Page 71 - Coronavirus

China, Pfizer hit deadlock over Paxlovid's price amid Covid-19 surge

Pfizer and the government agency that oversees the state medical insurance program failed to agree on a further cut on the price of Paxlovid

India reports 170 new Covid-19 infections, 1 death; active cases down by 52

India saw a single-day rise of 170 coronavirus infections on Monday, while the active cases declined by 52 to reach 2,371. According to the Union Health Ministry data updated at 8 am Monday, the total number of cases is now 4.46 crore (4,46,80,094). The death toll stands at 5,30,721 with one more fatality reported from Madhya Pradesh, the data stated. The active cases now constitute 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the country's COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the health ministry website. A decrease of 52 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease rose to 4,41,47,002, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.20 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was 0.11 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.14 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the c

Covid-19 situation in India better than elsewhere: SII CEO Adar Poonawalla

Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla on Sunday lauded India's fight against the Covid pandemic, saying the government and the healthcare workers contributed largely to tackling the pandemic

China's open borders mark an end to covid zero, spark homecoming rush

While the Covid zero policy managed to keep the virus at bay for much of the pandemic as it killed millions elsewhere, they became increasingly irrelevant with emergence of more infectious variants

Poonawalla gets Patangrao Kadam award, Maha Dy CM hails SII for vaccine

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday lauded vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India and its CEO Adar Poonwalla for their contribution in the fight against COVID-19. He was speaking at the inauguration of Bharti Super Specialty Hospital at Bharti Vidyapeeth where Poonwalla was conferred with the first Dr Patangrao Kadam Memorial Award. "I am very happy we got the opportunity to felicitate Poonawalla. It is an opportunity to say thanks for saving us. The entire nation wants to thank you," he said. The vaccines provided by SII during the pandemic showed the country's strength to the world, Fadnavis said. He also hailed the Bharti Vidyapeeth and said Patangrao Kadam was a leader who created 190 institutes to provide quality education and created quality human resource. ' The event was also attended by Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. Adar Poonawalla was carrying forward the legacy of his fath

Covovax to get approval as booster in 10-15 days, says SII CEO Poonawalla

Serum Institute of India chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla on Sunday said its Covovax vaccine will get approval as a booster in the next 10 to 15 days, adding it works well against the Omicron variant of coronavirus. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event at Bharti Vidyapeeth University here, Poonawalla, when asked about states and districts not getting Covishield vaccines, said there are ample stocks with the Union government for supply. "Covovax will be approved as a booster in the next 10-15 days. It is actually the best booster because it works very well against Omicron, more than Covishield," said Poonawalla. He said everyone was looking at India, not just in terms of healthcare but because the country managed to take care of a huge and diverse population and also helped 70 to 80 nations during the COVID-19 pandemic. "This was all possible because of the leadership of our Central government, our state governments, healthcare workers, manufacturers, all of who

Demand for Indian generic drugs skyrockets in China amid Covid surge

The demand for Indian generic drugs has shot up in China amid the massive COVID surge in the country, with Chinese experts cautioning that fake versions of these drugs are flooding the market. China's National Health Security Administration said on Sunday that Pfizer's Paxlovid oral medication, which is used to treat Covid-19, could not be included in the register of drugs in the basic medical insurance, because the company's quotation was too high, media reports here said. Due to the massive short supply of Paxlovid, demand for Indian generic versions has gone up through Chinese e-commerce platforms. On the Chinese e-commerce platforms... At least four generic COVID drugs produced in India - Primovir, Paxista, Molnunat, and Molnatris have been listed for sale in recent weeks. Primovir and Paxista are both generic versions of Paxlovid, while the other two are generic versions of Molnipiravir," Chinese media outlet Sixth Tone reported. All four drugs appear to have been approved fo

'Health budget should be increased by 30-40% to sustain growth'

After Covid, the healthcare sector has become one of the key areas for the budget allocations as industry looks towards the Centre's intervention to make healthcare affordable and accessible to all

China takes down social media accounts of Covid-19 policy critics

China has taken down more than 1,000 social media accounts - some with millions of followers - that criticised the government's Covid policies

Global Covid surge fears loom as China opens borders, resumes air travel

As China opened borders and resumed travel on Sunday, billions of local travellers are set to make overseas trips in the next few days, triggering Covid surge concerns in various countries

India records 163 new Covid cases; active tally declines to 2,423

India logged 163 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases declined to 2,423, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,79,924). The death toll stands at 5,30,720 with two deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, the ministry said. A decrease of 86 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,46,781, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.13 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and

