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The total number of COVID-19 tests conducted in India crossed the 14-crore mark on Tuesday with 9,69,322 tests conducted on Monday, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) informed. As many as 14,13,49,298 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in the country so far, according to data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). This milestone in COVID-19 testing has been recorded just nine days after the 13-crore mark on November 21. As many as 31,118 new COVID-19 infections were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of coronavirus cases to 94,62,810, the MoHFW said.

Coronavirus cases in India are steadily on the rise with 41,810 new infections in the last 24 hours taking the tally to 93,92,919. There were 496 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours and the number of active cases went down by 984. There are 4,53,956 active cases in the country. Over 42,000 people recovered from the deadly disease in the last 24 hours taking the total recoveries to over 88 lakhs. The total deaths in the country stand at 1,36,696. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, and surpassed 90 lakh on November 20. Over 13.95 crore samples have been tested up to November 28 with 12,83,449 samples being tested on Saturday. Kerala reported the highest number of cases among all states in the last 24 hours with 6,250 infections. The most affected state remains Maharashtra with over 18 lakh infections. The state recorded over 5,900 cases in the last 24 hours. Serum Institute of India will apply within two weeks for an emergency use licens

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund), and Hetero, one of India’s leading generic pharma companies (through its biologics arm “Hetero Biopharma”), have agreed to produce in India over 100 million doses per year of the world’s first registered vaccine against the novel coronavirus infection — Sputnik V. The parties plan to start the production of Sputnik V in the beginning of 2021. The Gamaleya Center and RDIF announced on November 24 positive results obtained during the second interim data analysis of the largest double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trials in Russia’s history involving 40,000 volunteers. Interim trial results have once again confirmed the high efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine, the world’s first registered vaccine against coronavirus based on a well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors.

Malaysia has agreed to buy 12.8 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to announce a deal with the US drugmaker after some expressed reservations over the need for ultra-cold storage. While final trial data showed that Pfizer’s vaccine is 95 per cent effective, many Asian countries are not betting on it partly due to tropical heat, remote island communities and a lack of ultra-cold freezers. Pfizer’s vaccine, jointly developed with German partner BioNTech, must be stored and transported at minus 70 degrees Celsius (-94F), although it can be kept in a fridge for up to five days, or up to 15 days in a thermal shipping box. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Friday that Malaysia would prioritise “high-risk groups… including frontliners, senior citizens, and those with non-communicable diseases, such as heart diseases and diabetes”. Pfizer will deliver the first one million doses in the first quarter of 2021, with 1.7 million, 5.8 mill

AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford, among the front-runners in the quest to deliver a Covid-19 vaccine, face mounting questions about their trial results after acknowledging a manufacturing error. While an announcement Monday by Astra and Oxford showed their shot was 70% effective on average in a late-stage study, the scant details released by the UK partners have sparked worries about whether regulators would clear it. In a later statement, Oxford said a difference in manufacturing processes led to some participants being given a half dose instead of a full one. Astra and Oxford said their vaccine was 90% effective when a half-dose was given before a full-dose booster, and that two full doses showed an efficacy of 62%. But the head of the US vaccine program known as Operation Warp Speed said the next day that the dose showing the higher level of effectiveness was tested in a younger population, and that the half-dose was given to some people because of an error in the quanti

The central government on Wednesday asked states to step up efforts to contain coronavirus cases especially in areas where a spike has been reported in recent weeks. Issuing a set of guidelines that will be effective from December 1, the Home Ministry suggested measures including local restrictions such as night curfews, stricter enforcement of containment zones and encouraging “Covid-appropriate” behaviour. The centre said states can impose additional fines and curbs on gatherings but there can’t be any lockdown outside containment zones without its permission. The government call for stricter enforcement of existing rules like mask-wearing, social distancing and said it will issue formal rules for markets and weekly bazaars. India’s coronavirus caseload passed 90 lakh last week with a surge in places like New Delhi, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh where hospitals came under increasing pressure. The world’s second-worst-hit country, India has now also registered more than 1.34 lakh deaths

With 37,975 fresh COVID-19 infections, India recorded 13 per cent fewer coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, government data shows. The country also reported 480 Covid-related deaths in this period, marginally lower than yesterday’s 511. India’s overall coronavirus case count now stands at 91.77 lakh, with 1,34,218 Covid-related fatalities, so far. Active cases rose to almost 4.4 lakh even as more than 40,000 people successfully fought off the virus taking overall recoveries to 86,04,955. The country’s overall recovery rate is 93.75 per cent, with a daily positivity rate of about 3.5 per cent against 10.9 lakh tests in the last 24 hours.

