News Analysis India

Tag: Pandemic

  • Covishield production in full swing in Pune, says Poonawalla 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Serum Institute of India CEO Aadar Poonawalla has said that the production of COVID-19 vaccine Covishield is in full swing in Pune and he will review the operations once he is back in the country.

    Poonawalla is currently in the UK to meet his family members. “Had an excellent meeting with all our partners & stakeholders in the UK. Meanwhile, pleased to state that COVISHIELD’s production is in full swing in Pune. I look forward to reviewing operations upon my return in a few days,” Poonawalla said in a tweet.

    India rolled out the third phase of its COVID-19 vaccination drive for those in the age group of 18-45 years on Saturday though the inoculation process failed to take off in some states due to shortage of vaccines.

    While Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir among other states and union territories launched the vaccination drive, Karnataka and Odisha made only a symbolic start to it.

    Poonawalla on Saturday had spoken out about the pressures he was under over the production of COVID-19 vaccines to meet the ever-increasing demand in India as the country battles through a devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

    In his first comments since he was provided with Y category security by the government earlier this week, Poonawalla told ‘The Times’ in an interview about receiving aggressive calls from some of the most powerful people in India, demanding supplies of Covishield — the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine that the Serum Institute is producing in India.

    That pressure is largely behind his decision to fly into London to be with his wife and children, the 40-year-old entrepreneur had said.

    The businessman indicated in the interview that his move to London is also linked to business plans to expand vaccine manufacturing to countries outside India, which may include the likes of the UK.

    Last week, SII announced a cut in price of the jab it plans to sell to states to Rs 300 per dose from the earlier Rs 400.

    The price cut came after a widespread criticism of its pricing policy as it had sold the initial doses of Covishield to the central government at Rs 150 per dose. Covishield is the most used COVID-19 vaccine in India. It along with Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is being used by the government for vaccination in the country.

  • Will return to India in a few days, says Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla has said he will return to India from London in a few days.

    Poonawalla made the announcement soon after he spoke out about the pressures he was under over the production of COVID-19 vaccines to meet the ever-increasing demand in India as the country battles through a devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

    “Had an excellent meeting with all our partners & stakeholders in the U.K. Meanwhile, pleased to state that COVISHIELD’s production is in full swing in Pune. I look forward to reviewing operations upon my return in a few days,” Poonawalla said in a midnight tweet.

    In his first comments since he was provided with ‘Y’ category security by the Indian government earlier this week, Poonawalla had told ‘The Times’ in an interview about receiving aggressive calls from some of the most powerful people in India, demanding supplies of Covishield — the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine that the Serum Institute is producing in India.

    That pressure was largely behind his decision to fly into London to be with his wife and children, the 40-year-old entrepreneur had said in the interview on Saturday.

    “I’m staying here (London) for an extended time because I don’t want to go back to that situation. Everything falls on my shoulders but I can’t do it alone. I don’t want to be in a situation where you are just trying to do your job, and just because you can’t supply the needs of X, Y or Z you really don’t want to guess what they are going to do,” Poonawalla had told the newspaper.

    According to Indian government officials, the protection to Poonawalla has been given in view of “potential threats” to him.

    Armed commandos of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will be with him every time he travels to any part of the country, they said and added that the ‘Y’ security cover will entail a posse of about 4-5 armed commandos.

    “The level of expectation and aggression is really unprecedented. It’s overwhelming. Everyone feels they should get the vaccine. They can’t understand why anyone else should get it before them,” Poonawalla had said.

    The businessman had indicated in the interview that his move to London is also linked to business plans to expand vaccine manufacturing to countries outside India, which may include the likes of the UK.

    “There’s going to be an announcement in the next few days,” he had said when asked about Britain as one of the production bases outside India.

    According to the newspaper, by the time the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was approved in January this year, the Serum Institute of India (SII) had increased its annual production capacity from 1.5 to 2.5 billion doses at a cost of USD 800 million, and stockpiled 50 million doses of Covishield.

    The company began exporting to 68 countries, including Britain, as India seemed to have been over the worse, until the situation worsened in recent weeks.

    “We’re really grasping for all the help we can get,” Poonawalla had said in the ‘Times’ interview. “I don’t think even God could have forecast it was going to get this bad,” he had said.

    India’s daily coronavirus tally crossed the grim milestone of four lakh, while the death toll rose to 2,11,853 with 3,523 fresh fatalities, according to date updated by the Union Health Ministry on Saturday.

    The infection tally rose to 1,91,64,969 with 4,01,993 new cases, while the active cases crossed the 32-lakh mark, the data updated at 8 am on Saturday showed.

    Registering a steady increase, the active cases stood at 32,68,710, accounting for 17.06 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate further dropped to 81.84 per cent.

  • Allocation of remdesivir for states increased significantly: Sadananda Gowda

    By PTI
    Allocation of antiviral drug remdesivir, which is used in the treatment of COVID-19, has been increased significantly to states to ensure uninterrupted supply to patients, Union minister Sadananda Gowda said on Saturday.