China ends Covid-19 travel restrictions for incoming passengers from today

China will lift its quarantine requirement for inbound travellers starting from January 8

Chinese travelers rush to take advantage of reopening after Covid curbs

After two years of separation from his wife in mainland China, Hong Kong resident Cheung Seng-bun made sure he was among the first to cross the border following the reopening of crossing points Sunday. The ability of residents of the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city to cross over is one of the most visible signs of China's easing of border restrictions, with travelers arriving from abroad also no longer required to undergo quarantine. I'm hurrying to get back to her, Cheung, lugging a heavy suitcase, told The Associated Press as he prepared to cross at Lok Ma Chau station. Travelers crossing between Hong Kong and mainland China, however, are still required to show a negative COVID-19 test taken within the last 48 hours a measure China has protested when imposed by other countries. Hong Kong has been hard-hit by the virus, and its land and sea border checkpoints with the mainland have been largely closed for almost three years. Despite the risk of new infections, the reopening

Flexible working hours can benefit productivity, work-life balance: ILO

Reduced working hours and more flexible working time arrangements, such as those used during the Covid-19 crisis, can bring benefits for economies, businesses and workers, says the ILO report

Covishield immune responses against Covid-19 higher than Covaxin: Study

Neutralising antibody responses against the SARS-COV-2 virus and its variants of concern (VoC) are higher among Covishield recipients than those who took the indigenously made Covaxin, according to a multi-centre study. The yet-to-be peer-reviewed study, posted on the preprint server MedRxiv on Friday, also found that when compared to pre-vaccination baseline, both vaccines elicited statistically significant antibody levels in both seronegative individuals and seropositive or those who had recovered from Covid-19 infection. Between June 2021 and January 2022, the researchers enrolled 691 participants in the 18-45 age group across four sites in urban and rural Bengaluru and Pune. Participants received either two doses of Covaxin at 28 days apart or two doses of Covishield at three months apart. The Omicron wave in early 2022 overlapped with the second dose of vaccine in two sites and with both doses in one site. Participants were sampled at six timepoints for antibody analyses and

India records 214 fresh Covid-19 infections, active cases rise marginally

India on Saturday recorded 214 fresh coronavirus infections, while the number of active cases increased marginally to 2,509, according to Union health ministry data. With this, the total number of COVID-19 cases has climbed to 4.46 crore (4,46,79,761). The death toll increased to 5,30,718 with four deaths -- two reconciled by Kerala, and one each reported from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh -- in the last 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.11 per cent. The weekly positivity rate stood at 0.12 per cent, according to the health ministry website. The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, the ministry said. An increase of six cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,46,534. The case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per ...

Explained: Is China sharing enough Covid-19 pandemic information?

Without basic data like number of deaths, infections and severe cases, governments elsewhere have instituted virus testing requirements for travelers from China

Mumbai reports nine new Covid-19 cases in a day; active tally now 29

Mumbai on Friday reported nine COVID-19 cases, which took the tally here to 11,55,151, while the death toll stood unchanged at 19,746, a civic official said. The addition to the tally is a slight rise from the seven cases reported a day earlier, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official said. The recovery count increased by five to touch 11,35,376, leaving the metropolis with 29 active cases, he added. As per BMC data, the recovery rate was 98.3 per cent, while the caseload doubling time was 2,18,342 days. So far, 1,86,49,078 coronavirus tests have been conducted in the city, including 2,612 in the last 24 hours. The overall growth rate of COVID-19 cases between December 30 to January 5 is 0.0003 per cent, as per civic data.

China seeks to minimise coronavirus risk during Lunar New Year travel rush

China is seeking to minimise the possibility of a major new COVID-19 outbreak during this month's Lunar New Year travel rush following the end of most pandemic containment measures. The Transportation Ministry on Friday called on travelers to reduce trips and gatherings, particularly if they involve elderly people, pregnant women, small children and those with underlying conditions. People using public transport are also urged to wear masks and pay special attention to their health and personal hygiene, Vice Minister Xu Chengguang told reporters at a briefing. The call stopped short of asking citizens to stay home entirely, as the government had since the pandemic began, although some local governments have urged migrant workers not to return home. Xu said authorities expect more than 2 billion trips to be made during the weeklong festival season, the most important time for visiting family and friends in the traditional Chinese calendar. That is nearly double the number of last ye

No reason to worry about new Covid variant Kraken in India yet: Experts

US Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that from just 1 percent of the Covid19 cases in the US in Dec 2022, Kraken variant now accounts for almost 41 percent of all the Covid19 infections