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Govt plans two-day halt in vaccinations for software upgrade to widen campaign

“The countrywide vaccination exercise is being exponentially expanded,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that a new version of its Co-Win digital platform was being rolled out at the weekend.

Co-Win, wrapped into a government mobile telephone app, is being widely used to fix vaccination appointments, allow health authorities to monitor supplies and download proof of immunisation.

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Indians allowed to choose vaccination sites as government seeks faster roll-out

But the inoculation campaign has progressed slower than expected due to a reluctance of health and front-line workers to take the home-grown COVAXIN shot that was approved without late-stage efficacy data. Only 11% of vaccinated people have opted for the product developed by Bharat Biotech and the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research.

With the world’s highest tally of infections after the United States, India wants to vaccinate 300 million of its 1.35 billion people by August. The decision to give people a choice of vaccines could now speed up the roll-out, officials believe.

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India’s economy exits from recession, recovery seen gathering pace ​​​​​​​

Gross domestic product grew 0.4% in October-December compared with the same period a year earlier, data released by the National Statistics Office on Friday showed. That compared with revised contractions of 7.3% in July-September and 24.4% in April-June.

Investment recorded its first growth since December 2019, growing at 2.6% compared to a revised 6.8% fall in the previous quarter, while weakness in consumer demand eased.

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Indian Insurance industry has recovered, pays Rs 9,000 crore Covid-19 pandemic claims :IRDAI Chief

While stressing the importance of Customer Data privacy, Khuntia added that the usage of data beyond a point of granularity should be avoided and insurers should not deny a coverage to the people on the ground, which is not under the control of the customers.
He was addressing a seminar on the theme of “Navigating Uncertainty: Insight-Driven Innovation “ organized by National Insurance Academy, in association with Swiss Re, on Friday.

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Climate pledges for 2030 put world far off 1.5C goal, UN warns

Only two of the 18 largest emitters – Britain and the European Union – had so far presented an updated “nationally determined contribution” (NDC) containing a “strong increase” in their emissions reduction targets, she noted. “Other major emitters either submitted NDCs presenting a very low increase in their ambition level or have not presented NDCs yet,” she added in a statement.

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India says virus variants not behind upsurge in cases

A top government health official confirmed the long-time presence of two mutants – N440K and E484Q – in those two states as well as elsewhere in the country and abroad. Authorities have also found the UK variant in 187 people in India, the South African one in six and one case of the Brazilian mutation.

“There is no reason today for us to believe, on the basis of scientific information, that these are responsible for the upsurge of the outbreak,” Vinod Kumar Paul, who heads a government committee on vaccines, told a news conference.

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India detects over 24,000 mutations in 7,000 variants of Covid

“Till now, no correlation has been established between the variants and the rise in the number of cases reported in a few states. It is still under investigation,” he said.

“More than 2 lakh mutations in the virus have been recorded globally. But did all the mutations incite a rise in cases? The mutations are a natural process of evolution in a pathogen. It is relevant only if it induces a change in the trend of disease spread,” Singh explained.

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