Covid LIVE: Centre places order for 660 mn Covishield doses, says report

Coronavirus live updates: States restrict religious festivals to prevent a third wave of infections; Supreme Court rejects vaccination plea.

12:13 AM

Govt develops Covid-19 vaccine tracker to give vaccination-related info

The Centre has developed a COVID-19 vaccine tracker by synergising data from three platforms to give information on various aspects of vaccination like effectiveness post inoculation.

 

Speaking at a briefing of the Union health ministry, ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said the vaccine tracker has been developed by synergising data from CO-WIN potal, National COVID-19 testing database and COVID-19 India portal.

 

The data have been synergised based on ICMR identification number and on the basis of mobile numbers. We have been able to get a vaccine tracker which is going to be online very soon on the Ministry of Health's website, he said. READ ON...

10:50 PM

Covid vaccine effectiveness in preventing mortality 96% after 1st dose, 97% after 2nd dose: Govt

The effectiveness of anti-coronavirus vaccine in preventing mortality is 96.6 per cent after the first dose and 97.5 per cent after the second dose, the Centre said on Thursday, citing data from a COVID-19 tracker' developed by synergising data from three platforms.

 

Speaking at a briefing of the Union health ministry, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Balram Bhargava said the vaccine tracker has been developed by synergising data from CO-WIN potal, National COVID-19 testing database and COVID-19 India portal, to give information on various aspects of vaccination.

 

The data has been synergised based on ICMR identification number and on the basis of mobile numbers. We have been able to get a vaccine tracker which is going to be online very soon on the health ministry's website, he said.

 

The tracker gives week by week coverage of the first and second dose of vaccine and also their effectiveness.

10:22 PM

Maharashtra reports 4,219 covid cases, 55 deaths

Maharashtra reported 4,219 new coronavirus infections and 55 fatalities on Thursday, the state heath department said. It took the tally of infections in the state to 64,87,025 and death toll to 1,38,017, he added.

 

The total number of cases was reduced by 15,066 after removal of duplication, while the number of discharged persons too was slashed by 15,793 after reconciliation of figures, said an official release.

 

With 2,538 patients being discharged from hospitals during the day, the total of recoveries rose to 62,95,236. There are 2,92,510 people in home quarantine, 1,911 in institutional quarantine and 50,229 active patients. Maharashtra's case recovery rate stands at 97.04 per cent while the fatality rate is 2.12 per cent.

9:36 PM

Nashik sees 110 COVID-19 cases; 138 recoveries

As many as 110 people tested positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra's Nashik district on Thursday, raising the tally of infections in the region to 4,06,397, an official said.

 

At least 138 persons were discharged from hospitals, while one died of the infection during the day, he said.

 

With this, the count of recoveries in the district rose to 3,96,897 and the toll reached 8,601, he said.

 

A total of 24,94,172 swabs have been tested till date, of which 4,520 were tested on Thursday, the official added.

9:11 PM

COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India crosses 72 crore: Govt

The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 72 crore on Thursday, the Union Health Ministry said. More than 73 lakh (73,80,510) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm on Thursday. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of final reports for the day by late night.

 

According to ministry data, 54,58,47,706 beneficiaries were vaccinated for the first dose and 16,94,06,447 beneficiaries received their second dose of vaccine, according to the 7 pm provisional report. Cumulatively, 28,57,04,140 people in the age group 18-44 years across all states and union territories have received their first dose and 3,85,99,523 their second dose since the start of phase-3 of the vaccination drive.

9:02 PM

315 new coronavirus cases, two deaths in Telangana

Telangana on Thursday reported 315 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the total caseload to 6,60,786, while the toll rose to 3,891 with two more fatalities, PTI reported.

 

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 83, followed by Nalgonda and Warangal Urban (21 each) districts, a state government bulletin said, providing details as of 5.30 PM on Thursday. 

8:45 PM

Haryana reports no Covid death, 13 fresh cases

Haryana on Thursday reported no Covid-related death, though 13 more people were found infected with coronavirus, leading the total case count to 7,70,614, PTI reported.

 

According to the Health Department's daily bulletin, the death toll remained unchanged at 9,686 as no fresh deaths have been reported during the past two days.

 

Meanwhile, among the districts, five cases were reported from Gurgaon and three from Ambala.

8:16 PM

Former prime minister of Mauritius Ramgoolam admitted to AIIMS: report

8:14 PM

Mumbai reports 458 Covid-19 cases, six deaths

Mumbai reported 458 new COVID-19 cases and six deaths on Thursday, a civic official said, PTI reported.

 

The caseload in the country's financial capital rose to 7,48,066 and death toll reached 16,010, he said. 

7:42 PM

Centre places order for 660 mn Covishield doses, says report

The Union government has placed a purchase order with the Serum Institute of India (SII) for 66 crore doses of Covishield to be supplied by December, official sources said on Thursday, PTI reported.
 

The development comes after Prakash Kumar Singh, the Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at SII, informed the Union Health Ministry that the firm would be able to supply 20.29 crore doses of Covishied in the month of September.
 

