A one-day nationwide dry run for Covid-19 vaccination began on Saturday and is currently underway, after the exercise was carried out in four states-Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab-on December 28 and 29. The country's search for a Covid-19 vaccine is also on the verge of ending as a subject experts committee (SEC) of the government on Friday reportedly gave its approval for the emergency use authorisation (EUA) of Oxford University-AstraZeneca's Covishield, which will be manufactured in India by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII). The vaccine will by officially cleared for use after approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), where its EUA application will be sent next.
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India's tally of cases of Covid-19, meanwhile, is at 10,305,788 after the Union health ministry on Saturday reported that the country had logged a total of 19,079 infections in the preceding 24 hours. Recoveries, active cases and death toll are at 9,906, 387, 250,183 and 149,218 respectively. These constitute 96.12%, 2.43% and 1.45% of the country's total Covid-19 cases thus far.
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Chandigarh reports 29 new Covid cases in last 24 hours
Chandigarh on Saturday reported 29 fresh coronavirus cases and one death, taking the infection count to 19,865, according to a medical bulletin, reports PTI.
Russia inoculates more than 800,000 people against Covid-19
More than 800,000 people in Russia have been inoculated so far against the new coronavirus and more than 1.5 million vaccine doses have been dispatched, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on Saturday, reports Reuters.
UK records 57,725 new Covid-19 cases, 445 deaths
The United Kingdom recorded a further 57,725 cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, the fifth day running that it has topped 50,000, and another 445 deaths, official data showed, reports Reuters.
J-K record 244 new coronavirus cases
Jammu and Kashmir recorded 244 new coronavirus cases and another death, taking the tally to 1.21 lakh and the toll to 1,885 on Saturday, officials said, records PTI.
Covid-19 recoveries in Iran cross 1 million mark
Iranian health authorities announced 6,045 new Covid-19 infections on Saturday, bringing the overall count to 1,237,474 cases in the country, reports ANI.
Finland records first adverse reaction to Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine
The Finnish Medicines Agency has received the first report of an adverse reaction to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against coronavirus a week after Europe started its mass immunization campaign, the Finnish YLE broadcaster reported on Saturday, reports ANI.
First published: Jan 02, 2021 07:01 IST