'1 billion' doses live: Archaeological Survey of India illuminates 100 monuments in Tri-color to celebrate landmark achievement

Japan's Shionogi & Co Ltd said on Wednesday it started a Phase II/III clinical trial for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate. The trial for the recombinant protein-based vaccine will take place in Japan and follows a Phase I trial in the country, Shionogi said in a statement. The company will also prepare to conduct multiple trials globally, it said.

More than 28 million American children in the 5-11 age group will be administered the coronavirus vaccine, with the roll out starting within days, the White House announced on Wednesday. To manage an "equitable launch," States have been advised to request their pediatric doses in advance — even before formal approval by the CDC and FDA expected by early next week, The exercise will involve more than 25,000 pediatricians’ offices, hundreds of children’s hospitals, and thousands of pharmacies.

India will follow new entry norms for international arrivals from Monday, thanks to growing vaccination globally and changing nature of the pandemic. While everyone flying into the country will still require to undergo an RT-PCR test, the quarantine requirements have been significantly relaxed. The Union health ministry has identified some countries as “at risk”. European nations, the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand and Zimbabwe are among them.

New Zealand reported record daily Covid-19 cases for the second time in three days on Thursday, as the Delta variant continued to spur a spike in infections in the country's biggest city, Auckland. Authorities reported 102 new Covid-19 infections, of which 94 were in Auckland, taking the total number of cases in the current outbreak to 2,260.

With a steady decline in Covid cases in the state, daily fatalities dropped to an eight-month low of 21 on Wednesday. There were 18 deaths on February 22. The state recorded 1,825 cases on Wednesday, below 2,000 for the sixth day in a row.

Countries' fossil-fuel powered Covid-19 recoveries will have long-lasting consequences on human health and risk worsening the food and water insecurity, heatwaves and infectious diseases already threatening billions globally, a major assessment warned Thursday.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday authorised booster doses of the Covid-19 vaccines from Moderna Inc and Johnson & Johnson, and said Americans can choose a different shot than their original inoculation as a booster.

Britain's Covid-19 infection numbers could rise to 100,000 a day, but the government will not implement its so-called "plan B" contingency measures at this time, health minister Sajid Javid said on Wednesday. "We're looking closely at the data, and we won't be implementing our plan B of contingency measures at this point, but will be staying vigilant, preparing for all eventualities," he told a news conference.

India is on the cusp of reaching a major milestone in its vaccination against Covid-19: administering a total of 100 crore jabs. The total vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 99.54 crore on Wednesday. This leaves the cumulative figure just 46 lakh shy of the 100 crore-mark, likely to be surpassed on Thursday.Around 75 per cent of the country's adult population have been administered the first dose and around 31 per cent having received both doses.