News Analysis India

Tag: Coronavirus

  • AstraZeneca Shot Will Be Effective Against COVID-19 Variant, CEO Claims

    British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, on December 27 claimed that its vaccine candidate was effective against the new variant of coronavirus, which was recently discovered in the UK and other European nations. Speaking to Sunday Times, the company CEO Pascal Soriot also asserted that researchers have found out the “winning formula” making the jab as effective as rival candidates. The remarks come as British health officials are eyeing this weekend to approve the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca along with the University of Oxford.

    Partial results suggest that AstraZeneca shot is about 70 per cent effective in preventing coronavirus as compared to 95 per cent efficacy as reported Pfizer-BoNTech. The UK, which approved the Pfizer-BioNTech candidate on December 2 has already inoculated a considerable amount of its population. Currently, the British regulators were reviewing the final data from AstraZeneca’s phase three clinical trials, Soriot said revealing that the drug might get Britsh nod soon.  

    The AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine candidate is based on a modified version of adenovirus, a common cold virus. The vector stripped of its disease-causing genes and modified to carry genetic instructions for making the coronavirus spike protein. This prompts the cells to cause an immune response which eventually protects against the SARS-CoV-2. 

  • WHO Chief Marks Day Of Epidemic Preparedness, Warns COVID-19 Won’t Be Last Pandemic

    Marking the first-ever International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that coronavirus pandemic won’t be the last one and attempts to improve human health are doomed without tackling the two-pronged issue of climate change and animal welfare.  “In the past 12 months, lives and livelihoods have been turned upside down by #COVID19. But over the years WHO and our partners have warned that the world is not prepared for a pandemic,” he said

    Warning that COVID-19 won’t be the last pandemic, Ghebreyesus called upon people to learn the lessons from the pandemic. He said that firstly, all countries must invest in capacities to prevent, detect, and mitigate emergencies. Elaborating further, he stressed that preparedness for a pandemic was not individualistic but a collective task. Finally, he said that the coronavirus crisis had made people realize that “our health is crucial.”

  • Corona slowed down, so many new cases came out in 24 hours

    There is a continuous decrease in the daily cases of coronavirus in India. With the news of the corona vaccine coming in January by the central government, the pace of the slowing corona has given a lot of relief to the people. However, the crisis of the Corona epidemic is not yet over. In the last 24 hours, 22,272 new cases of Kovid-19 have been reported in the country. While 251 patients have lost their lives.

    According to the latest data from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday, 22,272 new cases of corona have been reported in the last 24 hours. After which the total number of cases has increased to 1,01,69,118. At the same time, after the death of 251 patients, the total number of dead has increased to 1,47,343. At the same time, there are 2,81,667 active cases. According to the data of the ministry, the number of patients who have been de-infected from corona in the country has increased to 97,40,108. In the last 24 hours, 22,274 patients have defeated the virus and returned home from the hospital after treatment.

  • In the last 24 hours 23,068 new cases of Corona have come to the country, 336 died

    There is a continuous decrease in the daily cases of coronavirus in the country. With the news of the corona vaccine coming in January by the central government, the pace of the slowing corona has given a lot of relief to the people. However, the crisis of the Corona epidemic is not yet over. At the same time, in the last 24 hours, 23,068 new cases of Kovid-19 have been reported in the country. While 336 patients lost their lives.

    According to the latest data from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday, 23,068 new cases of corona have been reported in the last 24 hours. After which the total number of cases has increased to 1,01,46,846. At the same time, after the death of 336 patients, the total number of dead has increased to 1,47,092. At the same time, there are 2,81,919 active cases. According to the ministry’s data, the number of patients who have been de-infected from corona in the country has risen to 97,17,834. In the last 24 hours, 24,661 patients have defeated the virus and returned home from the hospital after treatment. At present, the number of patients getting relieved from corona is 97,17,834.

  • One Million Americans Vaccinated Against Coronavirus In 10 Days

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took to its official Twitter handle as it announced that more than 1 million people have been vaccinated in the United States. Terming it as an ‘important milestone’, CDC said that with cases increasing, this news comes at a very critical time. The CDC director, Robert Redfield also took to his Twitter handle as he said that the government will continue to work closely with state, local, tribal, and territorial health departments and the federal partners to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

    “The U.S. has passed an early but important milestone in bringing the #COVID19 pandemic to an end. More than 1 million people received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the past 10 days. With #COVID19 cases surging nationwide, this comes at a critical time”, read the tweet by the CDC. According to a report by the department, it is providing recommendations to the federal government on who to give the vaccine first. These recommendations are given with the objective of decreasing death and serious disease as much as possible, preserving the functioning of society and reducing the extra burden COVID-19 is having on people already facing disparities. However, the first doses were mostly given to healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residents. This will be Phase 1a.

