Coronavirus LIVE: Bharat Biotech's vaccine gets nod for phase 3 trials

Coronavirus update: Maharashtra has 1,625,197 coronavirus cases, Andhra Pradesh 796,000, Karnataka 782,773, Tamil Nadu 700,000 and UP 463,858. Stay tuned for coronavirus India LIVE updates

11:01 AM

Coronavirus vaccine to be available to all Americans by early April, says US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary

A coronavirus vaccine could be available to "all Americans" by early April 2021, US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar said.

 

"By the end of January, enough vaccine for all of our seniors as well as our health care workers and first responders," Xinhua news agency quoted Azar as saying in a CBS News interview.

 

"By the end of March and early April - enough for all Americans," he added.

 

Azar's remarks come as some parts of the US were witnessing a resurgence in the number of fresh coronavirus cases.

 

On Thursday, US recorded over 60,000 new Covid cases and its tally has surged past 8,660,000.

10:54 AM

Bharat Biotech gets go-ahead to conduct Phase-III trials of Covaxin, reports Sohini Das

With Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech receiving an approval to conduct Phase-III trials for Covaxin, India inches closer to having its own vaccine to fight the coronavirus pandemic. This is crucial as the government plans to start vaccinating the healthcare and essential workers starting January. Read on...

10:36 AM

Coronavirus update: ICMR issues advisory for use of Feluda paper strip test

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has issued an advisory for the use of indigenously developed Feluda paper strip test, which is based on CRISPR-Cas9 technology for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, by the laboratories.

What is Feluda paper strip test?

The paper-strip uses gene-editing technology to identify and target the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 in less than an hour. It has been developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research's (CSIRs) Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi.

According to the manufacturers, no further RT-PCR based confirmation is required for samples that are confirmed as positive or negative by the CRISPR SARS-CoV-2 test.

10:25 AM

Only those who vote for BJP will get coronavirus vaccine, it shows BJP's discriminatory nature: Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena

10:20 AM

Coronavirus treatment: USFDA approves antiviral remdesivir drug

US regulators have approved the first drug to treat coronavirus: remdesivir, an antiviral medicine given through an IV for patients needing hospitalization. The drug, which California-based Gilead Sciences Inc. is calling Veklury, cut the time to recovery by five days from 15 days to 10 on average in a large study led by the US National Institutes of Health.

However, on Ocotber 15, WHO study found that remdesivir made no clear difference in mortality.

10:13 AM

Coronavirus Update | Spike of 54,366 new cases and 690 deaths reported in last 24 hours

10:09 AM

India's active coronavirus cases stand at 6,95,509, while 69,48,497 people have recovered from the disease so far: Health Ministry

9:56 AM

Coronavirus anxiety linked to body image issues, finds study

Anxiety and stress directly linked to Covid-19 could be causing a number of body image issues amongst women and men, suggest the findings of a new study.

 

The research, led by Professor Viren Swami of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, involved 506 UK adults with an average age of 34.

 

Amongst women, the study found that feelings of anxiety and stress caused by Covid-19 were associated with a greater desire for thinness. It also found that anxiety was significantly associated with body dissatisfaction.

9:40 AM

Post-coronavirus recovery, Union minister Naik to resume Delhi office next week

Over a month after he recovered from Covid-19, Union minister Shripad Naik on Friday said he would resume his office in New Delhi from next week.

 

Naik, who hails from Goa, has been working from his private residence-cum-office near Panaji ever since he got discharge from a private hospital on September 12 after undergoing treatment for a month.

 

The Union Minister of State for AYUSH (independent charge) and Defence had undergone treatment at Manipal Hospital with the assistance of the teams from the state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

9:33 AM

Covid-19 inoculations pose an unprecedented challenge, reads Business Standard's Editorial

One unintended benefit of the extended time drug-makers are taking to deliver a Covid-19 vaccine is that it offers the government the breathing space to plan a workable vaccine delivery programme in conjunction with the states. The dimensions of the issue are daunting because post-liberalisation India has not faced a public health challenge of this magnitude. Read on...

9:24 AM

1,136 fresh cases swell Gujarat's coronavirus infections to 164,121

Gujarat on Thursday reported a daily spike of 1,136 new Covid-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 1,64,121, while 7 fatalities in the past 24 hours mounted the state's death toll to 3,670.

 

Of the 52,923 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, 1,136 returned positive.

 

Hotspot Surat reported the maximum number of cases on Thursday at 231, followed by Ahmedabad (179), Vadodara (119), Rajkot (108), Jamnagar (65), Mahesana (47), Gandhinagar (38), Narmada (34), Sabarkantha (33), Patan (27), Surendranagar (26), Amreli (25), Kutch (22), Junagadh (20), Bharuch (19), Bhavnagar, Banaskantha, Gir-Somnath and Panchmahals (17 each), Kheda and Morbi (11 each), Anand (9), Dahod (7), Devbhumi Dwarka and Mahisagar (6 each), Aravalli and Porbandar (5 each), Chotta Udepur and Tapi (4 each), Nav

9:03 AM

Back in force: Hermes sees luxury demand recover from pandemic freeze

Hermes International returned to growth as consumers regained an appetite for products like Birkin bags after lockdowns earlier this year.

 

Revenue rose 6.9 per cent on an adjusted basis to 1.8 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in the third quarter, beating estimates by 100 million euros. Hermes shares rose as much as 1.4 per cent in Paris and traded near a record, having gained more than 20 per cent this year. Read on...

9:01 AM

Bihar elections: BJP's free Covid-19 vaccine poll promise draws ire

8:53 AM

AstraZeneca's volunteer who died didn't get Covid-19 vaccine: Report

A participant who died during a trial of AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine in Brazil hadn’t received the company’s shot, according to a person familiar with the matter.
 

The person asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.
 

Brazil’s health authority Anvisa said it had been informed on Monday of the study volunteer’s death and had received a partial report from an international committee assessing the trial’s safety. That committee suggested the trial should continue, Anvisa said in a statement. Read on...

8:51 AM

Coronavirus vaccine ready & coming within weeks: Trump at final presidential debate with Biden

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that a Covid-19 vaccine is "ready" and going to be announced "within weeks" to combat the deadly disease that has killed over 223,000 Americans, as he debated with his Democratic challenger Joe Biden for the final time before the presidential election.

 

The debate, just less than two weeks ahead of the crucial presidential elections on November 3, started with opening remarks by both the candidates, when the mike of the other was muted.

 

The coronavirus dominated the opening minutes of the Trump-Biden face-off in Nashville with President Trump terming the contagion a worldwide problem.

 

This has been a worldwide problem, but I've been congratulated by many countries on what we've been able to do, he said at the debate held in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

"We have a vaccine that's coming, it's ready. It's going to be announced within weeks and it's going to be delivered, the President said.