The Centre has capped the prices at which vaccines will be sold at private hospitals. With a ceiling of ₹150 that hospitals can charge per dose as ‘service charge’ and a GST of 5%, the maximum price chargeable for Covishield is ₹780, for Covaxin, ₹1,410 and for Sputnik V ₹1,145, the Union Health Ministry said in an order on Tuesday.
The State governments would be entrusted with ensuring that these price barriers were not breached and if, in future, vaccine prices fell, it would influence the maximum cap.
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 :
Buddhadeb, wife discharged from Kolkata nursing home
Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was on Wednesday discharged from a nursing home in Kolkata where he was undergoing treatment for post-COVID ailments, doctors said.
His wife Mira Bhattacharjee, also admitted at the same nursing home, was discharged as well, they said.
The former chief minister's health condition is stable, a senior doctor of the nursing home said.
"His antibody report is okay and other parameters are also fine. But, he is needed to follow the prescribed medicines at home," the doctor said. - PTI
Virus-hit Chinese city suspends entertainment venues
The southern China metropolis of Guangzhou has ordered the closure of cinemas, theatres, nightclubs and other indoor entertainment venues as authorities seek to contain the country's latest coronavirus outbreak.
The controls announced on June 9 are even stricter in parts of the city where the risk of infection is categorised as high or moderate. Guangzhou has isolated several neighbourhoods where cases have been detected and barred people from leaving the city or the surrounding province of Guangdong unless absolutely necessary.
Guangzhou has reported more than 100 cases of local transmission since May 21, with eight more announced on June 9. Doctors say the cases in Guangzhou were caused by the more contagious delta variant that was first identified in India. — AP
Six villages in Puducherry, four in Karaikal achieve distinction of inoculating 100% of 45+ population
Six villages in Puducherry and four hamlets in Karaikal district have achieved the distinction of inoculating 100% of their 45+ population, Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has said.
Six villages in Puducherry and four hamlets in Karaikal district have achieved the distinction of inoculating 100% of their 45+ population, Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has said.
Decision on free vaccination appropriate but late: Mayawati
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Wednesday welcomed the Centre's announcement on free vaccines to all above 18 years of age, but called it a "delayed decision".
She asked the central government to stay away from politics and focus on vaccinating the public against coronavirus.
"After the second wave of coronavirus proved to be very lethal, the Centre's decision of 'free' vaccination for all from June 21 is a late but appropriate step. The BSP has been demanding it from the beginning. Now this work needs to be done with great diligence," Ms. Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi. - PTI
Option to rectify errors in personal details on vaccine certificate announced
The government has announced a new update that enables an applicant to correct any inadvertent errors in name, year of birth and gender printed on the CoWIN vaccination certificate.
Users can make the correction through the CoWIN website.
“Now you can make corrections to your name, year of birth and gender on your Cowin vaccination certificates if inadvertent errors have come in,” the official handle of the Aarogya Setu app tweeted on June 9.
The CoWIN vaccination certificates are used at the time of travel and helps in the access of several other premises.
Days after cocktail therapy, two test negative: hospital
A man receiving a dose of coronavirus vaccine during a mega vaccination camp in Khammam on June 8, 2021.
Two COVID-19 patients, who were given ‘Monoclonal Antibody Therapy’, tested negative eight days after developing symptoms, Max Healthcare said in a statement on Tuesday. The hospital termed it as the “fastest ever recovery” in patients.
“We conducted RT-PCR test on two people who tested positive, eight days after developing symptoms and it turned out to be a definite negative. They were administered Antibody Cocktail Therapy within three days of testing positive. This is the fastest ever recovery reported in patients, particularly senior citizens suffering from comorbidities,” the hospital said.
The therapy costs around ₹60,000.
Chennai sees sharp drop in cases, but three zones stand out
From a peak of over 7,500 cases a day in mid-May, the number of COVID-19 cases reported daily in Chennai has consistently and sharply declined to less than 2,000 now.
In the past two weeks, the average number of cases reported daily declined by 34% in the city. However, the decline was not uniform across all the zones. While a majority of them reported a sharp decline, Tondiarpet, Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar saw only a marginal drop. As against the 34% decline in cases reported in the city, the cases in these three zones dropped by only 8%, 10% and 16%, respectively. In absolute figures, while the average number of cases reported daily in these three zones together was 485 during May 25 to 31, it dropped to 429 during June 1 to 7.
In contrast, in the Anna Nagar zone, the average number of cases reported daily reduced by nearly 50% to 168 last week from 309 the earlier week.
