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India added only 19,556 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, the lowest since early July, according to Health Ministry data released this morning. The country’s total number is now at 1,00,75,116. The number of Covid-related deaths reported from across the country in this period was 301, taking the total to 1,46,111. The mutant strain of the novel coronavirus identified in the UK may already be present in several countries, the World Health Organisation has said. It, however, also said it was still too early to draw conclusions about the new strain that it was “unlikely that a couple of mutations” could affect the immune system’s response to one of the existing Covid vaccines. The new coronavirus variant discovered in Britain with a higher transmission rate is not yet out of control and can be contained using existing measures, the WHO said on Monday. “We have had a much higher (contamination rate) at different points in this pandemic and we’ve got it under control,” WHO’s

India’s COVID-19 active caseload has dropped to 3.03 lakh, the lowest in 161 days, and accounts for just 3.02 per cent of the total infections, the Union health ministry said on Monday. The total number of active cases in the country were 3,01,609 on July 13. The new recoveries have led to a net decline of 1,705 in the total active cases in the last 24 hours, the ministry said. The daily new recoveries recorded in the country have been more than the daily cases registered since the last 24 days, the ministry highlighted. The number of daily new cases recorded in a span of 24 hours is 24,337, while 25,709 people recovered and were discharged during the same period. The rising recoveries have also improved the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 95.53 per cent. “The total recovered cases stand at 96,06,111. These are among the highest globally. The gap between recoveries and active cases is bridging fast and presently stands at 93,02,472,” the ministry said. According to the ministry, 71.

India’s total coronavirus cases reached 1,00,55,560 on Monday with 24,337 new COVID-19 cases recorded in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). According to the Health Ministry, 25,709 recoveries have been reported in the last 24 hours. The difference in the new recoveries outnumbering new cases has also improved the recovery rate to 95.53 per cent on Monday. The total numbers of recovered and active cases in the country are 96,06,111 and 3,03,639 respectively. Meanwhile, the country’s death count stands at 1,45,810 after 333 deaths. Meanwhile, European countries – and some beyond the continent – are restricting travel from the United Kingdom amid mounting fears over an infectious new strain of the novel coronavirus first detected in England. Austria, Belgium, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France and the Netherlands announced bans Sunday, with others expected to follow. Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have also temporarily suspended flights

India’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,00,31,223 with 26,624 new infections being reported in a day, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 95.80 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 95.51 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday. The death toll increased to 1,45,477 with 341 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 95,80,402 pushing the national recovery rate to 95.51 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent. The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 4 lakh for the 14th consecutive day. There are 3,05,344 active coronavirus infections in the country which comprises 3.04 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on Octo

Moderna Inc said on Saturday the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend the use of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine on people 18 years of age and older. The panel voted 11-0 in favor of the vaccine, the company said in a press release. The vote result came a day after the Food and Drug Administration’s authorization for emergency use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. “ACIP recommendation is another step forward in our quest to address this devastating pandemic with a vaccine,” Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel said in the release. Moderna’s is the second COVID-19 vaccine to receive approval in the United States after a similar vaccine from Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE got the green light for emergency use.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said that country’s scientists and health experts have worked on the development of an indigenous vaccine and in the upcoming six to seven months India will have the capacity to inoculate about 30 crore people. Addressing the 22nd Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting on COVID-19, Health Minister said, “Our scientists and health experts have worked on the development of a vaccine by genome sequencing and isolation of the coronavirus and developed an indigenous vaccine. In 6-7 months, we will have the capacity to inoculate about 30 crore people.” The Health Minister said, “There have been a little over one crore cases of COVID-19 in India. Of that, 95 lakh 50 thousand cases have recovered successfully. India has one of the highest recovery rates in the world at 95.46 per cent.” During his address, he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “exemplary leadership” throughout the coronavirus pandemic. “…I would like to thank all of you, in pa

England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty confirmed Saturday that a new coronavirus strain which surfaced in the country could spread faster and called for greater public vigilance to reduce transmission. Whitty said London had informed the World Health Organization of its findings. Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Monday said scientists had identified a “new variant” in the south of England that could be causing infections to spread faster. Britain has seen rising cases and hospital admissions this month and Prime Minister Boris Johnson was set to give a press conference on the virus situation on Saturday afternoon. The prime minister was reportedly to announce new travel restrictions for London and southeast England in the run-up to Christmas. “As a result of the rapid spread of the new variant, preliminary modelling data and rapidly rising incidence rates in the South East (an expert body advising the government) now consider that the new strain can spread more quickly,” Whitty s

