5:35 PMLIVE: Sputnik V vaccine over 95% effective, says Russian President Vladimir Putin
Sputnik V, the world's first COVID-19 vaccine, is over 95 per cent effective, said Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Taking to Twitter, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) cited Putin saying that some health specialists have claimed that the vaccine's protection level reaches up to 96-97 per cent.
"Putin: Russia has been the first country in the world, which has invented and started to produce the COVID19 vaccine. And we have a good vaccine, safe and efficient - over 95 percent - and specialists say its protection level reaches 96-97 per cent," tweeted MFA Russia.
Earlier this week, the efficacy of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine has been confirmed to be 91.4 per cent, based on data analysis of the final control point of clinical trials, announced the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
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4:46 PMSaudi Arabia starts Covid-19 vaccination
Saudi Arabia on Thursday started a vaccination programme for the novel coronavirus, the Health Ministry announced.
In a tweet, Health Minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah, who received the vaccine, said: "In the last nine months, I was observing with concern the number of cases, today I will happily observe the number of people who will get the vaccine."
The Kingdom received on Wednesday the first shipment of the vaccine.
More than 150,000 individuals registered to receive the free-of-charge vaccine. The three-stage vaccination process covers citizens and residents in the country who wish to receive the vaccine. As of Thursday, Saudi Arabia has reported a total of 360,335 coronavirus cases and 6,080 deaths.
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4:16 PMCovid-19 recovery rate in India among highest in the world: Health Ministry
India's COVID-19 recovery rate is amongst the highest in the world, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday, underlining that countries like the US, Brazil, Russia, and Italy are reporting lesser recovery rates. With focussed strategy and proactive as well as calibrated measures of the Centre along with the States and UTs, India has sustained a very high COVID-19 recovery rate along with rapidly declining active cases and low mortality rate, it said.
"While the global figure for recovery rate is 70.27 per cent, India is recording 95.31 per cent.The USA, Brazil, Russia, and Italy are reporting lesser recovery rates," the ministry said.
Recoveries outnumbering new cases on a daily basis have ensured a high recovery rate among patients. The total recovered cases are nearing 95 lakh.
"The gap between recoveries and active cases is also increasing consistently and presently stands at 91,67,374," the ministry said.
3:46 PMLadakh reports 21 fresh coronavirus cases, 110 recoveries
With 21 fresh cases, the COVID-19 tally of Ladakh has gone up to 9,238, officials said on Wednesday. The Union Territory has also recorded 110 more recoveries from the disease, they added.
Ladakh has recorded a total of 123 COVID-related deaths -- 80 in Leh district and 43 in Kargil district -- while 8,576 patients or 96 per cent have recovered from the infection after successful treatment.
Of the fresh cases, 18 were detected in Leh, while three were reported from Kargil, the officials said. Of the 110 fresh recoveries, 105 patients were discharged from hospitals in Leh and five in Kargil, bringing down the number of active cases in the Union Territory to 539 -- 438 in Leh and 101 in Kargil.
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2:20 PMRussia's Covid-19 vaccine rollout draws wary, mixed response
While excitement and enthusiasm greeted the Western-developed coronavirus vaccine when it was rolled out, the Russian-made version has received a mixed response, with reports of empty Moscow clinics that offered the shot to health care workers and teachers the first members of the public designated to receive it.
Kremlin officials and state-controlled media touted the Sputnik V vaccine as a major achievement after it was approved August 11. But among Russians, hope that the shot would reverse the course of the COVID-19 crisis has become mixed with wariness and scepticism, reflecting concerns about how it was rushed out while still in its late-stage testing to ensure its effectiveness and safety.
Russia faced international criticism for approving a vaccine that hasn't completed advanced trials among tens of thousands of people, and experts both at home and abroad warned against its wider use until the studies are completed.
