Pfizer has applied for approval for the emergency use of its Covid vaccine in India: Sources.
New Delhi:
India’s total burden of active COVID-19 cases fell to 4.03,248, the lowest in 138 days, as 36,011 new coronavirus infections were recorded compared to 41,970 recoveries in the last 24 hours, data shows of the government. This is the lowest number of active cases (total cases minus people recovered) since July 21.
Here are the top 10 developments related to the coronavirus pandemic:
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Overall coronavirus recoveries soared past the 91 lakh mark, taking the recovery rate to 94.4 percent.
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With a national death rate of 1.5 percent, the same since the September surge, 482 people died from Covid in the last day, bringing the total deaths to 1,40,182 so far.
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The country now has a total of 96.45 lakh total cases of the deadly disease that broke out in Wuhan in China in December last year.
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With a declining positivity rate (3.3 percent), India has been recording an average of 35,000 cases over the past week, the same as in mid-July, when the total testing was about 11 lakh per day.
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However, many states such as Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarkhand have seen an increase with the onset of winter.
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The highest daily infection figures are recorded in Kerala (5,848), Maharashtra (4,922), Delhi (3,419), West Bengal (3,175) and Rajasthan (2,076), accounting for 54% of all cases in the country.
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The highest deaths have been recorded in Maharashtra (95), Delhi (77), West Bengal (49), Kerala (32) and Haryana (25). Together, these states account for 57 percent of all Covid deaths in the past 24 hours.
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The Pfizer vaccine, which is ready to roll out in the UK and Bahrain, may also be available in India, where it has applied for approval for emergency use from the country’s drug regulator, DCGI.
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Experts from India have raised concerns about logistical problems related to the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine, which must be stored at -70 degrees Celsius. Most of the vaccines in India can be stored at temperatures between 2 and 8 degrees.
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This is the first such request that DCGI has received in the midst of the race to find a vaccine for the deadly virus, which has so far affected more than 6.6 million people worldwide, with 1.5 million people in the US alone
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