The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive have exceeded 80.85 crores, according to the ministry.
Of the 4,45,133 deaths reported so far in the country, 1,38,518 are from Maharashtra, 37,603 from Karnataka, 35,337 from Tamil Nadu, 25,085 from Delhi, 23,591 from Kerala, 22,887 from Uttar Pradesh, and 18,652 from West Bengal.
An analysis by AIP Analytics shows, though, the industry witnessed a massive disruption due to the onset of Covid-19 Pandemic since March 2020, in terms of key parameters like gross premium, number of policies issued, underwriting losses/ profit , Combined ratio, gross claims, no of employees and foreign direct investment and investment in infrastructure and social sectors, the Indian general insurance industry has seen a significant improvement during FY 2020-21.
The first half of 2021- 22 has definitely seen a reversal in several aspects.Primarily the second wave has hit the helath insurance portfolio much harder , motor insurance has seen more intense price competition due to lower demand of new vehicles while at the sametime There is no lockdown effect this time. Prices for small and medium risks have plummeted in the property space . All These point towards a much worse performance of
the Indusrty going forward,”cautioned the analysts.
Earlier today, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had also announced that the Government of India will resume ‘Vaccine Maitri’ from October this year and also fulfil its responsibility under Covax. “Under Vaccine Maitri, we will help the world and contribute to Covax in the fourth quarter,” Mandaviya today told reporters.
Six of the world’s largest commercial insurers — Hiscox, RSA, QBE, Argenta, Arch and MS Amlin — said many business interruption policies did not cover widespread disruption after Britain’s first national lockdown last March.
But senior judges said payouts should be triggered after scrutinising 14 non-damage insurance policy clauses — which cover disease, denial of access to business premises and hybrid clauses — in a resounding victory for policyholders and the regulator.
“New cases per million population in India in the last seven days are 87. It is one of the lowest in the world. The number is significantly low when compared with countries like Russia, Germany, Brazil, France, Italy, USA and UK,” the ministry highlighted.
“The gap between Covid-19 recoveries and active cases is steadily increasing and has crossed 99 lakh and currently stands at 99,49,711,” the ministry underlined.
“Interchangeability of Covid-19 vaccines is not permitted. The second dose should also be of the same Covid-19 vaccine which was administered as the first dose,” the letter written by Manohar Agnani, Additional Secretary, Union health ministry said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive at 10.30am on January 16 with 3,006 sites where the roll-out will get under way virtually connected during the launch. The Co-WIN IT platform that will track the drive from back-end to beneficiaries is also likely to be activated with its use initially limited to central and state governments.
A dedicated 24×7 call centre — 1075 — has also been established for addressing queries related to the Covid-19 pandemic, vaccine rollout and the Co-WIN software, said an official release. “Around 100 beneficiaries will be vaccinated at each session site on the inaugural day,” the government said on Thursday.
Fitch said the medium-term recovery will be slow. “Supply-side potential growth will be reduced by a slowdown in the rate of capital accumulation – investment has recently fallen sharply and is likely to see only a subdued recovery.”
The project, called Vaccination Credential Initiative, aims to help people get encrypted digital copies of their immunization records stored in a digital wallet of their choice, the companies said in a statement on Thursday.
Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac, who tabled the Left government’s Economic Review 2020 in the state assembly, a day ahead of the state budget,said natural disasters including Cyclone Ockhi of 2017, two consecutive floods of 2018, ’19 and the pandemic affected the state’s economy along with the return of non-resident Keralites (NRKs) from abroad, mostly following job loss.
In a statement, WHO, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said they were establishing an emergency reserve of about 500,000 doses; nearly 7,000 are available now and more will be added throughout the year and beyond. Financial support for the vaccine stockpile was provided by the vaccines alliance GAVI.
WHO’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan warned it would take time to produce and administer enough vaccine doses to halt the spread of the virus.
“We are not going to achieve any levels of population immunity or herd immunity in 2021,” she said, stressing the need to maintain physical distancing, hand-washing and mask-wearing to rein in the pandemic.
BioNTech, warned that Covid-19 would “likely become an endemic disease”, and said vaccines would need to fight against the emergence of new viral variants and a “naturally waning immune response”.
The World Bank in October approved $12 billion to help developing countries buy and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments. The Asian Development Bank launched a $9 billion vaccine facility in December.
“As of now, the pre-condition for any vaccine to be implemented in India is that you have to do a bridging trial,” Vinod K. Paul, who heads a government panel on vaccine strategy, said in an interview in his office near the parliament building.