Tag: COVID-19 vaccine

Delhi Budget 2021 LIVE Updates: Manish Sisodia to Present ‘Budget of Hope’ Today; Provision of Free Vaccination Likely

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Delhi Budget 2021 LIVE Updates: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is all set to present the seventh budget in the assembly today, which is expected to have a special allocation for free COVID-19 vaccination at Delhi government hospitals. The budget is also likely to have proposals to open ‘Sainik Schools’ in Delhi and promote yoga at a widescale in the city, sources said. Vaccination is currently underway in Delhi at 192 hospitals, including 56 run by the Delhi government, for people aged 60 years and above and those in the age group of 45-59 years having comorbidities. “The government is expected to allocate funds for free vaccines to all people in the third phase of vaccination at its hospitals in Delhi, ” said a government source.

Currently, vaccination at government hospitals is free for elderly and those with comorbidities, while Rs 250 is being charged at private hospitals. The government is also expected to share its plan to increase Delhi’s per capita income to the level of Singapore by 2047, in the budget, the sources said. “The master plan of the Kejriwal government will focus on economic reforms and fundamental changes in trade and industries to effect a rise in per capita income so that it equals that of Singapore by 2047,” they said. The government is also expected to outline measures in the budget to simplify the trade and business processes and make them more user-friendly in the future, they said.

The Delhi government is working on a plan for taking yoga to the masses in Delhi. The government intends to popularise yoga through extensive campaign in residential areas of the city, the sources said. Besides this, the government is likely to share its plan to celebrate 75th Independence Day in 2022 through various programmes, including installing of high mast tricolour like one at Connaught Place, across the city, they added.

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Mumbai Woman Gets 1st Covid Shot as a Gift on Her 100th B’day Amid More than 1L Vaccinations in Maha

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A Mumbai woman, who turned 100 on March 5, celebrated a special birthday at an inoculation centre. As a gift, Parvati Khedkar, born on March 5 1921, received her first shot of Covid-19 vaccine at the city’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) vaccination centre on Friday.

India started nationwide coronavirus vaccine drive on 16 January. During the first phase of vaccination, the healthcare workers and frontline workers received Covid-19 doses. Since March 1, those who are above 60 years of age are getting jabbed against novel coronavirus.

Maharashtra is facing the toughest time since the beginning of the pandemic last year as the western state has been clocking the highest number of Covid-19 cases. The state on Friday registered 10,216 new infections — the highest since October 16. The state now has 90,055 active cases after touching a low of 30,265 on February 10.

The Centre has also rushed high-level multi-disciplinary public health teams to Maharashtra in view of the increase in number of daily Covid-19 cases. The high-level team to Maharashtra will be led by P Ravindran, Sr CMO, Disaster Management Cell, MOHFW. The team will visit the (Covid-19) hotspot areas in the state and ascertain reasons for the surge in cases, the health ministry said.

A record 1,13,669 people were vaccinated against Covid-19 in Maharashtra on Saturday, the first time the number of beneficiaries covered in a day crossed the 1-lakh mark, state health officials said. Of these, 93,476 received the first dose and the rest 20,193 were administered the second one, and included 62,342 people over the age of 60 and 11,241 in the 45 plus age group with comorbidities, an official release said.

“The ones who got the first dose included 10,904 health care and 8,989 frontline workers, while for the second dose, the figures were 17,225 and 2,968 respectively,” he said. The number of people vaccinated so far in the state since January 16 has reached 17,44,724.

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Coronavirus | India records 18,327 new COVID-19 infections, active cases rise again

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The COVID-19 active caseload has increased to 1,80,304 which now comprises 1.61% of the total infections

India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 1,11,92,088 with over 18,000 fresh cases being reported in a span of 24 hours in the country after 36 days, while active cases registered an increase for the fourth consecutive day on March 6 and were recorded at 1,80,304, according to the Union Health Ministry.

The death toll reached 1,57,656 with 108 more fatalities, while a total of 18,327 new cases were registered in a day, the Ministry’s data showed.

