The COVID crisis has led to significant economic losses and made...
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Time for Covid-19 booster doses, recommends house panel
The Committee has also recommended that the MHA may take up with...
3258 children orphaned during pandemic approved for support under ‘PM-CARES’ scheme: Govt
Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani told Lok Sabha...
‘Please help!’ India’s Covid-19 tragedy spills onto social media
The collapse of the country’s decrepit public health system is evident in the gut-wrenching photos on social media of multiple Covid patients sharing a single hospital bed, a line of ambulances outside a hospital in Mumbai, and people dying as they wait for oxygen. Government helplines are broken. Thousands of social media forwards plead for the antiviral drug Remdesivir, and many more seek donor plasma.
South Africa’s to set up vaccine compensation fund, could cost $17.5 mln in first year
“A contingent liability of approximately R250 million for the first year would be provided for compensation of vaccine injury in a COVID-19 Vaccine NFC (no-fault compensation) Fund,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in written replies to a lawmaker.
India reports nearly 3-lakh fresh COVID-19 cases 2,023 deaths
he total number of vaccinations in the country stands at 13,01,19,310. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 27,10,53,392 samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to April 20. Of these, 16,39,357 were tested yesterday.
Many Indians struggle to get coronavirus tests as cases rocket
Doctors and patients in New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai said it was taking between three and eight days to find slots for the highly accurate RT-PCR tests and get their results.
Covid vaccine-makers largely protected on side effects
While some governments will pay compensation due to sufferers, others assume it is the responsibility of the companies even after drug agencies back the vaccines.
In the US, the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act authorises the health secretary “to limit legal liability for losses relating to the administration of medical countermeasures such as diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines”.
Britain launches expert group to prepare for future pandemics
Launched under Britain’s Presidency of the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations, the Pandemic Preparedness Partnership (PPP) will report to the G7 leaders summit in June, and will advise on how to achieve Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s target of developing vaccines against future diseases within 100 days.
Israel logs Indian Covid-19 variant, sees some vaccine efficacy against it
An initial seven cases of the Indian variant were detected in Israel last week among people arriving from abroad and who have since undergone preliminary testing, the Health Ministry said.
“The impression is that the Pfizer vaccine has efficacy against it, albeit a reduced efficacy,” the ministry’s director-general, Hezi Levy, told Kan public radio, saying the number of cases of the variant in Israel now stood at eight.
India likely to waive customs duty on Covid-19 vaccine imports
The government presently levies 10 percent customs or import duty plus a 16.5 percent I-GST and social welfare surcharge on vaccines coming from overseas. These taxes would make the imported vaccines costlier than the ones made by Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech.
Covishield to cost Rs 400 a dose for states, Rs 600 for private hospitals
Furthermore, owing to the complexity, and urgency of the situation it is challenging to supply it independently to each corporate entity.We would urge all corporate and private individuals to access the vaccines through the state facilitated machinery and private health systems,” it said in a statement.
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Covishield comprises over 90 pc of 12.76 cr COVID vaccines administered so far
The current production capacity of indigenously developed Covaxin vaccine will be doubled by May-June 2021 and then increased nearly 6-7 fold by July-August 2021 i.e increasing the production from 10 million vaccine doses in April, 2021 to 60-70 million vaccine dose per month in July-August,” said the ministry of science and technology in a statement on Monday.