"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.
Maharashtra has emerged as the leader in the COVID-19 vaccination drive as it has administered vaccine doses to 43,42,646 people, an official said on Thursday.
'We see in England how many deaths there still are and people get the virus and are suffering. We have to move forward, stay safe, be careful, use the masks, use the vaccines for better for the society and for themselves.'
Presumably, the Ronaldo backdrop is meant to be an inspirational motif for teenagers, many of who worship the Manchester United star's remarkable skills.
The Omicron variant carries 'concerning' mutations that may make it more transmissible and allow it to evade immunity, scientists said on Monday, stressing that the one certainty in the uncertainty of the many things unknown is this -- COVID is not a short-term crisis and vaccines are still a critical tool.
The government also stated that the people working in essential sectors must be fully vaccinated and should have completed the 14 days post-inoculation before they can be allowed to board local trains.
In a letter to all states and UTs, Additional Secretary to Health ministry Manohar Agnani said it has come to the notice of the Union health ministry that some private hospitals are giving package for Covid vaccination in collaboration with some hotels, which is against the guidelines issued for the National Covid Vaccination Program.
An official source said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has desired for the resumption of printing of the prime minister's photo on the Covid vaccination certificates in these states on top priority.
'The vaccine policy should be such that all people should get the vaccine free.'
Will Modi and his government begin the battle against the second surge in the pandemic, which is now seeing cases mounting in BJP-ruled states like Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, only after May 2, when the election results are declared asks Dominic Xavier.
The Union health ministry on Friday said while there is no evidence to suggest that existing vaccines do not work on the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, some of the mutations reported may decrease the efficacy of the jabs.
The dry-run was being conducted in state capitals in at least three session sites. Some states also included districts that are situated in difficult terrain or have poor logistical support, according to officials.
Some states have flagged the shortage of vaccines and expressed their inability to start vaccination of people above 18 years from Saturday
"The concrete actions are a stern indication that Government of India is making all out efforts to increase vaccine production in the country as well as attracting foreign vaccine manufacturers to supply the required vaccine doses for national Covid vaccination programme," the ministry in a statement.
In the next two weeks, the United States will detail plans to equitably distribute about 80 million (8 crore) COVID-19 vaccine doses globally without 'political requirements' of those receiving them, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
These decisions were taken by the ministry based on the fresh recommendations by The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) and have also been communicated to the states and union territories, an official statement said.
Novak Djokovic could be barred from playing in the French Open as things stand now after the Sports Ministry said on Monday there would be no exemption from France's new vaccine pass law.
Most of the migrants do not get access to any medical facilities in government-run hospitals or dispensaries as they do not have an Aadhaar card and are not Indian citizens.
Will syringe shortage puncture India's Covid vaccine plans?
India expects 2.16 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines between August and December, including the jabs that are currently in clinical trials, reports Sohini Das
The announcement comes a day after the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the CDSCO recommended granting emergency use authorisation (EUA) to the COVID-19 vaccines Covovax and Corbevax with certain conditions.
It asked users to be alert against all attempts of phishing through fake domains, emails and text messages that promise registration for a jab against the pandemic.
'In the coming two-three months, we need to be cautious that there is no upsurge'
Karnataka Agriculture Minister B C Patil on Tuesday courted controversy after taking COVID-19 vaccine at his home instead of going to designated hospital, drawing criticism from Health Minister K Sudhakar and others.
'Prevention plus vaccination is what is going to take us into better territory by September or October.'
The recommendation holds true for both indoors and outdoors, the CDC said.
Dr Kanchan Sanyal, health and wellness advisor at Columbia Pacific Communities, a healthcare group, shares some crucial tips to stay safe.
'Almost 70 per cent production time of a vaccine is dedicated to quality control, which is done through several hundred tests.'
Delhi and some other states have said that they would be unable to do so due to the shortage of vaccine doses.
The Indian State has low operational capabilities. Individuals will have concerns about material that flows through the government, on questions of purity, perfection of the cold chain, and correctness of procedures at the frontline. Even if a government programme is able to solve all these problems, it will be limited in scale-up. The passion, management capabilities, and response to local conditions, which will be found with tens of thousands of ground-level initiatives, Individuals will have concerns about material that flows through the government, on questions of purity, perfection of the cold chain, and correctness of procedures. Even if a government programme is able to solve all these problems, it will be limited in scale-up, argues Ajay Shah.
'You might just have to leave (for Australia) a few weeks earlier than everyone else. That's the player's choice. If the local government puts that in place then I would support that. It would be great if more players got vaccinated.'
Presently, people have to download their vaccination certificate by logging into the CoWin portal.
'At the stage where we are in today in the country, by the time mass vaccination becomes available, it would be around the middle of next year.' 'Most of those people, who got infected this year, will be next year back to level zero -- once again susceptible.'
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that more pharma companies should be allowed to manufacture the COVID-19 vaccine in the country during the pandemic to scale up production.
The modus operandi for immunising the country's 1.35 billion population in stages has been thrashed out in more than one meeting among top government officials in the health ministry and the Prime Minister's Office.
She also called upon the partymen to continue to put pressure on the union government to ensure that the daily rate of vaccination trebles so that 75% of the population gets fully vaccinated by end of this year.
The Union health ministry has directed states to identify all left-out people and ensure everyone gets their Covid jab through initiatives such as workplace vaccination, as part of the government's "Har Ghar Dastak" campaign. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a review meeting on vaccination progress with Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Puducherry on Monday. In a tweet, the minister said, "Spoke about augmenting Govt's #HarGharDastak vaccine campaign. Requested help from religious leaders, NGOs & political groups to speed-up vaccination coverage." Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan has asked state officials that workplace vaccination should be organised for targeting people due for their doses.
'All the vaccines that are available in most countries, right now, are all highly effective and safe.'
The Mumbai civic body on Tuesday started the city's first drive-in vaccination centre where specially-abled people and senior citizens will not have to stand in a queue and they will be administered the Covid-19 vaccine doses in their own vehicles, officials said.
In a study, doctors have documented treating two women of 'petticoat cancer' -- a condition possibly triggered by tying the waist cord of a saree's underskirt or petticoat tightly.
