Coronavirus: States, UTs should prepare for adverse effects once vaccination begins, says Centre

10.05 pm: Ahmedabad reports 239 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking its tally to 54,447, reports PTI. The toll rises to 2,188, after eight more deaths were recorded in 24 hours.

10.03 pm: Manipur’s tally of Covid-19 cases rises to 27,292, after 83 new infections were reported on Tuesday, reports ANI. The toll rises by three to 327.

10.02 pm: Uttar Pradesh registers 1,354 new Covid-19 cases, taking the state’s tally to 5,41,579, reports ANI. The toll rises by 20 to 8,103.

8.22 pm: Gujarat records 1,110 new coronavirus cases, taking tally to 2,29,913, according to PTI. The toll rises to 4,193 with 11 more deaths.

8.20 pm: Hundreds more US hospitals get ready to vaccinate their workers after federal regulators issued a positive review of a second coronavirus vaccine, reports AP. The Food and Drug Administration said its preliminary analysis confirmed the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health.

7.47 pm: Delhi reports 1,617 new coronavirus cases today, taking its tally to 6,10,447. The toll rises to 10,115 with 41 more fatalities. The positivity rate has dropped to 1.9%, according to PTI.

7.41 pm: The United States Food and Drug Administration says that the coronavirus vaccine developed by Moderna is highly protective for adults and prevents severe cases of the infection, reports The New York Times. Results from a late-stage study showed the vaccine was 94.1% effective with no serious safety concerns.

The US drug regulator found that side effects, including fever, headache and fatigue, were unpleasant but not dangerous.

7.39 pm: Kerala records 5,218 new coronavirus cases, taking the total caseload to 6.77 lakh, according to PTI. So far, 6,16,666 people have recovered from the infection in the state.

7.37 pm: Tamil Nadu reported 1,132 new coronavirus cases, taking the state’s tally of positive infections to 8,01,161, according to ANI. With 10 more deaths, the toll is at 11,919. As many as 7,79,291 have recovered from the disease so far.

5.08 pm: Health ministry Secretary Rajesh Bhushan says chances of adverse effects cannot be denied once coronavirus vaccination begins, reports ANI.

“The countries where immunisation has already begun, especially in the United Kingdom, adverse events took place on the very first day,” says Bhushan. “So, it is essential that states and Union Territories prepare for this too.”

Bhushan adds some adverse effects are seen in children and pregnant women after vaccination when universal immunisation programmes are undertaken.

5.05 pm: Dr VK Paul, Member (Health) of NITI Aayog says Drugs Controller General of India granted clearance for clinical trials for pharmaceutical company Genoa’s candidate vaccine, reports ANI.

“Unlike Pfizer vaccine or some others, this vaccine, if it comes into existence, will be maintainable at normal cold chain conditions, in a normal fridge,” says Paul.

5.03 pm: As many as 29,000 cold chain points, 240 walk-in coolers, 70 walk-in freezers, 45,000 ice-lined refrigerators, 41,000 deep freezers and 300 solar refrigerators will be used for vaccination and they have reached various states, says Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reports ANI.

5.01 pm: Number of cases per million population in India continues to be amongst the lowest in the world, says Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reports ANI.

“The number of cases in India is 7,178 per million population, [while] the global average is 9,000,” Bhushan says.

2.52 pm: The Tamil Nadu government will test all students residing in hostels of schools and colleges for the coronavirus following the emergence of a cluster in the Indian Institutes of Technology, Madras, according to The Times of India.

2.44 pm: Seniormost submariner of the Indian Navy, Vice Admiral Srikant, died due to Covid-19 complications at the Base Hospital in Delhi Monday night, The Indian Express reported, citing navy officials.

2.44 pm: Dr Mayank, the nodal officer for coronavirus in Uttarakhand’s Pokhda block, says the Sileth village has been declared a containment zone after 50 more residents tested positive for the infection, reports PTI. Thirty-nine people from the village tested positive for Covid-19 on December 12.

2.38 pm: Vikas Swarup, secretary (West) in Ministry of External Affairs, says that India’s vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in fighting the Covid-19 crisis, reports, The Hindu.

