Tuesday 2 March 2021

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Rajnath Singh receives first dose of vaccine, urges citizens to inoculate themselves to make India 'COVID free'

17:16 (IST)

Despite recent surge, active cases less than 2%, says Centre

Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Tuesday said that although certain states in the country have seen a surge in the number of active cases, the fact remains that the recovered cases are more than 97 percent and active cases are still less than 2 percent.

17:07 (IST)

Over 1.48 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine given till 1 pm today: Centre

Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Tuesday addressed the media over the COVID-19 situation in the country. He said more than 1.48 crores doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered till 1 pm today. "Out of this, 2.08 lakh doses have been given to people who are 45 years to 59 years of age with comorbidities & people with above 60 years of age," he added.

16:50 (IST)

Goa: Co-WIN snag halts vaccination drive for senior citizens

A snag in the Co-WIN portal affected the COVID-19 vaccination process for senior citizens at private hospitals in Goa in initial hours on Tuesday, a Health official said.

The portal developed a glitch soon after the process for vaccination began after 9 AM, forcing many senior citizens who had gathered at the hospitals to take the first dose to leave.

"As the snag stalled the entire process in the first one hour, several senior citizens had to go back. We regret the inconvenience caused to them," he said.

The process restarted at 2.30 pm after the snag was fixed, the official said.

Meanwhile, the Goa health department on Tuesday allowed 15 private hospitals to administer COVID-19 shots to the people who are eligible under the latest drive.

16:31 (IST)

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh receives first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

16:03 (IST)

Prithviraj Chavan slams Centre for letting private hospitals charge for vaccine

Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday questioned the Centre's decision to let private hospitals charge people for COVID-19 vaccine in the phase-II of the immunisation drive that began on Monday, reports PTI.

Last week, the government had announced that people above the age of 60 and those over 45 years suffering from co-morbidities can avail the vaccine for free at government facilities and for Rs 250 at private hospitals.

According to a statement issued by his office, Chavan said in phase-I of the drive, the Union government had procured 1.65 crore doses of the vaccine at a cost of Rs 210 per dose.

15:50 (IST)

EC extends polling time by 30 minutes for first phase of Bengal elections

The Election Commission (EC) has extended polling time by 30 minutes for the first phase of West Bengal assembly elections, and voters will now be able to exercise their franchise from 7 am to 6.30 pm, a notification issued by the poll panel on Tuesday said, reports PTI.

The decision was taken in view of the COVID-19 restrictions, an election official here said. "Keeping in mind the ongoing COVID-19 situation, the commission has decided to extend the polling time by 30 minutes. It will now be held from 7 am to 6.30 pm. The notification for the first phase of polls in West Bengal was issued this noon," he said.

The first phase of elections is scheduled to be held on 27 March in 30 Assembly constituencies.

15:39 (IST)

MNM chief Kamal Hassan takes first shot of vaccine in Chennai

Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan was on Tuesday administered with the COVID-19 vaccine at a city hospital.

The actor-politician was inoculated a day after the nationwide vaccination of 60 plus age group and those aged between 45-59 with co-morbidities was launched, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving the first shot on Monday.

"I took the coronavirus vaccine at Sri Ramachandra Hospital. Those who care not only for themselves but also for others should get vaccinated," Haasan said in a tweet that was accompanied with a picture of him getting vaccinated.

15:34 (IST)

Kotak Mahindra Bank MD and CEO Uday Kotak takes first shot of COVID-19 vaccine

15:28 (IST)

Karnataka Minister BC Patil takes his first shot of COVID19 vaccine

15:17 (IST)

Maharashtra and Kerala account for 67.84% of active COVID-19 cases

Five states account for 84.16 percent of the active COVID-19 cases, while six states and UTs have a weekly positivity rate higher than the national average of 2 percent, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday.

Maharashtra and Kerala alone account for 67.84 percent of total active cases, it said.

Six states and UTs including Maharashtra, Kerala, Goa, Chandigarh, Punjab and Gujarat have a weekly positivity rate higher than the national average of 2 percent.

Maharashtra leads all the states with a weekly positivity rate of 10.02 percent, the ministry said.

