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Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Less than 50% of beneficiaries turn up for COVID-19 vaccination in Andhra Pradesh today

21:56 (IST)

Less than 50 percent beneficiaries show up for COVID-19 vaccination in AP

Less than 50 per cent of the targeted beneficiaries turned up for coronavirus vaccination in Andhra Pradesh on the second day on Sunday, but that was
the highest in the country.  According to data released by the Health Department, only 13,041 healthcare workers got the COVID-19 vaccine administered across the state against the targeted 27,233 for the day.

PTI

21:40 (IST)

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Delhi govt to take measures to raise percentage of health workers turning up for COVID vaccine drive

The Delhi government will take measures like counselling and formal phone calls in the coming days to raise the percentage of healthcare workers turning up for being administered COVID-19 vaccines, officials said. Under the nationwide mega vaccination drive launched on Saturday, a total of 4,319 (53 per cent) health workers against a target of 8,117  were administered the vaccines at 81 centres across the city.  “We will hold counselling sessions to create awareness so that apprehensions of the health workers could be allayed. They will also be called on phones to seek their confirmation and also to encourage them to come forward for taking the vaccines,” a senior Delhi government official said. “It is necessary to boost confidence of the health workers towards vaccination because its a voluntary exercise. Still, if some health workers do not come forward for it, they may be included in the next sessions on the coming days as per a roster, he said.
 
PTI

20:42 (IST)

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COVID-19 vaccination drive in Assam will pick up momentum in next 5-10 days, says official

 
 Over 3,500 healthcare workers, including prominent doctors, were administered the COVID-19 vaccine on the first day of the immunisation drive in Assam
and the exercise was expected to pick up momentum in the next five to ten days, National Health Mission Director of the state Dr S Lakshmanan said on Sunday. The state had expected 6,500 beneficiaries to be vaccinated on the first day of the inoculation drive on Saturday, but 3,528 of the targeted people turned up, he said.  “Many things had to be put in place and the system is evolving but we are sure it will gather momentum in the next five to ten days”.
 
“Many of the beneficiaries did not turn up while many others, whose names were not in the list for the first day, came to the selected sites,” Dr Lakshmanan told PTI.

20:25 (IST)

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Maharashtra reports 3,081 new cases, total now 19,90,759

Maharashtra’s COVID-19 tally rose to 19,90,759 with the addition of 3,081 fresh cases on Sunday, the state health department said. With 50 new deaths reported during the day, the state’s fatality count rose to 50,438, it said in a statement. Of the 50 fatalities, 21 were from the past 48 hours, while 8 from the last week. The remaining 21 deaths are from the period before the last week, it said.
 
A total of 2,342 patients were discharged from hospitals on Sunday, which took the total number of recovered persons in Maharashtra to 18,86,469, the department said. There are 52,653 active cases in Maharashtra at present. 

19:56 (IST)

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Rest of UP’s health workers will be vaccinated by 22 January, says official

The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday said the rest of the health workers in the state will get COVID-19 vaccines by 22 January. Speaking to reporters, Additional Chief Secretary (Information) Navneet Sehgal said, “The anti-COVID vaccination drive in the state started on 16 January , and rest of the health workers will get vaccinated by 22 January. There should be no rumours regarding vaccination.”

PTI

19:35 (IST)

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India vaccinated 2.07 lakh people on day-1, highest in the world

The Union health ministry said that 2,07,229 people were vaccinated on day one- the highest day one vaccination number in the world. This figure is higher than the US, UK and France on day one, it said. 

Agnani also said a meeting was held with all states and Union Territories on Sunday to review the progress of the drive, identify bottlenecks and plan corrective actions.

19:16 (IST)

Break up of vaccination sessions today:

19:15 (IST)

Total of 447 AEFIs reported in two days, says health ministry

A total of 447 AEFIs (Adverse events after immunisation) have been reported on 16 and 17 January and only three required hospitalisation. One from Northern Hospital Delhi and one from AIIMS, Delhi have been discharged. One is under observation in AIIMS, Rishikesh  and is doing fine, the health ministry said. Most of the AEFIs reported so far are minor like fever, headache and nausea, the ministry added.