“It is important that we make reformed multi-lateralism our guiding principle,” Swarup says Addressing the UN General Assembly special session on the coronavirus pandemic. “It is imperative that we must join hands to show leadership, solidarity and collaboration to deal with the pandemic. We can respond best by collaboration, not confusion; preparation, not panic and coming together, not growing apart.”

2.34 pm: The Supreme Court asks Centre to grant breaks to doctors on coronavirus duty as continuous work might be affecting their mental health, reports PTI. The government assured the court that it would consider the suggestion.

1.09 pm: The Supreme Court holds that AYUSH doctors cannot prescribe or advertise medicines as cure for the coronavirus, Bar and Bench reports.

1.07 pm: The Supreme Court directs the states to provide all the necessary equipment to child-care institutions for online classes within a month, ANI reports.

1.02 pm: The number of coronavirus cases at the Indian Institutes of Technology, Madras rises to 183 as 79 more infections are reported on Tuesday, The News Minute reports.

Also read: Coronavirus: IIT-Madras temporarily shuts down after 71 people test positive since December 1

11.05 am: Biotechnology company Moderna says it was informed by the European Medicines Agency that certain documents related to pre-submission talks of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate were unlawfully accessed in a cyberattack on the medicines regulator, reports Reuters.

11.03 am: The Indian Council of Medical Research says it has tested up to 15,55,60,655 Covid-19 samples till Monday. The ICMR says it tested 9,93,665 samples on December 14.

10.57 am: Arunachal Pradesh reports 23 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally in the state to 16,536, reports PTI. The toll stands at 55. There are 238 active cases and 16,243 discharges.

10.55 am: Uttarakhand Health Secretary Amit Negi says more than 93,000 health workers of the state will be given coronavirus vaccine free of cost, reports ANI.

10.52 am: The World Health Organization says it was aware of the reports of a new variant of Covid-19 being identified in the United Kingdom but added that there was no evidence to suggest that the mutation will affect the effectiveness of vaccines, reports ANI.

10.49 am: Pentagon chief Christopher Miller was one of the first Americans to receive the Covid-19 vaccine Monday, reports AFP. “That’s all?! Oh come on! That did not hurt at all!” Miller said as he got the vaccine, encouraging other Americans to follow suit.

9.55 am: India reports 22,065 new coronavirus cases, taking its tally over 99 lakh, health ministry data shows. This the lowest daily count since July 6, according to the Hindustan Times.

The country has registered under 40,000 cases for 16 days now. This is also the fourth day in December that the daily infection tally is below 30,000.

The overall tally is now 99,06,165, while the toll has increased by 354 to 1,43,709. There are 3,39,820 active cases and 94,22,636 recoveries.

9.35 am: Canada on Monday administered its first dose of coronavirus vaccine, reports PTI. Five front-line workers in Ontario were among the first Canadians to receive the vaccine at one of Toronto’s hospitals.

9.25 am: Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital authorities claim that its doctors have found multiples cases of fungal infection in recovering coronavirus patients, reports PTI. The infections, triggered by Covid-19, led to half of the patients losing their eyesight.

9.20 am: Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences said on Monday that the vital parameters of Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij was normal and that he was undergoing convalescent plasma therapy, reports PTI. Vij tested positive for the infection on December 5.

Here are the top updates from Monday

1. A critical care nurse in New York became the first American to get a shot of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, days after it was authorised by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
2. Singapore became the latest, and the first Asian country, on Monday to approve the Pfizer vaccine. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said they expected delivery of the first shots by the end of December.
3. The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has temporarily shut down its academic departments and research labs after about 71 people, including 66 students, tested positive for the coronavirus since December 1.
4. Delhi recorded 1,376 new coronavirus cases, the lowest in over three-and-a-half months. It is the lowest daily infection count reported since August 31, when 1,358 cases were recorded. 
5. Russian coronavirus vaccine developers published fresh results from their trial of the Sputnik V vaccine based on new data, saying that the shot had again been found to be 91.4% effective against Covid-19.