More than 88.94 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been provided to States and UTs so far, the Union Health Ministry said on October 3. Over 5.38 crore balance and unutilised vaccine doses are still available with the States and UTs to be administered, the Ministry said.
Pharmaceutical major Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics announced via a press release on October 1 the early results from Phase-3 trials that its anti-viral drug molnupiravir halved the chances of hospitalisation in COVID-19 patients with mild or moderate disease.
Read | The story of how a mystifying novel coronavirus variant, Delta, has India and the globe in its grip
Considering that children below 11 years rarely suffer from severe disease and death, is it necessary to vaccinate young children? Read here .
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here . A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
Zydus Cadila proposes ₹1900 for three-dose COVID vaccine; Govt negotiating to bring it down
With talks underway between the central government and Zydus Cadila over the pricing of the COVID-19 vaccine ZyCov-D, the pharma company is learnt to have proposed a price of ₹1,900 for its three-dose jab that can be given to those above 12 years of age.
However, the government is negotiating for a reduction in price and a final decision on it is likely to be taken this week, sources in the know of the developments told PTI.
The government had on Thursday said that the indigenously-developed, world's first DNA-based needle-free COVID-19 vaccine by Zydus Cadila will be introduced in the nationwide anti-coronavirus vaccination drive shortly.
"The company has proposed a price of ₹1,900 inclusive of taxes for its three-dose jab. - PTI
Israel tightens COVID 'green pass' rules, sparking protest
Israel restricted its COVID Green Pass on Sunday to allow only those who have received a vaccine booster dose or recently recuperated from coronavirus to enter indoor venues. The new criteria mean that nearly 2 million people will lose their vaccination passport in the coming days.
Israel is the first country to make a booster shot a requirement for its digital vaccination passport. The move is widely seen as a step to encourage booster vaccination among those who have yet to receive a third dose.
Under the new guidelines, people must have received a booster shot to be eligible for a green pass. Those who have received two vaccine doses, and those who have recovered from coronavirus, will be issued passes valid for six months after the date of their vaccination or recovery. - AP
Russia reports new record daily COVID death toll
Russia has reported a record daily death toll from COVID-19. It's the fifth time in a week that deaths have hit a new high in the country.
The national coronavirus task force said Sunday that 890 deaths were recorded over the past day.
That exceeds the 887 reported on Friday. The task force also said the number of new infections in the past day was the second-highest of the year at 25,769. - AP
Active COVID-19 cases in country lowest in 199 days
India added 22,842 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,38,13,903, while the active cases declined to 2,70,557, the lowest in 199 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on October 3.
The death toll climbed to 4,48,817 with 244 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.
The active cases comprise 0.80% of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.87%, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said. -PTI
Tamil Nadu’s population estimate for COVID-19 vaccination revised
Tamil Nadu’s estimated population aged above 18 for COVID-19 vaccination coverage has been revised to 5,78,91,000. Earlier, it was 6.06 crore.
In a letter to Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan in September, Additional Secretary of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Manohar Agnani said the Ministry had been reviewing the vaccination drive and sharing the feedback with the States and the Union Territories. During these reviews, some of the States and the Union Territories had raised the issue of difference in the estimated target population communicated by the Government of India and those of the States and the Union Territories.
U.K. to open up more travel by scrapping hotel quarantine for dozens of countries -Telegraph
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will open up more countries for hotel quarantine-free travel later this week, The Sunday Telegraph reported, saying that the UK's "red list" of destinations would be slashed to nine from 54.
Fully vaccinated arrivals from countries including South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia will no longer have to quarantine in a government-designated hotel for 10 days when they get to England from later in October, the newspaper said. -Reuters
Protesters in Romania reject coronavirus restrictions
More than 5,000 people protested October 2 in Romania’s capital of Bucharest to reject upcoming measures used by authorities to combat an alarming surge of COVID-19 infections.
Daily COVID-19 infections in the European Union nation of 19 million have skyrocketed from around 1,000 daily cases a month ago to 12,590 new cases on October 2. That was Romania’s highest daily number of infections since the pandemic started. -AP
Nicaragua authorises two COVID-19 vaccines from Cuba, Cuban firm says
Nicaragua has authorised two Cuban-made coronavirus vaccines to be used in the Central American nation, the Cuban state-run pharmaceutical corporation BioCubaFarma said on October 2.
Cuban scientists have developed three vaccines against COVID-19, all of which are waiting to receive official recognition from the World Health Organization. -Reuters
Russia sees no hurdles for WHO approval of Sputnik V vaccine
All the barriers to register Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine with the World Health Organization (WHO) have been cleared and only some paperwork remains to be completed, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on October 2.
The Sputnik V shot, widely used in Russia and approved for use in over 70 countries, is undergoing a review by the WHO and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Their approval could open up new markets for the shot, especially in Europe. -Reuters
Published - October 03, 2021 07:35 am IST
