New Delhi: The Union government has been urging pregnant women to get vaccinated against COVID after it recently extended the inoculation drive for mothers-to-be.

“Scientific data is in favour of pregnant women receiving the three vaccines,” NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr VK Paul said in this regard. With several women anxious about the impact of vaccines and COVID infection, here’s what the medical experts have to say about the subject.

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As pregnant women can be protected from COVID-19, doctors stress that the benefits of vaccination seem to far outweigh any theoretical risk.

Like any other vaccine, the anti-COVID jabs can cause side effects that are normally mild. The mothers can get a mild fever, pain at the injection site, or feel unwell for 1-3 days but there is no greater risk reported.

Talking about this, Dr VK Paul on Friday said that available data on these vaccines suggests that they are safe to be used by pregnant women. “Apart from the mother, there is also risk to the child in case she contracts the infection,” he stressed.

In case there are any concerns or doubts, the mothers-to-be can speak to their doctor to clarify their apprehensions.

As for breastfeeding mothers, Dr Samiran Panda, head of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases Division in the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) said that they can take the jab.

“Breastfeeding mothers should get themselves vaccinated against COVID-19 without any hesitation. The anti-bodies that are developed in the mother as a result of the vaccination get passively transferred to the baby while breastfeeding and could be helpful to the child,” Dr. Panda said as quoted by news agency ANI.

COVID Risk & Impact

IANS spoke to Sonal Kumta, Senior Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, Fortis Hospital Mulund, and Manjiri Mehta, Consultant Gynaecologist & Obstetrician, Hiranandani Hospital Vashi about concerns regarding COVID

According to the experts, it is important to note that pregnancy does not increase the risk of COVID-19 infection.

Most pregnant women are either asymptomatic or experience mild symptoms, but their health can deteriorate rapidly and that might affect the foetus.

So amid precautions to protect oneself from being infected, getting vaccinated is important and therefore advised.

The experts informed that symptomatic pregnant women appear to be at an increased risk of severe disease and death. Pregnant women with underlying medical conditions/comorbidities such as high blood pressure, obesity, age over 35 years, etc are at a higher risk.

How To Get Vaccinated?

All pregnant women can register themselves on the CoWIN portal or can opt for on-site registration at the COVID-19 vaccination centre. The process of registration for pregnant women remains the same as for all adults.

Women going for vaccination must ensure proper adherence to precautions such as wearing a double mask, frequent sanitising or handwashing, maintain physical distance and avoiding crowded areas.

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Mumbai: According to experts, the COVID-19 spread, like Influenza, will subsequently reach its endemic stage which means it will always be present in a certain population or region.

Dr. Samiran Panda, head of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases Division in the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) said, “The COVID-19 virus will reach its endemic stage like Influenza after a while and then vulnerable population may have to take the vaccine shot annually.”

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“Influenza, commonly known as flu, was a pandemic 100 years ago but today it is endemic. Similarly, in the case of COVID-19, we expect that it will gradually become endemic from its current state of being a pandemic. Currently, we recommend the elderly to take annual flu shots. As the influenza virus keeps on mutating, we simultaneously make minor changes in the vaccine. So, there is no need to panic,” he added.

He also clarified the myths about COVID vaccines, as to whether breastfeeding mothers can take the jab. “Breastfeeding mothers should get themselves vaccinated against COVID-19 without any hesitation. The anti-bodies that are developed in the mother as a result of the vaccination get passively transferred to the baby while breastfeeding and could be helpful to the child,” Dr. Panda said as quoted by news agency ANI.

He further informed that vaccines are absolutely safe for everyone, including those who are suffering from normal allergies like asthma, dust allergy, allergy of pollen grains, and have undergone three phases of clinical trials. 

“Patients with co-morbidities can take the vaccine if they are stable. It is advisable for people suffering from diabetes and other immuno-suppressed conditions to get vaccinated because they are at a higher risk,” he said.

Addressing concerns about the vaccines available in India, whether they are effective against the newer strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, Dr. Panda said, “The vaccines available now largely are effective against the new variants. Vaccines are not infection preventing, but disease-modifying. Experiments at ICMR have proved that the vaccines presently available in India are effective against the new variants as well. However, the efficacy may differ for different strains”.

The ICMR official urged everyone to take any of the COVID vaccines available in the country instead of waiting for the ones that are available globally.

“Please understand that while people may be waiting for other vaccines which they may consider more convenient or superior, the virus is not waiting. The virus is still spreading in the country. What if you get infected, while you wait?” he said.

Dr. Panda also informed that it is futile to go for anti-body tests as immunity does not depend only on antibodies.

“The anti-bodies that are seen using the commercial kits available in the market are not necessarily the anti-bodies that can protect from COVID disease. Whenever a person gets vaccinated, two types of immunity emerge. One is known as neutralizing anti-body or anti-body mediated immunity. The second one is cell-mediated immunity. The third and the most important one is immune memory. Immune memory is generated after vaccination and is present in cells and whenever the virus enters the body, this gets activated,” he explained.

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Dehradun: The Uttarakhand High Court has extended the stay on the Char Dham Yatra till July 28.

The High Court, earlier on June 28, had stayed the state Cabinet’s decision permitting Char Dham Yatra with a limited number of pilgrims and also ordered live streaming of Char Dham shrines.