Read full report here

14:41 (IST)

Andhra Pradesh guv receives COVID-19 vaccine shot

Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan and First Lady Suprava Harichandan on Tuesday got the COVID-19 vaccine administered as the process for inoculating those above 60 years of age began in the state.

The First Citizen and the First Lady drove to the Government General Hospital in Vijayawada and got inoculated.

"All eligible (persons) should get vaccinated. COVID-19 has to be rooted out not only of the state but also the country," the Governor said on the occasion.

14:32 (IST)

COVID-19 vaccine will work as 'sanjeevani': Harsh Vardhan after taking first shot

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan and his wife Nutan Goel took the coronavirus vaccine shot at Delhi Heart and Lung Institute on Tuesday morning.

"I request everyone to get vaccinated. After 28 days of first dose, everyone should get their second dose. Do not worry if you experience minor side-effects, but do let your doctors know," the minister said after getting vaccinated.

"Today is Tuesday. I want to tell everyone that Hanumanji had to cross half of the world to get 'sanjeevani'. But now it is there at your nearest hospital," the health minister said.

14:16 (IST)

Ravi Shankar Prasad gets first COVID-19 dose

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS Patna. On Monday the second phase of India’s vaccination drive, when the vaccines were rolled out for public use, begun. 

14:13 (IST)

Five states report 80.33% of new COVID cases

Of the new COVID-19 cases, 80.33 percent are from the five states of Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, which have been witnessing an upsurge in daily infections for past few weeks. Maharashtra and Kerala accounted for 67.84 percent of total active cases.

The health ministry said the Centre was in touch with the states and Union Territories that have a higher caseload of active cases and those reporting a rise in the daily infections.

13:59 (IST)

Over 1.48 crore people vaccinated against COVID-19 till now

A total of 1,48,54,136 vaccine doses have been administered so far. Of this, over 5.52 lakh were inoculated on Monday, the beginning of the second phase of India’s vaccination drive, when the vaccines were rolled out for public use.

13:26 (IST)

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi receives first COVID-19 shot

Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi took the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur, a day after the start of the second phase of the inoculation drive.

Naqvi got inoculated at Rampur's KD Dalmia Eye Hospital and was administered Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.

After getting inoculated, the minister thanked the medical staff at the hospital and urged all those eligible to get themselves vaccinated against COVID-19.

13:23 (IST)

Pfizer, Oxford vaccines reduce severe COVID-19 in elderly, says study

The Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines for COVID-19 are highly effective in reducing severe coronavirus infection among people aged 70 years and above, according to a study.

The research, posted as a pre-print and yet to be peer-reviewed, estimated the effect of both the COVID-19 vaccines on laboratory confirmed symptomatic disease in individuals aged 70 years or older in England.

The researchers, including those from Public Health England (PHE), compared the rate of hospitalisation and deaths in confirmed COVID-19 patients aged over 80 who were vaccinated more than 14 days before testing positive, with unvaccinated cases.

Data suggests that in the over 80s, a single dose of either vaccine is more than 80 percent effective at preventing hospitalisation, around 3 to 4 weeks after the jab, PHE said in a statement.

12:52 (IST)

Single-day surge in COVID-19 cases witnessed in Maharashtra, four other states

The Union health ministry on Tuesday said that the single-day surge in coronavirus infection was witnessed in Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. 

"States have been advised to maintain a continued rigorous vigil for containing the spread of COVID-19," the Centre said, adding that no new COVID-19 fatalities were reported in 19 states and UTs in the past 24 hours.

12:41 (IST)

29 new cases of coronavirus in Puducherry, no fresh fatality 

Puducherry clocked 29 fresh COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours ending 10 am on Tuesday, raising the aggregate to 39,763. There was no fresh fatality and the toll remained 669.

The new cases were spread over Puducherry and Karaikal regions (eight cases each) and the Mahe region accounted for
remaining 13 cases.

12:27 (IST)

Ravi Shastri receives first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Ahmedabad

The Indian cricket team's head coach Ravi Shastri on Tuesday received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a city hospital in Ahmedabad.