    The chemicals and fertilizers minister also said that medical oxygen allotment for Karnataka has also been increased.

    In a tweet, Gowda said, “To ensure adequate uninterrupted supply to the needy COVID-19 patients allocation of #Remdesivir for the states has been significantly increased.”

    In another tweet, the minister said, “Medical oxygen allotment for Karnataka has also been increased from 802 MT/day to 865 MT/day.” A total of 34.5 lakh remdesivir vials are allocated to the states and union territories from April 21 to May 9, 2021, Gowda said.

    This includes earlier allocation made for the period of April 21 to May 2, 2021 issued by letter issued April 29, 2021.

  • India adds 3.23 lakh new COVID-19 cases in single day; toll nears 2 lakh

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: With 3,23,144 people testing positive for the coronavirus in a day, India’s infection tally has climbed to 1,76,36,307, while the national recovery rate further dropped to 82.54 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

    The death toll mounted to 1,97,894 with 2,771 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. There has been a slight dip in the daily cases as compared to the number of new infections reported in the past few days.

    The active case count has increased to 28,82,204 comprising 16.34 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has further dropped to 82.54 per cent, from 82.62 per cent reported on Monday.

    The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.33 per cent on February 17. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,45,56,209 while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.12 per cent, the data stated.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7; 30 lakh on August 23; 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28; 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29; 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India crossed the grim milestone of 1.50 crore on April 19. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 28,09,79,877 samples have been tested up to April 26 with 16,58,700 samples being tested on Monday.

    The 2,771 new fatalities include 524 from Maharashtra, 380 from Delhi, 249 from Uttar Pradesh, 226 from Chhattisgarh, 201 from Karnataka, 158 from Gujarat and 124 from Jharkhand.

    A total of 1,97,894 deaths linked to the virus have been reported so far in the country including 65,284 from Maharashtra, 14,628 from Delhi, 14,627 from Karnataka, 13,651 from Tamil Nadu, 11,414 from Uttar Pradesh, 11,009 from West Bengal, 8,530 from Punjab, 7,736 from Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh 7,536.

    The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

  • Can’t allow India to become ‘battlefield’ for oxygen, ventilators, Remdesivir: Pilot

    Pilot called for transparent parameters and criteria for allocation and distribution of essentials such as ventilators, oxygen and Remdesivir.

  • Gehlot apprises Sonia Gandhi of COVID-19 situation in Rajasthan

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: Amid the spiralling number of COVID-19 cases in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday apprised Congress president Sonia Gandhi of the coronavirus crisis in the state, sources in the chief minister’s office (CMO) said.

    Speaking to Gandhi on phone, Gehlot informed her about the shortage of oxygen tankers and medicines for COVID-19 patients in the state, they said.

    Meanwhile, a Group of Ministers (GoM) comprising Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma, Urban Development Minister Shanti Dhariwal and Energy Minister B D Kalla reached Delhi on Tuesday to meet Union ministers and officials to apprise them of the shortage of oxygen and medicines in the state, an official spokesperson said.

    They will meet Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, among others, for the resolution of these issues, the spokesperson said.

    On Monday, Rajasthan registered 16,438 fresh COVID-19 cases that pushed the state’s total tally to 5,30,875. With a record daily rise of 84 fatalities, the death toll climbed to 3,685, according to an official report.

  • Madhya Pradesh proposes special package for industries to increase oxygen production

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh government is planning to offer a special package to industrial units to increase the production of oxygen and set up new plants of the life-saving gas in the wake of a spike in COVID-19 cases, a senior official said on Tuesday.

    The package will also be offered to pre-existing and operational medical colleges, hospitals and nursing homes provided they set up units for the production of oxygen or its storage cylinders, MP industries department’s principal secretary Sanjay Shukla said.

    “We have prepared a draft policy for offering a special package to improve the oxygen production capacity in Madhya Pradesh, and micro, small, medium and large greenfield industrial units, existing oxygen producing units interested in capacity expansion are eligible to avail it,” he said.

    The package will be offered to those interested in the production of oxygen, its cylinders, oxygen concentrators, cryogenic containers and vessels, and related equipment, he said.

    “The units with a minimum oxygen production capacity of 10 cubic metre per hour would be eligible to avail the incentives under the special package,” Shukla said.

    Under the package, a basic assistance will be given at a flat rate of 50 per cent of the investment made in a plant, machinery and building (excluding land and residential facilities) with a cap of Rs 75 crore, he said.

    The eligible units will also be offered 50 per cent of the expenditure incurred on maintaining safety standards, like firefighting equipment, the official said.

    Besides, it will also offer a rebate of Re 1 per unit on the prevailing power tariff, which will be in addition to any other rebate already offered by the MP Electricity Regulatory Commission (MPERC).

    The rebate can be availed for three years from the commercial date of production, he added. On Monday, Madhya Pradesh reported 12,686 COVID-19 cases, taking the tally above the five lakh-mark.

    The state’s caseload stands at 5,11,990, including 5,221 deaths. In April so far, the state has recorded 2,16,479 new COVID-19 cases and 1,235 deaths due to the disease, as per official data.

