India Coronavirus Dispatch: Maharashtra breaks its daily vaccination record

Daman and Diu achieves 100% vaccination with first dose, govt study finds second Covid wave hit younger Indians harder, and more-news relevant to India's fight against the pandemic

Over 43,071 fresh cases reported

India reported 43,071 fresh coronavirus infections on Sunday, taking the cumulative caseload to 30.5 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 955 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 402,005. The active caseload is at 485,350, while the total recoveries have surged to 29.6 million. As many as 35.1 million vaccine shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 6.3 million were given on Saturday. Read more

Maharashtra breaks its daily vaccination record

Maharashtra administered 801,847 Covid vaccine shots on Saturday, surpassing its previous daily record, an official told The Indian Express. The previous best daily record was on June 26 when the state was able to administer 738,704 vaccines in a single day. The official said over the last three months the state has been able to consistently maintain its top position in the vaccination drive. Read more

Second Covid wave hit younger Indians more: govt study

The second wave affected a higher proportion of younger people compared to the first wave, a report in ThePrint said that cited a new government study based on a clinical profile of individuals who have been hospitalised over the last year and a half. “Mean age of the patients was significantly lower in the second wave… with a higher proportion of patients in the younger age group intervals of <20, and 20-39 yr,” the study said. Only 3.8 per cent of hospitalised Covid patients in the country fell in the below-20 age group in the first wave. In the second wave, this figure rose to 4.4 per cent, the study said. Read more

Third wave may see half of daily cases observed in second surge, says scientist on govt panel

A scientist of a government panel tasked with modelling Covid infections has said a potential third wave could peak between October and November if pandemic norms are not followed, but it may only see half the daily cases recorded during the second wave, according to a media report. Manindra Agarwal who is working with the Sutra Model—the mathematical projection of the Covid-19 trajectory—said the pandemic can spread faster during the third wave if any new virulent variant emerges. Read more

Daman and Diu achieves 100% vaccination target with the first dose

The first dose of a Covid vaccine has been administered to 100% of the eligible population in the union territory Daman and Diu, a report in The Indian Express said. Daman has recorded 3,478 Covid cases to date with one death, while 3,460 have recovered, according to health department sources. The test positivity rate (TPR) was 3.04 per cent, while the recovery rate stood at 99.48 per cent, the report said. Read more