Coronavirus Daily Update: COVID-19 cases explained in charts

India reported more than 35,000 COVID-19 new cases on March 18. Active cases rose to 2.52 lakh mark. Over 3.71 crore vaccinations administered till date.

Chaitanya Mallapur

March 18, 2021 / 11:13 IST

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As many as 35,871 new cases of novel coronavirus were reported in India, with the total COVID-19 cases crossing 1.14 crore, as per the health ministry’s March 18, 2021 update. New cases reported were highest since December 6 (102 days).

India reported 172 new deaths and 17,741 new recoveries in the last 24 hours, as per the latest release. More than 3.71 crore vaccinations have been administered across India, according to the March 18 update, with 20,78,719 new vaccinations reported in a day.

Of the total vaccinations administered till date, 82 percent are recipients of their first dose while 18 percent have received their second dose. Among states, Rajasthan has administered the most 3.68 million vaccine doses, followed by Maharashtra (3.60 million) and Uttar Pradesh (3.24 million).

Active cases rose to 2,52,364 with an increase of 17,958 cases on March 18, the highest rise since September 11, 2020 or 188 days. Maharashtra now reports the most (1,54,036 or 61 percent) active cases in the country, followed by Kerala (25,698) and Punjab (13,320).

Maharashtra reported the most (23,179 or 65 percent) new cases in the last 24 hours, followed by Kerala (2,098), Punjab (2,013), Karnataka (1,275) and Gujarat (1,122). These five states account for 83 percent of all the new cases reported in India.

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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