Coronavirus wrap May 9 | First repatriation flight from London takes off for Mumbai with 326 Indians

Here are the key developments related to Coronavirus pandemic on May 9.

Moneycontrol News

May 09, 2020 / 20:51 IST

Confirmed COVID-19 cases in India crossed 60,000 on May 9 and the death toll neared the 2,000 mark after more people tested positive for the deadly virus infection across states, while worries mounted globally about re-emergence of the outbreak after reopening of locked down economies.

In its daily update, the Union Health Ministry said the COVID-19 death toll has risen to 1,981 and the number of cases has climbed to 59,662, registering an increase of 95 deaths and 3,320 cases in 24 hours till May 9 morning. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 39,834, while 17,846 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.

However, a PTI tally of numbers reported by different states and UTs, as of 6.45 pm, showed at least 60,266 confirmed cases across the country. This showed an increase of nearly 4,000 confirmed cases since May 8 morning.

On May 9, fresh cases were reported from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bihar and Assam, among other places.

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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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