19:06 (IST)

Only six states conducted vaccination on Sunday, says health ministry

Additional secretary in the Union health ministry Dr Manohar Agnani informed that COVID-19 vaccination was conducted only in six states on Sunday. Agnani said that states have been advised to plan COVID-19 vaccination session on four days per week to minimise disruption to routine health services. He gave details on the vaccination schedules of the states and added that the days where vaccination is scheduled for lesser dates, it is because the cohort, the datatbase of health care workers is smaller. Andhra Pradesh will carry out vaccination on six days (all except Sunday) beacuse the state has a robust system of different cadre for routine immunisation, Goa  will carry out session two days and Uttar Pradesh has also decided to hold vaccination on two days to begin with, he said. A total of 553 sessions were held on Sunday and a total of 17,072 have been vaccinated as per provisional figures. A total of 2,24,301 beneficiaries vaccinated so far, the ministry said.

18:17 (IST)

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No reports of adverse reaction in Maharashtra, says Tope

 There have been no reports of adverse  reaction or side-effects of COVID-19 vaccine in Maharashtra so far, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Sunday, a day after the inoculation drive was undertaken across the country.  “There has absolutely been no report of any adverse reaction or side-effects of the vaccine following the drive on Saturday. Everything was safe, it will be safe,” Tope  told news agency PTI.

As many as 18,425 beneficiaries, or 65 percent of the target for the first day, were given vaccine shot across the state on Saturday, a health department official earlier said. The Maharashtra government on Saturday evening announced suspension of the COVID-19 vaccination drive in the state till Monday owing to problems in the Co-WIN app.
 
 
Tope said it is expected that a “small technical glitch” in the app of the Centre will be addressed by Sunday or Monday and the drive will resume from Tuesday.

18:04 (IST)

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Will poor and underprivileged get free COVID-19 vaccine, asks Congress

 A day after India rolled out the world’s largest inoculation drive against COVID-19, the Congress asked the government whether it plans to provide free vaccines to all Indians, especially the underprivileged and the poor.  Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that though the government claims it will cover three crore people in the first round of the vaccination drive, it is yet to clarify if the remaining population of India will get a vaccine and whether they will get it for free.
 
“Is the government not aware that 81.35 crore people are eligible for subsidised ration under the Food Security Act? Will the SC, ST, BC, OBC, BPL, APL, the poor and the underprivileged get the vaccine for free or not? If yes, what is the roll-out plan, and by when will the government ensure free vaccination,” he asked. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government need to answer…Who will get free corona vaccine? How many people will get the free corona vaccine? Where will you get free corona vaccine,” he said.
 
PTI

17:46 (IST)

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Narendra Modi should have taken COVID-19 vaccine: Congres’ Pradeep Mathur

Senior Congress leader and former UP legislator Pradeep Mathur on Sunday said it would have been better had Prime Minister Narendra Modi taken the coronavirus vaccine shot on the first day of the inoculation drive, thereby injecting confidence among people.   “It would have been better had Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented an example like that of Joe Biden, the president-elect of the US, by getting himself vaccinated. By taking the COVID-19 vaccine shot, he would have injected confidence among people of the country. People are still feeling hesitant in getting themselves vaccinated,” Mathur said on Sunday.
 
PTI

17:23 (IST)

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Third wave of coronavirus on the wane in Delhi, says Satyendar Jain

 Delhi registered 246 new coronavirus cases, the lowest in around eight months, and eight more deaths, as the positivity rate dipped to 0.36 percent on Sunday, the Health Department said. The infection tally rose to 6.32 lakh and the toll mounted to 10,746, according to a health bulletin. As many as 6.19 lakh patients have recovered and the active cases dropped to 2,544 from 2,691 the previous day. Of the total number of 11,088 beds in COVID hospitals, 9,987 are vacant, the bulletin stated.
 
“The positivity rate has remained below 0.5 percent for the last few days,” Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Sunday. “We can comfortably say that the third wave is on the wane.”  The health minister noted that cases have decreased but appealed to people to take precautions and use masks.

17:01 (IST)

Those not wearing masks in private vehicles will not be fined, says BMC

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had decided not to fine those found not wearing masks inside their private vehicles, said reports. However, not wearing masks in public transport remains a punishable offence and those found without masks in public transport will be fined.

In June 2020, BMC had issued an advisory saying wearing of mask is compulsory in public/workplaces and even while travelling in personal/official or public transport and said that those found without masks will be fined. According to a report by the Indian Express, If the violators  argued or refused to pay fines, the BMC also made them perform community services, such as sweeping roads. In September, the BMC had reduced the fine for not wearing a mask from the initial Rs 1,000 to Rs 200.