In view of Covid-19 and poor health preparedness, the decision of the government has been put on hold by High Court.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Government on Tuesday filed the Special Leave Petition (SPL) at the Supreme Court against the Uttarakhand High Court’s order staying the Char Dham Yatra.

Earlier on June 25, the State Cabinet decided to partially open the Char Dham yatra for locals in limited numbers from July 1. Initially, it was decided, the yatra would be opened for residents of Chamoli, Uttarkashi, and Rudraprayag districts with a cap on the number of pilgrims to visit the temples daily.

The state government had said that it would be issuing guidelines for the pilgrimage for people from three districts. Government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal informed the three districts from where pilgrims were allowed were Chamoli, Uttarkashi, and Rudraprayag.

The four pilgrimage sites in Uttarakhand are Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri.

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday observed that the Union government needs to come up with a uniform policy for naming airports across the country and the newly-appointed Union civil aviation minister can give top priority.

While hearing a PIL, the bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni said that the Jyotiraditya Scindia must consider formulation of such a policy as his “first task.”

Citing the Navi Mumbai protest that happened last month, the bench said that it cannot allow such instances to take place.

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On June 24, around 25,000 people organised a rally flouting COVID-19 norms to demand that the upcoming airport in Navi Mumbai be named after a local leader.

The protestors were mostly from local agricultural and fishing communities along with some politicians who staged a demonstration to demand that the international airport be named after late activist and parliamentarian DB Patil.

This came after the Maharashtra government and state-run town planning agency CIDCO had announced to name the greenfield airport after Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray.

The HC observed that, in 2016, a draft policy had been formulated directing to name airports after cities and not individuals but the current status of the policy was not known.

“We would like to know the present position of draft policy? Over this issue of naming (of airports), we took the state government to task last month as there was a gathering violating COVID-19 protocols with nearly 25000 people. Why should we allow this?” the HC told the Union government’s counsel, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh.

“If there is a new policy still in the draft stage, get it done now. You have a new set of ministers now. Let this be the work of the new aviation ministry. It should be the first task of the new aviation minister,” it commented.

The public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by lawyer Filji Frederick seeking directions for the Union government to frame a uniform policy for naming and renaming of airports.

The petitioner sought an order for the Centre to not act upon proposals sent by state governments for naming airports, including the one coming up at Navi Mumbai, until a uniform policy is framed for the same.

The Bombay HC directed the Union government’s counsel to take instructions on this matter and posted it for further hearing on July 16.

(With Agency Inputs)

Mumbai: At a time when doctors have shown resilience in the ongoing fight against pandemic in saving humanity, a shocking incident has surfaced where a doctor from Sangli has been arrested for holding a patient’s body even after her death to pocket extra money.

Sometimes, reality can mirror fiction as people may be reminded of Akshay Kumar starrer 2015 film ‘Gabbar Is Back’ wherein a hospital was seen lying to a deceased patient’s family to be able to charge them for additional medical bills.

The Sangli hospital incident came to the fore after the deceased patient Sayra Hamid Shaikh’s son Salim went to collect her death certificate, ABP Majha reported. In February, Shaikh admitted his mother Aadhar Healthcare after she felt giddy.

He was told that she suffered a minor paralysis attack and was told that she would be discharged in two days. But her health deteriorated and later the patient was shifted to the ICU in a semi-conscious state.

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She was given ventilator support and had to undergo dialysis. Relatives were asked to stay away from the patient to avoid any infection. Later on March 10, Salim came to know about her demise. According to the report by the time the body was handed to the son, it was stinking heavily.

Salim told the publication that the hospital generated a bill of Rs 2.15 lakh. However, it was reduced to Rs 1.83 lakh as relief for the Shaikh family. He said the hospital charged for the two extra days after his mother’s demise which came up to around Rs 40,000.

He went back to the hospital on April 20 to collect the death certificate and was shocked to see the document which recorded the date of death as March 8 and not 10. He managed to file a complaint at Islampur police station after consulting advocate and taking help of local activists.

New Delhi: Munjapara Mahendrabhai on Thursday took charge as Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development and Minister of State in the Ministry of Ayush. Talking about COVID cases, he claimed that there was a “sizeable reduction” in patients due to ‘kadha’ and “Modi’s yoga”.

This comes after the much-anticipated union cabinet reshuffle was announced on Wednesday and several prominent leaders got ministerial positions.

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On his first day in the Ministry of Ayush, Munjapara Mahendrabhai said that PM Narendra Modi has taught him to face any crisis.

“There was a sizeable reduction of COVID patients due to ‘kadha’. Homeopathy, Modi’s yoga have a big role in saving patients from COVID. Opposition members take medicines from me”: the MoS was quoted as saying by ANI.

Munjapara Mahendrabhai is a first-time Lok Sabha MP and prior to his political career, he had a three-decade-long distinguished career as a Cardiologist and Professor of Medicine in Gujarat. He holds an MD in General Medicine and Therapeutics from Gujarat University.

While as the Ayush Ministry MoS, Mahendrabhai hails ‘kadha’ and “Modi’s yoga” for tackling COVID, his role in the Women and Child Development Ministry will have him face the issue of malnutrition among children and women in the country after reports recently suggested a worrying situation regarding the same.

The Ministry of Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy) works towards developing education, research and awareness of indigenous alternative medicine systems in India. 