Shram, a self-help a group with large number of doctors and professionals, working in the field of health and education to build awareness campaigns against tobacco and alcohol, today appeals to Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Health & Family Welfare and Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance to introduce uniform taxation on smokeless and other non-virginia tobacco products. Shram also demands for bringing in proper regulation on sale of these smokeless other non-virginia tobacco products as this is manufactured by industry which is highly unorganized, evade taxes and forms more than 90% of total tobacco consumption in India. The measures will not only help bring in revenue to the government in excess of Rs 40,000 crores but also help in reducing health burden of tobacco on youth and vulnerable citizens of our country. According to a study published in BMC Medicine, India accounts for 70% of the deaths globally caused due to chewing of smokeless tobacco which is widely availab

By – Dr. Kanchan Sanyal – Advisor, Health and Wellness, Columbia Pacific Communities As seniors grow older, the risk for a number of health concerns increases. While family history, lifestyle, social inequality and health history all play a role in determining which diseases and conditions might affect the seniors, gender can also be an indicator of what to expect and how to move towards positive ageing.   Senior women are at greater risk than men for many conditions and are affected differently by many diseases that impact both sexes. Older women die of the same conditions as men, including heart diseases, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. However, women often face multiple chronic conditions that affect their daily lives such as diabetes, hypertension or arthritis. Women may, on average, live longer than men but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are healthier! The common health problems faced by senior women are – Heart Diseases  – We all know that once the protection of the femal

New Coronavirus Cases Updates: India recorded 22,890 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total caseload to over 99.79 lakh. The number of fresh infections is 4.6 per cent down since Thursday. Up to 338 more deaths were reported in this time, taking total fatality to 1,44,789 till now. Over 31,087 recovered since yesterday, taking the overall figure to 95,20,827. India remains the second worst-hit country in the world after the US. Maharashtra remained the worst-hit state with over 18.86 lakh cases and nearly 48,500 deaths till now. Other states in the top-five badly hit category are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Delhi recorded 1,363 fresh COVID-19 cases on Thursday with over 90,000 tests conducted, the highest till date. The state’s positivity rate slipped to 1.51 per cent, authorities said. This is the third consecutive day when the positivity rate has remained below 2 per cent. The death count mounted to 10,182 with 35 new fatalities, officials

New Coronavirus Cases Updates: India recorded 24,010 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total caseload to over 99.5 lakh. The number of fresh infections is nearly 9 per cent down since Wednesday. Up to 355 more deaths have been reported in the past 24 hours, with the total fatality at 1,44,451 now. Over 33,291 have recovered since yesterday, takin the overall figure to 94,89,740. India remains the second worst-hit country in the world after the US. New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has said it could be six months before a sufficient number of people could be vaccinated to break the chain of coronavirus transmission and another six months before life could get close to the pre-Covid days. The other aim – to reduce the mortality rate – will be achieved on its own when high-risk individuals get vaccinated, AIIMS director Randeep Guleria has said. Up to 80% of Indian students couldn’t access online schooling during the coronavirus lockdown, and

Cipla shares gained nearly 5 per cent to top the gainers list on the BSE after the pharma major announced settlement of its patent litigation with Celgene Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb, in the United States. The shares of Cipla touched an intra-day high of ₹ 792.80, up 4.8 per cent in early trading on the back of the news development. At 9:55 am, the shares of Cipla were trading at ₹ 784.75, up 3.89 per cent. on the BSE. As part of the settlement, the parties will file consent judgments with the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey that enjoin Cipla from marketing generic lenalidomide before the expiration of the patents-in-suit, except as provided for in the settlement, Cipla said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges.

India reported a daily jump of 30,254 coronavirus infections in 24 hours, taking its tally to 98.57 lakhs, the Health Ministry data this morning showed. The country has a total of 98,57,029 infections, the second-highest in the world after the United States, but the daily tally has been slowly dropping since hitting a peak in September. In the 24-hour period, India, reported 391 deaths linked to the virus, taking the total number of fatalities to 1,43,019. 15,37,11,833 samples have been tested up to December 12 with 10,14,434 samples being tested on Saturday, according to the ICMR. 93,57,464 have recovered from the virus so far, pushing the national recovery rate to 94.93 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent. The COVID-19 active caseload  remained below 4 lakh for the seventh consecutive day. With 5,949 cases, Kerala witnessed the highest jump in 24 hours, taking its Covid tally to 6,64,662. The southern state was followed by Maharashtra, which record

