Oxford Covid vaccine trial raises hopes; India testing 10,175/1 mn people

India reported 37,148 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 11,55,191, according to the Health Ministry. This is the sixth consecutive day when Covid-19 cases increased by more than 30,000.

India, which has a population over four times as big as the US', has conducted 14,381,303 tests in total, or just 10,175 tests per 1 million people.

On a postive side, the early-stage human trial data has revealed that the Covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University is safe and induces immune response, with mild side effects in some participants, which the scientists say can be treated with the commonly available pain medication paracetamol. This is indeed raising hopes it could contribute to ending the pandemic.

Medical experts in India on Monday hailed the results of Oxford University's early-stage human trials with some saying it's the "most scientifically done" among all such exercises, while others expressing hope that the final trials will "bear fruit". 
 

US President Donald Trump called wearing masks "patriotic," seemingly endorsing the practice after an interview aired just the previous day in which he denied the effectiveness of doing so in curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Trump will resume his televised coronavirus briefings. "I think it's a great way to get information out to the public," Trump told reporters at the White House.

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