Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Tuesday said that the first shots of Covid-19 vaccine were likely to be administered on January 13, adding that the final call on it would be taken by the Centre.
Meanwhile, Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech released a joint pledge on the rollout and global access of their vaccines. Bharat Biotech Chairperson Krishna Ella had hit back at Serum Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla, who had said that vaccines other than that of Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca were “just like water”
India’s tally of the new United Kingdom coronavirus strain cases rose to 58 on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the country registered 16,375 new coronavirus cases, taking its overall count to 1,03,56,844. This is the lowest daily rise in new cases in over six months. India’s toll rose by 201 to 1,49,850. India’s active cases stood at 2,31,036, below 3 lakh for 15 days, while the recoveries reached 99,75,958.
Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 8.56 crore people and killed over 18.52 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins University. More than 4.8 crore people have recovered from the infection in the world.
The national helpline number for the coronavirus is 011-23978046, and a toll-free number 1075.
These are the helpline numbers for states and the Union Territories
10.31 pm: The Karnataka government will vaccinate 6,30,524 healthcare workers in the first phase. “As many as 2,73,211 health workers in government hospitals and another 3,57,313 in private healthcare facilities will be inoculated in the first phase,” he adds.
10.30 pm: Jharkhand’s tally rises to 1,15,840 with 151 new infections and two fatalities.
10.28 pm: The Himachal Pradesh government lifts night curfew in Mandi, Shimla, Kullu and Kangra districts.
10.26 pm: The Haryana government says it will conduct a “dry run” for vaccine on January 7 at six sites across the state, reports ANI.
10.25 pm: Karnataka logs 815 new cases, 1,377 discharges, and eight deaths.
8.16 pm: The Centre has not banned the export of any vaccine that has been given restricted emergency use approval, says the health ministry, while urging the media to ensure no misinformation is spread.
8.12 pm: With 397 new cases, Rajasthan’s Covid-19 tally goes up to 3,10,675, while the toll climbs to 2,719 with five additional deaths, reports PTI, citing a health department bulletin.
8.11 pm: Gujarat’s health department reports 655 new coronavirus cases, case count rises to 2,48,581. The state’s toll rises to 4,325 with four new fatalities, reports PTI.
8.08 pm: Maharashtra registers 3,160 new Covid-19 cases, 2,828 recoveries, and 64 deaths in 24 hours, reports ANI. The overall case count in the state stands at 19,50,171, with 18,50,189 recoveries, 49,067 active cases, and 49,759 deaths.
5.53 pm: The daily number of deaths because of the coronavirus has been below 300 for 11 consecutive days, says Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan during a press conference.
5.49 pm: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan says that India has the lowest cases per million population globally with 7,504 infections per million population. “India’s deaths per million population is also lowest in the world with 108 deaths per million,” he adds.
5.48 pm: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan says only 43.96% of the total active cases of the coronavirus are under treatment in healthcare facilities, while the rest of the 56.04% of the active cases are very mild or asymptomatic and are in home isolation.
5.40 pm: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan says the Union government has not banned export of any vaccines to any other country. “I request to our media friends should be that we should be on guard when such misinformation is sought to be spread,” he says.
5.17 pm: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan says healthcare workers and frontline workers would not need to register themselves as a beneficiary as their data is bulk database that has been populated on the vaccine delivery management system in a bulk manner.
5.06 pm: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan says there are four primary vaccine stores called GMSD located in Karnal, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and there are 37 vaccine stores in the country. They will store vaccines in bulk and distributes further, he says.
Bhushan adds that the facility including the number of vaccines stored and temperature trackers is monitored digitally.
4.58 pm: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan says by July, India will “hopefully” have enough coronavirus vaccine doses to cover 30 crore prioritised groups.
He adds that the first vaccine shots are likely by January 13. “We are prepared to roll out vaccine within 10 days of emergency use authorisation approvals,” he says. “The final call will be taken by the government.”
3.39 pm: Kerala lifts ban cultural and artistic performances with restricted participation, reports The Hindu.
3.36 pm: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation puts actor-producer Sohail Khan, his son Nirvaan Khan and brother Arbaaz Khan under quarantine in Taj Lands End hotel in Mumbai after they violated isolation protocols after returning from Dubai, reports NDTV.
3.33 pm: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope says nobody is above law and everyone should follow coronavirus protocols, while commenting on Mumbai Police’s First Information Report against actors Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan for allegedly violating quarantine norms, reports PTI.