16:42 (IST)

Over 4,300 healthcare workers vaccinated in Delhi on Day-1, says Satyendar Jain

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Sunday said some people did not turn up for coronavirus vaccination at the last moment, adding that the government cannot ask anyone to compulsorily take the jab, even if they have registered for it.  In Delhi, a total of 4,319 healthcare workers — 53.3 percent of those registered  — got the vaccine shots on the first day of the COVID-19 vaccination drive on Saturday, the minister said. Jain noted that a similar trend was observed across the country, adding that around 50 percent of those registered got the jabs on the first day.
 
One “severe” and 51 “minor” cases of AEFI (adverse events following immunisation) were reported among health workers who were administered the coronavirus vaccine in Delhi on Saturday, according to official figures. An AIIMS security guard had developed an allergic reaction after receiving the vaccine. He was kept under observation of doctors, an official had said on Saturday. “His current status is not known… 51 others were discharged after some time,” said health minister Satyendar Jain.
The minister also said that the Delhi government decided to omit vaccination centres of municipal corporations due to the ongoing strike by the civic bodies. “The number of vaccination sites will be increased from 81 to 175 in some days. Thereafter, it will be increased to 1,000. It will also include the sites of municipal corporations,” he said.
 
 
PTI

16:01 (IST)

Mizoram schools to open for classes 10, 12  from 22 Jan

The Mizoram government has decided to allow reopening of schools for students of Class 10 and 12 from 22 January and places of worship from February. According to the new unlock guidelines issued on Saturday schools and hostels will reopen from 22 January for students of class 10 and 12. The guidelines said churches will be allowed to open with 50 percent sitting capacity or 200 attendees on every Saturday and Sunday noon time from first February.
 
The new guidelines also said any student intending to join his or her hostel must produce a COVID-19 negative certificate obtained within 96 hours before entry into the hostel.
 
PTI
 

15:38 (IST)

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Kolkata nurse stable, experts trying to ascertain cause behind illness post COVID jab

 
The health condition of a 35- year-old nurse, who fell ill in Kolkata following the administration of COVID-19 vaccine, is currently stable, and a medical board
of experts has been formed to find out why she fainted after taking the shot, a senior official said on Sunday. The health department official, who is also a prominent doctor, said the experts are examining her condition as of now, and the analysis might take some time. “She is is stable. We have formed a board of experts to take care of the treatment procedure. Let’s see how quickly we can analyse the reason behind her illness and come up with a solution. As of now, she is responding well to the treatment,” the official told  news agency PTI.
 
 
Asked if there was any underlying cause, the official said, “No one can say anything for sure as of now. Experts are examining her condition. We have found out that the woman suffers from chronic Asthma and is hypersensitive to a number of drugs.” The nurse was on Saturday admitted to the critical care unit (CCU) of Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital as she complained of uneasiness and fainted shortly after taking the shot, during the nationwide vaccination programme.

15:24 (IST)

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Maldives president congratulates PM on COVID-19 vaccination drive

Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih congratulates PM Narendra Modi and the governemnt for launching vaccination drive against COVID-19.

15:16 (IST)

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Puducherry logs 35 new COVID-19 cases today

The union territory of Puducherry logged 35 new COVID-19 cases taking the overall tally to38,646, a top Health Department official said on Sunday.

No fresh fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours, Director of the Department of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release.The death toll remained at642, he added.

The 35 new cases were identified at the end of the examination of 2,535 samples and were spread over Puducherry region (30), Karaikal (three) and Mahe (2), he said, adding no fresh infection was reported from Yanam.

The fatality and recovery rates were 1.66 percent and 97.6 percent respectively. Kumar said that 37 patients were discharged after recovery during the last 24 hours.

15:00 (IST)

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Pakistan approves emergency use of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

Pakistan has approved the emergency use of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and the government hopes to make the drug available by the first quarter of the year, as the country’s coronavirus tally surged to 519,291.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Health Dr Faisal Sultan confirmed on Saturday that the Drug Regulatory Authority Pakistan (DRAP) has granted approval for emergency use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine across the country, according to a report in the Geo TV.

Minister for Planning Asad Umar, who is also the chief of National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), the country’s coronavirus control body, said that the vaccine will be rolled out by March, the report said.

In the first phase, the vaccine will be given to health workers and those aged 65 years and above, Umar said.

