Coronavirus HIGHLIGHTS: AstraZeneca, Pfizer Vaccines Effective Against Delta Covid-19 Variants, Says Report
Coronavirus HIGHLIGHTS, Wednesday 23 June: The Delta Plus mutation of Covid-19 has posed another threat for the Country. Witnessing rising cases of Delta variant, the Union Health Ministry has declared it as 'variant of concern' in India. 22 cases of Delta Plus variant have been found, 16 of them being reported from Maharashtra and the remaining from Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. The three states have been put on alert. Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccine has shown the efficacy of 77.8 per cent from the trial conducted on 25,800 subjects across the country. US-based Pfizer on the other hand, is in its final stages to get approval for its Covid-19 vaccine in India.
Chandigarh administration imposes night curfew between 11:00 pm and 5 am.
We have around 42 cases of Delta Plus variant in India, so it is difficult to say whether it is causing anything on which we should be worried about, says AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Guleria.
One Case of Delta variant has been confirmed in Jammu and the patient has recovered: Government Medical College and Hospital
Pfizer is negotiating as far as the various clauses are concerned and they are close to reaching an agreement with the government. AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Guleria informed that once that process is done it will shortly be able to have Pfizer's covid vaccine in India.
Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar on Wednesday said that the first case of Delta Plus strain of Covid-19 has been reported in Mysuru and the infected person is asymptomatic.
"In Mysuru, one patient is infected with Delta Plus variant, whom we have isolated but he is asymptomatic and none of his primary and secondary contacts have it which is a good sign," Sudhakar said.
COVID-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and the Pfizer-BioNTech (PFE.N), (22UAy.DE) alliance remain broadly effective against Delta and Kappa variants of the COVID-19 causing virus, which were first identified in India, according to a scientific study, underpinning a continued push to deliver the shots.
The study by Oxford University researchers, published in the journal Cell, investigated the ability of antibodies in the blood from people, who were vaccinated with the two-shot regimens, to neutralize the highly contagious Delta and Kappa variants, a statement said.
Many people have been vaccinated with Covaxin which is yet to be authorised, so foreign countries are not accepting it. Thus students who want to go abroad are very worried, I would like to ask CS to write to Central Health Secretary for a remedy: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
States' re-opening strategy in the wake of decline in COVID cases is not "prudent" and might even result in rise in infections as vaccine coverage remains low in many states, global forecasting firm Oxford Economics said on Wednesday.
In a report, it also said, "we remain cautious and maintain our 2021 growth forecast at 9.1 per cent," citing that economic data does not support an upward revision at this point.
Mizoram's COVID-19 tally soared to 18,398 on Wednesday as 419 more people, including 103 jail inmates, tested positive for the infection, a health official said. All the infected prisoners are inmates of Central Jail, Aizawl, he said.
More than 70 children, six security personnel and two healthcare workers are also among the new patients, the official said. Also, 16 fresh cases were detected in an orphanage and rehabilitation centre in Aizawl where 528 infections were reported on June 21.
Aizawl district registered the highest number of new cases at 299, followed by Lawngtlai (52) and Kolasib (30), he said. Four patients have travel history, while the remaining 415 fresh infections were detected during contract tracing, the official said. The new cases were detected among 3,974 samples that were tested, with the highest single-day positivity rate of 10.82 per cent.
Mizoram now has 4,413 active cases, while 13,900 people have recovered from the disease and 85 patients have succumbed to the infection so far.
India reports 40 cases of Delta Plus variant of the novel coronavirus, most of the cases are from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is still a variant of interest: Government sources
India reports 50,848 new cases in last 24 hrs; active caseload down to 6,43,194; lowest in 82 days. The recovery rate rises to 96.56%. The daily positivity rate is at 2.67%: Health Ministry
Mizoram reported 4,124 total active cases, 103 recoveries and 1 death, yesterday. Total cases in the State at 17,979 and recovery rate at 76.59%
Kerala government has further relaxed the lockdown regulations, while cautioning the public against a possible third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the new relaxations would come into effect from Thursday, June 24.
As per the new guidelines, banks will function on Tuesdays and Thursdays also, but the public will not have access to the branches on these days. Places of worship can open, subject to a maximum of 15 persons at a time. However, liquor shops in local bodies bordering Tamil Nadu will remain closed because of the lockdown in that state
The highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus is the "greatest threat" to America's attempt to eradicate the COVID-19 pandemic, White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr Anthony Fauci has warned.
Speaking at a White House briefing on COVID-19 on Tuesday, Fauci said the variant, which was first identified in India, now makes up more than 20 per cent of all new cases in the US, a significant increase from nearly 10 per cent two weeks ago.
"Similar to the situation in the UK, the Delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the US to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19, Fauci told reporters during a virtual news conference here.
However, the good news is that the US vaccines are effective against the Delta variant, said Fauci, the head of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Conclusion, we have the tools, so let's use them and crush the outbreak, he asserted.
Karnataka has crossed the two crore mark with regard to vaccination of citizens against COVID-19. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said, "Karnataka achieved yet another milestone in Covid-19 vaccination by crossing 2 crore doses. Our aim is to vaccinate every eligible citizen by the end of this year and we are very much on course to accomplish it."
State health minister Dr K Sudhakar too shared the information on Twitter. "Karnataka has completed 2 crore vaccine doses. Our State is No. 1 in South India in vaccination. We are committed to vaccinating the entire adult population of the State before December 31, 2021," the minister said.
Background
Coronavirus HIGHLIGHTS, Wednesday 23 June: While the number of daily Covid cases has remained under 50,000 in past few days, the Delta Plus mutation Covid-19 has posed another threat for the Country. Witnessing rising cases of Delta Plus variant, the Union Health Ministry has declared it as 'variant of concern' in India. 22 cases of Delta Plus variant have been found, 16 of them being reported from Maharashtra and the remaining from Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. Maharashtra, Kerala and madhya Pradesh have been put on alert.
Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccine has shown the efficacy of 77.8 per cent from the trial conducted on 25,800 subjects across the country. US-based Pfizer on the other hand, is in its final stages to get approval for its Covid-19 vaccine in India.
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