News Analysis India

Tag: Covishield

  • Change in COVID vaccination policy: Jabs at private centres to turn costlier from May 1

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: From May 1, the present system of private COVID-19 vaccination centres receiving doses from the government and charging up to Rs 250 per dose will cease to exist and they will procure directly from vaccine manufacturers.

    According to the Liberalised Pricing and Accelerated National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy, COVID-19 vaccination will continue to be free for eligible population groups comprising health care workers, frontline workers and population above 45 years of age in government COVID vaccination centres which receive doses from the Government of India.

    Vaccine manufacturers would make an advance declaration of the price for 50 per cent supply that would be available to state governments in the open market before May 1.

    Based on this price, states, private hospitals, industrial establishments may procure vaccine doses from manufacturers.

    Private hospitals would have to procure their supplies of COVID-19 vaccine exclusively from the 50 per cent supply earmarked for other than the Government of India channel.

    The price charged for vaccination by private hospitals would be monitored, it said.

    “Consequently the present dispensation where private COVID vaccination centres receive doses from the government and can charge up to Rs. 250 per dose will cease to exist,” the Union Health ministry document said.

    Vaccine manufacturers would supply 50 per cent of their monthly Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) released doses to the Government of India and would be free to supply remaining 50 per cent doses to state governments and in the open market.

    For Government of India vaccination centres, the eligible population would be the same which exists today that is healthcare workers (HCWs), frontline workers (FLWs) and population above 45 years of age.

    ALSO READ | Possible chaos, greater vaccine inequity due to production shortage: Cons of Modi government’s new policy outweigh pros

    For other than the government of India channel, the eligibility would be all adult citizens of the country, the document said.

     The COVID-19 vaccination will continue to be free for eligible population groups in all those Government COVID Vaccination Centres which receive vaccine doses from Government of India.

    All vaccination (through Govt. of India vaccination centres and other than Govt. of India channel) would be part of the National Vaccination Programme, will follow all existing guidelines, will be captured on CoWIN platform along with the stocks and price per vaccination applicable in all vaccination centres, will comply with Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) management and reporting, digital vaccination certificate and all other prescribed norms.

    The division of vaccine supply which would mean 50 per cent to Govt of India and 50 per cent to other than Govt of India channel would be applicable uniformly across for all vaccines manufactured in the country.

    However, the fully ready to use imported vaccine would be allowed to be utilized entirely in the other than Government of India channel.

    The Centre from its share, will allocate vaccines to states and UTs based on the criteria of performance (speed of administration, average consumption), extent of infections (number of active Covid cases), the document stated.

    Wastage of vaccine will also be considered in the criteria and will affect the allocation negatively.

    Based on the above criteria, state-wise quota would be decided and communicated to the states in advance.

    Second dose of all existing priority groups i.e. HCWs, FLWs and population above 45 years, where ever it has become due, would be given priority, for which a specific and focused strategy would be communicated to all stakeholders.

    This policy would come into effect from May 1 and will be reviewed from time to time.

    “The Government of India will make advance purchase offer for a maximum quantity that manufacturers commit to supply by a pre-defined period. Such an advance purchase provision signals Government’s willingness to pay upfront to vaccine manufacturers to enable them to augment their production and supply capacities,” the document said.

    In its phase-III, the National Vaccine Strategy aims at liberalized vaccine pricing and scaling up of vaccine coverage.

    This would incentivise vaccine manufacturers to rapidly scale up their production and also attract new vaccine manufacturers.

    It would make pricing, procurement and administration of vaccines more flexible and ensure augmented vaccine production as well as wider availability of vaccines in the country, the document said.

  • Possible chaos, greater vaccine inequity due to production shortage: Cons of Modi government’s new policy outweigh pros

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  A day after the Centre liberalised its Covid-19 vaccination policy, allowing states to procure doses directly from the manufacturers for the first time in Indian history, experts worried over the possible chaos and greater vaccine inequity it could create amid vaccine short supply and financial constraints.

    While two vaccines are being used as of now Covishield by Serum Institute of India and Covaxin by Bharat Biotech Russian vaccine Sputnik V is likely to be available in limited amounts in the coming weeks. On Monday, the Centre also made all above 18 years of age eligible for vaccination from May 1.

    In other words, nearly 94 crore in India are now eligible for the vaccine, while the current production is around 80 million per month.