14:34 (IST)

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BMC postpones COVID-19 vaccine drive in city

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation postpones the coronavirus vaccination drive in the city, after technical glitches were reported in the government’s Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network, or CoWin app on Saturday, reports The Indian Express. The Mumbai civic body said that efforts were underway to fix the problem.

In a statement, the BMC said that after facing troubles with the digital portal, it had allowed beneficiaries to register for the process offline on Saturday. “However, the government has directed that all further entries should be made through the app,” it added. “In view of this, Covid 19 vaccination has been postponed for two days in Mumbai i.e., on Sunday 17th January 2021 and Monday 18th January 2021. Vaccination will resume as soon as the glitches are resolved.”

14:05 (IST)

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India’s active COVID-19 cases fall below 2% of total caseload for first time

The share of India’s active COVID-19 cases, which stand at 2,08,826, has fallen below 2 per cent of the total caseload for the first time, the Union health ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry attributed the fall to the steady decline in the daily cases.

“For the first time, India’s share of active cases within the total positive cases has shrunk below 2 per cent (1.98 per cent),” the ministry said in a statement.

The country has reported less than 20,000 daily cases over the past 10 days, it said.

13:34 (IST)

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Amitabh Bachchan hails Covid-19 vaccination drive

As India kickstarted the world’s largest vaccination drive against coronavirus yesterday, actor Amitabh Bachchan Sunday said he is hoepful the country will become Covid-19 free, PTI reported.

12:58 (IST)

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Highest number of COVID-19 vaccines administered in UP

Of the 1.91 lakh beneficiaries administered COVID-19 vaccine shots on the first day of the countrywide vaccination drive, the highest number of inoculations were carried out in Uttar Pradesh with 21291 people taking the jab, reports PTI. The first COVID-19 vaccine shots in India were given on Saturday.

Of the 208826 total active COVID-19 cases in the country, Kerala has the highest number at 68633 followed by Maharashtra at 53163, UP at 9162, Karnataka at 8713, West Bengal at 7151, and Tamil Nadu at 6128, according to the Health Ministry data.

More than one crore cases and 1.5 lakh fatalities later, India took its first steps out of the pandemic with shots of the Covishield and Covaxin vaccines being administered at medical centres across the country.

12:39 (IST)

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Curfew, prohibitory orders in parts of Bhopal

The Bhopal district administration on Sunday imposed curfew in three police station limits and prohibitory orders in some other areas as a precautionary measure over a construction work by a community in the old city area, reports PTI.

The order, issued by Bhopal District Magistrate Avinash Lavania, said a community is carrying out construction in the old city and there is a possibility of opposition by locals.

The Madhya Pradesh capital is “sensitive from communal point of view”, hence the decision to impose curfew has been taken, the order said.

The curfew has been clamped in Hanumanganj, Tila Jamalpura and Gautam Nagar police station areas of the old city till further orders, Additional Collector Dilip Yadav said.

12:16 (IST)

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52 people exhibit adverse events after receiving COVID vaccine in Delhi

The total number of Adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) post-COVID-19 vaccine in Delhi stands at 52 out of which only one is severe, said the Delhi Government on Saturday.

North Delhi has reported one minor AEFI case while South East Delhi and North West Delhi have reported 5 and 4 AEFI cases respectively. East Delhi reported 6 cases, Central Delhi 2, South Delhi 11 minor AEFI cases and one severe case, New Delhi 5, South West Delhi 11 and West Delhi reported 6 AEFI cases.

At least 4,319 healthcare workers received COVID-19 shot against the target of 8,117. The vaccination was held at 81 sites in the national capital, said Delhi Government.

12:10 (IST)

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Six more people test positive in Arunachal, tally rises to 16,808

Arunachal Pradesh’s COVID-19 tally mounted to 16,808 on Sunday as six more people — all of them military personnel — tested positive for the infection, a senior official told PTI.

The fresh cases, detected through the RT-PCR method, were reported from Dahung military camp in West Kameng district, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.

Meanwhile, eight people recuperated from the disease on Saturday, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 16,690, he said.

The COVID-19 recovery rate in the state has touched 99.29 percent, the SSO said.

12:03 (IST)

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All travellers to Singapore to undergo mandatory COVID-19 test on arrival

All travellers, including Singaporeans and permanent residents, will need to take a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival in Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced.

This will take effect from 11.59 pm on January 24 as part of tighter border measures to manage the risk of imported COVID-19 cases, reported the Channel News Asia.

