Karnataka reports 380 new COVID-19 cases, 405 discharges and 8 deaths in the last 24 hours. Total cases: 9,44,437, Total recoveries: 9,26,234, Death toll: 12,259, Active cases: 5925.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Today is the 324th day since India implemented a nationwide lockdown to help curb the novel coronavirus pandemic. So far, India has recorded more than 1.08 crore confirmed COVID-19 cases, including over 1.55 lakh deaths. A total of 1.05 crore people have recuperated from COVID-19 in the country so far. However, there are 1.42 lakh active cases. India's recovery rate continues to rise and now stands at 97.16 percent. Globally, over 10.75 crore people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 23.56 lakh have died so far. India, along with many countries, has granted emergency use authorization for COVID-19 vaccines and has started the process of vaccinating healthcare workers and high-risk groups. India's regulator has granted restricted emergency use approval for two vaccines -- Covishield and Covaxin. More than 70 lakh people have been given their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in India so far.
Karnataka reports 380 new COVID-19 cases, 405 discharges and 8 deaths in the last 24 hours. Total cases: 9,44,437, Total recoveries: 9,26,234, Death toll: 12,259, Active cases: 5925.
Pakistan has approved China's CanSinoBio COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, Health Minister Faisal Sultan said on Friday."Yes, Correct," Sultan texted Reuters after being asked to confirm that the country's Drug Regulation Authority had met and approved the vaccine.CanSinoBIO last week released interim efficacy results of a multi-country trial, which included Pakistan, showing 65.7 percent efficacy in preventing symptomatic coronavirus cases and a 90.98 percent success rate in stopping severe infections.
For vaccination at least once, scheduling for all healthcare workers has to be carried out by February 20. Mop up rounds for the healthcare workers shall be completed to end by February 25.
The new event of hospitalisation reported in the last 24 hours is a case of anaphylaxis, which was treated at Murshidabad Medical College & Hospital in West Bengal & has been since discharged from the hospital.
Hospitalisation recorded to date as a part of COVID vaccination is 33. Of which, 21 discharged from hospital, 2 under treatment & 10 deaths recorded. Percentage of hospitalisation as against total vaccinations constitutes 0.0004%.
Bosnia started vaccinating against the novel coronavirus on Friday, using Russia's Sputnik V jab, but only medical staff will be inoculated for now, given the small supplies available.Bosnia is now the third Western Balkan nation to begin vaccinating against Covid-19, after Serbia and Albania.In the region, European Union member Croatia has also started vaccinating."We have been waiting for the vaccine for nearly a year and I trust it," said Vlado Djajic, the head of a hospital in the northern town of Banja Luka, who was the first to receive the jab.The Balkan nation of 3.5 million people has registered 5,000 Covid-19 deaths so far.More than 125,00 cases have been registered, but testing is not yet widespread, with patients with serious symptoms mainly targeted so far.Bosnia, namely its Serb-run half of RepublikaSrpska, received 2,000 doses of the Russian vaccine.
France recommends single vaccine dose for people who have had Covid: Health body
France on Friday recommended that people who have already recovered from Covid-19 receive a single vaccine dose, becoming the first country to issue such advice. All three Covid-19 vaccines approved for use in the European Union are administered in the form of two doses, delivered several weeks apart.
This is because clinical trials showed that immunity against the disease was significantly higher after individuals received two shots.France's public health authority said Friday however that people who had already been infected with Covid-19 develop an immune response similar to that bestowed by a vaccine dose, and that a single dose after infection would likely suffice."A single vaccine dose will also play the role of reminding" their immune system how to fight Covid-19, it said.
The authority recommended a gap of between three and six months after infection before individuals who had recovered from Covid-19 receive a jab."At the moment no country has clearly positioned itself in terms of a sole vaccination dose for people who have already contracted Covid-19," it said.France has accelerated its vaccination programme in recent weeks but it is still in its infancy.
As of Thursday, over 2.1 million people had received at least one vaccine dose, with almost 535,800 having already received two.At least 3.4 million people have had confirmed Covid-19 infections in France, although there are likely to have been far more given the relative lack of accessible testing during the pandemic's first wave.
Two recent US studies suggest that a single vaccine dose may work in individuals who have already recovered from Covid-19.One paper said that immunity in individuals who had had Covid-19 and then received a single vaccine dose "is equal to or even exceeds" that of people who have not had Covid-19 but received two vaccine doses.
A vaccine still in development by Johnson & Johnson works with a single dose, but it is yet to receive emergency use authorisation from EU and US regulators.
A total of 77,66,319 beneficiaries vaccinated till February 12, 6 pm. Of these, 58,65,813 Healthcare workers vaccinated, constituting 58.9% of total healthcare worker target. 19,506 frontline workers vaccinated, 21.2% of targetted number.
Tamil Nadu reports 483 new COVID-19cases, 486 recoveries and 6 deaths today. Total cases: 8,44,173, Total recoveries: 8,27,480, Death toll: 12,408, Active cases: 4,285.
A Japanese health panel on Friday night recommended approval of Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine - the first in the country - as Japan tries to tame a third wave of infections in the run-up to the Summer Olympics.The government will aim to give final approval as early as Sunday, Health Minister Norihisa Tamura told reporters.Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said vaccinations will begin from the middle of next week, starting with some 10,000 health workers. The government hopes to secure enough supplies for the whole populace by mid-year.About 400,000 doses arrived at Narita International Airport, near Tokyo, on Friday aboard a flight from Brussels, Kyodo reported. There had been concern that the European Union could block exports of the shots, prompting Japan’s vaccine chief to warn against growing nationalism over supplies.The European Commission, the EU executive, said on Thursday it had so far approved all requests for the export of COVID-19 vaccines, including to Japan, after setting up a mechanism to monitor vaccine flows on January30.A Japanese health ministry official declined to comment on reports of the vaccine’s arrival, citing security reasons. (Reuters)
Europe’s drugs regulator said on Friday its safety panel found no evidence that Gilead’s remdesivir caused kidney problems in some COVID-19 patients.Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, was conditionally approved in Europe in July for treating COVID-19 in adults and adolescents with pneumonia requiring oxygen support.The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said to arrive at the conclusion the panel (PRAC) had assessed data provided by the US-based drugmaker, analyses of reported adverse reactions, data from trials and published work on COVID-19 patients with acute kidney injury.Separately, the PRAC also said it was not yet clear if there was any connection between remdesivir and reports of sinus bradycardia - or slow heartbeat - in COVID-19 patients, and started a new assessment for the same.PRAC started an in-depth evaluation of all available data after Italy’s regulator raised concerns about 11 cases of sinus bradycardia in patients who had received remdesivir, the EMA said.
In the coming weeks, we expect to supply to more countries in Africa, Latin America, CARICOM & the Pacific Island states.
We have supplied a total of 229.7 lakh doses to the global community. Of these, 64.7 lakh doses have been supplied as a grant while 165 lakh doses have been supplied on a commercial basis.
