The Supreme Court of India has directed the central government to establish a no-fault compensation policy for individuals who experience serious adverse events after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
The Centre has notified 40 questions for the upcoming Census 2027, including caste and place of Covid vaccination, marking the first time caste details will be collected as part of the decadal exercise. The population enumeration will be a fully digital process, with an option for self-enumeration.
The Union Health Ministry refutes claims linking heart-related deaths to Covid vaccines, citing extensive studies by ICMR and AIIMS.
An expert committee in Karnataka has concluded that there is no association between premature cardiovascular disease and a prior history of Covid-19 infection or Covid vaccination. The report suggests that common risk factors like hypertension, diabetes, and smoking are more likely causes.
'There is no need for panic as there is widespread protective immune memory in the population from vaccination as well as prior infections.'
The Supreme Court of India has advised a petitioner, who claims to have suffered disability due to the side effects of the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, to file a suit for damages instead of pursuing his plea before the court. The court suggested that filing a suit could provide quicker relief than waiting for a potentially lengthy decision on the petition.
Despite these rare occurrences, the pharmaceutical company maintains that extensive clinical trial data and real-world evidence consistently support the vaccine's safety and efficacy.
Jackson Warne, son of the late Shane Warne, believes the COVID-19 vaccines his father was required to take for work may have contributed to his death, despite underlying health issues.
The decision empowers pregnant women to make an informed choice on taking the Covid vaccination, the ministry said, adding these women can now register on CoWIN or walk-in to the nearest Covid vaccination centre to get themselves inoculated.
'iNCOVACC' is priced at Rs 800 for private markets and at Rs 325 for supplies to the government of India and state governments.
The needle-free vaccine will be available at private centres.
The government's Covid vaccination programme is in its final leg with the health ministry deciding against procuring more vaccines as of now and surrendering Rs 4,237 crore, or nearly 85 per cent of the 2022-23 budget allocation for inoculation purposes, to the finance ministry.
The prime minister was happy that the assurance given by the Serum Institute that it will make India self-sufficient in vaccines at the lowest possible price in the world was fulfilled.
A 56-year-old man died after he suffered a heart attack on stage while performing the role of Lord Rama at a Ramlila in Vishwakarma Nagar of Shahdara, police on Sunday said.
Apollo Hospitals and Fortis Healthcare are open to importing vaccines.
Opposition leaders have questioned how caste responses will be recorded without state-wise pre-prepared lists.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his 80th Independence Day address, expressed strong confidence that India will achieve developed nation status by 2047, urging citizens to embrace big dreams and unwavering resolve to realise 'Viksit Bharat'. He highlighted India's economic transformation and significant growth in various sectors, including defence production, electronic manufacturing, and mobile phone production.
"Kerala has received 73,38,806 doses of vaccine from Central government. We have provided 74,26,164 doses, even making use of the extra dose available as wastage factor in each vial. Our health workers, especially nurses have been super efficient and deserve our wholehearted appreciation!," Vijayan had tweeted.
Himachal Pradesh has become a champion by being the first state to administer the first dose of Covid vaccine to all eligible people despite logistic difficulties, he said through video conference.
The company said it had conducted two separate trials for its intranasal Covid vaccine, one as a primary dose schedule and another as a booster dose, for subjects who have been double vaccinated with the two commonly administered Covid vaccines in India.
'The key purpose of vaccination is to prevent hospitalisation, severe disease, and death.' 'All vaccines work equally, although mild disease cannot be prevented.'
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday told Bharatiya Janata Party MPs that Covid vaccination for children is likely to start soon, sources said.
India will resume export of surplus COVID-19 vaccines next month under the 'Vaccine Maitri' programme and to meet its commitment to the COVAX global pool, but vaccinating its own citizens remains the topmost priority of the government, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said.
In an open letter, Banerjee said the COVID warriors, including police, home guards, civil defence volunteers, correctional home and disaster management employees, will be administered the vaccine on a priority basis.
"Pregnancy doesn't increase the risk of acquiring SARS-COV-2 infection but appears to worsen the clinical course as compared to non-pregnant women'
Sources indicated that there were no fresh orders from the Government of India, and their supply commitments have ended as of March 31, reports Sohini Das.
All COVID vaccines do not prevent infection and are primarily disease-modifying, said Dr Balram Bhargava, director general, Indian Council of Medical Research on Thursday.
Asha Parekh seemed to be in good humour as she took her first dose of the COVID vaccination at a Mumbai hospital.
SII would be scaling up its AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine manufacturing capacity to 200 million doses a month from 100 million a month now, reports Sohini Das.
'People on the wait list will be accommodated for vaccination when the scheduled beneficiaries don't turn up.'
According to the health ministry, advance appointments for vaccination can be booked through http://cowin.gov.in, or one can visit their nearest vaccination center after 3 pm and get on-site registration done.
Speaking to reporters, Sitharaman, a senior BJP leader, said, "It is a manifesto announcement. A party can announce what it wants to do when it comes to power. That is exactly what is announced. Health is a state subject. It is perfectly in order."
The Supreme Court questioned petitioners who challenged the accuracy of India's COVID-19 vaccine adverse effect data, suggesting they unduly trusted UK figures. The court heard arguments about alleged deaths due to the Covishield vaccine and reserved its order.
Communications between the USTR and the world's most powerful pharmaceutical and trade lobbying groups reveal that many raised concerns about India's push to exempt Covid vaccines from intellectual property.
The vaccine would not have production scalability issues unlike Covaxin, Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 virus vaccine.
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.
Glimpses of Covid Warriors at work in icy conditions.
The PM's visit would signal a strong intent towards making sure India becomes a beneficiary as vaccines become a massively traded commodity in the coming years.
More than 90 lakh Covid-19 vaccine doses are still available with states and Union territories which will receive over 7 lakh additional doses in the next three days, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday.
India stopped the export of Covid vaccines in mid-April.