Singapore has seen an increase in the number of coronavirus cases, mostly imported or those arriving from other countries.

The Ministry on Saturday confirmed four coronavirus cases from the community (or local), one from the dormitories for foreign workers here and 19 imported cases.

11:36 (IST)

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Telangana reports 299 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths

The COVID-19 tally edged up to 2.91 lakh in Telangana with the addition of 299 fresh cases, the state government said on Sunday.

Two more COVID-19 deaths pushed the toll to 1,577 in the state where the active cases stood at 4,191, a bulletin said

Areas under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of fresh cases with 57 people testing positive, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri (26) and Karimnagar (24), the bulletin, providing details as of 8 pm on Saturday, said.

The total number of cases stood at2,91,666 while recoveries were at 2,85,898.

11:23 (IST)

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Chinese city reports coronavirus found on ice cream 

The coronavirus was found on ice cream produced in eastern China, prompting a recall of cartons from the same batch, according to the government.

The Daqiaodao Food Co, Ltd in Tianjin, adjacent to Beijing, was sealed and its employees were being tested for the coronavirus, a city government statement said. There was no indication anyone had contracted the virus from the ice cream.

Most of the 29,000 cartons in the batch had yet to be sold, the government said. It said 390 sold in Tianjin were being tracked down and authorities elsewhere were notified of sales to their areas.

The ingredients included New Zealand milk powder and whey powder from Ukraine, the government said.

11:08 (IST)

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3 new COVID-19 cases push Andamans tally to 4,982

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported three new COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally in the union territory to 4,982, a health department official told PTI on Sunday. The three new cases were detected during contact tracing, he said.

The union territory now has 25 active COVID-19 cases, while 4,895 people have recovered from the disease so far, the official said.

The toll in the archipelago remained at 62 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours, he added.

The union territory administration has so far tested 2,02,517 samples for COVID-19 and the test positivity rate is 2.46 percent, the official added.

10:52 (IST)

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Norway raises concern over vaccine jabs as 29 elderly patients die after taking shot

Norway on Saturday expressed concern about the safety of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine on elderly people with serious underlying medical conditions, after at least 29 of them died within days of receiving the shot, Bloomberg reported.

The vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech was the only one available in Norway until Friday, and “all deaths are thus linked to this vaccine,” the Norwegian Medicines Agency said in a written response to Bloomberg.

10:35 (IST)

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AIIMS worker develops allergic reaction to Covaxin

A security guard who was administered a shot of Covaxin at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi on Saturday was admitted at the hospital after he developed an allergic reaction, reports PTI.

AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria said the the security guard, who is in his 20s, complained of palpitations and developed an allergic skin rash within 15-20 minutes of being inoculated.

“He was immediately managed with appropriate treatment and he improved,” Guleria added. “He is stable. As a precautionary measure he has been admitted for overnight observation and his condition is being monitored. He is likely to be discharged in the morning [Sunday].”

10:34 (IST)

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Jharkhand reports 119 new COVID-19 cases, one death

Jharkhand’s COVID-19 tally mounted to 1,17,599 as 119 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said on Sunday. The COVID-19 toll rose to 1,050 as one more person succumbed to the infection in the last 24-hours, an official told PTI.

Of the fresh cases, Ranchi district registered the maximum number of cases at 71, followed by East Singhbhum (15) and Dhanbad (11). Jharkhand now has 1,249 active coronavirus cases, while 1,15,300 people have recovered from the disease so far, the official said.

The state tested 13,761 samples for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, he added.

10:14 (IST)

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India reports 15,144 cases, 181 new deaths

India’s COVID-19 caseload climbed to 1,05,57,985 on Sunday with 15,144 fresh infections while recoveries surged to 1,01,96,885, pushing the national recovery rate to 96.58 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

The toll increased to 1,52,274 with 181 more fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

There are 2,08,826 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which constitute 1.98 per cent of the total caseload, the data showed. The COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.44 percent, it said.

09:59 (IST)

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79.39% vaccination in Thane, 64.25 % in Palghar on Day 1

A total of 1,829 people out of 2,300 registered beneficiaries have got the COVID-19 vaccine doses on the first day of the inoculation drive in Thane, as per revised figures issued by the district administration, reports PTI.

District Medical Officer Manish Renge in a release late Saturday night said 79.39 per cent of the registered beneficiaries got vaccine shots on the inaugural day.

