Coronavirus Update | India records 1,994 fresh cases

The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 5,28,961 with four more fatalities, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.

PTI

October 23, 2022 / 09:45 IST

(Representational image)

With 1,994 fresh cases, India's COVID-19 tally has climbed to 4,46,42,742, while the number of active cases of the infection has declined to 23,432, the Union health ministry said on Sunday.

The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 5,28,961 with four more fatalities, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.

The active cases account for 0.05 per cent of the total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.76 per cent, the ministry said. A decrease of 611 cases was recorded in the active Covid caseload in a span of 24 hours, it added.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.24 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.99 per cent, according to the health ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has gone up to 4,40,90,349, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.18 per cent.

According to the ministry, 219.55 crore doses of Covid vaccines have so far been administered to the beneficiaries across the country. India's Covid tally crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 2020, 40 lakh on September 5, 2020 and 50 lakh on September 16, 2020.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show