On January 29, 18,855 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours after which the daily rise in fresh cases remained below 18,000.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,08,54,128 which translates to a national COVID-19 recovery rate of 96.98%, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.41%.

The COVID-19 active caseload has increased to 1,80,304 which now comprises 1.61% of the total infections.

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 October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one crore-mark on December 19.

According to the ICMR, 22,06,92,677 samples have been tested up to March 5 with 7,51,935 samples being tested on March 5.

The 108 new fatalities include 53 from Maharashtra, 16 from Kerala and 11 from Punjab.

A total of 1,57,656 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 52,393 from Maharashtra followed by 12,513 from Tamil Nadu, 12,354 from Karnataka, 10,918 from Delhi, 10,275 from West Bengal, 8,729 from Uttar Pradesh and 7,172 from Andhra Pradesh.

The Health Ministry stressed that more than 70% of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the Ministry said on its website, adding that State-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

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Aarogya Setu App Can be Used to Register for COVID-19 Vaccine Apart from Co-WIN Portal: Here’s How

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COVID-19 vaccine registration via CoWIN dashboard on Aarogya Setu app

COVID-19 vaccine registration via CoWIN dashboard on Aarogya Setu app

The government had previously announced that a dedicated Co-WIN app would be rolled out to ensure the same registration process. However, the app that is currently available on Google Play Store is accessible to administrators and not eligible beneficiaries.

  • News18.com

  • Last Updated: March 2, 2021, 17:36 IST


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The second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination process has begun in India for citizens above the age of 60 or those above 45 with co-morbidities. Aside from the Co-WIN web portal, citizens can also use the Aarogya Setu app to register for the vaccine. The government had previously announced that a dedicated Co-WIN app would be rolled out to ensure the same registration process. However, the app that is currently available on Google Play Store is accessible to administrators and not eligible beneficiaries. On the other hand, Aarogya Setu is free to download via Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

To register for the COVID-19 vaccine in India via Aarogya Setu, users will need to find the section ‘Cowin‘ within the app for Android or iOS. Select the ‘Vaccination’ option and then tap on ‘Register Now.’ Citizens will first need to register via their 10-digit mobile number and enter the OTP. In the second stage of registration, select the type of Photo ID proof such as Aadhaar, PAN, Driver’s license, and more. You will also need to provide basic information such as gender and date of birth. If you’re above 45 years with co-morbidities, select the check box and carry relevant documents at the time of vaccination.






After this, you will see a page where you can add up to four beneficiaries with the same mobile number. Select the vaccination centre by entering the pin code, book the time slot, and select Proceed. Eligible citizens also have the option to re-schedule or cancel the appointment.

ALSO READ: How to Register for COVID-19 Vaccine via Co-WIN: A Step-by-Step Guide, In Photos

Many private hospitals have received certification to act as COVID-19 vaccine centres where they cannot charge more than Rs 250 per shot. COVID-19 vaccines are free of cost in government hospitals. Citizens who are not tech-savvy or do not own a smartphone can call the centre number — 1507. It appears that the Aarogya Setu app, similar to the Co-WIN platform, does not allow citizens to choose which COVID-19 vaccine they want. Users are also advised to keep the app updated in case the CoWIN dashboard is still unavailable.


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Twitter Tackles Covid-19 Vaccine Misinformation With Labels, Strike Policy

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LONDON: Twitter said it would apply warnings to tweets that contain misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines and implement a strike system of enforcement that could see users permanently banned for repeat violations.

The social media network started promoting public health information before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. It also aimed to remove demonstrably false or misleading content about the virus that had the highest risk of causing harm.

Since introducing its COVID-19 guidance, it said it had removed more than 8,400 tweets and challenged 11.5 million accounts.

With more and more people now looking for authoritative public health information about vaccines as programs were rolled out across the world, it said it would expand the guidance.

Katy Minshall, Twitter’s head of UK public policy, said the company recognised the role it played in giving people credible public health information.

