as well as the SARS illness.
A 'very large' number of Indians are likely to remain protected from Omicron or any other variant of COVID-19 and there is no need to panic, eminent virologist Dr Shahid Jameel has said.
The No 18 Squadron, formed in 1965 with the motto "Teevra aur Nirbhaya" meaning "Swift and Fearless," was earlier flying MiG 27 aircraft.
The WHO has countries to enhance surveillance and sequencing efforts to better understand circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants, submit complete genome sequences and associated metadata to a publicly available database.
Over 250 passengers on board two US airliners got a scare on Sunday when "credible" bomb threats sent via Twitter prompted the military to scramble F-16 fighter jets to escort the planes to land in Atlanta, but searches by a bomb squad turned up nothing threatening.
So which sectors are likely to do well in 2022? Should you focus on domestic economy-related sectors or export-oriented ones?
Villagers say that the wooden temple chariot, with parts being iron based fitment, was decorated with colourful lights especially on the top, and it came into contact with the overhead electricity line.
All players who want a visa to compete in the Australian Open will need to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, the country's immigration minister said on Wednesday, putting Novak Djokovic's title defence and Grand Slam record bid in doubt.
A gated community in Sholinganallur in Chennai has emerged as the second major Covid-19 cluster, seen as different from the first one at Kilpauk which was a religious gathering.
Addressing a virtual Downing Street press conference, Boris Johnson acknowledged the divided views on lifting all lockdown restrictions to declare that his update does not imply that the pandemic "is over".
Chief executive Nick Hockley told local media on Wednesday that rising vaccination rates in Australia gave him "a degree of optimism" that the lucrative series against England would go ahead as planned, starting in Brisbane on December 8.
Experts said the strain has not propelled a surge in cases like Omicron, but advised strict adherence to COVID-19-appropriate behaviour.
The coronavirus pandemic has taught that viruses cannot be taken lightly, and the unpredictability in emerging scenarios of health have to be respected and addressed, Paul noted.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, demanded Dahi Handi festival be allowed to be organised under certain conditions traditionally.
The decision to open Kartarpur shrine was taken by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday due to the approaching death anniversary of Sikhism founder Baba Guru Nanak Dev on September 22.
'Our study shows a greater risk reduction for people who received an mRNA vaccine after having received a first dose of a vector-based, as compared to people having received the vector-based vaccine for both doses,' Nordstrom said.
It also demanded that the government expedite the proposal of vaccinating individuals aged 12 to 18 years.
Tata Steel was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 2 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, SBI, Kotak Bank and Dr Reddy's. NSE Nifty dropped 151.75 points to 15,727.90.
Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) K V Subramanian on Tuesday exuded confidence that India would achieve double-digit growth in the current financial year on the back of policy initiatives and continuing reforms. He also said the country is well poised to meet the fiscal deficit target of 6.8 per cent of GDP. "At this stage, I can say confidently that we should be able to achieve that fiscal deficit number. "Any shortfalls that might happen on the disinvestment side will also be accompanied by positive surprises that have happened on tax revenue," he told reporters.
The Indian economy remains on track to regain its position as the world's fastest-growing major economy after official estimates on Friday put the expansion at a tempered 9.2 per cent this fiscal amid concerns over the impact of a resurgent virus on the fragile recovery. The growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) of 9.2 per cent in April 2021 to March 2022 fiscal (FY 2021-22) given by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in its first advance estimate compares with 9.5 per cent expansion forecast by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last month. The economy had contracted by 7.3 per cent in the previous financial year.
The Congress on Wednesday attacked the government over the dip in vaccination numbers after a record high earlier this week with former party chief Rahul Gandhi saying the country is not safe unless vaccination is done on a large scale but sadly the government is "unable to move beyond a PR event".
"In children, fortunately, infections with SARS-CoV-2 are generally not severe. There is a risk of long COVID, there is a risk of a very, very rare condition called MISC (Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome) but by and large healthy children have nothing," said Dr Gagandeep Kang, leading Indian virologist.
The spike in the country's financial capital has got pronounced since December 20, when just 283 cases were reported. Tuesday had witnessed 1,377 cases in the metropolis, and Wednesday's figure was a jump by over 80 per cent, he pointed out.
In May, Satpal Singh, who runs a dairy business with three buffaloes in Jewar, near Noida, was worried about the steep spike in input costs. Singh said dry fodder rates, which cost Rs 1,500-2000 per tractor trolley last year, were quoting at Rs 4,500-5,000. The price of other cattle feed ingredients (that include mustard meal and similar mixes) had also gone up from Rs 2,000 per quintal to Rs 3,100-3,200 per quintal.
Not enough data has been generated locally to decide on the need for a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine for those fully inoculated, say experts amid the possibility of a third wave of the viral disease hitting the country between September and October.
'Due to severe rains and heavy cross winds, arrivals at #AAI Chennai Airport will remain suspended from 1315 hrs to 1800 hrs, today. Departures will continue. The decision has been taken considering the safety aspect of passengers and severity of wind,' the Chennai Airport tweeted.
Lush agricultural lands have turned parch as groundwater levels deplete to new lows, and wells and water reservoirs go dry. While the administration points to deficient rainfall as a reason, experts and activists say the drought is mostly man-made.
Covaxin was found to have 78 per cent efficacy against COVID-19 of any severity, 14 or more days after the second dose, and is extremely suitable for low- and middle-income countries due to easy storage requirements, said the global health body.