Former Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal was included back in the Union ministry for the second time as the in-charge of the Ministry of Ayush along with the Ministry of  Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

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New Delhi: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has given licence to drug firm Mankind Pharma to manufacture and market oral 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), which is used for the treatment of Covid-19.

Mankind Pharma in a statement said 2-DG was developed by the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior.

The drug firm added the clinical trials were conducted by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of DRDO, in association with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.

READ: Sanofi – GSK Get DCGI Nod For Conducting Phase 3 Trial Of Their COVID Vaccine In India; All You Need To Know

Mankind Pharma will manufacture the product at its facilities in Visakhapatnam and Himachal Pradesh.

The office of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had on May 1 permitted the emergency use of 2-DG as an adjunct treatment for moderate to severe COVID-19 patients, PTI reported Mankind Pharma as saying.

The company said this drug is found to help the hospitalised coronavirus patients recover faster, adding it is also known to reduce the supplemental oxygen dependency among the Covid-19 patients.

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Mankind Pharma further stated, “our objective behind this agreement is to ensure maximum reach of this medication to the deserving Indian patients suffering from the deadly pandemic”.

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Mumbai: Sanofi and Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) received the necessary approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for conducting Phase-3 clinical study of its recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine candidate in India.

The global, randomised, double-blind Phase-3 study will involve more than 35,000 volunteers aged 18 and above across sites in the US, Asia, Africa, and Latin America as well as from India. The trials will determine the safety, efficacy and immunogenicity of the adjuvanted recombinant-protein COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

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Sanofi and Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) on Thursday released a statement informing about the DCGI approval.

“India is participating in Sanofi Pasteur’s pivotal Phase-3 study, and subject to subsequent approvals, we should soon begin enrollment of study participants in the country,” Annapurna Das, Country Head, Sanofi Pasteur India, wrote in the statement.

“As the virus continues to evolve, we are anticipating what will be needed in the coming months and years, and accordingly, have adapted our vaccine development programme. We believe our COVID-19 adjuvanted, recombinant vaccine can make a significant contribution to the ongoing fight against COVID-19 and are committed to initiating our clinical programme in India, at the earliest,” she added.

In the two-stage approach, the study is going to initially probe the efficacy of a vaccine formulation targeting the original virus strain (D614) and then the second stage will evaluate a second formulation targeting the Beta variant (B1351).

Recent scientific evidence suggests that antibodies created against the Beta COVID variant can provide broad cross-protection against other more transmissible mutations.

Sanofi and GSK will also run clinical studies to determine the ability of the adjuvanted recombinant-protein COVID-19 vaccine candidate to generate a strong booster response irrespective of the type of vaccine initially received.

The Phase 3 study will be started after the global interim Phase 2 results showed that the adjuvanted recombinant COVID-19 vaccine candidate achieved high rates of neutralising antibody responses in all adult age groups.

The Phase-2 trial involved 722 adult volunteers from the US and Honduras between 18 to 95 years old. It did not raise any concerns regarding safety and also produced a strong immune response across all age groups.

According to inputs, the trial showed 95 percent to 100 percent seroconversion after a second injection was administered, while a single jab produced high neutralising antibody levels among people with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. This indicated the vaccine’s strong potential for development as a booster shot.

The French pharma company Sanofi and its British peer GSK are planning to produce up to 1 billion doses in 2021.

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Mumbai: While COVID-19 cases surge again in certain regions, the Maharashtra government has imposed full lockdown in Satara district till July 5.

Besides this, strict weekend lockdown will be imposed in Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur, and Ahmednagar districts of western Maharashtra due to the high prevalence of coronavirus cases. All other activities will be restricted in Pune except for essential services.

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A strict lockdown will, as per inputs, be implemented in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Kalyan Dombivali, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Vasai-Virar, and other municipal areas. 

In Satara, District Collector Shekhar Singh has imposed Level 4 restrictions in the entire district and the restrictions will come into force from Monday till Friday.

What’s Allowed In Satara:

• Only shops providing essential commodities will remain open.
• Essential services including grocery shops, vegetable shops, fruit sellers, dairy, bakery, mutton, chicken, egg, fish shops, cold storage, warehouses will be allowed.
• Hospitals, diagnosis centres, vaccination centres, medical insurance offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment sales shops will be allowed to continue.
• All SEBI-controlled offices will remain open.
• All services designated by the Reserve Bank of India will be allowed.
• Electricity and gas supply, petrol pumps, petroleum-related products, all types of financial institutions, newspapers will be allowed to operate.

Restrictions In Satara:

• People can walk in public places from 5 AM to 9 AM.
• Agricultural shops to be opened till 2 PM.
• All schools, colleges, coaching classes will be completely closed.
• All shops except essential services will remain closed.
• Hotels, restaurants will remain closed.
• Parcel services to continue from 9 AM till 8 PM.
• No sports competitions will be held.

Maharashtra on Saturday reported 9,489 fresh coronavirus cases and 153 fatalities while 8,395 patients recovered, the state health department informed.

With the new additions, the tally of infections in Maharashtra reached 60,88,841, and the death toll to 1,22,724.

The count of recoveries in Maharashtra now stands at 58,45,315, leaving the state with 1,17,575 active cases.

Dehradun: Veteran Congress leader Harish Rawat responded to Tirath Singh Rawat’s resignation as Uttarakhand Chief Minister by terming the reason given as the “big lie”.

