LIVE: Govt says can introduce vaccine within 10 days of emergency approval

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,947,011, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 921,938, Andhra Pradesh 883,210, Tamil Nadu 820,712, and Kerala 778,873

8:57 PM

Emergency use of vaccine is based on safety, immunogenicity data, says ICMR chief

Emergency use of vaccine is based on safety, immunogenicity data, says ICMR chief

8:50 PM

All Indian vaccines being developed for storage at 2-8 degree Celsius: DBT Secy

All Indian vaccines being developed against the coronavirus will have to be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius as the logistics have been worked out while considering temperature as a factor, Department of Biotechnology Secretary Renu Swarup said on Tuesday.

 

Swarup said Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin and Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield have robustly undergone immunoassay lab tests.

 

(For) all our vaccines, we are looking at right now..(we) are targeting 2-8 degree because our logistics are worked out on that basis and we are working on that, Swarup said at a press briefing. She said the DNA vaccine candidate being developed by Zydus Cadila, and the Biological E's mRNA vaccine work at storage temperatures of 2-8 degrees Celsius.

8:42 PM

Maharashtra reports 3,160 new Covid cases, 2,828 discharges, and 64 deaths in a day

8:24 PM

655 new coronavirus cases in Gujarat, four deaths, 868 recover

The coronavirus caseload in Gujarat rose to 2,48,581 with 655 new cases coming to light on Tuesday. Four patients succumbed to the viral infection which took the death toll to 4,325, the department said in its release. At the same time, 868 patients were discharged from hospital. The number of recovered persons in the state thus rose to 2,35,426.

 

The daily spike in cases in Gujarat has witnessed a steady decline over the last few weeksand the state's recoveryrate has now improved to 94.71 per cent, saidthe department.

 

As many as 48,039 tests were conducted for COVID-19 on Tuesday, increasing the total of samples tested so far to 99,06,698. Gujarat's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 2,48,581, new cases 655, death toll 4,325, recovered 2,35,426, active cases 8,830, people tested so far 99,06,698.

7:55 PM

Delhi reports 442 fresh Covid-19 cases; positivity rate dips to 0.55%

Delhi recorded 442 COVID-19 cases and12 new fatalities on Tuesday, even as the positivity rate slumped to 0.55 per cent. The overall infection tally in the city has now gone past 6.27 lakh and the death toll reached 10,609, they said.

 

The 442 new cases came out of the 79,777 tests conducted the previous day, including 41,633 RT-PCR tests and 38,144 rapid antigen tests, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.

 

The active cases tally on Tuesday dropped to 4,562 from 4,689 the previous day. Delhi had recorded 384 cases on Monday, the lowest in over seven months, and the positivity rate was 0.76 per cent.

7:27 PM

COVISHEILD is safe and the data shows that it is inferior to the UK product: ICMR

7:11 PM

Centre has not banned export of any Covid-19 vaccine: Union health secretary

The Union government has not banned the export of any COVID-19 vaccine that has been granted restricted emergency use approval by the drug regulator, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday, while urging the media to guard against the spread of such misinformation. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had on Sunday approved Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country, paving the way for a massive inoculation drive.

 

Responding to a question during a press briefing on Tuesday, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bushan said, "The Union government has not banned the export of any one of the COVID-19 vaccines and this should be absolutely clear."

 

"When I say Union government, it means there are three ministries --- Ministry of Health, Ministry of Commerce, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade with the Ministry of Commerce and Directorate General of Foreign Trade -- which can initiate, in a hypothetical scenario, such an action."

6:46 PM

Nagaland reports more Covid-19 recoveries than fresh cases for 10th consecutive day

Nagaland for the 10th consecutive day on Tuesday reported more COVID-19 recoveries than fresh cases as 30 patients recuperated from the disease while two new infections pushed the coronavirus tally to 11,937, a health official said.

 

The COVID-19 recovery rate in the state rose to an all-time high of 97.01 per cent from Sunday's 96.78 per cent, he said, adding that a total of 11,581 people have recovered from the disease.

 

"2 +ve cases of #COVID-19 have been detected today. Dimapur-1 Peren-1 each. Also 30 +ve patients have recovered. Mokokchung-26, Kohima-3, Dimapur-1," Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom said in a tweet.

 

The state now has 144 active COVID-19 cases with 73 cases in Dimapur district, followed by Kohima (50), Mokokchung (14), Peren (5), Mon (1) and Kiphire (1).

6:18 PM

Vaccine firms Bharat Biotech, Serum Institute patch up after war of words

After engaging in a war of words, the chiefs of two of India's leading vaccine makers, Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India, patched up and issued a joint statement saying they would work together for a 'smooth rollout' of the Covid19 vaccines to India and the world.

 

The two companies, which got restricted-use approval in an emergency situation (covid-19) last weekend, were caught up in a war of words after a group of experts raised questions around the process of approval.

 

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, told a national television channel that there are only three vaccines in the world with proven efficacy (Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca), and that everything else has been proven safe 'just like water'. His counterpart Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director of Bharat Biotech retorted with a dig saying had his firm done trials like AstraZeneca, the drug regulator would have 'shut down the company'. READ ON...

5:38 PM

Odisha to conduct health check-ups in schools and colleges for Covid-19

The Odisha government would undertake regular health check-ups in educational institutions across the state for COVID-19 after opening of schools and colleges. The Health and Family Welfare department would undertake health check-ups in educational institutions after opening of schools on January 8 and colleges/universities on January 11.

 

Additional Chief Secretary P K Mohapatra has assured the state government on behalf of the H&FW department about health check-ups at a high level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra.

 

The chief secretary had earlier asked the department to conduct frequent health check-ups in educational institutions and hostels as a preventive mesure against any possible large breakout of the pandemic.

5:10 PM

India's daily positivity rate of Covid-19 is continuously declining: Health Ministry

4:55 PM

India's cumulative Covid-19 positivity rate has declined to 5.87%: Health Ministry

4:38 PM

Health Ministry ready to introduce Covid-19 vaccine within 10 days of emergency use authorization

"Health Ministry ready to introduce Covid-19 vaccine within 10 days of emergency use authorization," says Health Secretary, quoting feedback government got based on dry run in all states.

4:13 PM

Serum, Bharat Biotech to work together to develop, supply Covid-19 vaccines

Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech on Tuesday said they will work together to develop, manufacture and supply the COVID-19 vaccines in India and globally. In a joint statement on behalf of the two companies, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla and Bharat Biotech Chairman and Managing Director Krishna Ella announced their combined intent to develop, manufacture and supply the COVID-19 vaccines for India and the world.

 

They noted that the most important task in front of them was saving lives and livelihoods in India and globally.

 

Vaccines are global public health good and they have the power to save lives and accelerate the return to economic normalcy at the earliest. Now that two COVID-19 vaccines have been issued EUA (emergency use authorisation) in India, the focus is on manufacturing, supply and distribution, such that population that need it the most receive high quality, safe and efficacious vaccines, the statement said.

 

The DCGI on Sunday granted emergency use authorisation for Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.

4:01 PM

We're prepared for Covid-19 vaccination in Bihar: CM Nitish Kumar