Page 97 - Coronavirus Vaccine

Germany eyes end to most coronavirus restrictions on March 20

Germany announced plans to end most of country's coronavirus restrictions by March 20, a decision that coincided with moves by neighbouring Austria and Switzerland to drop many of their curbs sooner.

BioNTech unveils new mobile vaccine factories for developing world

Germany's BioNTech has developed a vaccine factory made from shipping containers that it plans to ship to Africa

Short AstraZeneca shelf life complicates vaccine rollout to world's poorest

Many more vaccines are expected to be rejected as African nations and Covax said that from January they would not accept vaccines with less than two-and-a-half months' shelf life

Covid vaccine makers shoot for exports as domestic demand may remain low

ZyCoV-D is already approved by the regulator for use in children aged 12 and more

Switzerland lift most coronavirus restrictions as infections decline

Switzerland became the latest European country to ease coronavirus restrictions, including ending health checks for incoming travellers and the need to have COVID-19 passes to enter many public venues

Maharashtra records 2,748 fresh Covid cases, 41 deaths, 5,806 recoveries

Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 2,748 new coronavirus cases, including 111 of the Omicron variant, and 41 fresh fatalities linked to the infection, the health department said.

Covid-19 pandemic: Delhi reported 766 fresh cases and five deaths

Delhi reported 766 COVID-19 cases along with five fatalities, while the positivity rate marginally declined to 1.37 per cent, according to data shared by the Health Department here on Wednesday. With this, the national capital's case count increased to 18,53,428 and the death toll climbed to 26,086, the latest health bulletin stated. Delhi on Tuesday reported 756 fresh COVID-19 cases and five deaths, while the positivity rate stood at 1.52 per cent. The number of COVID-19 tests conducted a day ago stood at 56,112, it said. Delhi had on Monday reported 586 cases with a positivity rate of 1.37 per cent, and four deaths. The number of daily cases in Delhi has been on the decline after touching the record high of 28,867 on January 13. The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the ongoing wave of the pandemic. It took just 10 days for daily cases to drop below the 10,000-mark. Amid the decline in daily cases of COVID-19 in Delhi, the n

Covid-19 pandemic: Telangana reports 512 new cases and one death

Telangana on Wednesday recorded 512 fresh COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 7,85,143, while the toll rose to 4,108 with one more fatality. A health department bulletin said 1,217 people recovered from the infection and the cumulative number of recoveries till date was 7,73,362. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) reported the highest number of cases with 125, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri 39 and Ranga Reddy 35 districts. The number of active cases was 7,673, the bulletin said. The case fatality rate in the state is 0.52 per cent while the recovery rate is 98.50 per cent.

MP logs 1,388 new COVID-19 cases, 3 deaths, active tally below 13,000

COVID tally in Madhya Pradesh rose to 10,30,261 after detection of 1,388 new cases, while the death toll increased to 10,703 after three more patients succumbed to the infection in the state

Covid-19 pandemic: Himachal Pradesh reports 2 more deaths, 157 fresh cases

Himachal Pradesh recorded two more fatalities due to COVID-19 on Wednesday pushing the death toll 4,068, while 157 fresh cases took the infection tally to 2,81,173, a health official said. A 65-year-old man in Kangra and another elderly person in Mandi were among the fresh Covid deaths, the official added. The number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 2,573, the official said, adding that 617 more patients recovered from the viral disease. With this, the total number of recoveries in Himachal Pradesh stands at 2,74,512, he said.

Covid-19 pandemic: Scotland, Wales to offer vaccine to all children 5-11

Scotland's government confirmed on Wednesday that it will offer a coronavirus vaccine to all children ages 5-11, and Wales is doing the same after accepting draft advice from scientists. Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said officials have taken advice from the UK's vaccination advisory committee, although the committee's recommendation hasn't been officially published yet. Sturgeon's statement came a day after Wales announced a similar plan to immunize younger children against COVID-19. Scotland and Wales are so far the only two parts of the UK that have said they will offer vaccines to the entire 5 to 11 age group. England and Northern Ireland currently offer shots to children under 11 who have medical conditions that mean they are at serious risk of complications from the coronavirus. Sturgeon said officials have begun talking to health authorities about the best way of delivering the vaccines to children. The four parts of the UK have moved at differing paces in administering

Covid-19 pandemic: Night curfew lifted in Uttarakhand amid decline in cases

The Uttarakhand government on Wednesday lifted night curfew after over one-and-a-half months and allowed various other economic activities to resume fully following a decline in daily Covid cases. According to revised COVID-19 SOP, night curfew imposed in the state on December 27 to rein in a spike in pandemic cases has been lifted, and gyms, shopping malls, cinema halls, spas, salons, theatres, auditoriums and meeting halls allowed to open with full capacity. However, swimming pools and water parks will remain closed till February 28. The ban on political rallies and dharnas will also continue till February 28, the standard operating procedure (SOP) said. Hotels, restaurants and dhabas can also open for dining with their full capacity, but will have to strictly follow Covid norms.

Covid-19 pandemic: Karnataka reports 1,894 new cases and 24 deaths

Karnataka on Wednesday clocked 1,894 fresh cases of coronavirus and 24 fatalities, taking the tally to 39,31,536 and toll to 39,715. There were 5,418 discharges, pushing the total number of recoveries to 38,68,501, a Health bulletin said. Of the new cases, 835 were from Bengaluru Urban that saw 1,979 people being discharged and 4 virus-related deaths. The total number of active cases across the state is now 23,284. While the positivity rate for the day stood at 1.90 per cent, the case fatality rate (CFR) was 1.26 per cent. Of the 24 deaths, four are from Bengaluru Urban; Ballari 3, Bagalkote, Dharwad, Udupi and Uttara Kannada 2, followed by others. After Bengaluru Urban, Mysuru recorded the second highest number of cases at 125, Belagavi 87, Udupi 69, Tumakuru 61, Ballari 56, Hassan and Shivamogga 50, followed by others. Bengaluru Urban district now has a total of 17,73,222 cases, Mysuru 2,28,852 and Tumakuru 1,59,355. Cumulatively, a total of 6.37 crore samples have been teste

Antibodies improve in quality for months after Covid vaccination: Study

The findings, published in the journal Nature, suggest that declining antibody levels in the months after vaccination primarily represent a shift to a sustainable immune response

Vaccinated people less likely to develop long Covid, shows UK study

It also found that vaccine effectiveness against most long-Covid symptoms was highest in people aged 60 years and over

India records 30,615 fresh Covid-19 infections, 514 more fatalities

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.45 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 3.32 per cent

Data story: India logs 30,615 new cases; active tally drops below 400,000

India has so far administered 1,738,681,675 vaccine doses. That is 4069.6 per cent of its total caseload, and 124.09 per cent of its population

Global Covid caseload tops 415.1 million, fatalities at 5.83 million

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths

China's Xi says Hong Kong needs to stabilise and control Covid surge

COVID infections have surged 20 times on a daily basis since the start of February and Carrie Lam has said authorities can no longer keep up with testing and isolation mandates

Dutch govt lifts most Covid measures as country returns to 'normal'

Meanwhile, a total of 1,149 new patients were hospitalized, compared to 1,393 the week before