Shastri, who is 58, thanked the staff at the Apollo Hospital for their co-operation and support.

"Got the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Thank you to the amazing medical professionals & scientists for empowering India Flag of India against the pandemic, the former India cricketer tweeted.

12:09 (IST)

Over 8.25 lakh vaccinated against COVID-19 in Karnataka so far

With the inoculation drive against COVID-19 for senior citizens and those with comorbidities kickstarting, a total of 4,942 people have received the shot, taking the total number of those vaccinated in the state so far to 8.25 lakh, the Karnataka government said.

In 199 sessions held on Monday, 2,264 vaccinated were above 60 years and 624 were between 45-60 years with comorbidities.

11:57 (IST)

Harsh Vardhan gets inoculated today 

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and his wife received the first dose of COVID vaccine at Delhi Heart and Lung Institute on Tuesday.

11:53 (IST)

Farooq Abdullah gets vaccine shot

National Conference MP Farooq Abdullah took his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science in Srinagar.

11:51 (IST)

TRS MP gets COVID-19 vaccine

K Keshava Rao Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MP received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a hospital in Hyderabad.

11:33 (IST)

Call for lockdowns, curfews in Brazil

Brazilian health officials are urging nationwide lockdown and curfews because hospitals are running short of intensive-care unit beds as COVID-19 claims more than 1,000 lives each day in the country.

The return of the pandemic in several states is making their private and their public assistance networks collapse and has brought imminent risk of spreading it to all regions of Brazil, Brazil's National Council of Health Secretaries said Monday in an open letter, adding that the nation is experiencing its worst moment since the pandemic began.

11:19 (IST)

Arunachal Pradesh reports first COVID-19 case after two days

Arunachal Pradesh reported a fresh case of COVID-19 after remaining coronavirus-free for two consecutive days, a senior health official said on Tuesday.

The northeastern state's tally rose to 16,837, while 16,780 patients have recovered from the disease, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Lobsang Jampa said.

A total of 56 people have so far died due to the contagion in the state.

11:12 (IST)

China aims to inoculate 40% of population by June

China is lagging in its coronavirus vaccination rollout because it has the disease largely under control, but plans to inoculate 40 percent of its population by June, Chinese health experts said Monday.

Zhong Nanshan, the leader of a group of experts attached to the National Health Commission, said the country has delivered 52.52 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of 28 February.

China has been slow to vaccinate its people relative to other countries, inoculating only 3.56 percent of its population of 1.4 billion so far, according to Zhong.

11:01 (IST)

Over 21.76 cr COVID-19 samples tested so far: ICMR

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 21,76,18,057 samples for COVID-19 have been tested up to 1 March. Of the total, 7,59,283 samples were tested on Monday alone.

10:21 (IST)

India's COVID-19 recovery rate rises to 97.07%

The number of people who have recuperated from the novel coronavirus surged to 1,07,98,921, taking the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 97.07 percent, said the Union health ministry on Tuesday.

On the other hand, the case fatality rate has dropped to 1.41 percent.

10:14 (IST)

India's active COVID-19 cases stand at 1.68 lakh

India's active COVID-19 cases stand at 1,68,358, while 1,07,98,921 people have recovered from the infection so far, said Union health ministry on Tuesday.

10:11 (IST)

At least 567 new COVID-19 cases in Thane, 4 more deaths

Thane has reported 567 new cases of coronavirus, raising the infection count in the Maharashtra district to 2,65,485, an official said on Tuesday.

Besides these new cases reported on Monday, four more people died of COVID-19 in the district, taking the toll to 6,276, he said.

09:59 (IST)

BJP MP in Madhya Pradesh dies of COVID-19

Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan, a BJP Lok Sabha member from Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh, passed away in Delhi on Monday. He had tested positive for COVID-19 and was undergoing treatment in Medanta Hospital, Delhi-NCR, on Monday.

09:48 (IST)

India records 12,286 new COVID-19 cases in a day; tally crosses 1.11 cr

India on Tuesday registered 12,286 new coronavirus cases, taking the overall count to 1,11,24,527. The toll was increased to 1.57 lakh after 91 more deaths were registered in the past 24 hours, said the Union health ministry.

