Covid LIVE: UAE world's most vaccinated nation; Haryana extends lockdown

Coronavirus LIVE updates: Covid-19 is continuing to spread around the world, with more than 184.2 million confirmed cases. Stay tuned for corona-related news

7:36 AM

Inoculating pregnant women: Odisha to wait till workers get trained

The Odisha government on Saturday asked the district authorities and medical officers to wait for the training of healthcare workers before commencing COVID-19 vaccination of pregnant women, an official said.

 

"We received yesterday a letter from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare along with a guidance note on COVID vaccination of pregnant women. The MoHFW communicated that an orientation of all states will be conducted shortly," Additional Chief Secretary (health) PK Mohapatra said in a letter to all district collectors and others,

 

After that, district-level healthcare personnel will be oriented on the said guidelines, the letter said. READ MORE...

7:04 AM

Europe in vaccination race against Covid delta variant

Countries across Europe are scrambling to accelerate coronavirus vaccinations and outpace the spread of the more infectious delta variant, in a high-stakes race to prevent hospital wards from filling up again with patients fighting for their lives.

 

The urgency coincides with Europe's summer holidays, with fair weather bringing more social gatherings and governments reluctant to clamp down on them. Social distancing is being neglected, especially among the young, and some countries are scrapping the requirement to wear masks outdoors.

 

Incentives for people to get shots include free groceries, travel and entertainment vouchers, and prize drawings. The president of Cyprus even appealed to a sense of patriotism.

6:52 AM

NGO in Odisha providing smartphones to unprivileged kids to take online classes

6:51 AM

Covid recovered with one/two doses of vaccine have higher protection against Delta variant: Study

Breakthrough cases and COVID-19 recovered individuals with one or two doses of vaccine have relatively higher protection against Delta variant in comparison to those administered either one or two doses of Covishield, a study stated.

 

Prior vaccination results in less severe disease against subsequent infection provide evidence that both humoral and cellular immune response play an important role in protection, according to the study which is yet to be peer-reviewed and was posted on bioRxiv preprint server on Friday.

 

The study 'Neutralisation of Delta Variant with Sera of Covishield vaccines and COVID-19 Recovered Vaccinated Individuals' has been done by scientists from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Institute of Virology, Pune, and Department of Neurosurgery, Command Hospital (Southern Command), Armed Forces Medical College, Pune.

6:51 AM

Welcome to the Business Standard's live blog on coronavirus pandemic

Welcome to the Business Standard's live blog on coronavirus pandemic