Srinagar: With fresh COVID infections in the past 24 hours, India has reported 24,61,190 cases so far. On Thursday with over 1,000 fresh fatalities, the country’s death toll surged to 48,144.
India, the third-most-affected country by total cases and fourth by death toll, has added 4,33,556 cases in the past 7 days alone.
In India, the five most affected states are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Delhi.
The virus has spread to many countries and territories since it first originated in China’s Wuhan in December 2019. The global death toll due to the disease stands at nearly 732,000.
On August 11, Russia said that it is all set to register its first COVID vaccine on August 12, 2020. The vaccine was launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin, touting it as the world’s first such vaccine.
The president, according to reports, has asked the country’s Health Minister Mikhail Murashko to keep him informed about the vaccine and developments related to it.
After completing all the three phases of human clinical trials successfully, Russia’s one of coronavirus vaccine candidates, developed by Gamaleya Research Institute and the Russian Defence Ministry, is scheduled to launch on 12 August, Country’s Deputy Health Minister Oleg Gridnev told international media in a press briefing.
There are over 150 coronavirus vaccines in various stages of development in several countries with a few making advanced progress in clinical trials.
In India, a Pune based vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India (SII) has decided to manufacture 100 million COVID vaccine doses which will be capped at Rs 225 per dose.
While the Oxford coronavirus vaccine and a Chinese vaccine showing positive results in the first round of human trials, the Moderna has shown positive results among mice and developed immunity against the disease upon testing.
India’s Covaxin, developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech has also entered the human trial stage and is expected to come out with results in a month.
However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned world governments against “vaccine nationalism” and urged leaders to make plans on how to share life-saving inoculations against coronavirus.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the threat of COVID can only be snuffed out with global coordination, especially when a vaccine is developed.
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