Registration for vaccination of children in the 15-18 age group against COVID-19 is beginning on Saturday on the COWIN portal, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said.
With an eye on improving quality assurance in the wake of increased global scrutiny on Indian pharma products, the Centre on Tuesday said that Schedule M of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 will be made compulsory for small and medium scale manufacturers in a phased manner. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has asked micro-small and medium enterprises in pharma manufacturing to move towards good manufacturing practices (GMP) through self regulation. "This will help in quality assurance and also reduce compliance burden," Mandaviya.
A special court in Mumbai on Friday granted bail to dismissed police officer Sachin Waze in an alleged money laundering case linked to former Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh.
'iNCOVACC' is priced at Rs 800 for private markets and at Rs 325 for supplies to the government of India and state governments.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also said consular assistance is being provided to some linked to the company who are facing legal action there.
The needle-free vaccine will be available at private centres.
Mudigere's Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, M P Kumaraswamy, on Thursday announced his resignation from the party, after he was denied ticket to contest the Karnataka assembly polls, and blamed national General Secretary C T Ravi for not getting nominated.
The Canadian government announced that this new requirement will come into effect on January 5, at which point travellers aged two and older will need to provide proof of a negative test before leaving for Canada.
Mansukh, around 45 years old, had gone missing on Thursday night. The body was found on the banks of the creek along the Mumbra Reti Bunder road, a senior official of Thane Police said.
Former Union minister Prakash Javadekar and another senior party leader Om Prakash Mathur was made poll in-charge for Telangana and Chhattisgarh respectively, a party statement said.
The Centre and the states need to continue working in collaborative spirit as was done during the previous surges for COVID-19 prevention and management, Mandaviya said.
Members of the IMA and IPA had met Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday and expressed their concerns over the regulations.
The Supreme Court on Monday granted three weeks interim bail to former police officer Pradeep Sharma, who was arrested in connection with the Antilia bomb scare case and the killing of businessman Mansukh Hiran.
The tests have to be conducted within 72 hours of undertaking the journey to India, Mandaviya said.
The Balasore district hospital and Soro hospital, where the injured have been rushed after a triple train accident, are bursting at their seams as the huge flow of patients has crammed up every room, with patients spilling onto corridors.
Sources said three cases of Omicron subvariant BF.7, apparently the strain driving China's current surge of COVID cases, have been detected in India so far.
Covovax is likely to be available on the portal in a few days at a price of Rs 225 per dose plus applicable GST.
The health minister said the Centre has taken timely measures ahead of the summer season to address heatwave-related illnesses.
The sources said that of the 124 positive samples, genome sequencing results of 40 were received of which XBB, including XBB.1, was found in 14 samples and BF 7.4.1 in one sample.
The first case of BF.7 in India was detected in October by Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre.
The agency has not done an "in- depth" investigation, it said.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will visit AIIMS, Jhajjar on April 10 to oversee the mock drill, officials said on Sunday.
More than 15 lakh international air passengers have so far been screened and 200 of them have tested positive for COVID-19, Mandaviya said on the sidelines of a book launch.
Notwithstanding the fact that the country's pharmaceutical (pharma) pricing regulator has allowed a 12 per cent price increase for medicines listed under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) in 2023, analysts and industry insiders predict that the overall domestic pharma industry will only witness a price hike of 5-6 per cent. This is attributed to higher competitive intensity in the market. Krishnakumar V, executive director and chief operating officer (CEO) of Eris Lifesciences, a domestic-focused pharma company, noted that the NLEM segment experienced growth suppression of around 150 basis points due to price reductions during the January to July period this year.
SII has so far provided more than 170 crore doses of Covishield to the government for the national immunisation programme.
In a letter addressed to Gandhi and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday, Mandaviya said three MPs from Rajasthan -- P P Chaudhary, Nihal Chand and Devji Patel -- have flagged concerns and requested him that Covid protocols, including use of masks and sanitisers, be strictly followed during the march and only those who are vaccinated be allowed to participate.
'If there are any symptoms/variants of concern, states can prepare accordingly.'
Odisha is facing a morgue crunch as a large number of unclaimed dead bodies from Balasore's triple train accident, have piled up at its mortuaries.
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai on Saturday granted bail to Naresh Gaur, a cricket bookie, arrested for his alleged role in the Antilia bomb scare and businessman Mansukh Hiran murder case but stayed the order after the prosecution prayed that they wanted to challenge it before a higher court.
Till date eight cases of the disease have been detected in India, out of which five have foreign travel history, the minister of health and family welfare said.
The minister will review the COVID-19 situation at 11:30 am on Wednesday 'considering the international scenario', they said.
He also said that it was wrong to suggest that India stopped foreign made vaccines like that made by Moderna and Pfizer from coming to India.
He urged people not to panic and clarified that there was no change in the guidelines for international air travel so far.
Besides Waze, former 'encounter specialist' Pradeep Sharma and a few other former police personnel are also accused in the case.
A fourth COVID shot is unwarranted at the moment as most people in the country are yet to receive their third dose, they said.
The prime minister was seen wearing a light blue "sadri" jacket as he sat in the Rajya Sabha in the morning.
Former police officer Sachin Waze, an accused in the Antilia bomb scare-Mansukh Hiran murder case, on Friday moved an application before a special court here seeking permission for placing him under 'house custody' for recovery post an open heart surgery.
The central agency had earlier arrested four persons, including two Mumbai police officers -- Sachin Waze and Riyaz Kazi -- in connection with these cases.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening as a 'very severe cyclonic storm' with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kilometres per hour, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
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