Tirath Singh Rawat on Friday resigned from the post citing constitutional compulsion as byelections could not be held in the state due to COVID-19.

“What can be a bigger lie than this that byelections cannot be held in Uttarakhand due to COVID and the chief minister is resigning due to constitutional compulsion. The reality is that byelections have been held before in the same COVID period. The byelection has been held in Salt (an assembly constituency in Uttarakhand). The chief minister could have contested from there also,” Harish Rawat stated responding to the development.

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“By having resignations of others from anywhere else, he could contest an election from there. But due to the lack of complete knowledge of the law, another Chief Minister will be imposed on the state. In five years, BJP will have given three chief ministers to Uttarakhand,” added the former chief minister.

He further stated that “the reason for not making a decision on the question of contesting elections is ridiculous, he (Tirath Rawat) has become a joke. People are saying when our Chief Minister does not have the (required) knowledge as to when he needs to contest elections to reach the assembly, then what welfare can such a person do for us!”.

Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as chief minister on Friday.

“I have submitted my resignation to Governor. Given the constitutional crisis, I felt it was right for me to resign. I am thankful to the central leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for every opportunity they have given to me so far,” he said elaborating the reason.

Tirath Singh submitted his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya hours after he addressed a press conference.

“Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat submitted his resignation letter from the post of Chief Minister at Raj Bhawan,” Maurya confirmed.

Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar arrived in Dehradun on Saturday to chair a legislature meet at 3 pm to elect the next Chief Minister. “We will consult the MLAs and take a call (on CM) accordingly, ” he said upon reaching Bijapur Guest House.

Uttarakhand is undergoing another sudden political upheaval barely four months after Tirath Rawat took over as Chief Minister replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat who had to resign before the BJP government in the state completed 4 years in governance.

New Delhi: The Union government on Friday deputed multi-disciplinary teams to 6 states that are reporting the high number of COVID-19 cases to carry out a targeted response and management, and effectively tackled the pandemic, a Union Health Ministry statement informed.

The teams will monitor the COVID situation and also suggest remedial actions.

Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Manipur are the 6 states where Union Health Ministry will be sending its two-member high-level teams that include a clinician and a public health expert.

The statement informed that the teams will visit the states immediately and monitor the overall implementation of COVID-19 management, especially in testing, including surveillance and containment operations; COVID Appropriate Behaviour and its enforcement; availability of hospital beds, sufficient logistics including ambulances, ventilators, medical oxygen etc., and COVID-19 vaccination progress.

The Central teams will assess the situation and recommend remedial actions on public health activities to the respective state governments.

As per the statement, the team to Manipur will be led by Dr. L Swasticharan, Additional DDG and Director EMR; team to Arunachal Pradesh will be led by Dr Sanjay Sadhukhan, Professor AIIH&PH; for Tripura Dr RN Sinha; for Kerala Dr Ruchi Jain, Public Health Specialist Gr. II, RoHFW; for Odisha Dr. A Dan, Public Health Specialist AIIH&PH and for Chhattisgarh Dr Dibakar Sahu, Assistant Professor, AIIMS Raipur.

The Union Government has been constituting Central teams from time to time to visit various states and UTs in efforts to tackle surges in Coronavirus cases.

These teams interact with the state and UT authorities and get a first-hand understanding of the challenges and issues being faced by them so as to strengthen their ongoing activities and remove bottlenecks, if any, the statement read.

COVID Situation In Kerala

Speaking about the Coronavirus cases in the state, Kerala Health Minister said: “We are conducting targeted tests in the state, and this is the reason behind the high number of new cases. We are trying to vaccinate more people. At least 85 percent of the total population needs to be vaccinated to manage the possible third wave of COVID-19”.

“We ensured that deaths in hospitals are reported within 24 hours, these numbers are compiled to give the total number of deaths in a district. We ensure maximum transparency. Our death rate is at 0.4 percent,” she added.

Talking to news agency ANI, she also reported vaccine shortage in the state saying, “We do have a shortage of vaccines. Today, the total vaccines present are around 7 lakh. We have the infrastructure to vaccinate 2.5 lakh people each day. We are asking the Centre to provide us with more vaccines. Wastage of vaccine in Kerala is in negative”.

Meanwhile, India’s cumulative COVID Vaccination coverage crossed the mark of 34 crores today. 34,00,76,232 vaccine doses were administered, as per the provisional report till 7 am. 42 Lakh (42,64,123) vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours.

On July 1, out of total 42,64,123 vaccine doses that were administered, 32,80,998 beneficiaries were vaccinated for the first dose and 9,83,125 beneficiaries received their second dose of the COVID vaccine.

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Dehradun: The Uttarakhand Health Department has served notices to 13 government and private hospitals for late reporting of 218 COVID deaths, many of them dating back to even January and February.

The notices were issued to these hospitals on Wednesday on the direction of Director General Health Tripti Bahuguna for late reporting of COVID deaths, the state control room for COVID cases here said.

The notices have also been sent to the Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) concerned, it said.

The hospitals that have been served notices include Baba Neem Karoli Hospital, Nainital, Base Hospital, Almora, COVID Health Centre, Lamgara, State Allopathic Dispensary Dhaulchina, Base Hospital, Kotdwar (Pauri), DCHC Koteshwar, Rudraprayag, District Hospital Pithoragarh, District Hospital, Bageshwar, Government Doon Medical College Dehradun, Military Hospital, Pithoragarh, Sai Hospital, Nainital, STHG, Haldwani and Vinay Vishal Healthcare, Haridwar, it said.