    The new policy allows manufacturers a free hand to sell 50 per cent of their supply to states as well as in the open market at a pre-declared price. But most specialists felt that the new vaccination regime, especially when supply is scarce, could lead to a bigger mess.

    “We have a very well functional and equitable vaccination model in place for many decades under which the Centre procures the vaccines and distributes them among states based on their needs and quota,” former Union health secretary Sujatha K Rao The New Indian Express.

    Some others said that this policy is akin to inviting 100 people for a party even when there is food only for 20.

    A senior public health researcher said that it was very disappointing that of all the vaccination strategies possible, the government had chosen “the worst one”, adding that the private vaccine makers will benefit the most, people, especially the poor, will be the biggest losers.

    “States without any experience in vaccine procurement have been asked to take the programme in their hands. While some of the richer states can manage it to some extent, people in the backward ones will suffer the most.”

    Health economists stressed that the changed policy while boosting the demand for vaccines immediately, doesn’t talk about how sufficient supply will be generated.

    “The bargain for limited supply between states could drive up the prices making vaccines potentially unaffordable to relatively poorer states,” said health economist Rijo M John.

    “It may limit India’s ability to contain the pandemic at the national level.” A query seeking response on the concerns expressed by health experts from the Union health ministry and health secretary remained unanswered.

    WHOPPING DEMAND-SUPPLY GAP

    Beneficiaries for Covid in India from May 1: 94 crore.

    Present production capacity of Covishield: 6.5 crore per month.

    Production of Covaxin in March: 1.5 crore per month.

  • No restraining SII from using Covishield name for vaccine against COVID-19: Bombay HC

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to restrain Serum Institute of India Private Limited from using the name ‘Covishield’ for its vaccine against COVID-19 noting that such an order would create confusion and disruption in the vaccine administration programme.

    A division bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and CV Bhadang dismissed an appeal filed by pharmaceutical firm Cutis Biotech claiming trademark of the name ‘Covishield’ and seeking a direction to Serum Institute of India to stop using the name for its COVID-19 vaccine.

    The court in its order said it is now widely known that Covishield is a vaccine to counter coronavirus. “A temporary injunction directing Serum Institute to discontinue the use of mark ‘Covishield’ for its vaccine will cause confusion and disruption in the vaccine administration programme. In this case, thus, the grant of an injunction would have large-scale ramifications traversing beyond the parties to the suit,” the order said.

    It said the Union government had rolled out an extensive vaccination drive and, as on March 16, 66 million doses of Covishield have been supplied to the Centre, while some 59 million doses have been supplied to 72 countries.

    The bench added that the Union government had placed a further order of 10 crore doses of Covishield. “Serum Institute has, to date, made a sale amounting to Rs 37,507 lakh through the sale of Covishield vaccine. With these facts, the balance of convenience is not in favour of Cutis Biotech. Grant of injunction against Serum Institute would have a serious impact on its business,” the court said.

    The court, in its order, noted that neither Cutis Biotech nor Serum Institute have a registration for the trademark ‘Covishield’.

    Cutis Biotech, a Nanded-based pharmaceutical products selling firm, had based its case on the action of Serum Institute passing off a product under the name which has been used by it (Cutis Biotech) for its products in the past.

    In April last year, Cutis Biotech filed an application before the concerned authority for registration of the trademark ‘Covishield’. The name was proposed for some Ayurvedic, Allopathic, medicinal and pharmaceutical products sold by the company.

    Serum Institute counsel Birendra Saraf, while opposing the plea, said on June 6, 2020 that the company applied for registration of trademark ‘Covishield’ for its vaccine against coronavirus but has been using the term since March last year when it sought permission from the Union government to start clinical trials of the vaccine.

    The court in its order said there is adequate evidence to show prior adoption and use, but Serum Institute has also continued its use (of the trademark) without a break, and, till date, the company had produced 60 million Covishield vaccine doses per month, of which 48 million were supplied to the Union government.

    The bench further said that Serum Institute had coined the word ‘Covishield’ and took substantial steps towards its development and manufacture.

  • Government to provide Rs 4,500 crore booster to vaccine manufacturers for ramping up capacity

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Looking to ramp up supplies ahead of the opening of Covid-19 vaccination to all citizens over 18 years of age, the government has approved a payment of about Rs 4,500 crore as advance to vaccine makers like Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech against future supplies, sources said.

    SII will supply 200 million doses and Bharat Biotech is to supply another 90 million doses to the government by July at a pre-agreed rate of Rs 150 per dose.

