'Scientific data has proven that masks can reduce COVID-91 transmission by 53 per cent...A booster dose of vaccine, even if it works, is just a temporary fix'
"Mr Kalyan Banerjee rose in this House and said sorry. But I will say that we all come to this House with the spirit of contribution to the nation's development...but we also come with a sense of self respect.
The Centre told the apex court that it has not issued any SOP that makes it mandatory to carry the vaccination certificate for any purpose.
UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum received a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday. Sheikh Mohammed shared a picture on Twitter of him getting vaccinated by a medical staffer.
'We have already implemented additional security measures and we will monitor suspicious activities. A thorough security review and an investigation are currently being undertaken.'
Many inoculation centres in Maharashtra are being shut due to the shortage of coronavirus vaccine, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Wednesday, adding the state now has 14 lakh doses which would last just three days.
Efforts are being ramped up for massive production of vaccines and make them available in the shortest possible time, a top government official said on Wednesday, stressing that India currently has a promising pipeline of four-five Covid-19 vaccine candidates, while three have already been approved for emergency use.
He said the Centre should ensure that all the vaccine manufacturing plants in the country start producing COVID doses.
With just two days to go before the COVID-19 vaccination opens for the people above 18 years and only two days after Maharashtra administered the highest number of 5 lakh doese in a day, reports of the shortage of the vaccines poured in from various parts of the state on Wednesday including Mumbai, officials said.
The COVID-19 vaccine to be administered to the 12-14 years age group would be Corbevax manufactured by Biological Evans, Hyderabad.
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday told the Bombay high court that it would soon start home vaccination against COVID-19 for people who are immobile or bedridden on an experimental basis, and would not wait for an approval from the Centre.
'Whenever you roll out: effectiveness is important, operational logistics are important, side effects are important and vaccine hesitancy is important.'
"We will never approve anything if there is even the slightest safety concern. Vaccines are 110 per cent safe. Some side effects like mild fever, pain and allergy are common for every vaccine. "It (rumours of impotency) is complete nonsense," V G Somani, Drug Controller General of India said.
'I'm not vaccinated and I'm not planning to get vaccinated so the only good news I can have is them removing the mandated green vaccine card'
'The US has invoked the Defence Act and banned export of raw materials.' 'This is as good as banning vaccines.'
India's drug regulator has given permission to Bharat Biotech to conduct phase-3 clinical trial for its intranasal Covid vaccine as booster dose on participants who have been previously inoculated with SARS-CoV 2 vaccines.
The Biden administration had been under pressure to send the excess COVID-19 vaccines with the US to nations like India, which are facing severe vaccine shortages.
India, which has shipped 'Made In India' COVID-19 vaccines to around 25 nations, on Wednesday urged the international community to stop 'vaccine nationalism' and actively encourage 'internationalism', underlining that hoarding superfluous doses will defeat global efforts to attain collective health security and combat the pandemic.
The protection gained after being fully vaccinated with both doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines against Covid-19 wanes over time, a new UK study reported on Wednesday.
The first phase of the programme will kick off with vaccinations in Hyderabad on Monday and in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday (May 18) at Apollo facilities.
Bharat Biotech recruited 13,000 participants for the Phase-3 clinical trial of Covaxin. This is one of the largest efficacy trials held in the country.
Of the estimated 7.4 crore (7,40,57,000) population in the 15-18 age bracket, over 3.45 crore have received the first dose of Covaxin so far and their second dose is due in 28 days, he said.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said upcoming festivals and mass congregations in different parts of the country may potentially facilitate transmission of infectious diseases, including COVID-19.
Pujara took to Twitter to post pictures of him along with his wife getting vaccinated
'I took a Chinese vaccine named Sinopharm and I want people to know it is absolutely safe. I was administered the first dose on January 6. I have to go back for a second dose on January 27.'
Trinamool Congress leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy on Thursday claimed that West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar could also be involved in the fake vaccination camp scam.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday told Bharatiya Janata Party MPs that Covid vaccination for children is likely to start soon, sources said.
The government Thursday announced that differently-abled people and those with restricted mobility will be given COVID vaccine at home.
The US on Monday announced a new international travel system under which fully vaccinated individuals would be allowed to enter the country beginning in November.
With the maximum dose gap of four months for Covishield, a large part of the population would not even be eligible for the second dose by the end of this year, report Ruchika Chitravanshi and Ishaan Gera.
As India launched the world's largest vaccination drive against the coronavirus pandemic, showing the light at the end of a 10-month tunnel that upended millions of lives and livelihoods, here are some of the quotes from politicians across parties and other people who took the jab:
Modi tweeted that the meeting discussed important issues related to the progress of vaccine development, regulatory approvals and procurement.
Several private hospitals across the country said they have no clarity on procuring COVID-19 vaccines under the new policy announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that it has led to the vaccination being put on hold at their centres.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over vaccine shortage, saying the Centre should share the vaccine formula of the two manufacturers with other capable pharmaceutical companies to scale up production in the country.
The court said young people are being affected more this time round, and lot of young lives have been lost.
The modalities of COVID-19 vaccine delivery, distribution and administration were discussed during the meeting.
Bill Gates' remark, intended to underscore India's role in global development efforts, faced swift backlash on social media, where many criticised the choice of words as inappropriate and patronising.
Congratulating the medical staff for administering over one crore doses in the national capital, Kejriwal said there was an acute shortage of vaccines for which inoculation could not be scaled up.
The reason for vaccination not doing enough to stave off infection is partly that the rates of the fully vaccinated population are still below 20 per cent in most districts.
'They are not ready to take the vaccine.' 'They fear that if they do, they will die.'
