On media reports quoting some Maharashtra government officials that vaccines in the state are "finished" and adversely impacting the vaccination drive, the ministry said a balance of 7,49,960 vaccine doses is still available with the state for administration to eligible population groups.
Medical students are in for a bonanza with the government planning to double availability of undergraduate and postgraduate seats to meet a target of 80,000 MBBS and 45,000 PG seats in India by 2021.
The guidelines are being drafted to dispel any misconception and raise awareness regarding spread of the disease from a deceased
Of the 1,48,266 beneficiaries who were administered the vaccine on Monday, 8,656 were from Bihar, 1,822 from Assam, 36,888 from Karnataka, 7,070 from Kerala, 6,665 from Madhya Pradesh, 7,628 from Tamil Nadu, 10,352 from Telangana, 11,588 from West Bengal and 3,111 were from Delhi.
The highest number of confirmed cases are from Maharashtra (748), followed by Tamil Nadu at 571 and Delhi with 523 cases. Cases in Telangana have gone up to 321, in Kerala to 314, in Uttar Pradesh to 305, while the number of cases has gone up to 274 in Rajasthan.
The ministry said the mutated UK strain was detected in eight samples at the National Centre for Disease Control, one at the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani (near Kolkata), one at the National Institute of Virology Pune, seven at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences Hospital Bengaluru, two at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad and one at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi.
The Centre has started the process of identifying around 30 crore priority beneficiaries who will be given vaccine in the initial phase. The Centre will procure the vaccine directly and make it available free-of-cost for the priority beneficiaries.
This may include Rs 1,500 as a screening test for suspect cases and an additional Rs 3,000 for confirmation test, the guidelines said.
On the basis of feedback from the teams, the ministry has written to the states highlighting the areas of concern, including sub-optimal containment operations and contact tracing, skewed testing and shortage of health workers. Authorities need to work in these areas, it said.
The Centre on Saturday strongly advised 12 states and Union Territories reporting a surge in coronavirus cases to significantly increase testing and ensure people follow COVID-appropriate behaviour, noting that one infected person could spread infection to an average of 406 individuals in a 30-day window without restrictions.
The Union health ministry on Sunday clarified that already booked online appointments for second dose of Covishield vaccine will remain valid and the same will not be cancelled on Co-WIN platform.
This will be an upfront payment for the vaccine doses that these two companies will supply to the government.
This comes after the ministry of home affairs issued guidelines for the fourth phase of the nationwide lockdown, giving power to states and union territories to delineate red, green and orange zones as per the COVID-19 situation taking into consideration the parameters shared by the union health ministry.
The Standing Technical Sub-Committee (STSC) of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) on Thursday recommended reducing the gap between the second and precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the current nine to six months, official sources said.
Religious places and places of worship for the public, hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services along with shopping malls will be permitted to open from June 8, the ministry of home affairs said on Saturday. However, these facilities will not be able to resume operations inside containment zones designated by authorities in states, said a government notification.
The SAI has formulated a detailed draft of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be followed before reopening of its training centres by the end of this month, as suggested by Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju but subject to clearance from the Health and Home ministry.
The COVID-19 vaccination drive was successfully conducted on the first day, Additional Secretary in the Union health ministry Manohar Agnani said during a press briefing. Giving an update on COVID-19 vaccination, the health ministry said 3,352 vaccination sessions were held and 1,91,181 beneficiaries vaccinated.
'There can be potential hotspots for spread of infection like industrial clusters with closed work environment, people coming from high prevalence areas, other high density areas such as slums, prisons, old age homes etc'
This instruction is a temporary measure and shall be in force till March 31 and will be reviewed subsequently.
Jaitley, 66, has become 'very weak' as his health has deteriorated over the past few weeks, sources said, adding that he has developed some throat condition as well that prevents him from speaking for long.
Under flak from the opposition for 'diverting' Covid vaccines to private hospitals to make a profit, the Punjab government on Friday asked them to return all stock meant for the 18-44 age group.
NITI Aayog member (health) Dr VK Paul said all decisions on precaution doses are taken first and foremost based on the need.
Everyone on election duty for the upcoming polls for five assemblies will be vaccinated against COVID-19 before polling day, the Election Commission said on Friday.
"The new food supply pipeline has also made it easier to supply better food in larger quantities to them, which is a good thing. Otherwise the situation remains the same," said Negi, who spoke to his brother.
The Biden administration has come under criticism from several quarters, including from members and supporters of the Democratic party, for not releasing surplus COVID-19 vaccines to India when the country is experiencing its worst-ever public health crisis.
The death toll climbed to 15,301 with 407 new fatalities, according to the Union health ministry data.
"To make sure there isn't a Covid surge in the country, PM Modi has asked us to be careful. The government is also preparing if at the Covid cases increase. Today, mock drills are conducted across Covid hospitals in the country to make sure people get proper treatment," Mandaviya said.
Modi called for timely evacuation of those involved in off-shore activities.
India's COVID-19 case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.66 per cent while the recovery rate has risen to 77.77 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry. Sixty per cent of the total recovered cases are being reported from five states - Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, the ministry said on Saturday.
A limited number of activities will remain prohibited across the country, irrespective of the zone, including travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road, running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/coaching institutions.
In the 'Revised Comprehensive Guidelines for Management of COVID-19 in Children and Adolescents (below 18 years)', the health ministry also said that masks are not recommended for children aged five years and below.
India's largest online travel agency, MakeMyTrip said that it is premature to assess the impact of Omicron variant on overseas tour bookings. Others in the travel sector however are worried about cancellations in the coming days as countries tighten travel restrictions. "It is too early to assess the impact of the new Covid-19 variant on outbound travel. "Additional protocols are already set in any case from several countries which will help contain the variant coming to India.
The company had in December said that the CDSCO had approved a 12-month shelf life for Covaxin, which was nine months earlier, Sohini Das reports.
Most of those who tested positive either recently arrived from African countries or were in contact with such people.
The first nationwide mock drill was held on January 2 which, the health ministry said, helped to iron out any glitches in the final execution and further refinement of the operational procedures.
While one of the chemicals is a category 2B carcinogen, the other could trigger thyroid disorders but India has not banned their use
More than ten patients die daily on an average at the country's premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, according to data provided by the health ministry.
Those transferred include special secretary of health and family welfare Udit Prakash Rai, a 2007 batch IAS officer of AGMUT cadre.
It also advised people not to rush for self-medication, blood investigation or radiological imaging like chest X-ray or CT scan without consultation of treating medical officer.
According to the purchase order placed on Monday, each dose of the vaccine has been priced at Rs 200 and with GST of Rs 10, it would cost Rs 210.
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