Covid LIVE: Maharashtra sees 9,350 new cases; less than 1,000 in Bengaluru

Coronavirus live updates: India records 62,597 cases, 2,726 deaths in the last 24 hours. Tamil Nadu reported 12,772 new infections, followed by Maharashtra (8,129). Stay tuned for corona-related news

4:10 PM

Vaccination coverage: Tribal districts performing better than national average, says govt

Covid-19 vaccination per million population in tribal districts is higher than the national average, with 128 out of 176 tribal districts performing better than all India vaccination coverage and also witnessing more walk-ins, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

 

As per the data available on Co-WIN as on June 3, the gender ratio for people vaccinated is also better in tribal districts.

 

The vaccination per million population (10 lakh) in tribal districts is 1,73,875, which is higher than the national average of 1,68,951.

 

The government said more walk-in vaccinations are being witnessed in tribal districts as compared to the national average. While the Walk-in: Online vaccination ratio nationally is 81:19, it is 88:12 for tribal districts. (PTI)

3:57 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: AIIMS Delhi to re-start OPD services from June 18 in phased manner

3:53 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Online booking not mandatory for vaccination, says govt

Pre-registration for vaccination through online registration and prior booking of appointment is not mandatory to avail of vaccination services. Anyone, aged 18 years or more, can directly go to the nearest vaccination Center where vaccinator performs the on-site registration and provides vaccination in the same visit.This is also popularly known as “walk-ins”, says govt. Read full release here

3:42 PM

Over 84,000 employees, business partners, families given first dose of vaccine so far: Vedanta

Vedanta on Tuesday said that over 84,000 employees, business partners as well as their family members have been inoculated with first dose so far, and it expects to complete the vaccination drive across all its locations by August.

 

The company said it also plans to provide the first jab across locations to the visitors who have not been inoculated so far.

 

"In one of the largest Covid-19 vaccination drives carried out by corporate India so far, Vedanta Cares has administered one dose of vaccine to over 84,000 employees, business partners as well as their family members," the company said in a statement.

 

Vedanta will extend Covid Kawach Insurance to its business partners that includes term life and hospitalisation as well as an ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakh to be paid to the family members of the deceased business partner employee. (PTI)

3:26 PM

Covid LIVE: Post-jab deaths are 0.0002% of 235 mn doses given, says govt

There have been some media reports suggesting an increase in the cases of severe AEFI which have also resulted in ‘succumbing of patients’ post vaccination. As per the media reports, 488 deaths following vaccination are linked to post-Covid complications during 16th Jan 2021 and 7th June 2021 period where the total vaccination coverage was 23.5 crore. It is clarified that these reports are based on incomplete and limited understanding of the matter at hand. It may be noted that the term “succumbed” insinuates causality i.e. the deaths were caused due to vaccination, says govt.  Read full release here

3:24 PM

Goa aims 100% coverage of first Covid vaccine dose by July 30: CM

The Goa government is planning to complete 100 per cent Covid vaccination of the first dose for those above 18 years by July 30, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Tuesday.

 

The Chief Minister also said that the first two days of the Tika Utsav 3.0, which began on June 13, had received a good response.

 

"We have a target of 100 per cent coverage of the first vaccination dose by July 30," Sawant said. (PTI)

3:15 PM

Covid-19: Schools in Assam to remain closed after summer vacation

The Assam government has said all schools will remain closed even after the summer vacation due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation in the state and asked authorities to take steps to conduct online classes, an official said on Tuesday.

 

The Secondary Education Department's Principal Secretary B Kalyan Chakravarthy has ordered officials of district administrations to arrange for online classes so that there is continuity in students' learning process.

 

The summer vacation in schools ended on June 14. (PTI)

3:03 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Jharkhand allows offices to function with 50% capacity

3:02 PM

H&M says sales up 75% as more people get vaccinated against Covid

Low-cost fashion brand Hennes & Mauritz AB said Tuesday sales had increased 75% in Q2 and early June, affecting both online purchases and physical stores, adding that 1,300 stores were temporarily closed at the start of the period due to the pandemic.

 

Those who remained open faced coronavirus restrictions, including on opening hours, number of customers and store space, the group said. In Hennes & Mauritz's large markets, such as France and Germany, stores were closed throughout most of the quarter. Read here

2:39 PM

Covid LIVE: Astra’s antibody cocktail fails to prevent infection in study

AstraZeneca Plc’s antibody cocktail was only 33 per cent effective at preventing Covid-19 symptoms in people who had been exposed to the virus, failing a study that was key to the drugmaker’s pandemic push.
 

The trial of 1,121 adult volunteers looked at whether the long-acting antibody combination could protect people who had recently been in contact with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in places like care homes. The company said it’s running other studies of the medicine that could help clarify the findings.
 

The outcome is a blow to Astra for a drug that was hoped to be a bright spot in the company’s pandemic efforts following the mixed success of its vaccine with the University of Oxford. Other drugmakers such as GlaxoSmithKline Plc have had some success in getting similar therapies through clinical tests and approved for people who are at risk of severe disease or can’t get vaccinated. (Bloomberg)

2:37 PM

Experts say India missed early alarm, let deadly Covid variant spread

A veteran public health expert warned top Indian officials in early March that a new variant of the coronavirus was spreading quickly in a rural district in the heart of the country and that the outbreak required urgent attention.

 

Federal health authorities failed to respond adequately to that warning, Dr Subhash Salunke, who has 30 years of experience in public health in India, Indonesia and the United States, told Reuters.

 

The variant, now known as B.1.617, triggered a catastrophic wave of coronavirus cases in India and has since spread to more than 40 other countries. In May, the World Health Organization (WHO) termed it a "variant of concern," citing its high transmissibility. Read here

2:31 PM

Bharat Biotech says higher pricing of Covaxin required in private markets

Bharat Biotech on Tuesday defended the higher pricing of its coronavirus vaccine in the private market, saying the supply price of the shot for Government of India is Clearly not sustainable in the long run.

 

"The supply price of Covaxin to Govt of India at Rs 150 a dose, is a non-competitive price and clearly not sustainable in the long run," the Hyderabad-based firm was quoted as saying by ANI.

 

"Hence a higher price in private market is required to offset part of the costs," it said. Bharat Biotech is currently supplying the vaccine for Centre at Rs 150 a dose. Read here

2:08 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Covaxin pricing for Centre clearly not sustainable in the long run, says Bharat Biotech

2:01 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Special vaccination centre set up at Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram

1:56 PM

Recovery tracker: More signs of recovery as Covid-19 cases decline

People are stepping out of their homes more as confidence builds with reported number of Covid-19 cases staying below 100,000 on multiple days in the past week.

 

Covid cases slipped below the six-figure mark on June 7 and have generally been showing a down­ward drift for much of the week ending Sunday. There was a corre­sponding improvement in weekly indicators of economic activity. People spent more time out of home than they did since April this year. Using anonymised location data, search engine Google tracks how people are moving during the pandemic. Visits to workplaces have gone up. Travel in general seems to have improved with more people turning up at transit stat­ions like subways, buses and trains. Parks have also seen more visitors (see chart 1). Google data is released with a lag. The latest is as of June 8. All other data is as of Sunday, June 13. Read here