India Coronavirus Dispatch: Nearly 600 doctors succumb to second wave

Bengaluru virus trends show a decline, drug regulator drops need for bridging trials on foreign approved vaccines, and more-news relevant to India's fight against the pandemic

Over 132,500 fresh cases reported

India reported 132,788 fresh coronavirus infections on Wednesday, taking the cumulative caseload to 28.3 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 3,207 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 335,102. The active caseload is at 1.8 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 26.2 million. As many as 218.5 million shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 2.4 million were given on Tuesday. Read more

India lost 594 doctors during Covid second wave; most deaths in Delhi: IMA

As many as 594 doctors died during the more infectious second wave of Covid across the country, a report in the Hindustan Times said that cited data from the Indian Medical Association (IMA). Delhi, at 107 deaths, saw the most doctors succumbing to the pandemic as the city became one of the worst-hit hotspots in India during this phase. Bihar was the second most affected region at 96 fatalities, the report said. Read more
 

Bengaluru: Covid trends show a decline after topping all metros

Bengaluru has been registering the most number of fresh Covid cases among the five major metros. Experts from the city, however, indicated that the numbers may not be a cause for concern, noting the decline in cases and demand for hospital beds, a report in ThePrint said. “For the last one week, cases have been dropping. It is now showing a declining trend. The same thing had happened in other cities also. In Delhi and Mumbai, it had gone up and started coming down. We are seeing that pattern in Bangalore even now,” said Dr Manjunath C.N., who is the nodal officer for testing and state Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). Read more
 

No need for bridging trials on foreign approved vaccines: Drug regulator

India's drug regulator has said it is dropping the requirement of carrying out post-approval bridging trials for "well-established" vaccines as well as testing each batch of vaccines at the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) in Kasauli, a report in ThePrint said. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI)’s move is based on the fact that “millions of individuals have already been vaccinated”. Bridging trials are supplementary trials conducted in a new region or country to get more clinical data on efficacy, safety and dose regimen, the report said. Read more

Odisha: WhatsApp helpline gets supports for vaccination information

The Odisha administration's Covid helpline on Whatsapp is getting support for information related to the vaccination programme, a report in The Indian Express said. The helpline will allow citizens access to official updates on Covid and vaccination slot bookings. The service can also guide users through the vaccination process starting with registration on the Co-Win platform to find a vaccine slot and then to get the vaccination certificate. Users can also avail of the service to get other queries answered including safety concerns such as misinformation and rumours about vaccines, the report said. Read more