India Coronavirus Dispatch: Biological waste jumps by 17% amid pandemic

How does Biological E's Corbevax vaccine work, nine private hospital groups corner 50% vaccine doses, and more-news relevant to India's fight against the pandemic

Over 120,000 fresh cases reported

 

India reported 1,20,529 fresh coronavirus infections on Saturday, taking the cumulative caseload to 28.6 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 3,380 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 344,082. The active caseload is at 1.5 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 26.8 million. As many as 227.8 million shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 3.6 million were given on Friday. Read more

 

 

Biological waste jumps by 17% due to Covid treatment

 

India has been generating nearly 146 tonnes of bio-medical waste a day due to diagnostic activities and treatment of Covid, according to a report in the Hindustan Times that cited data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Between June 2020 and May 10, 2021, India produced 45,308 tonnes of biomedical waste due to Covid. This is in addition to the 615 tonnes of biomedical waste a day being produced before the pandemic struck. This is a jump of almost 17% in biomedical waste generation solely because of the pandemic, the report said. Read more

 

 

How does Biological E's Corbevax vaccine work?

 

Corbevax is a “recombinant protein sub-unit” vaccine, which means it is made of the spike protein on the novel coronavirus' surface, an explainer in The Indian Express said. The spike protein allows the virus to enter the body, but it isn't harmful as the rest of the virus is absent. The body is expected to develop an immune response against the injected spike protein. While this technology has been used for decades to make hepatitis B vaccines, Corbevax will be among the first Covid vaccines to use this platform, the report said. Read more

 

 

Nine private hospital groups corner 50% vaccine doses

 

Just nine hospital groups in large cities have cornered half of the Covid vaccine stock set aside for the private sector in May, raising questions of vaccine equity, a report in The Indian Express said. These nine corporate hospital groups cumulatively bought 6 million of the 12 million shots procured by private hospitals in the first full month since the Centre opened up the vaccination programme to the private market. The rest of the doses were bought by 300-odd hospitals, located mostly in the country’s urban centres, with hardly any of them serving regions beyond the tier-2 cities, the report said. Read more

 

 

Lioness dies of Covid after an outbreak among Asiatic lions

 

The Tamil Nadu government said a 9-year-old lioness, Neela, has died in the Vandalur Zoo outside Chennai after a coronavirus outbreak among Asiatic lions was reported, according to a report in the Hindustan Times. Nine of 13 lions in the Zoo were tested for the virus a few days ago. The forest department said other lions have been quarantined. A tiger is also suspected to have died of Covid in a Ranchi zoo on Thursday night, the report said. Read more