Britain’s AstraZeneca said on Monday its vaccine for the novel coronavirus could be around 90% effective without any serious side effects, giving the world another important tool to halt the COVID-19 pandemic. The combined analysis from both dosing regimens resulted in an average efficacy of 70%. The vaccine developed by Oxford University was 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 when it was administered as a half dose followed by a full dose at least one month apart, according to data from the late-stage trials in Britain and Brazil. No serious safety events related to the vaccine have been confirmed and it was well tolerated across both dosing regimens, it said. “This vaccine’s efficacy and safety confirm that it will be highly effective against COVID-19 and will have an immediate impact on this public health emergency,” Pascal Soriot, Astra’s chief executive, said in a statement. The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, has partnered with

Strides Pharma Science’s step-down subsidiary, Strides Pharma Global Pte., Singapore, has received approval from the US Food & Drug Administration for Prednisone tablets, Strides Pharma announced in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges on Monday. At 2:37 pm, Strides Pharma shares were trading at ₹ 698.10, lower by 1.72 per cent, on the BSE, after touching an intra-day high of ₹ 714.40. The pharma company has received approval for Prednisone Tablets USP, 2.5 mg and 5 mg. The product is bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to deltasone tablets, 2.5 mg and 5 mg of Pharmacia and Upjohn, Strides Pharma added. Prednisone drugs, also known as corticosteroids, are used as anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant medications for the treatment of allergic disorders, skin conditions, ulcerative colitis and arthritis. According to IQVIA MAT September 2020 data, the US market for Prednisone tablets is about $30 million. The product will be manufactured at the company’s flagship fac

India’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 90.50 lakh, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to over 84.78 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 93.67 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data on Saturday. The total coronavirus cases mounted to 90,50,597 with 46,232 infections being reported in a day, while the death toll climbed to 1,32,726 with 564 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of active cases remained below five lakh for the eleventh consecutive day. There are 4,39,747 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country as on date, which comprises 4.86 per cent of the total caseload, as per the data. The total recoveries have surged to 84,78,124 pushing the national recovery rate to 93.67 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.47 per cent. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23 and 40 lakh on September 5. It went past 50 lakh on September 16, 6

US biotech giant Pfizer and German partner BioNTech sought approval Friday to roll out their coronavirus vaccine early, a first step towards relief as surging infections prompt a return to shutdowns that traumatized nations and the global economy earlier this year. The world is looking to scientists for salvation from the global pandemic. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said its vaccines committee would meet on December 10 to discuss the request for emergency use authorization. “The FDA recognizes that transparency and dialogue are critical for the public to have confidence in COVID-19 vaccines,” the organization’s head Stephen Hahn said in a statement. “I want to assure the American people that the FDA’s process and evaluation of the data for a potential Covid-19 vaccine will be as open and transparent as possible.”  He said he could not predict how long the review would take, but the federal government said earlier the final green light would probably come in December.

Vaccine maker Serum Institute of India’s CEO Adar Poonawalla on Thursday said the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine should be available for healthcare workers and elderly people by around February 2021 and by April for the general public, and will be priced at a maximum of ₹ 1,000 for two necessary doses for the public, depending on the final trial results and regulatory approvals. Probably by 2024, every Indian will get vaccinated, he said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS), 2020. “It will probably take two or three years for every Indian to get inoculated, not just because of the supply constraints but because you need the budget, the vaccine, logistics, infrastructure and then, people should be willing to take the vaccine. So these are the factors that lead up to being able to vaccinate 80-90 per cent of the population. “It will be 2024 for everybody, if willing to take a two-dose vaccine, to be vaccinated,” Mr Poonawalla said. Asked at what price the public will get it, he said

The anti-viral drug remdesivir should not be used to treat Covid-19 patients no matter how severe their illness as it has “no important effect” on survival chances, the World Health Organization said Friday. Scratching one of the few treatments that had shown some initial promise in severe patients, a WHO Guideline Development Group (GDG) of international experts said there was “no evidence based on currently available data that it does improve patient-important outcomes”. The United States, the European Union and other countries have granted temporary approval for the use of remdesivir after initial research showed it may shorten recovery time in some coronavirus patients. US President Donald Trump was treated with remdesivir among other medicines after he tested positive for Covid-19 in October. Friday’s WHO recommendation was based on four international randomised trials among more than 7,000 patients hospitalised with the virus. Publishing updated treatment guidance in the BMJ medi