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2:05 PMCovid-19 vaccines not a silver bullet: World Health Organization
A top World Health Organization (WHO) official has called for greater vigilance amid the roll-out of a Covid-19 vaccine, saying the vaccine is not a "silver bullet" that will end the nearly year-long pandemic which has infected over 74 million people across the global and killed more than 1.64 million others.
"Whoever you are, wherever you live, as long as the virus is circulating somewhere, we all remain at risk, and we must keep preparing for the worst-case scenario," Xinhua news agencyy quoted WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific Takeshi Kasai as saying in a virtual media briefing on Wednesday.
Kasai appealed to the younger and socially active people under 40 years of age to "do everything you can to avoid infection for yourself and everybody around you" despite the anxiety and uncertainties brought about by the pandemic.
"By following the advice of health authorities you can directly contribute to protecting the lives of people in your community and in doing so to reviving your society's economies in 2021," the top official said.
1:39 PM21 new cases push Arunachal's coronavirus tally to 16,574
At least 21 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, pushing the tally in the northeastern state to 16,574, a health department official said on Thursday. Of the fresh cases, five were reported from the Capital Complex region, four from Anjaw district and three each from East Siang and Lower Dibang Valley, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.
Two new cases were also recorded in Longding and one each in West Kameng, Lohit, Tawang and West Siang, he said.
Eighteen fresh infections were detected through rapid antigen tests, while two were found through TrueNAT method and one through RT-PCR, the SSO said. Barring two, all the new patients were asymptomatic, he said. Fourteen people were cured of the disease on Wednesday, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 16,278. The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state currently stands at 98.21 per cent.
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1:20 PM21 new cases push Arunachal's COVID-19 tally to 16,574
At least 21 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, pushing the tally in the northeastern state to 16,574, a health department official said on Thursday. Of the fresh cases, five were reported from the Capital Complex region, four from Anjaw district and three each from East Siang and Lower Dibang Valley, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said. Two new cases were also recorded in Longding and one each in West Kameng, Lohit, Tawang and West Siang, he said. Eighteen fresh infections were detected through rapid antigen tests, while two were found through TrueNAT method and one through RT-PCR, the SSO said.
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12:14 PMHealth officials track safety as COVID-19 vaccines roll out
As COVID-19 vaccinations roll out to more and more people, health authorities are keeping close watch for any unexpected side effects. On Tuesday, a health worker in Alaska suffered a severe allergic reaction after receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. She is in the hospital for another night under observation while another worker, vaccinated Wednesday, has recovered. Doctors already knew to be on the lookout after Britain reported two similar cases last week. In the U.S., vaccine recipients are supposed to hang around after the injection in case signs of an allergy appear and they need immediate treatment exactly what happened when the health worker in Juneau became flushed and short of breath 10 minutes after the shot. The second worker experienced eye puffiness, light headedness and scratchy throat.
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12:03 PMPuducherry adds 40 new COVID-19 cases, tally rises to 37,622
The union territory of Puducherry logged 40 new coronavirus cases while no fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours, a top Health department official said on Thursday. The 40 fresh infections took the overall tally to 37,622, Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release. The death toll remained at 622 as no death was reported from any of the four regions-Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam- in the last 24 hours ending 10 AM Thursday.
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11:42 AMTelangana logs 509 new Covid cases, recovery rate nears 97%
A total of 509 new positive cases were detected and three persons died of Covid-19 and comorbidities in Telangana during the last 24 hours. The recovery rate improved to 96.89 per cent against the national average of 95.3 per cent. health officials said on Thursday. With the fresh fatalities, the death toll mounted to 1,505 while new cases took the state's tally to 2,79,644.
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11:33 AMMaha: 450 new COVID-19 cases, 11 more deaths in Thane
The COVID-19 tally in Maharashtra's Thane district has reached 2,37,329 with the addition of 450 new cases, an official said on Thursday. Eleven more patients have also succumbed to the viral infection, raising the death toll in the district to 5,842, he said. Currently, there are 4,922 active COVID-19 cases in the district, while 2,26,565 patients have recovered.
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 "Emmanuel Macron")
