COVID-19 vaccine tracker: Over 56 lakh doses administered in India on August 18

Over 56 lakh vaccine doses were administered in India on August 18, the Union Health Ministry's latest report suggested. With that, the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 56.64 crore.

On the 215th day of the vaccination drive on August 18, 56,36,336 beneficiaries received the jab, pushing India's total coverage to 56,64,88,433.

- A new study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on people infected with COVID-19 has found that the Delta variant of coronavirus can infect the vaccinated population. The study noted that the prevalence of B.1.617.2 (Delta variant) "was not different between the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups."

- Current data does not indicate that COVID-19 booster shots are needed, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, adding that the most vulnerable people worldwide should be fully vaccinated before high-income countries deploy a top-up. The comments came just before the U.S. government said it planned to make the booster shots widely available to all Americans starting on Sept. 20 as infections from the Delta variant of the coronavirus rise.

- After breaching the value of one in the first week of August, the R number, which reflects how rapidly the coronavirus pandemic is spreading, has been steadily ebbing in the country including Kerala and some northeastern states, according to researchers. The R-value between August 14-16, calculated by the researchers, now stands at 0.89.

- The COVID-19 vaccination drive will remain suspended at the civic and state government-run centers in Mumbai on August 19 and 20 due to a shortage of vaccine doses, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Wednesday. This is for the third consecutive week in August that the civic authority has suspended the drive due to a shortage of vaccine doses.

- More than one crore eligible beneficiaries in Gujarat have taken both jabs of the COVID-19 vaccine, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said on Wednesday. As per official figures, Gujarat has around 4.8 crore people above the age of 18, of whom more than 3.12 crore have already taken their first dose, while over one crore citizens have received their second dose till Wednesday.

- The Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, that causes COVID-19, is unable to evade the antibodies generated by vaccination, according to a lab study. The findings, published in the journal Immunity, help explain why vaccinated people have largely escaped the worst of the Delta surge.