    Sources said the finance ministry has relaxed rules to allow advance payment without bank guarantee to help the vaccine makers ramp up production.

    SII will get Rs 3,000 crore in advance and Bharat Biotech about Rs 1,500 crore.

    Earlier this month, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla had said that the company would require around Rs 3,000 crore to ramp up production capacity for making vaccines for COVID-19.

    Meanwhile, the government on Monday allowed citizens over the age of 18 years to receive Covid-19 vaccination from May 1 as it seeks to control the rapid spread of the virus.

    ALSO READ | COVID clinical symptoms, CT scans/X-rays should be used to rule out false negatives: Experts

    Under the third phase of its vaccination strategy, manufacturers will be required to supply 50 per cent of their monthly doses to the government and the rest to state governments or the open market.

    Vaccination will continue as before in the government of India vaccination centres free of cost for the eligible population — healthcare and frontline workers and all people above 45 years of age.

    Latest data showed that over 2.59 lakh coronavirus infections pushed overall cases in India to more than 1.53 crore, making the country the second-worst affected nation after the US, which has reported more than 3.1 crore infections.

    India’s deaths from COVID-19 rose by a record 1,761 to over 1.8 lakh.

    ALSO READ | Remdesivir not magic bullet, does not reduce mortality against COVID-19, say health experts

    Under the third phase of the national vaccination drive commencing next month, the vaccine manufacturers would supply 50 per cent of their monthly Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) released doses to the central government and would be free to supply the remaining 50 per cent doses to state governments and in the open market.

    Manufacturers would have to make an advance declaration of the price for the 50 per cent supply that would be available to the state governments and in the open market before May 1, 2021, an official statement by the Union Health Ministry said.

    Based on this price, state governments, private hospitals, industrial establishments, etc., would be able to procure vaccine doses from the manufacturers.

    Private hospitals would have to procure their supplies of COVID-19 vaccine exclusively from the 50 per cent supply earmarked for entities other than those coming through the central government channel.

    “The private vaccination providers would need to transparently declare their self-set vaccination price and the eligibility through this channel would be opened up to all adults, that is everyone above the age of 18,” the statement added.

    Vaccination will continue as before in the government of India vaccination centres free of cost to the eligible population — healthcare and frontline workers and all people above 45 years of age.

    ALSO READ | Johnson & Johnson seeks permission for phase-III trial of its COVID vaccine in India, import licence

    The Health Ministry said the important decision to allow vaccination to everyone above the age of 18 from May 1 was taken in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    “Prime Minister said that the government has been working hard for over a year to ensure that maximum numbers of Indians are able to get the vaccine in the shortest possible of time.

    He added that India is vaccinating people at world record pace and we will continue this with even greater momentum,” it added.

    The decisions came as India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases crossed the grim milestone of 1.5 crore with a record single-day rise of 2,73,810 infections and the death toll increased to 1,78,769 with a record 1,619 daily new fatalities, according to data updated Monday morning.

    Also, the cumulative vaccine doses administered across the country has reached 12,38,52,566, according to the government data.

    ALSO READ | ‘Second Covid-19 wave in Delhi likely to peak within a week’: Experts predict grim situation for national capital

    All vaccinations will be under the Liberalised and Accelerated Phase 3 Strategy of the National COVID-19 Vaccination programme and will have to follow all protocol such as being captured on CoWIN platform, linked to AEFI reporting and all other prescribed norms.

    Stocks and price per vaccination applicable in all vaccination centres will also have to be reported real-time.

    The division of vaccine supply 50 per cent to the Government of India and 50 per cent to other channels would be applicable uniformly across for all vaccines manufactured in the country.

    “However, Government of India will allow the imported fully ready to use vaccines to be entirely utilized in the other than government of India channel.

    “The government of India from its share will allocate vaccines to states and UTs based on the criteria of extent of infection (number of active COVID cases) and performance (speed of administration). Wastage of vaccine will also be considered in this criteria and will affect the criteria negatively. Based on the above criteria, state-wise quota would be decided and communicated to the states adequately in advance,” the statement stated.

    Second dose of all existing priority groups — healthcare workers, frontline workers and population above 45 years, wherever it has become due, would be given priority, for which a specific and focused strategy would be communicated to all stakeholders.

    The strategy will be reviewed from time to time.