Earlier, Renge had said 1,740 (75.63 percent) out of the 2,300 registered people got the doses on Saturday. The vaccination was carried out at 23 centres, he said.

09:57 (IST)

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No case of post-vaccination hospitalisation reported on day 1, says Health minister

A total of 1,91,181 beneficiaries were vaccinated on the first day of India’s coronavirus vaccination drive as the country kickstarted its inoculation campaign with two locally manufactured shots, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.

No case of post-vaccination hospitalisation was reported as of Saturday evening, it added.

Coronavirus News LATEST Updates:  Less than 50 per cent of the targeted beneficiaries turned up for coronavirus vaccination in Andhra Pradesh on the second day on Sunday, but that was the highest in the country.  According to data released by the Health Department, only 13,041 healthcare workers got the COVID-19 vaccine administered across the state against the targeted 27,233 for the day.

The Union health ministry said that 2,07,229 people were vaccinated on day one- the highest day one vaccination number in the world. This figure is higher than the US, UK and France on day one, it said.

The ministry’s Additional Secretary ManohaAgnani also said a meeting was held with all states and Union Territories on Sunday to review the progress of the drive, identify bottlenecks and plan corrective actions.

In a press briefing on Sunday, the Union health ministry informed that a total of 447 Adverse Events After Immunisation (AEFIs) were reported on the first two days of India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive and of these, only three required hospitalisation.

The Union Health Ministry informed that COVID-19 vaccination was conducted only in six states on Sunday.A total of 553 sessions were held on Sunday and as many as 17,072 have been vaccinated, as per provisional figures. A total of 2,24,301 beneficiaries vaccinated across the country so far, the ministry said.

 There have been no reports of adverse reaction or side-effects of COVID-19 vaccine in Maharashtra so far, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Sunday, a day after the inoculation drive was undertaken across the country.  “There has absolutely been no report of any adverse reaction or side-effects of the vaccine following the drive on Saturday. Everything was safe, it will be safe,” Tope  told news agency PTI.

 Delhi registered 246 new coronavirus cases, the lowest in around eight months, and eight more deaths, as the positivity rate dipped to 0.36 percent on Sunday, the Health Department said. The infection tally rose to 6.32 lakh and the toll mounted to 10,746, according to a health bulletin.

“The positivity rate has remained below 0.5 percent for the last few days,” Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Sunday. “We can comfortably say that the third wave is on the wane.” The health minister noted that cases have decreased but appealed to people to take precautions and use masks.

The Mizoram government has decided to allow reopening of schools for students of Class 10 and 12 from 22 January and places of worship from February. According to the new unlock guidelines issued on Saturday schools and hostels will reopen from 22 January for students of class 10 and 12.

The guidelines said churches will be allowed to open with 50 percent sitting capacity or 200 attendees on every Saturday and Sunday at noon from first February.

The share of India’s active COVID-19 cases, which stand at 2,08,826, has fallen below 2 per cent of the total caseload for the first time, the Union health ministry said on Sunday.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation postpones the coronavirus vaccination drive in the city, after technical glitches were reported in the government’s Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network, or CoWin app on Saturday, reports The Indian Express. The Mumbai civic body said that efforts were underway to fix the problem.

Of the 1.91 lakh beneficiaries administered COVID-19 vaccine shots on the first day of the countrywide vaccination drive, the highest number of inoculations were carried out in Uttar Pradesh with 21291 people taking the jab, reports PTI.

The total number of Adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) post-COVID-19 vaccine in Delhi stands at 52 out of which only one is severe, said the Delhi Government on Saturday.

A total of 1,91,181 beneficiaries were vaccinated on the first day of India’s coronavirus vaccination drive as the country kickstarted its inoculation campaign with two locally manufactured shots, the Union health ministry said on Saturday. The first dose was administered to a sanitation worker at the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the campaign with a nationally televised speech

India on Sunday reported 15,144 fresh COVID-19 infections with 181 fatalities pushing the country’s caseload to 1,05,57,985, toll now at 1,52,274.

Loud applause and cheers rang out as the first jabs were administered to frontline workers at hospitals and healthcare centres across the country on Saturday at the start of the gargantuan COVID-19 vaccination exercise, hailed as a momentous occasion in India’s fight against the pandemic.

“This is the beginning of the final war,” said Dr Naveen Thacker, a paediatrician and member of the Gujarat government’s task force on coronavirus, after receiving the first vaccine in the state.

