'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.'
"Vaccinating oneself may not only be to protect oneself but also in the larger interest of public health."
The age cap for the booster shot came at a time when another highly transmissible XE variant of the coronavirus is being reported.
The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 5,30,667 with four more fatalities, including three reconciled by Kerala and one reported by Maharashtra in the last 24 hours, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.
The active cases declined to 42,358 while the death toll climbed to 5,28,562 with 32 fatalities which includes 22 deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
'One thing we have learnt is that a pandemic can be arrested at any stage.' 'Not suddenly, of course, but slowly with steady unwavering focus.'
India logged 862 new coronavirus infections, the lowest in 196 days, taking the tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,46,44,938, while the active cases declined to 22,549, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Tuesday.
This is for the first time that a booster dose that is different from the one used for primary vaccination against COVID has been allowed in the country.
With 5,443 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,45,53,042, while the active cases climbed to 46,342, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
However, in two different dose regimens, the vaccine's efficacy was 90 per cent in one and 62 per cent in the other.
The sources said all stakeholders will have to work together to adjust the schedules as required and the pandemic can only be dealt collectively by such cooperation.
India has said it will consider engaging in development projects in Afghanistan and provide material support to the country in the health sector. The announcement came after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held talks with the Taliban regime's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai.
The approval comes a day after Sinopharm said its vaccine showed 79.34 per cent efficacy and a 99.52 per cent antibody-positive conversion rate in the interim results of the Phase III clinical trials.
The procurement and distribution will be centralised though the government is yet to take a call on the initial number of doses that will be procured.
The death toll has climbed to 5,26,600 with 70 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.
On when vaccination for children could start as Zydus Cadila's Covid vaccine has been granted emergency use authorisation for those 12-year-old and above, he said children were not being inoculated against COVID-19 on a large scale anywhere in the world though it has been initiated in some countries in a limited manner.
The overall COVID death toll rose to 5,27,965 with 33 fatalities in the last 24 hours, which includes eight deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
India saw a single day rise of 21,880 coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,38,47,065, while the active cases rose to 1,49,482, according to the Union health ministry data.
With 176 fresh cases, India's COVID-19 tally has climbed to 4,46,75,952 while the number of active cases has declined to 3,552, the Union health ministry said on Sunday.
Briefing the media in Rome, Goyal said the Leaders adopted the 'Rome Declaration' at the G20 Summit and the communique gives a very strong message under the health section with the countries agreeing that the COVID-19 immunisation is a global public good.
The active cases comprise 0.05 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.76 per cent, the health ministry said.
India logged 20,409 new coronavirus infections pushing the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,39,79,730, while the active cases declined to 1,43,988, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Friday.
Till date 5,27,932 people have perished to the infection, including 21 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours, which took into account two deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
"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.
'All the vaccines that are available in most countries, right now, are all highly effective and safe.'
The death toll climbed to 5,30,574 with four fatalities which includes three deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
As the Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 takes centrestage, vaccine makers in India are of the view that scaling up the existing vaccines to make them more effective is possible.
Amid an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases in the country, the government has decided to allow everyone above 18 years of age to get vaccinated from May 1.
Anybody over 50 years of age or with co-morbidities can get a date, place and time of choice for getting the vaccine shots.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,36,23,804, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.
India saw a single day rise of 5,379 coronavirus infections, taking the tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,44,72,241, according to the Union health ministry data updated.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that international travel should be made easier through mutual recognition of vaccine certificates, amid several countries adopting different sets of rules to allow foreigners to enter their territory in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
SII's CEO Adar Poonawalla took to Twitter to announce the "philanthropic" gesture.
The death toll has climbed to 5,30,531 with three more fatalities, including one reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The death toll climbed to 5,28,999 with 12 fatalities which includes nine reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
PHE estimates that the vaccination programme in England has prevented 22 million infections, around 52,600 hospitalisations and between 35,200 and 60,000 deaths.
China has given conditional approval for a single dose COVID-19 vaccine, touted to be a rival to Johnson & Johnson's one-jab shot cleared by the United States drug regulator on Sunday.
With 14,506 new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, India's total tally of such cases rose to 4,34,33, 345, and that of the active cases to 99,602, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday.
"As a symbol to the rest of the country that I feel extreme confidence in the safety and the efficacy of this vaccine, and I want to encourage everyone who has the opportunity to get vaccinated so we can have a veil of protection over this country that would end this pandemic," Dr Fauci said.
India saw a single day rise of 6,395 new coronavirus infections, taking the tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,44,78,636, while the active cases declined to 50,342, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Thursday.
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