Coronavirus update: Daily COVID-19 count in India lowest in 44 days

A total of 1,86,364 new coronavirus infections were reported in a day, the lowest in around 44 days, while the death toll climbed to 3,18,895 with 3,660 daily deaths, the data updated at 8 am showed.

PTI

May 28, 2021 / 10:42 AM IST

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The single day rise in coronavirus cases in India fell below the 2-lakh mark for the second time this month taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,75,55,457, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

A total of 1,86,364 new coronavirus infections were reported in a day, the lowest in around 44 days, while the death toll climbed to 3,18,895 with 3,660 daily deaths, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Also, 20,70,508 tests were conducted on Thursday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 33,90,39,861.

The daily positivity has declined to 9 per cent. It has been less than 10 per cent for four consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has further declined to 10.42 per cent.

The active cases have further reduced to 23,43,152 comprising 8.50 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 90.34 per cent.

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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