Maximum 47 backlog COVID deaths have been reported from District Hospital, Pithoragarh, followed by 36 backlog deaths from Base Hospital, Almora and 32 backlog deaths from Base Hospital, Kotdwar.

Base Hospital, Almora on Wednesday also reported COVID deaths, which occurred from January 21 to February 21.

When a private hospital in Haridwar reported 65 COVID deaths late by over a fortnight in May, Health Secretary Amit Negi had written a strongly-worded letter to all hospitals asking them to stick to the drill of regularly furnishing the state control room with the figures or face action.

Death summary of COVID patients should be sent to the state COVID control room daily by hospitals or else tough action will be taken against the guilty under the Epidemic Act, he had said in the letter.

However, the practice appears to have continued.

“I express my deep despair at the sheer callousness being displayed by our hospitals and authorities. This deserves absolute and unequivocal condemnation,” Dehradun-based social activist Anoop Nautiyal said.

“With addition of the backlog COVID deaths reported on Wednesday, the total number of such deaths in Uttarakhand reported on 47 different days has shot up to 1,210,” he said.

Nautiyal said all the 13 districts of the state have reported backlog COVID deaths.

“It is alarming to note that 88 per cent of the 218 backlogs reported on June 30 are from hill districts,” he said citing data published by his organisation called Social Development for Communities Foundation.

Mumbai: Another case of fake COVID-19 vaccination camps has surfaced in the financial capital of the country as Mumbai police on Thursday registered a new First Information Report against eight persons for the same.

This is reported to be the 10th FIR registered in Mumbai after a racket that held unauthorized vaccination camps for housing societies and private firms was exposed last month.

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The latest case involves fake vaccination camps held for Inter Gold company, a police official informed.

As per the FIR registered at the MIDC Andheri police station, as many as 1,055 doses of fake COVID vaccines were administered to the company’s workers by the accused on four different dates in April and May. Later only 48 out of 1,055 workers were given vaccination certificates.

Inter Gold company then found out that the vaccine camp organisers had not taken any permission from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for conducting the drive.

The FIR named eight persons including prime accused Dr. Manish Tripathi, Arvind Jadhav of Shivam hospital, Pawan Singh, Anurag, Karim, Neha Sharma, Roshni Patel, and others. The official revealed that the accused had taken Rs 2.60 lakh from the company. 

Dr. Tripathi and five others have been arrested.

The racket came to light after the Hiranandani Heritage Residents Welfare Association registered a complaint with the police after suspecting that the vaccination camp conducted for its members by some of the accused on May 30 was dubious.

The Covid vaccination scam was first reported by Hiranandani Heritage Club in Mumbai’s Kandivali area. The housing society had filed a complaint with the police alleging that the residents were scammed by few persons who claimed to be from a private hospital and had organised a vaccination camp for its members on May 30.

They further suspected that the vaccine that was administered could be spurious.

The society has 435 flats, comprising three residential towers and as many as 390 members had received the jabs at the camp at Rs 1,260 per person.

Facilitator Rajesh Pandey allegedly claimed to be a sales representative from Kokilaben Hospital and negotiated with them for providing 400 vaccine doses on their society premises. Around Rs 5 lakh was paid to him for this vaccine camp.

(With Agency Inputs)

Mumbai: According to the latest Sero study done by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Mumbai, about 51 percent of children aged 6 to 18 had developed antibodies against Covid-19. 

Since March 2020, when the first Covid-related lockdown was imposed in the country, this is the fourth Sero survey done in Mumbai, which has been done in the context of a likely third wave of Covid-19 expected to adversely impact kids.

The result of the last serosurvey in Mumbai was released in March, finding that women have higher antibodies to fight the coronavirus than men. It also revealed that seropositivity was rising in non-slum areas while declining in slum areas. 

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According to Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani, “The overall seropositivity rate of 1 to 18 years is 51.18 percent. There is a notable increase in the seropositivity in the pediatric population to SARS-CoV-2 in this study as compared to serosurvey three conducted in March 2021 which showed seropositivity of 39.4 percent in the age group of 18 years which indicates that a significant proportion of children accessing the healthcare services were exposed to the virus during the second wave of Covid-19”. 

The positivity was found to be the highest (53.43 percent) among children aged 10 to 14. Seropositivity rates for children aged 1-4 years are 51.04 percent, 47.33 percent for children aged 5-9 years, 53.43 percent for children aged 10-14 years, and 51.39 percent for children aged 15-18 years when age is taken into account. Overall, 51.18 percent of people are seropositive, with 47.03 percent in the private sector, and 54.36 percent of people in the public sector. 

This survey was undertaken when the second wave of coronavirus was at its peak in Maharashtra and India, between April 1 and June 15. It was undertaken in collaboration between BYL Nair Hospital and Kasturba Molecular Laboratory. 

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New Delhi: India’s COVID Task Force chief Dr VK Paul has stated that it will be unfair to put a date for any COVID wave as the virus is unpredictable. He added that a disciplined and effective pandemic response can enable India to prevent a significant outbreak.

About the Delta Plus variant, NITI Aayog Member Dr VK Paul stated that there is no scientific data so far to establish that the new variant is highly transmissible or reduces vaccine efficacy.

