COVID-19 update | Maharashtra records 973 cases, 12 deaths

The state's coronavirus caseload rose to 78,63,623, and death toll reached 1,43,687.

PTI

February 25, 2022 / 21:49 IST

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Maharashtra on Friday reported 973 new coronavirus cases including 62 Omicron infections, and 12 pandemic-related deaths, the state health department said. The state's coronavirus caseload rose to 78,63,623, and death toll reached 1,43,687.

On Thursday, the state had recorded 1,182 new cases and 19 deaths.Of 62 new Omicron infections, 60 were from Pune city and two from the Pune rural area.

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So far, 4,629 Omicron infections have been reported in the state, of which 4,456 patients have recovered.Until now 9,382 samples have been sent for genome sequencing. Results 8,333 patients were received and 1,049 results were awaited.

There are now 8,668 active COVID-19 cases in the states, lowest since December 25, 2021, when the active case tally stood at 9,102.Mumbai on Friday recorded 128 new cases, while Pune reported 206 infections. Both the cities did not report any fatality.

Of the eight administrative circles (each circle comprising several districts), the Pune circle recorded 372 new cases, followed by Mumbai (243), Nashik (117), Nagpur (78), Akola (64), Aurangabad (44), Latur (28) and Kolhapur (27).Of 12 fatalities, Pune and Mumbai circles recorded three fatalities each, Akola two, and Nashik, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and Latur circles one fatality each.

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.

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