India Coronavirus Dispatch: Deaths top grim milestone of 400,000

The Northeast's cases are slowing at a slower rate than the rest of India, the opposition in Kerala seeks 'actual' Covid toll, and more-news relevant to India's fight against the pandemic

Over 46,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 46,617 fresh coronavirus infections on Friday, taking the cumulative caseload to 30.4 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 853 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 400,312. The active caseload is at 509,637, while the total recoveries have surged to 29.5 million. As many as 340 million vaccine shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 4.2 million were given on Thursday. Read more

In this Pune satellite town, the vaccine will come to you if you're confined to your bed

The municipal corporation of Pimpri-Chinchwad, a satellite city of Pune, has already begun door-to-door administration of Covid vaccines for people who are confined to their beds, a report in ThePrint said. This comes at a time the Maharashtra government and the Centre are yet to reach a consensus on door-to-door Covid vaccination drives. Rajesh Patil, municipal commissioner, PCMC, told ThePrint, “We have an app called ‘Me Zababdar’ (I am responsible) on which we ask bedridden people to first register for vaccinations. We then schedule several such cases together on a single day, to manage the logistics and get them vaccinated.” Read more

Northeast: Pandemic is slowing but at a slower rate than the rest of India

The rate of decline in Covid cases in many of the smaller North Eastern states continues to be slower than the rest of the country, a report in the Scroll said. In some states such as Sikkim, Manipur and Meghalaya, the drop in active cases has not lowered test positivity rates. This suggests that chains of transmissions have not been effectively terminated and the drop in absolute numbers is artificial and a result of low testing, the report said. Read more

Kerala: Opposition seeks ‘actual’ Covid toll

The demand to review the Covid death tally in Kerala has gathered momentum after the Supreme Court's direction to the National Disaster Management Authority to recommend guidelines for ex gratia to the kin of those who lost their lives to the pandemic, a report in The Indian Express said. The state administration has been receiving flak from the opposition parties and even some public health experts for allegedly removing many Covid deaths from the official count, the report said. Read more

Explained: What are antibodies?

Antibodies are proteins created by the body’s immune system to fight a particular virus, such as the novel coronavirus, an explainer in The Indian Express said. As antibodies are specific to their intended target. Those meant for one virus would not provide protection from another. For instance, if you have had measles, your body has antibodies for the measles virus, but measles antibodies will not protect you from catching a coronavirus. The antibody test isn't checking for the virus itself. It actually looks to see if your immune system has responded to the infection, the report said. Read more