    The ministry, in its statement, stated that India’s approach has been built on scientific and epidemiological pillars, guided by global best practices, SoPs of WHO as well as India’s foremost experts in the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC).

    India has been following a dynamic mapping model based on availability of vaccines and coverage of vulnerable priority groups to take decisions of when to open up vaccinations to other age-groups.

    A good amount of coverage of vulnerable groups is expected by April 30.

    ALSO READ | ‘Non-serious people questioning India’: Jaishankar rejects criticism over export of COVID-19 vaccines

    Phase-I of the National COVID-18 Vaccination Strategy was launched on January 16, prioritizing protection for healthcare workers and frontline workers.

    Phase-II was initiated from March 1, focusing on protecting most vulnerable i.e. all people above 45 years of age, accounting for more than 80 per cent COVID-19 mortality in the country.

    The private sector was also roped in to augment capacity.

    The strength of India’s private sector vaccine manufacturing capability has been strategically empowered through unprecedented decisive steps, from facilitating public-private collaborative research, trials and product development, to targeted public grants and far-reaching governance reforms in India’s regulatory system.

    On PM Modi’s instructions, India is in regular touch with each manufacturer, including having sent multiple inter-ministerial teams on site, to understand each one’s requirements and provide proactive and customized support in the form of grants, advance payments, more sites for production, etc., to ramp up vaccine production, the ministry said.

    This has resulted in emergency use authorisation being granted to two vaccines — Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Covishield being manufactured by Serum Institute of India — and a third vaccine (Sputnik V) that is presently being manufactured abroad and will eventually be manufactured in India, the statement said.

  • COVID-19: Many Maharashtra districts face vaccine shortage, inoculation centres being closed

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday said the state has 14 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine which would last only three days, and many inoculation centres were being closed due to the shortage of the vaccine.

    Talking to reporters here, Tope said people coming to such centres for taking jabs were being sent back as there was no supply of vaccine doses.

    “Fourteen lakh doses are available now which would last three days. We need 40 lakh vaccine doses every week. We can then administer six lakh doses every day in a week. The doses we are getting are not enough,” he said.

    Tope said the state government was earlier vaccinating four lakh people in a day.

    “We accepted the challenge from the Centre to expedite the vaccination drive to six lakh per day. Now, we were vaccinating nearly 5 lakh people in a day,” he said.

    The minister urged the Centre to give priority to Maharashtra, since the coronavirus cases were more in the state and the overall death toll was over 50,000.

    “Most of those infected now are in the age group of 25 to 40 years,” he said.

    There is an urgent need to control the viral infection by increasing the immunity level of people and creating antibodies, Tope said.

    He also urged the National Centre for Disease Control to inform the states if the present infection spread is because of a new mutant strain of the virus.

    “If that is the case, please tell us what is the course of medication,” he said.

    Earlier in the day, state principle secretary (health) Pradeep Vyas told PTI that several districts in Maharashtra will run out of the COVID-19 vaccine stock “today or tomorrow” and the Centre has been informed about it.

    Maharashtra can easily administer five lakh vaccine doses in a day if there is a clarity on schedule and availability, the official said.

    Tope said about 1,200 metric tonne oxygen is being manufactured in the state every day and the daily consumption is 700 metric tonne, of which 80 per cent is for medical use.

    The minister said he has urged the Centre to direct neighbouring states to facilitate oxygen suppply to Maharashtra.

    Tope also asked all private doctors not to prescribe Remdesivir injections irrationally to hike the bills of COVID-19 patients, and that they should also follow the central government’s guidelines on the use of the medicine.

    He said Maharashtra has followed the ‘3T’ (testing, tracing and treatment) principles strictly and taken all steps to ensure COVID-appropriate behaviour by imposing prohibitory orders and night curfew to stop crowding.

    Nearly 82 lakh people have been vaccinated so far in Maharashtra since the roll-out of the inoculation drive.

    An official statement on Tuesday said Maharashtra had received 1.06 crore doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, out of which 88 lakh doses have been used while the wastage stood at three per cent.

    It said the state government will vigorously pursue its demand for more stock of vaccine doses, considering the rapid rise in the COVID-19 cases and expansion of the vaccination drive.

    Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow people above 25 years to receive COVID-19 shots, which he said will protect the young people from the rapid spread of the viral infection at a time when they are stepping outside their homes to earn a livelihood.

