First Shots in the country Likely by Jan 13

WEB DESK

The Director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Balram Bhargava has said that there is no ban on export of the Covid-19 vaccine. He said that a total 71 people have been detected with the new mutant virus found in UK.

We are prepared to roll out vaccine within 10 days of emergency use authorisation approvals. The final call will be taken by the government, says Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan. DGCI gave approval to two vaccines on January 3.

Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech on Tuesday said they will work together to develop, manufacture and supply the COVID-19 vaccines in India and globally. In a joint statement on behalf of the two companies, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla and Bharat Biotech Chairman and Managing Director Krishna Ella announced their combined intent to develop, manufacture and supply the COVID-19 vaccines for India and the world.

They noted that the most important task in front of them was saving lives and livelihoods in India and globally. Vaccines are global public health good and they have the power to save lives and accelerate the return to economic normalcy at the earliest. Now that two COVID-19 vaccines have been issued EUA (emergency use authorisation) in India, the focus is on manufacturing, supply and distribution, such that population that need it the most receive high quality, safe and efficacious vaccines, the statement said.

India’s Active Caseload Down to 2.31 Lakh

India’s Covid-19 active caseload, which has been falling steadily, stands at 2,31,036 and accounts for a “paltry”2.23 per cent of the total infections reported so far, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday. This has been made possible as daily recoveries are outnumbering new infections for 39 days in a row, the ministry stated. “Against 29,091 people who recovered in a 24-hour window, India reported only 16,375 new cases, maintaining a steady level of testing. “A net decline of 12,917 cases has been recorded in the total active cases in a day,” the ministry said.