New Delhi: India, in the last 24 hours, recorded 1.86 lakh COVID cases, the lowest spike in daily infections in the last 44 days, Health Ministry data showed on Friday.
The number of active cases further declined to 23.43 lakh while over 2.48 crore people have recovered from the virus till now. With 3,660 new fatalities, the death toll is now over 3.18 lakh.
Even with the COVID positivity rate declining across the country, the GoI has asked states and Union Territories to continue with their ongoing restrictions till June 30. In a fresh directive, the GoI asked for intensive and local containment measures in districts with a high number of infections.
As a supply-demand discrepancy continues to loom on India’s vaccination efforts, states asked the GoI to procure vaccines from foreign companies. This comes as global tenders floated by several states are getting no fruitful responses. In one instance, a Romanian firm that said it would provide Pfizer vaccines to Mumbai, withdrew its bid in a couple of days after the company said it had no authorized agents.
In terms of foreign vaccines coming home, Moderna is expected to launch its single-dose jab in India in 2022, while Pfizer is ready to offer five crore shots in 2021. There are limited prospects of Johnson & Johnson exporting its jabs from the US to other countries in the near future. India is also hoping to get the single-dose Sputnik Light, which is under fast-track application and regulatory approval procedures.
On Thursday, Pfizer indicated that it would be able to make a “certain amount” of its mRNA Covid vaccine available to the country, “possibly starting in July”, the head of the country’s Covid-19 Task Force said. The GoI is still examining the firm’s request for indemnity against the cost of compensation for severe side effects.
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