    In a letter to the PM, Thackeray also demanded that Maharashtra be provided 1.5 crore additional doses of vaccines, which will enable the state government to complete within three weeks the vaccination of beneficiaries above 45 years of age in six districts, including Mumbai.

  • India records 89,129 Covid-19 cases, biggest one-day spike since late September

    By Online Desk
    India recorded 89,129 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day spike since September 2020, taking the total tally to 1,23,92,260 on Saturday.

    The country has been recording an unabated spike in cases from over three weeks.

    Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Haryana are states of “grave concern”.

    Daily cases in the country peaked on September 16, 2020, with 97,894 people testing positive for the virus in a single day.

    The active cases have now increased to 6,58,909 comprising 5.32 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 93.36 per cent.

    Meanwhile, the death toll increased to 1,64,110 on Saturday with 714 new fatalities.

    READ HERE | Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray warns of shortage of health facilities, says lockdown can not be ruled out

    The number of people who have recovered from the disease surged to 1,15,69,241, while the case fatality rate stood at 1.32 per cent, the data stated.

    A total of 24,69,59,192 samples tested for Covid-19 as of Friday.

    Of these, 10,46,605 samples were tested on Friday, said the Indian Council of Medical Research.

    The Centre has advised high-burden states and union territories to take stringent measures for containment of the surge.

    So far, 7.30 crore doses of the corona vaccine have been administered in the country since the drive began on January 16 after approval for ‘Covishield’ and ‘Covaxin’.

    (With inputs from agencies)

  • DCGI extends shelf life of Covishield from 6 to 9 months

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India’s drug regulator DCGI has extended the shelf life of Covishield, the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, from six to nine months from its manufacturing date.

    In a letter to the Serum Institute of India, Drugs Controller General of India V G Somani said the SII is permitted to apply the shelf life of nine months to unlabelled vials available on hand.

    Shelf life is the length of time for which an item remains fit for use.

    The DCGI said it has no objection in respect of ‘Extension of Shelf Life of Covishield Vaccine’ in multi-dose glass vial (10 dose-5ml) from six months to nine months.

    “You are permitted to apply the shelf life of nine months to unlabelled vials available on hand, subject to the condition that the details of such stock, batch-wise, shall be submitted to this office and Central Drugs Laboratory, Kasauli,” Somani said in the letter. 

  • Serum Institute seeks Modi government’s nod to give 50 lakh Covishield doses to UK

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, Serum Institute of India, has sought permission from the Centre to supply 50 lakh doses of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield to the United Kingdom, citing an agreement with AstraZeneca in this regard.

    It has, however, assured India that its own anti-coronavirus vaccination programme will not be disturbed because of this supply.

    This development came amid reports that the UK’s anti-coronavirus inoculation programme has been hit due to a delay in the supply of the second batch of vaccines.

    In a communique to Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Tuesday, the Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), Prakash Kumar Singh, sought permission to supply 50 lakh doses of Covishield stating that India’s anti-coronavirus vaccination programme will not be affected.

    It referred to a license agreement between AstraZeneca UK Limited and the Serum Institute of India in June 2020 with relation to technology transfer from AZ for manufacture and supply of Covishield.

    ALSO READ | AstraZeneca may have used outdated information in COVID vaccine trial: US federal health officials

    “Under this agreement, it was agreed that Serum Institute of India will supply any AstraZeneca country where AstraZeneca has commitments anywhere in the world. It was further agreed that, in return for getting access to the AZ technology AZD1222, Serum Institute Of India Pvt. Ltd will treat AstraZeneca as a priority customer, whether it is for drug substance or finished product,” Singh stated.

    According to the agreement, Serum Institute has to supply millions of doses of Covishield to AstraZeneca according to their requirement.

    “We have to supply at least 50 lakh doses to AstraZeneca immediately for use in the UK.”

    “This is of utmost priority as AstraZeneca has conveyed and is also reminding us of our obligation to supply Covishield to them according to the agreement. AstraZeneca and representative of the UK Government have also conveyed to us today morning that if these minimum 50 lakh doses are not supplied to the UK immediately this week then the UK government might have to halt the vaccination programme,” Singh said.

    The letter also reminded the government that the Serum Institute has received the technology to manufacture Covishield from AstraZeneca-Oxford and need to honour the commitment to supply at least 50 lakh doses of the vaccine.