  • EU Authorises Pfizer/BioNTech’s Vaccine, Inoculation To Begin From Dec 27

    The European Union on December 21 authorised the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, with the first phase of the bloc’s mass inoculation programme to begin later this week. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said that it was recommending the shot be licensed for use in people over 16 years of age with some exceptions. In a press briefing, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen called the latest move “an important chapter” in the EU’s fight against COVID-19 and added that the vaccine will now be available for all EU countries at the same time and on the same conditions. 

    Von der Leyen informed that the first batches of the vaccine would be shipped from Pfizer’s manufacturing site in Belgium in the next few days, with vaccinations starting on December 27. Further, she added that the EU drug regulator would deliver their verdict on Moderna’s vaccine on January 6, potentially giving Europe a second tool with which to battle the unprecedented pandemic early in the new year. 

  • UNGA Chief Calls For ‘fair And Equal Distribution’ Of COVID-19 Vaccines To All Nations

    The United Nations General Assembly President, Volkan Bozkir, on Sunday, December 20, called for ensuring that vaccines against the novel coronavirus are available for all the people. On the occasion of Human Solidarity Day, Bozkir, during a virtual address said that the vaccines should be ‘fairly and equally accessible for all countries’. He urged people to lean into a sense of ‘one global community, one humanity, together’.

     Terming 2020 as ‘one of the most challenging years of existence’, Bozkir said that people need a sense of human solidarity as much as they ever did. He recalled the month of April, when Covid-19 was at its peak in New York City and he said “hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people, would stand on their balconies and cheer each day for the essential workers who were putting themselves on the line for the benefit of others”. He added, “the same occurred in other cities around the world”. He also spoke about the situation in Italy. 

  • Italy Detects New Strain Of Coronavirus In Person Who Had Returned From UK

    Italy, on Sunday, December 20, said that it has detected a new coronavirus strain from a person who has recently returned from the United Kingdom. This comes just after Italy, along with few other European countries, suspended flights with the UK over concerns of the new virus strain. As per the reports by ANI, the genome of the UK coronavirus strain has been established by experts of the Celio military hospital in Rome.

    To curb the spread of the new strain of the deadly virus, Johnson overturned guidelines across all ‘Tier 3’ areas, stating, that at the time of Christmas ‘Tier 4’ restrictions will apply in the South East—Kent, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Surrey exempt Waverley, Gosport, Havant, Portsmouth, Rother, Hastings and across all 32 boroughs and the City of London. The guidelines also applied to East of England’s Bedford, Central Bedford, Milton Keynes, Luton, Peterborough, Hertfordshire, and Essex. The Liberal Democrat leaders reportedly accused Johnson of acting too late, for being indecisive and ignoring the warnings earlier. Leader Ed Davey alleged that the UK PM acted too late, and totally failed the country. 

  • 2021 will be better for the countrymen, decisive success will be found in the war against Kovid: Dr. One who increases Joy

    The number of patients infected with Coronovirus has now crossed 10 million in the country. On Saturday, once again there is an increase in new cases coming up every day. Let us tell you that after America only one crore cases have been reported in India. In the last 24 hours, 25,153 new cases of Kovid-19 have been reported in the country. Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan has expressed hope that the coming new year will be much better for the people. He predicts that the people of India will soon have decisive success in the war against Corona. At the 22nd meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on corona virus, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that, today the 22nd meeting of the Group of Ministers was held. India’s recovery rate is the highest in the world at 95.46%. Our death rate is one of the lowest in the world, at 1.45%.

    The Union Minister further stated that, “More than 16 crore tests have been conducted all over India. We will be in a position to give vaccines to about 300 million people within the next 6-7 months. ” He said with confidence that “We are confident that the year of 2021 will be better for the countrymen and the people of India will get decisive success in the war against Kovid.”

  • Joe Biden, Kamala Harris To Take Oath At US Capitol Next Month In Virtual Ceremony

    US Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) announced on December 15 that President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take the oath of office at US Capitol next month. This comes after the Electoral College officially declared Joe Biden to be the next President of the US with 306 votes. However, in an update, the committee informed that the ceremony will be comparatively smaller due to the COVID-19 pandemic as it urged the people not to travel for the inauguration on January 20.

    In a press release, the Inaugural Committee stated that the ceremony will be scaled down to limited capacity with rigorous health and safety protocols. The President and the Vice President will be sworn in the tradition that started in 1801 with the first US President Thomas Jefferson taking oath in Washington.  According to the release, the committee was planning an event along with the Joint Congressional Committee honour the American tradition, however keeping it safe for safe from the spread of the novel coronavirus.