The Serum Institute of India has stockpiled 40 mn-50 mn doses and is adding more every week. Most of these will come to India.
Nearly half of all coronavirus patients in the country have been cured, taking the recovery rate to over 48 per cent.
The company has developed detailed logistical plans and tools to support effective vaccine transport, storage, and temperature monitoring. Sohini Das and Ruchika Chitravanshi report.
410 civil servants in a feedback survey to the Prime Minister's Office said that the curfew should stay till the pandemic is controlled and asked to increase fiscal spending on health infrastructure to around Rs 5-10 trillion.
The study by a group of doctors showed that after two shots of the vaccines, 98 per cent recipients of Covishield showed antibody response, while the same was 80 per cent among Covaxin recipients. Sohini Das and Ruchika Chitravanshi report.
States should ensure a weekly positivity rate of less than 5 per cent, vaccination coverage of at least 70 per cent among the vulnerable section, and community ownership of Covid-appropriate behaviour, reports Ruchika Chitravanshi.
The ministry of health and family welfare spent Rs 3,948 crore in May this year compared to Rs 7,816 crore in the corresponding month of the previous year. On the other hand, at Rs 12,930 crore, the expenditure had risen almost 200 per cent in April against Rs 4,327 crore in the corresponding month of 2019-20.
While the infection has been mild in most reported cases, those below two years of age are showing signs of acute infection.
The committee has recommended Rs 8,000-10,000, Rs 13,000-15,000, and Rs 15,000-18,000 including PPE costs for isolation beds, and ICUs with or without ventilator, respectively, to all hospitals. Currently, hospitals are charging Rs 24,000-25,000, Rs 34,000-43,000 & Rs 44,000-54,000 (excluding PPE cost).
Lack of clarity on data-sharing persists, public health experts sceptic about the pilot that was run in six Union territories as benchmark for national roll-out
The government on Friday notified the rules for insolvency and liquidation proceedings of financial service providers (FSPs). These rules, notified by the ministry of corporate affairs, will not be applicable to banks, reports Ruchika Chitravanshi.
'Students are taking a keen interest in a hybrid model, where they start classes online and then complete the course on campus.'
Epidemiologists point out that if there is no second wave, it means that the number of infected has surpassed the uninfected, reports Ruchika Chitravanshi.
'The government should put the whole road map together for the vaccine and decide how industry can support...' 'They should allow the private sector to vaccinate.'
'There is no data to show this virus is more deadlier.'
The two cities finally got their act together by ramping up the testing capacity and implementing stricter quarantine norms.
'Demand is wonderful. We have crossed 10 million on many days.' 'The Swedish trade commissioner recently said, "You guys are vaccinating the entire Sweden in one day".'
'If you approached it with that level of aggression in 100 days, you would have vaccinated more than half of your country.' 'On a mass scale you will be able to eliminate that wave.'
Vaccine development is a long process to ensure safety and efficacy through different stages and involves regulatory supervision every step of the way. Ruchika Chitravanshi takes you through this carefully drawn journey of vaccine development.
Inside the narrow alleys of the basti, two CRPF companies -- around 150 armed guards -- have been deployed to keep a check on any unnecessary movement, reports Ruchika Chitravanshi.
'I would go for Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and not Covishield, and that is my personal judgment since at least 11,500 have got at least one dose by now and it has proven to be safe.'
Unsurprised by the rising numbers, epidemiologists are concerned about the virus reaching rural and tribal areas where the health infrastructure is weak, reports Ruchika Chitravanshi.
The expert committee sought more information from Serum Institute regarding the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
For vaccination, online registration is mandatory. Thereafter, eligible beneficiaries will be informed on their registered mobile number about the nearest vaccination facility, and the date and time of vaccination.
A June 11 survey by cLocalCircles across 299 districts puts overall vaccine hesitancy levels at 18 per cent, with 11 per cent of the respondents saying they were not convinced if the currently available vaccines would protect them against the new strains; and 5 per cent said they do not plan to take the vaccine at all.
Many experts feel the concept of a national peak is nebulous, given that the growth in case numbers is dominated by a handful of states.
'The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code cleans up non-performing assets and puts companies in capable and credible hands.'
Hardly anyone wears a mask and most brush off concerns over a pandemic. It is not just scepticism over the existence of the pandemic. A common refrain across villages is the fear of vaccines, reports Ruchika Chitravanshi.
'We don't know how complicated things will get with the onset of the monsoon.'
'We have the technical expertise, and international collaborations. We also have robust real-time data. We are a university of pandemic management. If the ministry neglects the role of NCDC, it is the loss of the country'
Funding challenges are not limited to just one think tank. Several scholars say that access for conducting research and getting foreign funds has become a major hurdle for think tanks, with the government raising many questions regarding such inflows. As a result, many think tanks are keeping a low profile and becoming less prolific.
While the process of extracting plasma itself is simple, doctors say that it is the screening of donors, testing and filling up of numerous forms that takes time.
'Call it by whichever name, but there is transmission happening between people.'
Epidemiologists worry there's little or no data being shared on mortality by age group and contacts traced, which makes it difficult to understand how the effects of Covid-19 might be different in the Indian population, reports Ruchika Chitravanshi
The project is currently under litigation after environmental concerns were raised against the plan of linking the PalkBay and the Gulf of Mannar by creating a shipping channel through the shallow sea, says Ruchika Chitravanshi.
Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has the task of bringing clean tap water to all households by 2024.
It is likely the government will divide the country into different zones during the proposed extended period of lockdown and might permit a few services to function in safe zones.
Lenders can now review a borrower account within 30 days of default. Earlier, the banks had to start resolution within one day of default.
Endless cases, piles of files, meagre resources and unrelenting scrutiny... the CBI's life story is all that and more, says Ruchika Chitravanshi
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