Coronavirus in India live updates: Centre, Bharat Biotech invite other companies to scale up Covaxin production

At least two Indian states have said they plan to dose their populations with the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin to protect against severe Covid-19 infections as their hospitals are overrun with patients in critical condition. The move by the coastal state of Goa and northern state of Uttarakhand, come despite the World Health Organization and others warning against such measures.

The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has gone past 17.70 crore, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday. It said 4,17,321 beneficiaries in the age group of 18-44 years have received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine and cumulatively 34,66,895 across 30 states and union territories since the start of the third phase of the vaccination drive.

Court records submission by amicus curiae that he has done scrutiny of documents & it appears that Hussain had taken 10 cylinders on rent, & got them refilled on which invoices were raised

Amid multiple states reporting a shortage of Covid-19 vaccine, Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech have submitted to the Centre their production plan for the next four months, informing they can ramp it up to 10 crore and 7.8 crore doses respectively by August, official sources said on Wednesday. The sources said the Union health ministry and the office of Drugs Controller General of India had sought from both the firms their production plan for June, July, August and September.

India welcomed 1,200 oxygen cylinders from the British Oxygen Company that arrived from the UK on Thursday as part of Covid assistance to help deal with the record rise in virus cases that has put a strain on the healthcare infrastructure of the country. Apart from welcoming the aid from the UK, External Affairs Ministry (EAM) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi thanked the logistical support from Qatar Airways for the shipment of oxygen cylinders.