An expert committee convened by the US Food and Drug Administration voted heavily in favor of recommending the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use approval on Thursday. The final voting tally was 17 in favor, four against and one abstention. The committee was tasked with answering whether, “based on the totality of scientific evidence available, do the benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine outweigh its risk for use in individuals 16 years of age and older?” The vote by the independent experts and researchers, including infectious disease specialists, biostatisticians and other scientists, isn’t binding but the FDA is expected to follow the recommendation within the coming days. Britain, Canada, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have already approved the vaccine, the first in the world to complete a large-scale, phase 3 clinical trial. Russian and Chinese vaccines are already being administered on a large scale, but without having completed comparable clinical trials. T

India reported a daily jump of 31,521 coronavirus infections in 24 hours, taking its tally to 97.67-lakh mark, the Health Ministry data this morning showed.The number of cases in the country now stand at 97,67,371. In the 24-hour period, India, which is the second worst-hit country, reported 412 deaths linked to the virus, taking the total number of fatalities to 1,41,772. The fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent. The active caseload remained below 4 lakh for the fourth consecutive day. There are 3,72,293 active coronavirus infections in the country which comprise 3.81 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. Maharashtra (4,981), Karnataka (1,279), Kerala (4,875), West Bengal (2,956) and Delhi (2,463) continued to log the highest daily cases. “An average of more than 10 lakh tests conducted daily has ensured that the cumulative positivity rate is sustained at low levels and is presently following a downward trajectory,” the Health ministry said on Wednesday. The testing capaci

India recorded 26,567 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the total number of active coronavirus cases in the country to 3,83,866, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday. With 39,045 new recoveries, the number of overall recovered COVID-19 patients stand at 91,78,946, pushing the recovery rate to 94.59 per cent. The overall COVID-19 cases reached 967,03,770, including 3,83,866 active cases and 91,78,946 recoveries. With 385 new deaths, the casualties mounted to 1,40,958.

Amid preparations to start inoculation of high-risk groups, India’s daily coronavirus case count fell to 26,567 in the last 24 hours, the lowest in almost five months, government data shows. The daily case count is the lowest since July 10 when 26,506 fresh infections were detected against 2.3 lakh tests with a positivity rate of 9.3 per cent. In the last 24 hours, almost 10 lakh samples were tested conducted and the positivity rate was about 2.6 per cent. Since yesterday, this is third Covid indicator to hit July levels after active cases – which have dropped below 4 lakh – and daily deaths – which were less than 400 after 157 days yesterday. Up to 385 people lost their lives fighting COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. The death rate has hovered around the 1.5 per cent mark since the September peak. Total active cases – new cases minus recoveries – stood at 3.8 lakh as some 39,000 people fought off the viral disease in the last 24 hours. Overall, more than 91.97 lakh people have recovered

A total of 17 volunteers have been administered Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine at a Pune hospital as part of the human clinical trials, doctors said today. Sputnik V vaccine has been developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). According to reports, India has purchased 100 million doses of the candidate from Russia. “Seventeen healthy volunteers were administered Sputnik V vaccine in the last three days as part of human trials,” Dr SK Raut, Head of Clinical Research Department of Noble Hospital, said.

Britain is hoping that millions of doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine will be delivered by the end of the year but the total will depend on how quickly it can be manufactured, UK’s business minister Alok Sharma said on Friday. The UK approved Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, jumping ahead of the rest of the world in the race to begin the most crucial mass inoculation programme in history. Last month, Britain said it expected 10 million doses of the shot in 2020, but the government has said the pace of rollout will be dependent on delivery. It has ordered 40 million doses in all, enough to vaccinate 20 million people. Sharma said he was confident the first batch of 800,000 doses would be in place to begin rollout next week, but would not give an exact figure on how much Britain would get before the end of the month.

The Delhi government has directed all public and private medical facilities to finish enrolling their healthcare workers by December 5 midnight for a COVID-19 vaccine, which should be available in a few weeks.  According to sources, many registered and non-registered facilities have already submitted this data as the process had started in October.   The government-run facilities that have not completed the task been told to upload the data on Delhi State Health Mission website — https://dshm.delhi.gov.in. Private health facilities will have to seek login access to submit the names. Healthcare workers include all medical, para-medical, supporting, security, sanitation and administration staff at centre of allopathy, dentistry, Ayush, physiotherapy, diagnostic and radiology labs. The directive comes amid similar exercises being held across states, which recently attended a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on evaluating their preparedness for a vaccine rollout, including cold st