09:41 (IST)

Supreme Court judges to get first vaccine shot today

Judges of the Supreme Court will get COVID-19 vaccine shots from Tuesday. Those eligible for the vaccine in the drive also includes the families of the judges and retired judges. 

The top court registry has arranged a vaccination facility on the premises in addition to the ones at the government hospitals listed for the vaccination.

The judges will not be able to choose between Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech, and Covishield, developed by Pune's Serum Institute of India.

09:24 (IST)

'Premature, unrealistic' to think COVID-19 pandemic will end this year: WHO

A senior World Health Organization official said Monday it was premature and unrealistic to think the pandemic might be stopped by the end of the year, but that the recent arrival of effective vaccines could at least help dramatically reduce hospitalisations and death.

The world's singular focus right now should be to keep transmission of COVID-19 as low as possible, said Dr Michael Ryan, director of WHO's emergencies program.

If we're smart, we can finish with the hospitalisations and the deaths and the tragedy associated with this pandemic by the end of the year, he said at media briefing.

Ryan said WHO was reassured by emerging data that many of the licensed vaccines appear to be helping curb the virus' explosive spread.

"If the vaccines begin to impact not only on death and not only on hospitalisation, but have a significant impact on transmission dynamics and transmission risk, then I believe we will accelerate toward controlling this pandemic," he said.

Read full article here...

09:23 (IST)

Phase 2 of vaccination at 56 govt hospitals, 136 pvt facilities in Delhi

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said that 56 government hospitals and 13 private facilities in the city are part of the second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination that began on Monday.

A total of 15,521 beneficiaries including 5,176 senior citizens received the shots on Monday, according to data shared by Delhi health department. He said 308 centres have been set-up across 192 hospitals in the city for this phase.

"A total of 192 hospitals have been prepared in Delhi for this phase, among which 136 are private hospitals and 56 are government hospitals," he told reporters.

09:09 (IST)

PM among top leaders to take COVID vaccine in phase 2

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine — he got his first dose of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin at AIIMS, New Delhi, early Monday morning.

Home Minister Amit Shah and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu were among the host of top leaders who took the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on Monday with the start of the next phase of the inoculation drive.

09:07 (IST)

Over 1.43 cr vaccine doses administered to healthcare workers in phase 1

In the first phase of coronavirus vaccination drive, 1.43 crore doses of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines were administered to healthcare and frontline workers.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on 16 January with the inoculation of healthcare workers, while the vaccination of the frontline workers (FLWs) started from 2 February.

09:04 (IST)

Over 1.29 lakh from priority groups get first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

According to a provisional report of the Union Health Ministry, around 1.29 lakh people from the two priority groups got their first doses of the vaccine on Monday. This is the first time the general population is being vaccinated.

09:01 (IST)

Nearly 25 lakh registrations on Co-WIN portal on Day 1

As the second phase of COVID-19 vaccination saw a nationwide rollout on Monday — for those above 60 years of age and those above 45 with specified co-morbid conditions — around 25 lakh potential beneficiaries registered on the Co-WIN portal on Day 1.

Coronavirus LATEST Updates: The Union defence minister tweeted that India’s resolve for making the country 'COVID free' has been strengthened by the inoculation drive. "The vaccine is completely safe and hassle-free," he said

Asked whether there will be any shortage of doses in Maharashtra as the vaccination drive is being scaled up, state immunisation officer Dr Dilip Patil told PTI that the Centre is releasing a sufficient number of doses to the state

Five states account for 84.16% of the active COVID-19 cases, while six states and UTs have a weekly positivity rate higher than the national average of 2 percent, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday

The study comes as France and Germany consider reversing their refusal to authorise the AstraZeneca vaccine for those over the age of 65 due to concerns of its efficacy.

A total of 1,57,248 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 52,184 from Maharashtra, followed by 12,501 from Tamil Nadu, 12,336 from Karnataka and 10,911 from Delhi.

The Union health ministry on Tuesday said that the single-daily surge in coronavirus infection was witnessed in Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.