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In an interview to news agency PTI, Dr Paul informed that a future COVID wave of any magnitude would be dependent on several factors such as overall discipline in terms of COVID-appropriate behaviour, testing and containment strategies, and vaccination rates.

“And in addition, the unpredictable behaviour of the virus can also change the pandemic dynamics. In such a scenario, their complex factor will determine the chain of transmission and outbreak. Occurrence or non-occurrence of any wave is in our own hands. To my mind, it is not fair to put any date for any wave,” he said.

The daily tally of fresh Coronavirus cases has come down from four lakhs at the peak of the second wave to around 50,000 in the past few days while several states are unlocking to resume economic activities.

“If we are determined and disciplined and marshal effective pandemic response, we should be in a position to get away from any significant outbreak,” Dr Paul said.

Currently, three COVID vaccines – Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik V – are being used for vaccinating people in India.

Delta Plus Variant

About the Delta Plus variant, Dr Paul said that the scientific knowledge about the variant is still in the early stages.

“The so-called Delta Plus variant exhibits an additional mutation in the Delta variant and since this is a new variant, scientific knowledge is still in the early stage. Whether this additional mutation in the Delta variant is associated with increased transmissibility or excess severity of disease, or any adverse effect on vaccine efficacy is currently not established and we should wait for this information to emerge,” he said.

Delta Plus variant of Coronavirus was identified on June 11 and it was recently classified as a variant of concern.

Regarding the effectiveness of Covaxin and Covishield against the Delta variant, Dr Paul said that both vaccines are effective against COVID’s Delta variant,  based on the scientific evaluation by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Covishield Dose Gap

On whether there can be a reduction in the gap between both Covishield doses, the NITI Aayog member pointed out that the country has taken the decision to increase the inter-dose interval for Covishield to three months after careful evaluation of the scientific data.

“The decisions such as this are taken by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), whose members include our top scientists. It is for this group to look at the additional data, additional scientific information and to take a decision based on scientific principles,” he stated as quoted by PTI.

Last month, the government extended the gap between two doses of Covishield from six-eight weeks to 12-16 weeks.

“As of now, their decision is to continue with the present dose schedule,” Dr VK Paul said.

Indemnity To Foreign Vaccine Makers

When asked if India is close to giving indemnity to foreign vaccine makers like Pfizer and Moderna, Dr Paul said that the issue has multiple dimensions and it is not wise to give a timeline for such issues.

“The discussion for paving the way for internationally developed vaccines to India, is going on. The issue has multiple dimensions and we are trying to find an agreed way forward at the earliest. We are trying to expedite the progress in every possible way,” he said.

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Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Monday extended the Covid-19 restrictions with some relaxations across the state till July 15

As per the decision by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, the private and corporate offices can remain open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with 50 percent working capacity.

The salons and beauty parlours have been allowed to open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. with 50 percent seating capacity provided the staff members have been vaccinated.

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The gyms across the state have been allowed to open with 50 percent capacity.

The banks will remain open between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The decision comes as West Bengal registered over 1,800 fresh coronavirus cases and 29 deaths in the last 24 hours,

The state presently has 21,884 active coronavirus cases.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier last week written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention for an early approval for Covaxin from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“I have written to the Hon’ble PM today seeking his intervention for an early approval for COVAXIN from @WHO. A large number of students travel abroad for pursuing higher studies and amid an already critical situation, we must take every possible step to ease their lives,” she tweeted and shared the letter written to Prime Minister Modi.

 

Dehradun: Ahead of the opening of Chardham Yatra for the residents of 3 districts of Uttarakhand, on instructions of Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat, additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines were made available to inoculate the persons related to the yatra.

The additional vaccines have been given to the districts of Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, along with the districts of Tehri and Pauri, which are on the way of the Char Dham Yatra.

The Chief Minister has also instructed to vaccinate all those who will be in direct contact with pilgrims of the yatra before its commencement, to ensure the safety of both the locals and the visitors.

Guidelines have been issued to the concerned officials to vaccinate the priests, shopkeepers, Dhaba operators, local residents, mule operators, cab drivers, and others associated with the Chardham yatra timely.

ALSO READ | Uttarakhand Govt To Issue Chardham Yatra Guidelines For Pilgrims, Will Ensure Priests Get Vaccinated

Following the order, 5,000 additional doses each have been provided to the aforementioned districts. However, Uttarkashi received 10,000 additional doses of vaccine.

As Uttarakhand has allowed state residents to undertake the Char Dham Yatra from July 1 amid COVID-19, the state government will be issuing guidelines for the pilgrimage for people from three districts.

Government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal informed these three districts are Chamoli, Uttarkashi, and Rudraprayag. Uniyal also mentioned that the state government will take all necessary steps to follow COVID-19 protocols, and will ensure that priests are vaccinated against COVID-19. The four pilgrimage sites in Uttarakhand are Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri.

This comes as the State Cabinet decided to partially open the Chardham yatra for locals in limited numbers from July 1. Initially, the yatra will be opened for residents of Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Rudraprayag districts with a cap on the number of pilgrims to visit the temples daily.

London: Embattled UK Cabinet minister Matt Hancock on Saturday resigned as Health Secretary after he admitted to breaching COVID-19 lockdown rules with a kiss involving a close female aide.