  • Can’t be mute spectator in national crisis, don’t intend to supplant HC cases on COVID-19: SC

    A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud said high courts are in a better position to monitor the pandemic situation within their territorial boundaries.

  • Is it not time to declare health emergency: Veerappa Moily on COVID-19 situation

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily has hit out at the government over its handling of the COVID-19 crisis and called for concrete steps such as declaring a health emergency to deal with the pandemic.

    Pointing to the rising cases across the country, Moily asked is this not the time to declare a heath emergency followed by a financial emergency.

    In a statement, the former Union minister said Kumbh Mela and political gatherings in West Bengal had led to COVID-19 resurgence.

    “We need concrete actions both at the international, national, state and district levels to contain the second wave from going out of hand,” he said.

    Moily’s remarks come amid a steep rise in coronavirus cases in the country with over two lakh new infections being recorded daily in the last three days.

  • PM reviews COVID-19 surge, calls for utilising all private, public facilities to ramp up vaccine production

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: As the daily COVID-19 cases surged to a staggering record-high level, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reviewed the availability and supply of ventilators, oxygen and medicines to fight this pandemic and called for utilising the entire national capacity across private and public sectors to produce vaccines, amid concerns in various states about lack of these essentials.

    Chairing a meeting to review the status of preparedness to handle the COVID-19 situation, Modi said local administrations needed to be proactive and sensitive to people’s concerns.

    These remarks assume significance in the backdrop of reports of COVID-19 patients and their families accusing the authorities in several states of apathy in providing treatment.

    Modi said there is no substitute for ‘testing, tracking and treatment’, and that early testing and proper tracking remain key to reducing mortality.

    “Together India had defeated COVID-19 last year and India can do it again, with the same principles but faster speed and coordination,” he said.

    Directing officials to ensure close coordination with states, he said all necessary measures must be taken to ramp up the availability of hospital beds for COVID patients and that additional supply of beds through temporary hospitals and isolation centres should be ensured.

    He also spoke about a need to utilise the full potential of India’s pharmaceutical industry to meet the rising demand of various medicines and reviewed the status of the supply of Remdesivir and other medicines.

    On the issue of vaccination, the prime minister directed all officials to make efforts to utilize the entire national capacity, in the public as well as the private sector, to ramp up vaccine production.

    Later in a tweet, Modi said, “Reviewed preparedness to handle the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Aspects relating to medicines, oxygen, ventilators and vaccination were discussed. Like we did last year, we will successfully fight COVID with even greater speed and coordination.”

    The meeting came in the midst of a huge surge in COVID-19 cases across the country with reports pouring in from many states about the shortage of hospital facilities and essentials like oxygen supply.

    The prime minister has been holding meetings with chief ministers and officials on a regular basis to discuss the situation and take measures to curb the pandemic.

    A record single-day rise of 2,34,692 cases and 1,341 fatalities have pushed India’s COVID-19 tally to 1,45,26,609 and the death toll due to the viral disease to 1,75,649, the health ministry said earlier on Saturday.

    The number of active coronavirus cases in the country has also surpassed the 16-lakh mark, the ministry’s data updated at 8 am showed.

    Registering a steady increase for the 38th day in a row, the tally of active COVID-19 cases has climbed to 16,79,740 in the country, accounting for 11.56 per cent of its total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 87.23 per cent.

    In the meeting, Modi was joined by Cabinet Secretary, Principal Secretary to PM, Union Home Secretary, Union Health Secretary and the Pharmaceutical Secretary, among others while Dr V K Paul, Member, Niti Aayog, was also present.

    An official statement said Modi was briefed on actions taken to address the issue of the availability of Remdesivir.

    “Through the efforts of the government, capacity and production augmentation for manufacturing of Remdesivir has been ramped up to provide around 74.

    10 lakh vials/month in May while the normal production output in January-February being just 27-29 lakh vials/month,” it noted.

    Supplies have also increased from 67,900 vials on 11th April going up to over 2,06,000 vials on 15th April 2021 which are being particularly focused on states with high caseload and high demand, it added.

    Modi took note of the ramped-up production capacity and directed that issues relating to real-time supply chain management to states.

    The prime minister directed that the use of Remdesivir and other medicines must be in accordance with approved medical guidelines and that their misuse and black marketing must be strictly curbed.

    On the issue of the supply of medical oxygen, Modi directed that the installation of approved medical oxygen plants should be sped up.

    According to the statement, 162 PSA oxygen plants are being installed in 32 states and UTs from the PM CARES fund. Modi was informed that one lakh cylinders are being procured and will be supplied to states soon.

    The statement said officials told Modi that they are in constant touch with 12 high burden states in assessing the current and future requirement of medical oxygen. A supply mapping plan for 12 high burden states till April 30 has also been undertaken.

    Modi also said that the supply of oxygen required for the production of medicines and equipment necessary to handle the pandemic should also be ensured.

    Reviewing the status of availability and supply of ventilators, Modi noted that a real-time monitoring system has been created, and directed that state government concerned should be sensitized to use the system pro-actively.