NITI Aayog member (health) Dr VK Paul said all decisions on precaution doses are taken first and foremost based on the need.
Both Israel and Hamas claimed that gunfights were ongoing at numerous locations within Israeli territory.
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 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.
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.
'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'
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.
This instruction is a temporary measure and shall be in force till March 31 and will be reviewed subsequently.
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.
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.
Those transferred include special secretary of health and family welfare Udit Prakash Rai, a 2007 batch IAS officer of AGMUT cadre.
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.
"Provide enough infrastructure and money to carry out surveillance and set up a robust routine surveillance machinery for the country to monitor any and every infectious disease'
Modi called for timely evacuation of those involved in off-shore activities.
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.
The death toll climbed to 15,301 with 407 new fatalities, according to the Union health ministry data.
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.
A powerful senatorial committee on Wednesday is set to consider a bipartisan resolution to recognise Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India, pushing back against China's military aggression to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control.
Some of the countries where cheetahs are still found, though in smaller numbers, include Algeria, Egypt, Niger, and Mali.
Most of those who tested positive either recently arrived from African countries or were in contact with such people.
There is no near-term respite for the country's largest fast-moving consumer goods maker, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), which is facing multiple challenges on the growth front. With demand showing no signs of improvement, especially in the rural segment, the October-December quarter (Q3) of 2023-24 (FY24) is likely to be similar to the previous quarter, with volume growth in the low single digits. The stock, which is down 7 per cent over the past year compared to the 11 per cent jump for the S&P BSE Sensex, could underperform the benchmark in the near term as well.
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.
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.
India urged Canada to disallow activities of groups promoting extremism, prevent attacks on places of worship of religious and racial minorities, and enhance measures to address hate crimes and hate speech.
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.
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.
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.
Indian billionaires saw their combined fortunes more than double during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their count shot up by 39 per cent to 142, while the wealth of the ten richest is enough to fund school and higher education of children in the country for 25 years, a new study showed on Monday. In its annual inequality survey released on the first day of the World Economic Forum's online Davos Agenda summit, Oxfam India further said that an additional one per cent tax on the richest 10 per cent can provide the country with nearly 17.7 lakh extra oxygen cylinders, while a similar wealth tax on the 98 richest billionaire families would finance Ayushman Bharat, the world's largest health insurance scheme, for more than seven years. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a huge rush for oxygen cylinders and insurance claims during the second wave last year.
Bharat Biotech said that it is disheartening to listen to some states complaining about company's intentions regarding supply of COVID vaccine Covaxin.
Confirming the Drugs Controller General Of India (DCGI) approval, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla on Tuesday tweeted: '@SerumInstIndia's brand Covovax has completed bridging studies in India and has been granted Emergency Use Authorisation by DCGI for adults and for children above the age of 12. Younger age groups will follow shortly.'
Three more positive cases of novel coronavirus have been reported in India.
As cases of 'black fungus' among COVID-19 patients in the country rise to cross 7,000, the Centre on Thursday urged all states and union territories to declare it as a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act to ensure mandatory surveillance to tackle the 'new challenge'.
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.
Officials said several witnesses were heard on the impact of the pandemic. They added that this was the longest meeting of the panel without a break so far.
The next phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive for people above 60 years and those aged 45 and above with comorbidities will begin from March 1 and registration on the Co-WIN2.0 portal will open at 9 am on Monday.
Strict norms for arriving international passengers, especially from 'at-risk' countries, will come into effect from Tuesday midnight and authorities are stepping their vigil for effective surveillance amid mounting concerns over the emergence of the coronavirus variant Omicron.
Of the 23.9 million vaccinators who provide vaccination under the universal immunisation programme, 15.4 million will be used for Covid vaccination.
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