Covid-19 LIVE: Serum seeks emergency use authorisation for Covidshield

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,847,509, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 890,360, Andhra Pradesh 870,675, Tamil Nadu 787,554, and Kerala 625,767

8:10 PM

UK Queen not to get special treatment, will wait in line for Covid vaccine

The UK's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip will not get preferential treatment, but will instead "wait in line" during the first wave of the Covid-19 vaccines reserved for the over-80s and care home residents, a media report said citing sources.

 

The Daily Mail report on Saturday came after the UK on December 2 approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on independent advice of its medicines regulator.

7:47 PM

MP sees 1,455 new Covid-19 cases, 1,585 recoveries; 11 die

Madhya Pradesh on Sunday reported1,455 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the count of infections to 2,14,505, health officials said.

With 11 more patients succumbing to the viral infection- including three deaths in Indore, two each in Bhopal and Jabalpur and one each in Khargone, Rewa, Mandsaur and Singrauli- the tally of fatalities rose to 3,337, they said.

At the same time, 1,585 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the number of recoveries to 1,97,777.

Of the 1,455 new cases, Indore accounted for 533 and Bhopal 324.

7:40 PM

Health Ministry says not aware where records related to Covid vaccine expert group are kept

The Union Health Ministry has said in response to an RTI application that it does not know where records related to agenda circulated in meetings of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 are held.

Venkatesh Nayak of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative had approached the ministry seeking details of the constitution and working of the expert group such as dates of meetings, a copy of the detailed agenda circulated in relation to every meeting, presentations made before its members, and material it had shared with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Nayak had also sought to know the amount of sitting fees and every other remuneration or allowances payable to the chairperson and every member of the expert group and the amount of sitting fees and every other remuneration or allowances actually paid to them.

The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) was constituted under the chairmanship of Member (Health) of Niti Aayog V K Paul on August 7 to prepare a strategy for the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccine.

7:09 PM

Meghalaya's Covid-19 tally stands at 12,237, death toll at 120

Meghalaya reported fresh 73 Covid-19 cases, pushing the state's tally to 12,237, a senior health official said on Sunday.

The death toll rose to 120 after two patients succumbed to the virus on Sunday, Health Services director Aman War said.

The northeastern state now has 664 active cases, including 404 in East Khasi Hills district, followed by 138 in West Garo Hills District.

6:55 PM

CPCB guidelines in place for disposal of waste from Covid-19 diagnosis, treatment: AAP govt to HC

The AAP government has told the Delhi High Court that guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) are in place for handling and disposal of waste generated during treatment, diagnosis and quarantine of Covid-19 patients.

The 'Guidelines for Handling, Treatment, and Disposal of Waste Generated during Treatment/Diagnosis/Quarantine of COVID-19 Patients' issued by the CPCB in July has been filed the Delhi government in response to the court's query regarding any protocol being in place for disposal of test kits and swabs.

The query by the court came on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a lawyer alleging improper disposal of used swabs from rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 at the office of the southeast Delhi district magistrate at Lajpat Nagar.

6:52 PM

Kerala's Covid-19 recoveries go past 5.72 lakh, new cases at 4,777

Kerala's Covid-19 recoveries on Sunday crossed 5.72 lakh as 5,217 people recuperated from the disease and 4,777 new cases were reported, Health Minister K K Shailaja said.

The total virus caseload mounted to 6,36,392 and 60,924 are presently under treatment.

In the last 24 hours, 51,893 samples were tested and the test positivity rate touched 9.21 per cent.

So far, 66,08,606 samples have been sent for testing.

6:40 PM

Punjab CM seeks priority allocation of Covid-19 vaccine

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking priority allocation of Covid-19 vaccine to the state, on account of its higher mortality rate resulting from the population age profile and high levels of co-morbidities.

Pointing out that the vaccines currently under consideration would not perhaps reduce transmission so much as prevent serious disease, Amarinder Singh said the best use of these vaccines would therefore be in preventing serious illness in the most susceptible groups, including elderly and persons with high morbidity.

In his letter, the Chief Minister said despite its relatively low case load, the higher fatality rate due to the virus in Punjab, which thus needs special dispensation in the allocation of the vaccine.

Amarinder Singh also sought clarity as to whether the Covid-19 vaccination would be entirely funded by the Central government, including the cost of vaccines and vaccination supplies.

6:38 PM

South Korea reports 631 more Covid-19 cases, 37,546 in total

South Korea reported 631 more cases of the Covid-19 as of midnight Saturday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 37,546.