The Union health minister was administered the vaccine shot at Delhi Heart & Lung Institute in New Delhi. Vardhan was innoculated along with his wife.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 21,76,18,057 samples for COVID-19 have been tested up to 1 March. Of the total, 7,59,283 samples were tested on Monday alone.

India's active COVID-19 cases stand at 1,68,358, while 1,07,98,921 people have recovered from the infection so far, said Union health ministry on Tuesday.

The COVID-19 toll was increased to 1.57 lakh after 91 more deaths were registered in the past 24 hours, said the Union health ministry on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine — he got his first dose of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin at AIIMS, New Delhi, early Monday morning.

A total of 1,28,630 beneficiaries over 60 years of age and 18,850 aged 45 and above with co-morbidities took the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, according to a provisional report of the Union Health Ministry as the cumulative number of vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 1.47 crore.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on 16 January with the inoculation of healthcare workers, while the vaccination of the frontline workers (FLWs) started from 2 February.

The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from Monday for those over 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 1.47 crore on Monday, the ministry said.

The ministry said that 25 lakh potential beneficiaries registered on the Co-Win portal — cowin.gov.in since the registration opened up at 9 am on Monday.

Out of this, 24.5 lakh are citizens and the rest are HCWs and FLWs. About 6.44 lakh appointments were booked by the citizen beneficiaries on Monday.

"A total of 1,47,28,569 vaccine doses have been given, as per the provisional report till Monday 7 pm. These include 66,95,665 HCWs who have taken the 1st dose and 25,57,837 HCWs who have taken the 2nd dose, 53,27,587 FLWs (1st dose), 1,28,630 beneficiaries more than 60 years old and 18,850 beneficiaries aged 45 and above with specific co-morbidities," the ministry said.

It further said that 4,27,072 vaccine doses were given till 7 pm on Monday, the forty-fifth day of nationwide COVID-19 vaccination.

Out of these, 3,25,485 beneficiaries were vaccinated for first dose and 1,01,587 HCWs received the second dose of the vaccine as per the provisional report, the ministry said, adding the final report would be completed for the day by late night.

Vaccines provided at government health facilities are entirely free of cost, while private facilities cannot charge the beneficiary a sum above Rs 250 per person per dose (Rs 150 for vaccines and Rs100 as operational charges).

Citizens can register and book an appointment for vaccination, anytime and anywhere, using the Co-WIN 2.0 portal cowin.gov.in or through other IT applications such as Aarogya Setu.

There is also a walk-in provision for beneficiaries to get themselves registered at the nearby session site to get vaccinated.

The eligible beneficiaries can choose the centre of their choice and book an appointment based on the slots available.

Citizens can register at the Co-WIN portal through their mobile number, according to a guidance document issued by the ministry.

An OTP verification will be done prior to registration to ensure veracity of the mobile number and after registration, an account will be created on Co-WIN for the person.

The person can access (login) his/her account on Co-WIN using the mobile phone number used at the time of registration.

Features for adding beneficiaries, editing their details and for booking appointment(s) will be available in the citizen's account, the document stated.

The citizen can delete only the beneficiaries as have been added by him/her.

"If one out of the four beneficiaries registered in an account is vaccinated, only three registrations are left, and so on.

"Till the time of vaccination, all the records of registration and appointment can be edited/deleted by the person making the registration. Only when a person gets vaccinated, the record is locked and cannot be edited/deleted," the document stated.

The beneficiary then has to select the ID card type and provide ID card number.

The photo ID card number for each such beneficiary must be different. Either of the following photo identity documents can be used by citizens for availing online registration — Aadhaar card/letter, Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), passport, driving license, PAN card, NPR smart card or pension document with a photograph.

If the age of the beneficiary is from 45 years to 59 years, the beneficiary will be prompted to confirm if he/she has any specified comorbidity. In such cases, the beneficiary will also be advised to bring the comorbidity certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner.

Once all the necessary details are recorded by the beneficiary, registration is completed and an acknowledgement (registration slip/token) is sent to beneficiary on his registered mobile number. The facility for downloading and printing etc. has also been made available.



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/304zmLO
Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)