“We continue to work with health authorities around the world – including (Britain’s health service) the NHS  – to ensure high visibility access to trusted and accurate public health information on our service, including about COVID-19 vaccines,” she told Reuters.

“Today we will begin applying labels to tweets that may contain misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines, in addition to our continued efforts to remove the most harmful COVID-19 misleading information from the service.”

She said the approach built on existing work to guard against false claims about the safety and effectiveness of inoculation.

Vaccines are at the centre of government plans to fight the pandemic that has caused more than 2.6 million deaths to date.

There have been concerns, however, that public distrust of the shots could jeopardize the success of vaccination programs.

Surveys and data show varying levels of willingness to receive a shot according to country and demographic group.

In Britain, where more than a third of adults have received at least one vaccine shot, authorities are working to overcome hesitancy among some ethnic groups.



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US Children Could Receive Vaccine By Year-end, Says Fauci

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The United States could start vaccinating older children against Covid-19 by the fall and younger ones by year-end or early 2022, the White House’s top pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci said Sunday.

The mass vaccination of school-age children will allow millions of children to return sooner to in-person learning and ease the burden on millions of parents now caring for their offspring at home.

School reopenings, an intensely debated matter, have varied sharply across the country, with some private and religious schools opening before public schools and teachers in some areas protesting any early return.

But the decision Saturday by the US Food and Drug Administration to grant emergency use authorization to a new single-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson has boosted the prospects for earlier reopenings.

“We now have three really efficacious vaccines,” Fauci said on ABC’s “This Week.”

For now, none of the three authorized vaccines in the US (also including Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna) has been cleared for children under 16, but trials on children are under way.

Children in high school — roughly ages 14-18 in the United States — should be able to get the vaccine “sometime this fall,” Fauci told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“I’m not sure it’ll exactly be on the first day that school opens, but pretty close to that,” he added.

Data are still being compiled on the vaccines’ safety and efficacy for children in elementary or middle school — usually aged between five and 13 years old in the United States — so “realistically” they may not be able to receive the vaccine until late 2021 or early 2022, Fauci said.

Speaking Sunday evening at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, former president Donald Trump urged the new administration to reopen schools.

“On behalf of the moms, dads and children of America, I call on Joe Biden to get the schools open and get them open now,” said Trump.

Although the federal government issues guidelines on public health, it largely up to locally elected school boards when to reopen classrooms, not the president.

Children and adolescents are less commonly infected with the virus than adults, and in-person learning in schools has not been associated with substantial community transmission.

With Covid-19 still ravaging the US, the worst-hit country in the world, roughly half of students are currently attending school in person, the New York Times reported recently.

Earlier this month the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidelines urging schools to reopen safely and as soon as possible.

The strategy emphasizes universal masking, hand-washing and disinfection, as well as contact tracing.

he CDC recommends vaccination for teachers and staff as soon as supply is available, and calls for different approaches depending on the level of community transmission in a given area.



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Explained: Here’s When CO-WIN App Will Launch, How to Register for COVID-19 Vaccine in India

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The government has announced that the COVID-19 vaccine tracking and registration app Co-WIN will also go live in India on March 1, the same day when the second phase of inoculation drive starts in the country for people above 60 years of age and those over 45 with co-morbidities. The second phase starts less than a month after the government commenced its vaccination programme for frontline health workers and select beneficiaries on January 16. The vaccination process in India is being monitored via the Co-WIN app and portal, available only to administrators and beneficiaries. Citizens who have received the two vaccine shots to date can get the COVID-19 vaccine certificate via the Co-WIN portal and Aarogya Setu app.

Currently, some details about the vaccination drive via Co-WIN remains unclear, and we’ll get a better picture once the app is available for all users. Meanwhile, News18 also spoke to RS Sharma, chairman of the Co-Win panel, to understand the government’s plan on the next phase of vaccination drive and its modalities.