3.31 pm: Referring to questions raied by the Congress on approving emergency use of Covaxin, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi says frustrated political players are doubting the efficacy of vaccines developed in India, reports PTI.
3.28 pm: India’s active caseload of coronavirus which has been falling steadily, stands at 2,31,036, which accounts for 2.23% of the total cases, PTI reports, quoting Union health ministry.
3.20 pm: Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech issue joint statement pledging smooth roll out and global access of vaccines.
1.11 pm: The government adds that it is continuing with genome sequencing to detect the mutant strain. “The situation is under careful watch and regular advice is being provided to the States for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing & dispatch of samples to INSACOG labs [the consortium set up by the Centre],” it adds.
12.24 pm: Israel’s health ministry allows the use of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, according to Reuters.
12.09 pm: All coronavirus patients at an intensive care unit ward in Egypt die after an oxygen supply failure, Middle East Monitor reports. According to AP, however, at least four patients died at the hospital in Sharqia province. Egyptian prosecutors begin an investigation into the deaths.
12.03 pm: India’s tally of the new United Kingdom coronavirus strain cases rise to 58 on Tuesday, ANI reports, citing the Union health ministry.
10.50 am: India records lowest daily rise in new cases in over six months with Tuesday’s tally, reports PTI.
10.45 am: Dr Gagandeep Kang, vice-chair of the board of Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and one of the country’s foremost experts on vaccines, has raised concern over the drug regulator’s decision to grant emergency use approval to Bharat Biotech’s vaccine despite the lack of adequate efficacy data, reports The Times of India.
“I have never seen anything like this before,” Kang tells the newspaper. “Either you are doing a clinical trial or you are not. I am confused... How are we different from Russia and China? I really don’t have an answer if anyone asks me that question.”
10.06 am: Bulgaria reports four cases of mild to moderate side effects from the Pfizer vaccine, according to ANI. The side effects include two cases of pain, one case of insignificant temperature rise and another one of dizziness.
10 am: Brazil is trying to procure India-made vaccines to quickly begin inoculations, Reuters reports. It is planning to export the Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine in bulk. Brazil’s private clinics, meanwhile, reach a preliminary deal to procure an alternative vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech.
9.56 am: BioNTech and Pfizer say they have no evidence to show that their vaccine will continue to offer protection against the coronavirus if the booster shot is given too late, Reuters reports. The vaccine’s prime and booster shots are administered three weeks apart.
Read more here: Coronavirus: Pfizer-BioNTech warn against plans to delay second shot of vaccine
9.50 am: Scientists in the United Kingdom are concerned that coronavirus vaccines may not work against the variant of the infection found in South Africa, Reuters reports, citing British television network ITV.
9.39 am: India on Tuesday registers 16,375 new coronavirus cases, taking its overall count to 1,03,56,844. The country’s toll rises by 201 to 1,49,850. India’s active cases stand at 2,31,036, while the recoveries reach 99,75,958.
8.19 am: China recorded 33 new coronavirus cases on Monday, according to Reuters. Sixteen of those cases were imported.
8.14 am: Assam registered 36 new cases on Monday, taking its tally to 2,16,340, according to PTI. The state’s toll rises by two to 1,054.
8.06 am: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces the imposition of a complete lockdown in England in an effort to control the faster-spreading mutant coronavirus strain, BBC reports. The lockdown is expected to last till mid-February. Johnson says he believes the country is entering “the last phase of the struggle”. Scotland also announces similar measures.
7.57 am: Here are the top updates from Monday:
- India registered 16,504 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 1,03,40,469. The country’s toll rose by 214 to 1,49,649. India’s active cases stood at 2,43,953, below the 3-lakh mark for 14 straight days. As many as 99,46,867 people have recovered from the infection in the country so far.
- The United Kingdom became the first country in the world to roll out the coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. An 82-year-old man was the first person outside clinical trials to receive the shot.
- Bharat Biotech Chairperson Krishna Ella on hit back at those criticising the grant of emergency use approval to the company’s coronavirus vaccine candidate Covaxin, saying that the vaccine was safe and the firm has conducted “200% honest clinical trials”.
- Kerala for the first time reported six new cases of the new strain of the coronavirus. The new strain of the infection was first reported in the United Kingdom and is believed to be 70% more transmissible.
- China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said the coronavirus pandemic was likely caused by outbreaks outside the country, in an attempt to change the narrative about the infection’s origin.