Controversy erupted for the minister after CCTV images of the 42-year-old married Conservative Party MP were leaked where he was seen kissing Gina Coladangelo, 43, in his Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) office. 

The images were taken on May 6 much before the social distancing rules were eased on May 17 over close contact indoors for people from separate households. The pictures were published by The Sun newspaper on Friday.

ALSO READ | Zydus Cadila’s COVID Vaccine For Children Likely To Be Available In Near Future, Centre Tells SC

In a letter to the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Hancock said the government “owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down”. He once again apologised for breaking the government guidance on social distancing from people outside a close household bubble.

In a video posted on Twitter, Hancock said: “I have been to see the Prime Minister to resign as secretary of state for health and social care. I understand the enormous sacrifices that everybody in this country has made, that you have made, and those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them and that’s why I have got to resign.”

In his letter of resignation, Hancock wrote: “The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis.

“I want to reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologise to my family and loved ones for putting them through this. I also need (to) be with my children at this time,” he added.

This step is followed by mounting pressure on him from the Opposition as well as within his own Tory party to resign from his post for undermining people’s trust in the COVID lockdown guidance.

Campaign group “COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice” had dubbed Boris Johnson accepting his apology and declaring the “matter closed” on Friday, as a “slap in the face” for families who had lost loved ones to the pandemic.

On another angle, Hancock is married to osteopath wife Martha for 15 years and they have three children together.

The pictures in The Sun also hinted at Hancock having an extra-marital affair with married Gina Coladangelo, who is listed on the DHSC website as a non-executive director. The pair were reported to have been close as students since their days at Oxford University.

Hancock was appointed health secretary by former British Prime Minister Theresa May in 2018 and has held the post for nearly three years.

Meanwhile, former UK Chancellor Sajid Javid, Pakistani-origin Conservative Party MP, is set to replace him as Health Secretary, Downing Street informed.

(With Agency Inputs)

New Delhi: The Central government on Saturday told the Supreme Court that Zydus Cadila, which is developing DNA vaccines, has concluded its clinical trial for beneficiaries in the age group of 12 to 18 years and, subject to the statutory permissions, it may be available in near future.

Besides this, a total of 51.6 crore COVID vaccine doses would be made available by July 31 of which 35.6 crore have already been provided, the union government stated.

Providing the details on availability of COVID vaccines for children, the Centre told the top court in an affidavit that the Drugs Controller General of India on May 12 permitted Bharat Biotech to conduct clinical trials of Covaxin on volunteers between 2 to 18 years of age, and the enrolment process for this trial has also begun.

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“It is humbly submitted that as of now, the companies’ manufacturing COVID-19 vaccination in India have only been given Emergency Use Authorization’ for vaccinating people of 18 years age and above. Therefore, COVID-19 vaccines are not recommended for persons/children less than 18 years of age and due to the fact that the clinical trial cohort during Phase 1, 2, and 3 did not cover the children below 18 years of age,” it informed.

The government assured the top court that enough vaccine doses would be available to inoculate the entire eligible population.

It said the “biggest vaccination drive in history” is going on in full swing, reaching even remotest areas of the country by a constructive and cooperative collaboration of the Central Government, State/UT Governments, local authorities, human resources in medical sectors and the citizens of the country.

Giving the break-up of various COVID vaccines being administered till the date of filing of the affidavit i.e. June 26, the Centre stated that a total of 35.6 crore doses were made available – 26.6 crore Covishield, 8 crore Covaxin, and additional 1 crore doses as commodity assistance under COVAX facility.

Apart from these supplies, it is expected that around 16 crore doses will also be available during the period of May and July across the country, it said.

31.5 lakh doses of the first component and 60,000 doses of the second component of Sputnik V has been received, the centre informed.

The government said, “In addition, some other domestic vaccines such as those from Biological E and Zydus Cadila are in the late stages of clinical trials and subject to the regulatory approvals, will further increase the availability of vaccines.”

As per the projected mid-year population for 2020, an estimated 186 to 188 crore vaccine doses would be required for giving both shots to the total population of the country aged 18 years and above which is approximately 93-94 crore.

“Out of this requirement, 51.6 crore doses will be made available for administration by July 31, 2021, leaving a requirement of approximately 135 crore vaccine doses for complete vaccination to the eligible population,” it said.

Elaborating on the vaccines quantity that is likely to be received from all sources, the Centre informed that a total of 135 crore doses will be procured: Covishield (50 crores), Covaxin (40 crores), Bio E Subunit vaccine (30 crores), Zydus Cadila DNA vaccine (5 crores) and Sputnik V (10 crores).

It said that the procurement of the Bio E Subunit vaccine and Zydus Cadila DNA vaccine will be subject to approval that will be decided on in the near future.

“It is submitted that the vaccination drive would obviously get a boost if the Government of India succeeds in its attempts to procure vaccines available outside India such as vaccines of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, etc,” affidavit read.

The Centre stressed that to be able to procure vaccines from abroad, efforts are undertaken at the level of the highest political executive in the country and also at the highest diplomatic level.

“It is submitted that since these efforts are at a very advanced stage, it is neither desirable nor possible to give comprehensive details of these facts. As and when these efforts materialise, the speed of vaccination will be further augmented and enhanced,” it said.

The government revealed these details in a 380-page affidavit filed in the suo motu matter on COVID-19 management in Supreme Court.

