LIVE: Covid-19 vaccine recipients won't get to choose from two options

Coronavirus live updates: Just 12,448 fresh Covid-19 cases recorded in India in the last 24 hours took the tally to 10,479,879. Globally, 91.2 million people have been infected by the virus

3:16 AM

US to require negative Covid-19 tests for international air passengers: Report

The head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to sign an order on Tuesday expanding coronavirus testing requirements for nearly all international air travelers, not just from Britain, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters.
 

The new rules are to take effect two weeks from the day they are signed by CDC Director Mark Redfield, which would be Jan.

26.
 

The CDC has been urgently pressing for an expansion of the requirements with the Trump administration for weeks. One remaining issue is how to address some countries that have limited testing capacity and how the CDC would address travel to those countries, the sources said.
 

The CDC on Dec. 28 began requiring almost all airline passengers arriving from Britain - including US citizens - to test negative for Covid-19 within 72 hours of departure. Those under 2 and passengers connecting through the UK are exempt.
 

Canada imposed similar rules for nearly all international arrivals starting Jan. 7, as have many other countries.
 

At a White House meeting on Monday, Redfield again made an urgent case to adopt the testing requirements as new strains of Covid-19 are identified in different parts of the world. He raised concerns that vaccines could potentially not be effective against new strains, sources said.
 

3:15 AM

Dutch Covid-19 lockdown extended by three weeks until Feb. 9

Lockdown measures in the Netherlands, including the closure of schools and shops, will be extended by at least three weeks to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the government decided on Tuesday.
 

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told a live press conference that social curbs must remain in place, also because of the threat posed by the British variant.

All schools and many stores across the country were shut in mid-December, following the closure of all bars and restaurants two months earlier.

11:52 PM

Nagpur reports 339 Covid-19 cases, 360 recoveries; 8 more die

Nagpur district of Maharashtra on Tuesday registered 339 new coronavirus cases, taking its count to 1,28,758, while 360 patients recovered from the infection, the local administration said. A District Information Office release said eight more patients succumbed to the viral disease, pushing the death toll to 4,035.

So far, 1,20,190 patients have recovered from Covid-19 and of these, 360 were discharged from hospitals during the day, it said. The number of active cases in the district stood at 4,533, the release said. As many as 4,462 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, taking their total count to 9,86,113, the release added.

11:17 PM

Rajasthan reports 293 new Covid-19 cases, 3 fatalities

Rajasthan recorded three fatalities due to the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, taking the Covid-19 death toll in the state to 2,739, according to a health department bulletin. The state also reported 293 new cases which pushed the total number of infections to 3,13,718, out of whom 6,200 are under treatment.

As per the bulletin, 3,04,779 people have been discharged after treatment till now. So far, 509 have people have died in Jaipur, 297 in Jodhpur, 221 in Ajmer, 168 in Kota, 167 in Bikaner, 120 in Bharatpur, 112 in Udaipur, 109 in Pali and 99 in Sikar, as per the bulletin. Of the 293 new cases, 63 were detected in Jaipur, 41 in Kota, 25 in Ajmer, 23 in Bhilwara, 20 in Nagaur, 18in Jodhpur, among other districts.

11:04 PM

Bengal logs 751 new Covid-19 cases, 18 more deaths; recovery rate 96.91%

The Covid-19 recovery rate in West Bengal rose to 96.91 per cent on Tuesday after 879 more people were discharged from various hospitals in the state, the health department said. The toll increased to 9,975 after 18 fatalities were registered in Bengal, the department said in its bulletin. At least 751 fresh cases were recorded in the state, taking the tally to 5,62,072.

Bengal currently has 7,392 active cases. Kolkata accounted for 10 deaths, neighbouring North 24 Parganas four, and one each fatality was reported from South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Howrah and Nadia, the bulletin said.

Of the 18 deaths, 13 were due to the comorbidities, where COVID-19 was "incidental", it said. The city also recorded the maximum number of fresh cases at 230, followed by North 24 Parganas at 220, it said. As many as 33,024 samples were tested in West Bengal since Monday, taking the total number of such clinical examinations to 74,97,837, the bulletin added.

