A health worker administers the Covishield vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca Plc. and the University of Oxford and manufactured by Serum Institute of India Ltd. (Photographer: T.Narayan/Bloomberg)
5 years ago
Mar 05, 2021
Follow the developments around the Covid-19 outbreak here.
Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 1,11,73,761
Active cases: 1,76,319
Cured/discharged/migrated: 1,08,39,894
Deaths: 1,57,548
Fresh cases in the last 24 hours: 16,838
One-day recoveries: 13,819
One-day deaths: 113
India has administered 1,80,05,503 vaccine shots, with nearly 14 lakh of them given to the elderly in the last 24 hours.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off the second phase of immunisations on Monday — where senior citizens and those above the age of 45 with comorbidities will be able to get inoculated — by taking the first dose of Covaxin.
The indigenous vaccine, which was co-developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Ltd. and the Indian Council of Medical Research, showed an efficacy rate of 81% in those without prior infection after a second dose, the company said in a statement Wednesday.
Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive officer of the Serum Institute of India Ltd., told a World Bank panel on Thursday that a U.S. law blocking the export of certain key items, including bags and filters, will likely cause serious bottlenecks. “We’re talking about having free global access to vaccines but if we can’t get the raw materials out of the U.S. — that’s going to be a serious limiting factor,” he said.
