India Covid Dispatch: Zydus Cadila's vaccine may get the nod soon

28% people in TN above 60 yrs show vaccine hesitancy, fully vaccinated people can commute by Mumbai locals from Aug 15 and other stories from around the country on the fight against the pandemic

About 35,500 fresh cases reported

India reported 35,499 fresh coronavirus infections on Monday, taking the cumulative caseload to 31.9 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 447 more deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 428,309. The active caseload is at 402,188, while the total recoveries have surged to 31.1 million. As many as 508 million vaccine shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 1.6 million were given on Sunday. Read more

Nearly 28% people in TN above 60 yrs show vaccine hesitancy: study

A new study by the Tamil Nadu government has found that vaccine hesitancy was prevalent among 27.6 per cent of people aged above 60 years while the same was present in 16.9 per cent between the age group of 18 and 44 years, PTI reported. As many as 18.2 per cent of people between the age group of 45 and 59 years were also hesitant to receive the jabs, the survey conducted by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, in July across Tamil Nadu, said. Read more

Zydus Cadila's Covid vaccine likely to get emergency approval by this week: report

Zydus Cadila's Covid vaccine is expected to get approval for emergency use in India by this week, ANI reported. If approved, it will be the country's second indigenous vaccine after Covaxin. Overall it will be the sixth vaccine approved by India to inoculate its 1.3 billion population. Apart from Covaxin, the country is using Serum Institute of India’s Covishield, the Russian-made Sputnik V, Moderna vaccine and Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine in the nationwide inoculation drive, the report said. Read more

Pune: Doctors report spike in cases of Covid recoveries with heart problems

Doctors in Pune are reporting recovered Covid patients who are encountering heart problems, such as chest pains, sudden palpitations, heart-attacks, heart-swelling, heart failure, low pump capacity, blood clotting, and arrhythmia, a report in Hindustan Times said. Cases of heart attack or heart failure in Covid recovered patients within three months of recovery are rising, doctors said. Experts have often found that although Covid-19 is primarily a lung infection, it is known to leave an impact on other organs as well, including the cardiac system. Read more

Fully vaccinated people can travel in Mumbai local trains from Aug 15

From Aug 15, people who have been fully vaccinated and completed 14 days after receiving the second dose of a Covid vaccine will be allowed to travel in Mumbai suburban local trains, a report in The Indian Express said citing the Maharashtra government. Mumbai has fully vaccinated 1.9 million people, most of whom are entirely dependent on public transportation. At present, only government employees and essential services staffers are allowed to travel on local trains, the report said. Read more