Kolkata, November, 2020:“Decoding Motherhood” by Vidhi Beri is not only a maternity book but an overall parcel of the most relevant things pertaining to the most blessed phase of a life — motherhood. This book is the need of the hour, especially in times like these where we are so busy in our lives, start losing ourselves and are not able to concentrate on the little things that matter the most. 95% of us plan to have children, are going to have children or have had them. Decoding motherhood is relevant to the Indian parenting context whether you are single, married as a couple, or have children. This book is for all our senior citizens, who have daughters and daughters-in-laws, and with whose children they will be interacting. “Decoding Motherhood” is a result of Vidhi Beri’s decade of knowledge and learning. She has brought this book together with a lot of observation, empirical research and most importantly, love. As a devoted mother herself, she believes that everyone should have a

Amazon on Tuesday launched an online pharmacy for delivering prescription medications in the United States, increasing competition with drug retailers such as Walgreens, CVS and Walmart. Called Amazon Pharmacy, the new store lets customers price-compare as they buy drugs on the company’s website or app. Shoppers can toggle at checkout between their co-pay and a non-insurance option, heavily discounted for members of its loyalty club Prime. The move builds on the web retailer’s 2018 acquisition of PillPack, which Amazon said will remain separate for customers needing pre-sorted doses of multiple drugs. Over the past two years, Amazon has worked to secure more state licenses for shipping prescriptions across the country, which had been an obstacle to its expansion into the drug supply chain, according to analyst notes from Jefferies Equity Research.

India today reported 47,905 fresh COVID-19 cases, 8% higher than on Wednesday. The country has up to 86.83 lakh cases so far with 1,28,121 deaths, up 550. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh remained the top five most affected states in the country in overall numbers. The total number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 till now stands at 80,66,501, rising 52,718 since a day earlier. In terms of the number of deaths due to COVID-19, the top five states were Maharashtra (125), Delhi (85), West Bengal (49), Punjab (31), and Kerala (29). Up to 12,19,62,509 samples have been tested for COVID-19 till Wednesday, of which 11,93,358 were tested on Wednesday alone, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research. Jharkhand’s COVID-19 tally rose to 1,05,224 on Thursday as 284 more people tested positive, a health official said. Three fresh fatalities pushed the state’s coronavirus death count to 913, he said. Ranchi district reported the highest numbe

The number of active cases today stood at 5,05,265, down 4,408 since Monday. Maharashtra had the highest number of cases at 1,00,488 (up 3,192 since Monday), with also the highest number of fresh deaths at 85, taking the state’s total figure up to 45,325. The other top states that followed Maharashtra in this list were Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. In the past 24 hours, up to 38,073 fresh COVID-19 cases were recorded in India, 17% lower than yesterday. Overall, 85.91 lakh cases have so far been reported, with 1,27,059 deaths. The number of active cases stood at 5,05,265, down 4,408 since Monday. Maharashtra had the highest number of cases at 1,00,488 (up 3,192 since Monday), with also the highest number of fresh deaths at 85, taking the state’s total figure up to 45,325. The other top states that followed Maharashtra in this list were Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. The total active cases in India has fallen below 6 per cent of the

A vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was 90 percent effective in preventing Covid-19 infections in ongoing Phase 3 trials, the companies announced Monday. The statement was released as coronavirus cases are soaring across the world, and European stock markets and oil prices jumped on the news. According to preliminary findings, protection in patients was achieved seven days after the second of two doses, and 28 days after the first. “The first set of results from our Phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine’s ability to prevent Covid-19,” Pfizer chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement. “We are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis,” he said. “We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most.” Across much of the globe, Covid-19 infections rates are hitting re

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the COVID-19 pandemic will remain a watershed moment in history, just like World War II (WWII). The Prime Minister was speaking at the India-Italy Virtual Summit with his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte. “COVID-19 pandemic will remain a watershed moment in history, just like WWII. We will have to adapt ourselves to the post-Corona world. We will have to be ready for the opportunities and challenges arising out of it,” PM Modi said. The Prime Minister paid condolences on behalf of the people of India for the losses due to COVID-19 in Italy. “I express my condolences on behalf of all the people in India, for the losses due to COVID-19 in Italy. When other countries of the world were still getting to know of Coronavirus and trying to understand it, you were suffering from it,” PM Modi said. He said, “You swiftly and successfully brought a very difficult situation under control. You also consolidated the entire country.” “I hope that afte

No matter what career you choose to go into or what degree you choose to study, you should always understand your own reasons for doing what you’re doing. If you don’t, you can soon become jaded with your studies and bored with your job, and you might not have the impetus or desire to continue moving forward. At this point, you can switch your career or field of study and there is no shame in doing this, but it would be better to make the right choice at the very beginning so that you don’t waste time and money figuring out what you want to do. A degree in healthcare administration is a great option to begin a career and even if you’re not sure what you’re going to do with the rest of your life, there are many reasons why this is a great degree to have. Here are the reasons why: Good Money Although not every decision should be based on the financial implications, this is clearly something you’re going to need to take into account when choosing what you want to do in life. Being paid a