In a shot in the arm for India, the Coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University received emergency use authorization (US) from the UK. In India, the vaccine, called Covishield, which is being manufactured by the Serum Institute, is likely to gain regulatory approval within days.
Development comes even when India reported 20 cases of new coronavirus strain. Although six cases were detected on Tuesday, today 14 people were found positive for the new strain of the virus. Amid concerns about the highly contagious new strain of the coronavirus, the Center extended the temporary suspension of flights to and from the UK until January 7 and called on all states to keep a strict eye on New Years celebrations. that could be possible super spread events. .
India’s number of Covid-19 cases rose to 1,02,44,852, and 20,549 new infections were reported on Wednesday, while the number of people who have recovered from the disease rose to 98.34 lakh. The death toll rose to 1,48,439, with 286 new deaths, according to the Union Ministry of Health.
These are the main Covid-19 developments of the day:
Eyes on India as UK Approves Oxford Covid-19 Vaccine
The Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) called the approval of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in the UK as encouraging news and said the company would now await regulatory approval in India.
The Subject Matter Expert Committee (SEC) of the Central Medicines Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), which met on Wednesday to consider the US application from Pfizer, Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech, will meet again January 1st.
“This is great and encouraging news. We will await final approval from Indian regulators, ”SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said in a statement. “Priority will be given to India, as most of the 50 million doses stored at the Serum Institute will be for the country,” he had previously said.
COVID-19 vaccine trial at Ludhiana Civil Hospital (Express photo by Gurmeet Singh)
Meanwhile, in the UK, Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed that the launch of the Oxford vaccine would begin on January 4. The approval of Britain’s Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) means the vaccine is “safe and effective”, with the government saying it would prioritize prompt administration of the first of two doses of the vaccine. those in the highest risk groups.
In addition to being easier to administer, as it does not require extremely low temperatures for storage as in the case of the Pfizer / BioNTech injection, the AZD1222 or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine is also cheap at $ 3 to $ 4 a dose and easy to mass produce.
Workers dismantle beds at the Covid-19 isolation center at CWG in New Delhi (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)
14 more returnees from the UK test positive for a new strain of coronavirus
The Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday that 14 more people who returned to India from the UK tested positive for the new strain of SARS-CoV-2, bringing the overall count to 20.
The ministry said the UK mutated strain was detected in eight samples at the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), one at the National Institute for Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG), Kalyani (near Calcutta), one at the National Institute of Virology (NIV). ) Pune, seven at the Bengaluru National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience Hospital (NIMHANS), two at the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad and one at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi.
“All of these people have been kept in single-room isolation in health care facilities designated by the respective state governments. Their close contacts have also been quarantined. A full contact tracing has been started for fellow travelers, family contacts, and others. Genome sequencing is being carried out on other samples, ”said the Ministry of Health.
A health worker in protective gear collects a swab sample in Delhi (Express photo by Amit Mehra)
Flights between India and the United Kingdom will remain suspended until January 7
the The Center has extended the temporary ban on flights to India from the UK until January 7, after which a “strictly regulated” restart will take place. Everyone coming to India from the UK is expected to undergo RT-PCR testing. The current suspension, which went into effect on December 23, is in effect until December 31.
However, groups of Indian students in the UK have urged the Indian government to consider emergency travel options in extremely rare cases during the current suspension of air travel, PTI reported.
COVID-19 vaccine trial at Ludhiana Civil Hospital (Express photo by Gurmeet Singh)
Health Ministry calls on states to monitor New Year’s events
The Union Ministry of Health has asked all states to keep a strict vigil on New Years celebrations that could be potential Covid-19 super-spreader events and also to curb overcrowding as a precautionary measure during the season of winter.
“Considering the new increase in coronavirus cases in Europe and the Americas, there was still a need to maintain comprehensive precaution and strict surveillance in India,” said Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.
“You will appreciate that in the wake of the New Year and the various celebratory events associated with it, as well as the ongoing winter season, a strict vigil must be maintained to curb all potential ‘super spreader’ events and places where crowds can gather, “Bhushan said in the letter.
The Republic Day parade is likely to be shorter and have fewer spectators
The Republic Day celebrations on Rajpath next month are likely to witness a number of changes, including smaller marching contingents, a shorter distance for the parade, and fewer spectators compared to previous years in view of the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reported. India has invited British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the main guest of the Republic Day parade.
Some 25,000 spectators will be allowed to witness the celebrations in front of a normal crowd of about 100,000, and children under the age of 15 will not be allowed in. Similarly, the size of the ongoing contingents is likely to shrink from around 144 in each contingent to around 96.
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