07 November,2021 11:52 AM IST | New Delhi | Agencies
A rickshaw driver waits in front of a mural depicting COVID frontline workers in New Delhi on Saturday. Pic/AFP
Hyderabad-based pharma major Bharat Biotech's US partner Ocugen has sought the Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) from the US FDA for Covaxin to be administered in children aged two to 18 years. Ocugen said that it has submitted a request in this regard.
"The submission is based on results of a Phase 2/3 pediatric clinical trial conducted by Bharat Biotech in India with 526 children two-18 years of age, which bridged immunogenicity data, Phase 3 safety and efficacy clinical trial in nearly 25,800 adults in India," it said in a statement. Covaxin uses the same Vero Cell manufacturing platform as other childhood vaccines, including the inactivated polio vaccine.
In a high-level meeting held on Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath released detailed guidelines on Covid-19 vaccination, the spread of Zika virus in the state and other issues. Instructing the officials regarding the Covid-19 vaccination, the Chief Minister said "a target should be set to vaccinate up to 25-30 lakh people on daily basis in the next two months." He asked the state's Additional Chief Secretary of Health to speed up the Covid-19 vaccination process by holding a meeting with all the CMOs of the state. "The action on vaccination has to be accelerated," he said.
The Tamil Nadu health department has commenced door-to-door campaigns to check on the people who have not taken the second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine after they have completed the mandatory eligibility period. According to the department, around 65 lakh people in the state are eligible for the second dose. The department is using the services of the mobile vaccination clinics for the purpose of conducting door-to-door awareness and to check on the persons to be inoculated.
Tamil Nadu has already vaccinated 71 per cent of its eligible population with the first dose of vaccine but only 31 per cent have taken their second dose. Except in the Nilgiris (58 per cent) and Chennai (50 per cent), no other districts of the state have touched the 50 per cent mark regarding the second dose of the vaccine.
Karnataka has registered a 40 per cent decline in Covid vaccination in October leaving the health authorities a worried lot. The department has identified 4.87 crore beneficiaries of above 18 years of age for the same. Till November 4, as many as 4.26 crore people had got first dose. Since the state is recording fewer number of Covid cases, the people seem to have lost interest in getting themselves inoculated, according to health experts. About 60 lakh people are yet to be jabbed. The state has set a target to achieve 100 per cent vaccination by December which looks tough as the turnout for vaccinations is declining.
India on Saturday reported 10,929 cases, 14.2 per cent lower than Friday's overall infections, according to the Union Health Ministry. Also in the last 24 hours, a total of 392 fresh fatalities were recorded which increased the nationwide death toll to 4,60,265.
3,43,44,683
Total number of cases in the country as of Saturday
4,60,265
Total no. of deaths due to the virus in India
3,37,37,468
Patients recovered and discharged in India as of Saturday
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