India Coronavirus Dispatch: Lowest daily jump in cases since March 31

New Covid strain on world radar stems from Delta variant, Covaxin is world's third costliest jab and more-news relevant to India's fight against the pandemic

Over 60,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 60,471 fresh coronavirus infections on Tuesday, taking the cumulative caseload to 29.57 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 2,726 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 377,031. The active caseload is at 913,378, while the total recoveries have surged to about 28.3 million. As many as 259 million vaccine shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 3.9 million were given on Monday. Read more

New Covid variant on world radar stems from Delta variant

A new Covid variant called AY.1—which evolved from the Delta variant—is now emerging in several countries, including India, a report in ThePrint said. Researchers from the CSIR Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology (IGIB) have noted that the new variant is linked to immune escape properties, which allow a pathogen to be partially or fully resistant to the body’s immune response, vaccines and antibody therapies. So far, 156 samples of the variant have been sequenced around the world, with the first sample isolated in March this year from Europe. In India, the variant was first found in April. So far, eight samples have been isolated from India, the report said. Read more

Covaxin is the third costliest vaccine in the world

Bharat Biotech's Covaxin is the third costliest vaccine in the world even though it uses a commonly used method—the inactive virus method—for vaccine manufacturing, a report in ThePrint said. Only China’s Sinopharm and the one by US-based pharma giant Pfizer are more expensive. The homegrown vaccine can cost you around Rs 1,410 at a private vaccination centre (including administering charges and GST) — nearly two times the price of Covishield, which is sold at Rs 780 a shot. Russia’s Sputnik V will cost you Rs 1,145 a dose in India, the report said. Read more

SII-partner Novavax says focused first on developing countries

US biotechnology firm Novavax said it will prioritise developing countries for the initial supplies of its Covid-19 vaccine, a report in ThePrint said. The firm announced its vaccine had shown complete protection in late-stage trials against moderate and severe forms of Covid. This boosts prospects for its Indian version, Covovax, which will be manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII). Overall, the efficacy of the vaccine was 90.4 per cent. In other words, the vaccine showed the ability to bring down symptomatic Covid cases by more than 90 per cent compared with those who had not received the vaccine, the report said. Read more

Delhi restaurant owners ensure staff get vaccinated, reassess Covid protocol

Restaurants in Delhi reopened on Monday with limited dine-in capacity. Many of them are trying to make sure only staff who have recovered from Covid or have taken at least one dose of the vaccine come to work, a report in The Indian Express said. Anurag Katriar, President, National Restaurants Association of India, said: “We have to be very careful from now onwards since if precautions are not taken, another lockdown can happen. This week, a nationwide camp will be set up by the organisation where restaurants can get their staff vaccinated. This process has been going on but it needs to be ramped up.” Read more