COVID-19 News Updates

Moderna requested authorisation of its 50 microgram booster dose for all adults on Wednesday. The company said the FDA based the emergency use authorisation (EUA) on the "totality of scientific evidence shared by the company," including data that showed neutralizing antibodies had waned at about six months.

In a separate trial, patients with mild-to-moderate Covid-19 had their risk of developing severe disease reduced by 88 per cent, when one dose of AZD7442 was given within three days of developing symptoms.A

The accountant, who was widely thought to be the first person with Covid-19, reported that his first symptoms appeared on December 16, several days later than initially known.

"Obesity is a modifiable risk factor of Covid-19 and our goal should be to achieve a healthy weight at the population level that might reduce adverse outcomes in near future."

Meanwhile, a total of 110 countries have recognised India's vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, and agreed to the mutual recognition of Covid-19 vaccination certificates with India.

Meanwhile, the weekly positivity rate at 0.92 per cent has remained less than 2 per cent for the last 56 days now.

The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India (34,478,517 infections and 464,623 deaths), followed by Brazil (21,989,962 infections and 612,144 deaths).

Of eight WHO-approved vaccines against Covid-19 in emergency use listing, two vaccines -- Covaxin and Covishield -- are from India.

Currently, ventilation design is often based on air changes per hour. While these design calculations assume fresh air reaches every corner of the room uniformly, computer simulations and experiments within a real washroom show this does not occur, Sinha said.

The findings come as several countries have loosened masking requirements, citing vaccine efficacy. But experts have warned against lifting mask mandates. Although vaccines have proved to be safe and effective, yet most vaccines do not confer 100 per cent protection. Moreover, it is also not known how vaccines will prevent future transmission of SARS-CoV-2, given emerging variants.

Noting that India has a large pool of scientists and technologists with a potential to take the industry to greater heights, Modi said this strength needs to be harnessed to discover and make in India .

The study also looked at the effectiveness of booster doses at preventing infection, finding that the risk of infection was around three times lower in those who had received a third dose, compared to those who had received two.

BMC barred outdoor celebration of the auspicious Kartika Purnima on October 19 by imposing restrictions for the public on visiting different temples and water bodies across the city

The number of active cases of the infection has gone up to 1,28,762, accounting for 0.37 per cent of the total caseload, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.28 per cent, the highest since March 2020.

The Union Health Minister expressed confidence that the country will have vaccinated every Indian by the end of the month-long 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign, according to the statement.