    “We are sure, considering the gravity of the situation and prestige of our company as well as our country is at stake, you will definitely intervene and give permission to us to supply at least 50 lakh doses of Covishield to the UK this week. We will be highly obliged for the same. We assure you that the Government of India’s vaccination programme will not be disturbed because of this supply,” Singh stated.

  • India using more vaccine doses at home, here are the numbers

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The concerns that India is sending more Covid-19 vaccine doses outside than using them at home may be unfounded as the government has supplied 75 million doses to states so far while 59 million doses have been exported or donated. 

    However, there is still not enough supply to allow vaccination of all above 45 years as demanded by some states. As per Union Ministry of Health, 7.54 crore doses of Covishield and Covaxin have been supplied so far.  The country has supplied 59 million doses of these two vaccines as part of the individual agreement by the vaccine makers, an international agreement involving the WHO or vaccine diplomacy by India. 

    “As of now we are in a comfortable situation for the national vaccination drive but we will definitely need faster supply of vaccines as it picks up pace,” a senior health ministry official said.  States like West Bengal and Rajasthan, have complained about inadequate availability of vaccines.

    The Centre has maintained that there is no supply issue but sources in the National Expert Group on Covid-19 Vaccine Administration told this newspaper that a plan to include all above 50 years in the vaccination coverage had been delayed, precisely for this reason.

    “As the drive has picked up now and daily vaccination numbers have even crossed 2-3 million mark on certain days, we definitely need a bigger stock before the coverage criteria is further relaxed,” said a member of the committee.

    It is for this reason, possibly, that only five million doses out of ten million doses agreed- to be sent to the UK by the Serum Institute of India which is manufacturing Covid19 vaccine by AstraZeneca-Oxford University under the brand name of Covishield, has been supplied.

    “Five million doses had been delivered a few weeks ago to the UK and we will try to supply more later, based on the current situation and the requirement for the government immunisation programme in India,” said the company.

    Punjab extends night curfew in nine districtsWarning of several more tough measures and restrictions over the next few days, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh on Thursday announced a two-hour extension in the night curfew in the nine worst affected districts. Night curfew will now be in place from 9 pm to 5 am, instead of 11 pm to 5 am, in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Mohali, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Ropar. All these districts are reporting more than 100 Coivid cases daily.

    The announcement came as daily cases shot up to 2,039 with 35 deaths on Wednesday. The CM said Covid situation was critical and that he was going to be tough.  Several other stringent measures, including restrictions on gatherings, will be announced after discussions with the state government’s expert Covid team, he said. Whether these will include restrictions on political gatherings was also something that will be decided as per the team’s advice, he added.

    Airlines start to act against mask violatorsAmid rising Covid-19 cases, airlines have started acting against those passengers who are refusing to wear masks in the flights as per recent guidelines issued by the aviation regulator. Indigo, Air Asia and Alliance Air have acted against eight such travellers in the last few days. As per recent guidelines by the DGCA, strict action will be taken against those passengers who refuse to wear masks. Such passengers can be put on the no-fly list or in harsher situations be even handed over to the security officials. Officials said that DGCA is monitoring and airlines have been asked to take appropriate actions for not following rules.

    35,871 New cases in 24 hrs

    140  Tests per day

    No of tests done  23 crore

  • Centre assures there’s ‘no signal of concern’ regarding use of Covishield vaccine in India

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Amid reports of possible side-effects of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and its suspension in some European countries, the government on Wednesday said there is “no signal of concern” regarding its use in the country as of now.

    Asked about the suspension of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in some European countries, Dr VK Paul, NITI Aayog member (Health) told a weekly press conference here that it has only been done as a precautionary measure.

    Concerns about AstraZeneca’s vaccine relationship with thrombotic events in people who received the vaccine have come to light and as a result, about 10 European countries have paused their AstraZeneca vaccination programme, he said.

    “The European medical agency says it is a precautionary measure and there is no data to believe, as of now, the causal relationship between the vaccine and the adverse events. The assessment is still being done,” Paul added.

    ALSO WATCH:He said the World Health Organization (WHO) has said as a precaution, investigation should go on and has categorically said not to suspend the vaccination.

    “India’s own committee that looks at adverse effects is seized of this issue. For the last few days, it is tracking the information that is available to us in a very systematic manner and again I assure you that we have no signal of concern in this regard.”

    Therefore, clearly our vaccination programme with Covishield will go on with full vigour.

    “We are mindful of the fact to address this concern, based on the emerging situation. As of today, there is no concern at all with regard to Covishield,” Paul said.