Coronavirus India Updates: Tally Nears 37 Lakh; Lowest Fresh Cases In Six Days

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that the vaccine for coronavirus being developed by AstraZeneca has reached phase three clinical trials in the country and is very close to being finalised for approval.

The phase 3 trial is being implemented as part of Operation Warp Speed, a multi-agency collaboration led by the U.S. Health and Human Services, which aims at accelerating the development and manufacturing of medical countermeasures for Covid-19 and delivering 300 million doses of an effective vaccine by January 2021. "I am pleased to announce that AstraZeneca vaccine has reached phase three clinical trials," Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.

"That's joining another group of vaccines that are very close to the end, and hopefully, approval," he added.

AstraZeneca is one of the leaders in the race to develop Covid-19 vaccine. Other companies that have Covid-19 vaccines in phase 3 trials include Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc.

In the United States, we're doing things that nobody thought would have been even possible. This is a process that would have taken, in some cases, years, and we did it in a matter of months, Trump said.

The National Institute of Health separately announced that Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating an investigational Covid-19 vaccine known as AZD1222 will enroll approximately 30,000 adult volunteers at 80 sites in the US to evaluate if the candidate vaccine can prevent symptomatic Covid-19.

The U.K.-based global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is leading the trial as regulatory sponsor. "Safe and effective vaccines will be essential to meet the global need for widespread protection against Covid-19," said National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony S Fauci.

Source: PTI

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday emphasised on more aggressive testing for Covid-19 till a vaccine is developed.

If door-to-door surveys and testing are strengthened, there will be more success against the disease, he said while inaugurating 13 bio-safety level 2 laboratories in the state through video conferencing.

Ten of these labs have been established in state-run medical colleges in Jalaun, Azamgarh, Ambedkarnagar, Saharanpur, Basti, Bahraich, Firozabad, Banda and Badaun districts. The other three labs are set up in private medical colleges in Hapur, Barabanki and Moradabad.

Each lab is efficient to conduct 5,000 tests per day. At present, the state is conducting 24,000 tests on every 10 lakh people, the statement said.

"The BSL-2 laboratories for RT-PCR testing will be established in every district which will be helpful in the fight against Covid-19 and other vector-borne diseases," it said. Adityanath said deaths due to vector-borne diseases in 2020 have registered a decline by 95% compared to 2016.

Source: PTI

Bihar: Candidates undergo temperature check & hand sanitization process at TCS Office in Pataliputra Colony, Patna, designated as an exam centre for #JEEMain. They are also being given fresh masks.

A candidate, Piyush says, "There were no autos/buses available to reach here." pic.twitter.com/uBLrOfOxXR

— ANI (@ANI) September 1, 2020

Global update:

U.S. coronavirus cases topped 6 million, with outbreaks accelerating on campuses. Arizona, California and Florida showed daily new infections shrinking. AstraZeneca Plc has begun a large-scale human trial of its coronavirus vaccine in the U.S.

The Philippines is maintaining loose restrictions on movement in the capital to minimize the economic damage, while South Korea expects its debt ratio to reach a record next year.

Globally, the total number of cases top 25.3 million, including more than 848,000 dead.

Track all Covid-19 related news and updates in India, here.