Coronavirus in India: Maharashtra reports 9,844 Covid cases, Delhi 109

The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised concerns over a manufacturing plant responsible for filling the vials with the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine. In a statement, Pharmstandard-UfaVITA, a leading pharmaceutical company in Russia, said that the WHO inspectors' attention was focused on only four technical issues mostly related to one of the filling lines, which have all been subsequently fully addressed. The company said that the WHO did not raise any questions about the safety and efficacy of the produced and finished vaccine as the "Sputnik V" vaccine undergoes strictest double quality output control.

Overall, more than 30 crore doses of vaccines have been administered since the rollout of the drive on January 16. While nearly 25 crore people have received at least one dose, over 5 crore people have been vaccinated with two doses. In the new phase of vaccination from June 21, the Centre has been buying 75% of locally produced vaccines and giving it free to everyone above 18 through government centres. The remaining 25% vaccine production has been earmarked for private hospitals, where people will have to pay for jabs.

Children affected by Covid-19 are least likely to be severely ill. Death due to the disease is also rare in the 0-12 year age group, except in patients with underlying comorbidities. This has been confirmed by the Indian Paediatric Covid Study Group, led by top doctors from leading medical institutions in the country. The group analysed the clinical profile and risk factors for severe disease in 402 children hospitalised with Covid at five tertiary care hospitals across India between March and November last year. This included 11 neonates, 45 children less than a year old, 118 aged between one year and five years and 221 children aged between five and 12 years.

At least 63.2 lakh inoculations were recorded till 9.30pm on Wednesday with Madhya Pradesh leading the way with 11.2 lakh shots administered, followed by Uttar Pradesh (7.4 lakh) and Maharashtra (6.1 lakh). Of the more than 59,000 vaccination sessions organised on Wednesday, over 96% were in public health facilities. Besides, 60.8 lakh new registrations were recorded on the day.

Experts from the Indian Council of Medical Research are currently examining how effective vaccines available in the country are against the Delta-plus variant of SARS-CoV-2. Dr Samiran Panda, an ICMR scientist, said the research body is closely monitoring neutralisation capabilities of antibodies drawn from vaccine recipients. He said results of the investigations should be out in the next few weeks.

Around 40 cases of the Delta plus variant — now classified as a ‘variant of concern’ — have been detected from Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, raising concerns about the threat it poses even as its properties, including transmissibility and virulence, are being investigated.

The US government continues to recommend coronavirus vaccinations for everyone 12 years of age and older, albeit with a new warning to watch for symptoms of an enlarged heart reported by a fraction of people receiving the Pfizer or Moderna inoculation, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention said.

In a statement, Pharmstandard-UfaVITA, a leading pharmaceutical company in Russia, said that the WHO inspectors' attention was focused on only four technical issues mostly related to one of the filling lines, which have all been subsequently fully addressed. The company said that the WHO did not raise any questions about the safety and efficacy of the produced and finished vaccine as the "Sputnik V" vaccine undergoes strictest double quality output control.

After dipping below the 50,000 mark on Monday, a day that typically reports the week’s lowest cases, there has been a marginal increase in the case count on Tuesday and Wednesday when once again the 50k benchmark was breached. Although Wednesday saw 53,920 cases and 971 deaths, the weekly trend based on seven day’s rolling average is showing an overall decline in cases.

“As of now, among the samples sequenced (45,000+) in India, Delta plus variant AY.1 has been observed sporadically in Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, with around 40 cases identified so far and no significant increase in prevalence,” the health ministry said on Wednesday. However, it is likely that cases infected with the Delta plus variant are not confined to these three states, official sources said amid reports of some being detected in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as well.

Experts from the Indian Council of Medical Research are currently examining how effective vaccines available in the country are against the Delta-plus variant of SARS-CoV-2. Dr Samiran Panda, an ICMR scientist, said the research body is closely monitoring neutralisation capabilities of antibodies drawn from vaccine recipients. He said results of the investigations should be out in the next few weeks.

Tamil Nadu has reported its first case of Delta Plus variant of Covid-19 from here, with a city-based nurse getting infected with it, a top government official said on Wednesday. The state health department had sent 1,159 samples in May to INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia), a consortium of 28 labs tasked with genome sequencing of the virus causing Covid and reports of 772 samples were made available on Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said.