To contact MyGov Corona Helpdesk chatbot, citizens can save the WhatsApp number +91 9013151515 on their phones; start a chat by typing 'Book Slot' and send it to the number.
More than 200 million Pfizer doses have been administered in the US, and hundreds of millions more worldwide, since December.
"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 vaccination schedule is considered complete 28 days after the administration of a dose for Janssen vaccine and 7 days after administration of a second dose for other vaccines (Pfizer / Comirnaty, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria/Covishield)," the statement added.
"Proud of all those who are making our vaccination drive a success," Modi said.
Several vaccination centres across Mumbai, including a jumbo COVID-19 facility in business district BKC, suspended inoculation on Friday morning due to a shortage of doses, BMC sources said.
An alert government in Delhi should have begun government-to-government discussions with Moscow the moment it came to know that Russians were developing a vaccine. That is to say, almost an year's time has been lost, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Antiviral treatment will have no change. Spike protein change may affect the immunity protection.'
Hockley was thankful they did not have to introduce vaccine mandates for players and that the idea was "almost irrelevant" due to the vaccination rate.
What is foreign policy worth if it stands disconnected from domestic realities? Make no mistake, the horrifying visuals of the human suffering in metropolitan India is only the tip of the iceberg. The vast swathes of the hinterland are heaving with untold sorrows, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India is committed to supplying COVID-19 vaccines to other nations and such supplies are likely to begin by the end of this year, as the abundant production will not just meet domestic needs but also generate surplus for exports a top government official said on Monday.
'Patients under the scheme may ultimately have to go to private hospitals.'
Adar Poonawalla says it took a five-minute chat with his father Cyrus before making the decision to manufacture Covishield. The bet paid off, and handsomely. Serum Institute now has the capacity to make 4 billion doses of Covishield annually.
The Union government's role and the prices announced by the vaccine makers raises far too many disquieting questions, observes Prosenjit Datta.
Novak Djokovic, the world number one ranked men's player, has reiterated his stand about freedom of choice over taking the COVID-19 vaccine as suspense grows over his participation at the Australian Open in January.
There is confusion over the United Kingdom government's vaccine recognition process for Indian travellers as even though Oxford/AstraZeneca Covishield, the India-manufactured Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, is on an updated international travel advisory, India is not yet on a list of 17 approved countries.
There is a petition circulating to allow Novak Djokovic to play at the US Open but the Serbian appears likely to miss the entire North American hardcourt swing barring a sudden change in COVID-19 protocols in the United States and Canada.
The method of data collection has a high risk of bias, the ICMR DG said.
The Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which works with one dose instead of two, got approval on Saturday, the third vaccine cleared in the country after emergency use authorisation (EUA) was given to two-dose shots from Pfizer and Moderna in December last year.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on the vaccine crisis angering India's youth.
Novak Djokovic has so far declined to disclose whether he is vaccinated and his father told Serbia's TV Prva that governing body Tennis Australia's stance on players being vaccinated was tantamount to "blackmail".
The Centre is looking to procure around 1 billion syringes between September and December to support the COVID-19 vaccination drive.
The researchers analysed 2580,021 test results from nose and throat swabs taken from 384,543 participants aged 18 years or older between December 1, 2020 and May 16, 2021.
'Promises of free vaccination, it appears, are good only for winning elections, and dumping the people thereafter'
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.
There was the mistaken belief that there was no risk of a second wave anytime soon.
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.
'Our study shows a greater risk reduction for people who received an mRNA vaccine after having received a first dose of a vector-based, as compared to people having received the vector-based vaccine for both doses,' Nordstrom said.
The production of Covaxin will increase from the current 10 million doses per month to 60 million-70 million by July-August.
'People on the wait list will be accommodated for vaccination when the scheduled beneficiaries don't turn up.'
'The key purpose of vaccination is to prevent hospitalisation, severe disease, and death.' 'All vaccines work equally, although mild disease cannot be prevented.'
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.
Vaccine inequity remains an issue in India, where less than 2 per cent of the population has received a Covid booster
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.
Kanpur city Magistrate Himanshu Gupta confirmed that Kuldeep had received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Jogeshwar Hospital in Govind Nagar.
According to the study, 'mixed' schedules of these vaccines induced high concentrations of antibodies against the SARS-CoV2 spike IgG protein when doses were administered four weeks apart.
As India begins vaccinating the younger population, the most vulnerable remain largely unvaccinated.
The costs of providing free vaccines are way lower than the costs of a freewheeling epidemic.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has granted restricted emergency use authorisation to two new vaccines and a drug for COVID-19, taking the number of preventives and treatments available in India to 12.
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.
