India Coronavirus Dispatch: Daily cases surge past 150,000

Fresh curbs in Delhi, why govt needs to open up vaccination programme to more people, experts say Vaccine averts severe illness, not infection-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

Early orders, more funds, quick payments—govt panel tips for boosting vaccine production

According to an inter-ministerial panel’s initial report, collaboration with drugmakers, preparing manufacturing sites, early orders, funds and quick payments are some ways vaccine production can be ramped up in India, a report in ThePrint said. The report by the panel—which was formed to raise vaccine production—also said the production of Covaxin will soon be doubled by vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech, according to sources. The report was submitted to the Modi government this week. Read more here

More than 150,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 1,52,879 fresh coronavirus infections on Sunday, taking the cumulative caseload to 13.3 million, according to a report in the Scroll. The country saw 839 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 169,275, according to central health ministry data. The active caseload is at 1.1 million while the total recoveries have surged to 12 million. As many as 100 shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Read more here

Fresh restrictions in Delhi, 50% seating in public transport

Delhi has announced a fresh set of curbs, a report in The Indian Express said. The new restrictions include a complete ban on all social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious and festival-related gatherings. Weddings should not host more than 50 guests, 20 at funerals. Public transport will run at 50% capacity, so will restaurants, bars, cinema halls. No spectators at sports events. Read more here

OPINION: India needs to open up its vaccination programme

India cannot afford to fall behind on vaccination because the only way to defeat the coronavirus is by inoculating as many people as possible, as soon as possible, writes Tavleen Singh in a column for The Indian Express. When officials in the Modi government say only those who ‘need’ vaccinations should be administered them, they seem either to be covering up for the shortage of vaccines or to be totally removed from reality. Every government in the world today is hinging its fight against Covid-19 on massive vaccination programmes. Only in India do we seem to continue believing that the way forward is to scale up testing, the column said. Read more here

Vaccine averts severe illness, not infection: experts

There have been several cases of people testing positive for Covid-19 despite having taken two doses of the vaccine. But, doctors say such cases show "mild symptoms", a report in The Hindu said. Covid-19 vaccine prevents "severe illness", but does not provide complete protection against infection, medical experts said. Sumit Ray, Head of Department of Critical Care at Holy Family Hospital, said “Vaccines have never claimed to stop all infections. Studies have shown that vaccines reduce severity of illness, even if the person gets an infection after taking the vaccine,”. Read more here