COVID-19 | 678 new cases, 2 more deaths in Delhi; positivity rate 3.98%

Of the 9,498 beds for COVID-19 patients in Delhi hospitals, only 224 were occupied on Saturday, down from 239 a day ago. Beds at Covid care centres and Covid health centres are lying vacant, the bulletin said.

PTI

July 02, 2022 / 21:35 IST

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Delhi on Saturday recorded 678 fresh Covid cases with a positivity rate of 3.98 percent, while two more people succumbed to the viral disease, according to data shared by the health department here. Delhi on Friday had logged 813 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 5.30 percent, and three fatalities.

This is the third consecutive day when the daily case count is less than 1,000. With these fresh infections and fatalities, Delhi's caseload climbed to 19,36,365 and the death toll increased to 26,266, the health department bulletin said.

The fresh cases on Saturday came out of 17,037 tests conducted the previous day, it said. Delhi on Thursday had reported 865 COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 4.45 percent and zero death.

The city recorded 1,109 cases on Wednesday with a positivity rate of 5.87 percent and one death. On Tuesday, the capital logged 874 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 5.18 percent and four deaths.

Of the 9,498 beds for COVID-19 patients in Delhi hospitals, only 224 were occupied on Saturday, down from 239 a day ago. Beds at Covid care centres and Covid health centres are lying vacant, the bulletin said. The number of active cases in Delhi stands at 3,410, down from 3,703 a day ago. As many as 2,534 patients are under home isolation, it said.

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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