Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday said the COVID-19 vaccination drive will be extended in the coming days and asserted that there should not be any misconceptions about the two Indian vaccines being administered in the country.
Those demonstrating alleged inadequate services by the hospital and negligence by politicians.
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.
A total of 15,25,631 tests have been conducted so far across 332 government and 121 private laboratories.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said the government was aiming to bring down India's Covid-19 mortality rate to less than 1 per cent from the current 1.64 per cent, which is still the lowest in the world.
Doctors are demanding certain amendments in the bill. According to them, if not amended, the bill will lead to deterioration of medical education and degradation of healthcare services.
Shah apprised the leaders of four major political parties of Delhi on the steps taken to check the coronavirus pandemic and sought their views on the issue, a home ministry official said. Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have attended the meeting.
This will be the second all-party meeting called by the government to discuss the COVID-19 situation since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The prime minister also called for more RT-PCR tests.
Making a statement on the situation after cases of coronavirus surfaced, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government is taking all necessary measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
Supriyo, who is a playback singer, said the government is trying to clean up the air so that everyone can sing this song from the movie Seeta Aur Geeta.
Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed uproar over a controversial remark by a Rashtriya Loktantrik Party MP, who is a Bharatiya Janata Party ally, against the Gandhi family during a discussion on coronavirus, leading to adjournment of proceedings for over an hour.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Thursday lodged a police complaint against yoga guru Ramdev, seeking a first information report over his 'dishonest and wrongful representations' on modern medicine.
The move to resume work in ministries comes nearly a month after the government issued work from home protocols in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
The test kit has the advantage of testing 90 samples together in a single run of 2.5 hours, so that healthcare professionals can proceed quickly with necessary next steps.
'The state government is putting Maharashtrians in danger by letting people escape institutional quarantine mandate for the sake of their personal vasuli'
The coronavirus has so far killed more than 3,200 people globally.
With West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking a uniform vaccination policy for the country, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday assured her that the Modi government was firm in its resolve to help the state fight the COVID-19 pandemic, but also flagged more than 40 per cent positivity rate in some districts of the state.
Vardhan stated the government is taking full precautions in human trials of vaccines and the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 under the chairmanship of Dr V K Paul, member-health, NITI Aayog, is drawing up a detailed strategy on how to immunize the majority of the population.
'He also understands and foresees potential challenges.'
Five labourers had died in the fire that broke out in a five-storey building in the SII's Manjari premises in Pune on January 21.
The AIIMS has not issued any bulletin on Jaitley's health condition since August 10.
Satara, Sangli, Panvel have stopped vaccination while Buldhana has only one day's vaccine doses left in stock, said Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope.
Six hospitals in the national capital have exhausted their oxygen supply while seven others have less than five hours of oxygen left, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday.
A control room has also been set up and the Strategic Health Operations Centre (SHOC) of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has been activated, phone number for which is 011-23978046, a health ministry statement stated.
Racing past smoke-filled corridors, the Delhi Fire Service personnel said he entered the building at least 12 times before his breathing apparatus exhausted.
According to a Sports Ministry official, they had already prepared a blue-print and if given a go-ahead by the health ministry, they plan to start the vaccination for Olympic-bound athletes from next month.
In an 'open letter' posted on his Twitter handle, Ramdev posed 25 questions to IMA, which had objected to his video clip running down allopathy treatment for COVID-19.
"Vaccination is our big weapon in the fight against COVID-19," he said. He added that India is the fastest country globally to reach the landmark of 17 crore doses in 114 days and thanked all the states and UTs for their contribution in achieving this feat.
The home minister appealed to them to not do even a symbolic protest as the government is with the doctors, the official said.
The ministry on Sunday wrote to the Delhi government, saying the bodies of suspected COVID-19 cases should be handed over to their relatives without waiting for laboratory confirmation but the mortal remains should be treated as per the government guidelines.
Poonawalla wished the country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi success for the vaccination programme.
The Confederation of All India Traders has approached Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and urged them to shut markets in Delhi.
Vardhan had said on Friday, "Doctors at AIIMS are doing the best they can."
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday said 28,252 cases of mucormycosis have so far been reported from 28 states/UTs in the country, of which 86 per cent cases have a history of COVID-19 and 62.3 per cent with a history of diabetes.
Politics, bureaucracy, ineptitude, double-standards and an attempt to politicise the fight in pseudo-nationalistic terms have all hampered the fight against this deadly virus, says Vir Sanghvi.
In his clearest message yet on the controversy over the safety of ENDS, health minister Harsh Vardhan ruled out their acceptability in the light of research findings by experts which have held that they are no less unsafe than the 'real thing', said a government statement.
"Keeping a close pace with the potential availability of vaccine, a plan of action on which sections are to be given priority has been discussed. Importantly, it would be monitored through a scientific approach," Dr Harsh Vardhan told ANI about the strategy being discussed on vaccine distribution.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey are at the hospital to enquire about his health condition.