The Pune-based firm has enhanced the manufacturing capacity of Covishield to more than 20 crore doses per month.

7:34 PM

Income Tax returns deadline for AY 2021-22 extended to December 31

 

7:09 PM

Karnataka records lowest number of COVID deaths, since the beginning of second wave

Karnataka on Thursday reported the lowest number of deaths due to COVID-19, since the beginning of the second wave, with 4 fatalities, taking the toll so far due to the pandemic to 37,462, the health department said, PTI reported.

 

7:09 PM

No scientific body suggests Covid vaccination of kids should be condition to reopen schools: Govt

The Union government on Thursday said no scientific body suggests that vaccination of children against COVID-19 should be a condition for reopening schools, but inoculation of teachers, school employees and parents is desirable, PTI reported.

 

At a press conference, NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul said whether children have to be vaccinated and who among them should get the jabs is an evolving scientific and public health discourse.

 

Only a limited number of nations have introduced vaccination of children so far, he said.

6:53 PM

Kerala sees 26,200 new cases, 114 deaths in last 24 hours

6:26 PM

BRICS are an influential voice for world's emerging economies: PM Modi

6:20 PM

Mizoram's COVID positivity rate over 10%, 12,303 active cases

Mizoram reported 1,061 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, taking the tally to 67,971, an official said, according to PTI.

 

Among the newly-infected patients are 251 children, he said.

 

The toll rose to 230 as two more people died in the state, he added.

6:19 PM

WHO says Africa's already thin vaccine supply to drop by 25%

Africa's already thin supply of COVID-19 vaccines has taken another significant hit, with the World Health Organization's Africa director saying Thursday that for various reasons, including the rollout of booster shots, we will get 25% less doses than we were anticipating by the end of the year," AP reported.

 

Matshidiso Moeti's comments to reporters came as the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said just over 3% of people across the African continent have been fully vaccinated. That coverage drops to around 1.7% in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the WHO.

 

5:50 PM

Have to ensure that BRICS yields more results in 15 yrs, says PM Modi

5:26 PM

No Covid-19 vaccination at public centres in Mumbai on Friday

Coronavirus vaccination centres run by the Maharashtra government and the civic body in Mumbai will remain shut on September 10 due to administrative and technical reasons, the BMC said on Thursday, PTI reported.

5:10 PM

Trying to find a common ground with Moderna, J&J, says govt

4:56 PM

18% of India's adult population received both doses of Covid vaccine

4:56 PM

Vaccinating children is not a condition for reopening schools: V K Paul

4:54 PM

It's clear that two vaccine doses show complete protection, says Paul

4:52 PM

No new Covid case in Ladakh, active cases dip to 39

No fresh COVID-19 case was reported from Ladakh, where 11 patients recovered from the infection, taking the overall recoveries so far to 20,347, officials said, PTI reported.

 

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Ladakh stands at 20,593, they said, adding that the number of active cases in the union territory has dipped to 39 -- 36 in Leh and three in Kargil district.

 

Officials said no new Covid case was reported in Ladakh on Wednesday in the union territory.

4:29 PM

Almost 68% of total cases in last week from Kerala, says govt

4:18 PM

Biden to deliver six-step plan on Covid-19 pandemic

President Joe Biden on Thursday will outline new approaches to control the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, which rages on despite the wide availability of vaccines, Reuters reported.

4:13 PM

Need to address social inequities pandemic highlighted: AIIMS chief

There is a need to address social inequities that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted, including in the healthcare sector, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) chief Randeep Guleria has said, PTI reported.

 

He made the remarks during an online peace symposium hosted on Wednesday by Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG).

 

The long shadows of COVID-19 that has engulfed the world shows that global cooperation and solidarity are no longer a matter of choice but of survival, panelists concurred.

3:53 PM

As Singapore pauses reopening, experts suggest 'bolder' Covid-19 strategy

Singapore is ramping up COVID-19 testing and has warned it would not rule out reimposing tighter curbs as infections rise - moves some experts see as too cautious for the vaccine frontrunner that is preparing to live with the virus as an endemic disease, Reuters reported.

3:42 PM

Nerve disorder listed as rare side effect of AstraZeneca Covid shot

The European health regulatory body has listed Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) -- a neurological disorder -- as a "very rare" side effect of the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, known as Covishield in India, IANS reported.

 

GBS is a serious nerve inflammation, which may cause temporary loss of feeling and movement (paralysis) and difficulty in breathing.

 

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), in a new update on Wednesday shared that a causal relationship between AstraZeneca vaccine and GBS was "considered at least a reasonable possibility".

3:18 PM

US TV host Jimmy Kimmel says unvaccinated Covid patients don't deserve ICU beds

Popular TV host Jimmy Kimmel has mocked unvaccinated people in addition to talking about how they should be treated at hospitals, on an episode of his show 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!', IANS reported.

 

In the Tuesday night September 7 episode, Kimmel said: "It was not a fun Labor Day weekend COVID-wise."

 

In his monologue, he noted the increase in coronavirus cases, reports aceshowbiz.com.