The daily caseload was the highest in over nine months since March 2 when the reading recorded 686. The highest-ever figure was 909 tallied on Feb 29.

The daily number of confirmed cases rose in triple figures for 29 straight days since Nov. 8 owing to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases. Of the new cases, 253 were Seoul residents and 176 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

6:26 PM

Andhra Pradesh Covid-19 tally reaches 871,000 667 new infections

Active coronavirus cases in Andhra Pradesh dropped below the 6,000 mark to 5,910 on Sunday even as 667 were added fresh, taking the gross to 8.71 lakh.

In 24 hours ending 9 am on Sunday, 914 patients also recovered while nine others succumbed to COVID-19, the latest bulletin said.

The total recoveries in the state now reached 8,59,029 and deaths 7,033, the bulletin said.

6:07 PM

Covid-19: UK Opposition Leader Keir Starmer self-isolates for second time

Britain's Leader of the Opposition, Labour leader Keir Starmer, has gone into self-isolation for a second time after a member of his staff tested positive for Covid-19.

In line with the current government rules, even though Starmer was said to be well and not displaying any symptoms of Covid-19, he will now have to stay at home for 14 days since his last contact with the affected person, which his spokesperson said ends on December 16.

"I'm pleased to say my colleague is feeling ok. I'm not showing any symptoms. But will now be working from home. Keep safe and follow the public health advice, said Starmer.

The Opposition leader has previously had to self-isolate in mid-September when a member of his household showed possible symptoms of the deadly virus. He did not experience any symptoms at the time.

6:00 PM

Clinical trial: 17 volunteers given Sputnik V vaccine in Pune

A total of 17 volunteers have been administered Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine at a Pune hospital as part of the human clinical trials, doctors said on Sunday.

Sputnik V vaccine has been developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). As per reports, India has purchased 100 million doses of the candidate from Russia.

"Seventeen healthy volunteers were administered Sputnik V vaccine in the last three days as part of human trials," Dr S K Raut, Head of Clinical Research Department of Noble Hospital here, said.

5:30 PM

Kashyap, Prannoy among four shuttlers test positive for coronavirus

Four Indian shuttlers, including Parupalli Kashyap, HS Prannoy and RMV Guru Sai Dutt, have tested positive for novel coronavirus. Doubles specialist Pranaav Jerry Chopra is the fourth badminton player to have been diagnosed with Covid-19.

According to a source in the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the three shuttlers -- Kashyap, Prannoy and Chopra -- recently attended Guru Sai Dutt's wedding which took place on November 25 in Hyderabad.

They got themselves tested upon reaching the Pullela Gopichand Academy for the ongoing badminton national camp where their results returned positive. However, Saina Nehwal, who also attended the wedding, has tested negative.

5:21 PM

Doctors informed me about Covaxin efficacy: Anil Vij

A day after Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij tested positive for coronavirus, he said on Sunday that the doctors had informed him that a second dose of Covaxin vaccine would be administered to him 28 days after the first one and he would develop antibodies 14 days after the second one.

In a series of tweets on Sunday, he said despite taking precautions, he got infected with coronavirus.

"I am undergoing treatment in Civil Hospital in Ambala and feeling better now," Vij said.

On November 20, he was given a shot of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for which he had volunteered.

5:06 PM

Gujarat has started preparations for Covid-19 vaccination: CM

Gujarat has started preparations for the Covid-19 vaccination, which would start with around 396,000 healthcare workers, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Saturday.

"The Gujarat government has put together a cold chain infrastructure to store and transport the Covid-19 vaccine and made lists of priority beneficiaries. The first priority will be given to healthcare workers," he said while addressing the convocation ceremony at Marwadi University on Saturday.

"Around 3.96 lakh healthcare workers, including 2.71 lakh government doctors, nurses, and lab technicians as well as 1.25 lakh doctors, nurses, lab technicians and employees of private hospitals engaged in the COVID-19 duty will be given the first priority. People who will be vaccinated will be notified in advance through SMS about the date, time, and place," he added.

4:32 PM

'Immune system's requirements for protection against Covid-19 decoded'

Scientists have assessed the novel coronavirus infection in monkeys and found that the immune system's T cells may contribute to protection against the virus if antibody responses are suboptimal, an advance which may aid in the development of vaccines and therapeutics for Covid-19.

 

The study, published in the journal Nature, shed light on the role of antibodies and immune cells in protection against SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes Covid-19.

 

"In this study, we define the role of antibodies versus T cells in protection against Covid-19 in monkeys. We report that a relatively low antibody titre -- the concentration of antibodies in the blood -- is needed for protection," said study co-author Dan Barouch from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in the US.