How to register for the COVID-19 vaccine in India: RS Sharma, in the interview, said that eligible beneficiaries would be able to self-register from March 1 or March 2. Citizens can use portals such as the Co-WIN app, Aarogya Setu app or Co-WIN website (cowin.gov.in) for registration. Notably, there’s also a provision where people will have a walk-in system till the time the registration system is used by more and more people.

What is required for COVID-19 registration: The government explains that citizens will need to register on the Co-WIN app via their mobile number, following which they would receive an OTP. After registering on the app, users would need to provide information such as name, age, gender, and an identity document that needs to be carried to the vaccine centre. The Co-WIN app can register as many as four family members. As mentioned, the existing Aarogya Setu would also seemingly get the same benefits. Recently, the app got a dedicated CoWIN section that provides statistics and access to links where beneficiaries can receive certificates.

All about the Co-WIN app: The development over the COVID-19 vaccine tracker and registration, the Co-WIN app was announced last year. The government had then explained that citizens who are not frontline health workers would be able to register for the vaccine via the ‘Registration Module’ within the app. The admins via the ‘Administrator module’ will then track the information provided by citizens of India. The Vaccination module of the Co-WIN app will verify the beneficiary details and update vaccination status. The ‘Beneficiary Acknowledgement Module’ will send an SMS to beneficiaries and also generate QR-based certificates after one completes the vaccination process. Lastly, the Report Module will prepare reports of how many vaccine sessions have been conducted, how many people have attended those, how many people have dropped out etc.

Other details you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine in India: RS Sharma has told NDTV that the Co-WIN app will not allow citizens to choose which vaccine they will get. They can choose the date and COVID-19 vaccine centre. Additionally, people aged above 45 years will have to upload a medical certificate mentioning their co-morbid conditions. The government is yet to specify the conditions that would be included in the over-45 age group with comorbidities.

Many private hospitals have also received certification to act as COVID-19 vaccine centres where they cannot charge more than Rs 250 per shot. COVID-19 vaccines are free of cost in government hospitals. Citizens who are not tech-savvy or do not own a smartphone can call the centre number — 1507. As mentioned, they can walk-in to the nearest centre and if there’s a vacancy.



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Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Worst Thing in 100 Yrs, Says Fauci as US Sees 5 Lakh Deaths; Shops, Haircuts Return in April as UK Lifts Lockdown Slowly

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A few moments later, Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses appeared wearing black clothing and black masks. They stood silently as the hymn “Amazing Grace” was played. The country had recorded more than 28 million COVID-19 cases and 500,264 lives lost as of Monday afternoon, according to a Reuters tally of public health data, although daily cases and hospitalizations have fallen to the lowest level since before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

About 19% of total global coronavirus deaths have occurred in the United States, an outsized figure given that the nation accounts for just 4% of the world’s population. “This is the worst thing that’s happened to this country with regard to the health of the nation in over 100 years,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top infectious disease adviser to President Joe Biden, said in an interview with Reuters on Monday. He added that decades from now, people would be talking about “that horrible year of 2020, and maybe 2021.”

For most of 2020, Fauci served on former President Donald Trump’s White House Coronavirus Task Force, a job that often put him at odds with Trump, who sought to downplay the severity of pandemic despite contracting COVID-19 himself, and refused to issue a national mask mandate. Political divisiveness, Fauci said, contributed significantly to the U.S. death toll.

The country’s poor performance reflects the lack of a unified, national response last year, when the administration of former President Donald Trump mostly left states to their own devices in tackling the greatest public health crisis in a century, with the president often in conflict with his own health experts.

In 2020, the virus has taken a full year off the average life expectancy in the United States, the biggest decline since World War Two. Sweeping through the country at the beginning of last year, the U.S. epidemic had claimed its first 100,000 lives by May. The death toll doubled by September as the virus ebbed and surged during the summer months.

Pandemic-weary Americans, like so many around the world, grappled with the mountain of loss brought by COVID-19 as health experts warned of yet another coronavirus resurgence during the fall and winter months.



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