Vaccination rooms were decorated with flowers and balloons, the first beneficiaries were welcomed with ‘aarti’, garlands and sweets, and people posed with victory signs after receiving the shots as a sense of hope prevailed over the months of anxiety and uncertainty as well as any apprehensions about the vaccines.

Doctors, nurses, sanitation workers and eminent functionaries were among the nearly two lakh people who received the shots on the first day of the biggest COVID-19 vaccination drive in the world at 3,351 session sites, which were visited by chief ministers, ministers and senior officials.

For many health workers like Jalpa Gandhi, a nurse at the Ahmedabad civil hospital, there was finally some comfort as they recalled the difficult months spent during the coronavirus pandemic with gnawing fears that they may catch the virus while at work.

“I feel relieved after the vaccination. I wore PPE kits when attending to patients, but there was always this apprehension that I might get infected, said Gandhi who has been on COVID- 19 duty’ from March 22, 2020, when the first coronavirus patient in the state was admitted to the civil hospital.

Political leaders, experts and prominent people from all walks of life urged the people not to believe in any misleading claims.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders hailed the corona warriors and remembered those who lost their lives in the pandemic since January last year.

Striking an emotional chord, Modi spoke of the disruption the pandemic had caused to people’s lives, isolating victims of the coronavirus and denying the dead traditional last rites.

The country has so far reported 1.05 crore COVID-19 cases and 1,52,093 deaths.

In a choked voice, the prime minister also referred to sacrifices made by healthcare and frontline workers, hundreds of whom lost their lives to the viral infection.

“Our vaccination programme is driven by humanitarian concerns, those exposed to maximum risk will get priority,” the prime minister said, while noting that young and old in every household have had the same question for some time as to when will the coronavirus vaccine arrive.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said it was an epoch-making moment for India that will take us closer to ending this pandemic.

Manish Kumar, a sanitation worker, became the first person in the national capital to be administered a COVID-19 vaccine during the launch of the drive at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the presence of Vardhan.

As people around applauded, AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria also received a shot of the vaccine followed by NITI Aayog member V K Paul.

Kumar, who works at the AIIMS along with his mother Laxmi Rani, said he was not at all nervous and was “proud of getting the vaccine”.

Vardhan said the two vaccines were a ‘sanjivani’, life infusing, in the fight against the pandemic.

“We have won the battle against polio and now we have reached the decisive phase of winning the war against COVID. I want to congratulate all frontline workers on this day,” he told reporters shortly after the vaccine shots were administered.

Volunteers were given chocolates, cakes and juices after the shots at the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital (RGSSH) in Delhi.

At Mumbai’s Cooper Hospital, dozens of health workers clapped and cheered the “vaccine carrier” staff who were given a traditional welcome with aarti’.

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar compared the fight against COVID-19 to the last Test match against Australia, saying there were “lots of ups and downs” but the frontline warriors took many blows and ensured that the team wouldn’t collapse.

Taking to Twitter, Bollywood celebrities applauded the scientists and doctors for their achievement. “#LargestVaccineDrive Thanks to all the scientists and Doctors and Health care workers Thanks @narendramodi,” veteran actor-politician Paresh Rawal tweeted.

“Bravo India! Congratulations to Indian authorities, medical & health teams for starting off the massive Covid vaccination drive. Forever grateful to our frontline heroes who have been risking their lives this past year to save others,” actor Priyanka Chopra said.

The two vaccines being administered are Covishield, developed by Oxford University and British-Swedish company AstraZeneca and manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), and Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech, Hyderabad.

SII CEO Adar Poonawalla shared on Twitter a video of receiving the jab.

Raja Chowdhury, a Group D staff at the state-run SSKM Hospital in Kolkata, was given the first dose of Covishield in West Bengal as the inoculation exercise started in the presence of Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, an official said.

“Today I feel so relieved after receiving the vaccine. It’s a lifetime experience and I will tell everyone about it. All these months, I have seen what this disease can do to a family, how dreams have been shattered,” Chowdhury told PTI.

 

Asha Pawar (55), who receives the vaccine at Maharaja Yeshwantrao (MY) Hospital in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, said she had no apprehensions about the safety of the vaccine and hoped that it will prove helpful in saving lives.

“There was an atmosphere of fear during the outbreak of the epidemic in Indore. But now, after getting this vaccine, I have no fear and I feel very good,” said Pawar and flashed the victory sign.

 

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