COVID-19: India records 54,366 new infections, 690 deaths

The number of active cases of the coronavirus infection is below 7 lakh.

PTI

October 23, 2020 / 11:36 IST

COVID-19 recoveries in India have crossed 69 lakh, while the number of coronavirus infections reported in a span of 24 hours remained below 60,000 for the fifth consecutive day as the country’s caseload rose to 77,61,312, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

A total of 54,366 new infections were reported in a day, while the death toll climbed to 1,17,306 with 690 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of active cases of the coronavirus infection is below 7 lakh.

There are 6,95,509 active cases of COVID-19 in the country as on date which comprises 8.96 percent of the total caseload, the data stated.

The number of active cases of the coronavirus infection is below 7 lakh.

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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