11:02 PM

Chhattisgarh to receive 323,000 coronavirus vaccine doses

The Chhattisgarh government on Tuesday said the state will get 323,000 doses of Covishield, the Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), as part of the first batch of consignment for the upcoming vaccination drive. The consignment is likely to reach Raipur on Wednesday, but so far no official confirmation has been received from the Centre about the delivery date, a senior health official said.

In the first batch, 323,000 doses of the Serum Institute of India-manufactured Covishield vaccine will soon be provided to the state. "As per protocols, a robust arrangement has been made for distribution, transportation and storage of vaccine vials in all districts, State Immunisation Officer Dr Amar Singh Thakur said in a statement.

Refrigerated vans will be used to ferry vaccine stocks from the Raipur airport to the main state vaccine storage centre here and later to similar facilities in the districts, he said. For storage purpose, one state-level, three regional and 27 district-level cold chain points have been set up, Thakur said.

9:45 PM

Odisha receives 408,000 Covid vaccines from Serum Institute

9:43 PM

Karnataka reports 751 new Covid cases, 1,183 discharges

8:50 PM

Graph of active cases climbing in USA, UK, Brazil, Russia and South Africa

8:16 PM

For now, Covid-19 vaccine recipients will not get to choose from two options: Govt

The government hinted on Tuesday that for now, the COVID vaccine recipients will not have the option to choose from the two vaccines recently approved for restricted emergency use in India.

 

Replying to a question at a press conference here, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said, "At many places in the world, more than one vaccine are being administered, but presently, in no country, vaccine recipients have the option of choosing the shots."

 

India has recently approved two vaccines for the viral disease for restricted emergency use -- Oxford University's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. Bhushan said there will be a gap of 28 days between two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and its effectiveness can be seen only after 14 days.

7:41 PM

Maharashtra reports 2,936 new Covid-19 cases; state tally rises to 1,974,488

7:19 PM

Govt procures 11 mn shots from Serum, 5.5 mn doses from Bharat Biotech

Days before the commencement of the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday that 1.1 crore Covishield and 55 lakh Covaxin vaccines have been procured at a cost of Rs 200 and Rs 206 per dose, respectively.

 

"As many as 110 lakh (1.1 crore) doses of Covishield vaccine are being procured from the Serum Institute of India at a cost of Rs 200 per dose, excluding taxes. A total of 55 lakh doses of Covaxin vaccine are being procured from Bharat Biotech," Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said during a press conference.

 

The cost of 38.5 lakh doses of Covaxin is Rs 295 per dose, excluding taxes. Bharat Biotech is providing 16.5 lakh doses of Covaxin free of cost to the Central government. Hence, the cost of Covaxin comes to Rs 206 per dose," he added. READ ON...

6:16 PM

Active cases are only 2.07% of total active Covid-19 cases: Health Ministry

5:51 PM

1.1 crore Covidshield vaccines procured for Rs 200 per dose, 55 lakh Covaxin for Rs 206 a piece

Days before the commencement of the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday that 1.1 crore Covishield and 55 lakh Covaxin vaccines have been procured at a cost of Rs 200 and Rs 206 per dose, respectively.

 

"As many as 110 lakh (1.1 crore) doses of Covishield vaccine are being procured from the Serum Institute of India at a cost of Rs 200 per dose, excluding taxes. A total of 55 lakh doses of Covaxin vaccine are being procured from Bharat Biotech," Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said during a press conference.

 

The cost of 38.5 lakh doses of Covaxin is Rs 295 per dose, excluding taxes. Bharat Biotech is providing 16.5 lakh doses of Covaxin free of cost to the Central government. Hence, the cost of Covaxin comes to Rs 206 per dose," he added.

 

Vaccines have already reached some states. Till 4 p.m., about 54,72,000 doses were received by the states and Union Territories. By January 14, 100 per cent doses will be received.

5:41 PM

India's overall Covid-19 positivity rate stands at 5.7%: Health Ministry