The government has been taking several policy initiatives to...
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Govt extends Rs 5 lakh health covers free to all citizens of 70 yr and above irrespective of income
This aims to benefit approximately 4.5 crore families with six...
Govt clears ‘Mission Mausam’ with an outlay of Rs2,000 cr for transformative initiatives on climate-related science
The mission's focus will include improving observations and...
Domestic airfare cap, flight capacity to remain unchanged till May 31
Bengaluru, facing India’s second-highest COVID-19 surge, to enter lockdown
Microsoft, Amazon,Goldman Sachs are among the hundreds of multi-national firms with technology or IT operations in Bengaluru which employ thousands of English-speaking professionals.
Indian IT services giants including Infosys, Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services also have major operations in the city.
Govt asks Serum, Bharat Biotech to lower price of Covid vaccines: Report
The Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech has fixed the price of its COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, at Rs 600 per dose for state governments and at Rs 1,200 per dose for private hospitals.
The Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine maker in terms of volume, has announced a price of Rs 400 per dose for its COVID-19 vaccine, ‘Covishield’, for state governments and Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals.
Both vaccines are available to the central government at a rate of Rs 150 per dose.
Europe embraces digital health pass,to face security, fraud, political challenges
The EU Commission plans to award a contract this month for a central system for verifying the digital passes, which will use QR codes that can be scanned into a smartphone app. It will also provide a template to help member countries develop their own apps – though some have already readied their own versions.
There is still no consensus on whether antibody tests provide sufficient proof that a person who has recovered from COVID-19 is immune, sources involved in the efforts say.
Member states also worry about the security of personal information, though the Commission has promised the online certificates will contain minimal data: name, date of birth, the specific health information, its date of issue and a unique identifier code.
World’s fastest recovery outlook at risk as coronavirus sweeps India
That uncertainty doesn’t look to be going away in a hurry, with India adding more than 300,000 cases daily for at least three consecutive days last week, pushing the total infections to more than 16.5 million. While the outbreak has overwhelmed the nation’s hospitals and crematoriums, it’s also hit consumer confidence in an economy that was only beginning to recover from an unprecedented recession last year.
Italy imposes travel ban from India over COVID variant
Many countries including Hong Kong, US, UK, Kuwait, France, New Zealand and Canada , have banned flights from India, citing COVID-19 cases and the “double mutant” virus being found in the country.
Iran, Kuwait, Indonesia and UAE are the latest additions to this list of countries that have banned India from their citizens’ travel lists.
Govt bars use of liquid oxygen for non-medical purposes amid acute shortage
He said it was considered necessary to restrict industrial usage of oxygen for ensuring availability of adequate and uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen across the country for management of COVID-19 patients and necessary order in this regard was issued on April 22 to restrict the use of industrial oxygen.
Bharat Biotech seeks DCGI nod to extend shelf life of Covaxin: Report
The Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech was given permission for sale and distribution of Covaxin with shelf life of six months when stored at two to eight degrees Celsius.
Covid surge likely due to lack of antibodies in seropositive people: CSIR
According to the paper, the aggregate sero-positivity of 10.14 per cent in its multi-centre study suggests India had a large pool of recovered immune subjects by September 2020, especially amongst its high contact workers and people using public transport, leading to a decline in new infections.
“However, the duration of such immunity may not be sufficient to prevent future outbreaks, even in highly affected regions, the paper said.
Union Health Secretary writes to states for systematic implementation of vaccination Phase III
The document also mentions that it is necessary for all CVCs to declare vaccine type, stock and prices for vaccination services being offered from May 1 onwards.In order for the public to make informed choices, vaccine types and prices will be displayed in the ‘appointments’ section.