(With Agency Inputs)

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New Delhi: AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guleria has presented clarification amid the fresh between central and Delhi government over an audit report that allegedly states CM Arvind Kejriwal-led party exaggerated national capital’s oxygen requirement by 4 times.

Dr Randeep Guleria, who heads the Supreme Court-appointed sub-group, said that it would not be correct to say that Delhi “exaggerated” its oxygen requirement by four times during the second Coronavirus wave.

“Delhi oxygen audit is an interim report. We should wait for the final report,” Dr Guleria told NDTV. When asked about the allegation of Delhi government exaggerating oxygen needs by four times, Dr Guleria clarified, “I don’t think we could say that”.

The AIIMS chief further stressed that Supreme Court’s statement on the interim report is awaited while there are factors like undercounting of active cases to be considered.

A fresh row erupted between the Centre and Delhi government on Friday after it was reported that the committee constituted for the Oxygen Audit of Delhi has stated that the AAP government exaggerated its oxygen requirement which could have adversely affected the oxygen supply of other states.

According to estimations reached on the basis of bed capacity, Delhi needed only 289 metric tonnes of oxygen but the government put forth the requirement of up to 1140 metric tonnes. This was about 4 times more than the estimated requirement, it was stated.

ALSO READ | Delhi O2 Audit: ‘No Such Report Exists,’ Sisodia Accuses BJP Of Lying, Challenges To Present Committee-Approved Findings

Delhi Govt Challenges Centre To Present “Alleged” Report

BJP held a press conference on Friday over the said report wherein party spokesperson Sambit Patra said: “It is unbelievable to see that Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi government politicised oxygen supply when Covid was at its peak. This is such petty politics. The data presented by Oxygen Audit Committee in the report is shocking”.

Presenting the Delhi government’s response to BJP’s allegations, Manish Sisodia said: “We spoke to members of the audit committee who say that we haven’t signed any report or approved it”.

The Delhi Deputy Chief Minister challenged the saffron party leaders to present the report that carries signatures by the Supreme Court-appointed audit committee members.

He urged PM Narendra Modi to take cognisance of the situation and ask the saffron party members to not indulge in such allegations.

Dubbing BJP as “Bharatiya Jhagadalu Party”, Sisodia accused it of picking up fights based on lies.

Later in the day, CM Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter and wrote: “My crime is that I fought for the breath/lives of my 2 crore citizens. When you were doing an election rally, I was awake all night arranging Oxygen. I fought, pleaded to get oxygen for people. People have lost their loved ones due to lack of oxygen. Don’t call them liars, they feel hurt”.

On Saturday, the Chief Minister once again addressed the allegations by writing: “If your fight over oxygen is over, can we do some work?”. “In the second wave, people suffered a severe shortage of oxygen. This should not happen in the third wave. If we fight amongst ourselves, Corona will win. If we fight together, the country will win,” he added.

On May 8, the Supreme Court formed a 12-member task force to improve the oxygen distribution system in the country. A separate sub-group was formed for Delhi which includes AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, Max Healthcare’s Sandeep Budhiraja along with senior IAS officers from the Centre and Delhi each.

The matter is to be heard in the Supreme Court on June 30.

New Delhi: Congressman Luis Miranda and his brother Luis Ricardo Miranda, who raised suspicions about Brazil’s vaccine deal with India’s Bharat Biotech, arrived at a Senate commission inquiry on Friday wearing a bullet-proof vest for safety.

They are key witnesses in the hearing over alleged wrongdoing in a vaccine contract signed by Brazil’s government to procure Covaxin doses in a deal costing1.6 billion reais (USD 323 million).

The parliamentary inquiry is looking into the allegations that the Brazilian government deliberately delayed securing Covid vaccines besides the probe on its handling of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than half a million people in the country.

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The coordinator of the Senate inquiry called for giving protection to Congressman Luis Miranda and his brother, along with the owners of Precisa Medicamentos company, the Brazillian intermediary for Bharat Biotech.

 The government is accused of ignoring vaccine offers from Pfizer Inc that was reportedly quoting a lower price and then struck a speedy agreement with Bharat Biotech, the probe has been launched by federal prosecutors and lawmakers to ascertain the reason behind this.

Congressman Luis Ricardo Miranda and his brother have stated that they met president Bolsonaro in March and warned him of the suspicious contract, but nothing was done to investigate the deal.

Reuters reports that Miranda, who is the head of imports at the ministry, told senators that he refused to approve an import license because an invoice for a first shipment asked for an up-front payment and was sent by a company not mentioned in the contract, Singapore-based Madison Biotech.

The report adds that Miranda told prosecutors he was pressured by Alex Lial Marinho, an aide to one of Bolsonaro’s closest allies, former Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello.

Miranda’s brother supported the account.

The controversy has put mounting pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro to explain the deal with Bharat Biotech.

Responding to the controversy, the far-right president maintained that there were no irregularities in the contract. “There is nothing wrong with the Covaxin contract, there is no overpricing,” Reuters reported him as saying at a news conference on Friday.

He alleged that his enemies were trying to stain his government with unfounded accusations of corruption. “I am incorruptible,” he declared.

The controversy over the Covaxin contract threatens to damage his image of having zero tolerance for corruption in his government.

Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech also issued a statement in that regard: “We strongly refute and deny any kind of allegation or implication of any wrongdoing whatsoever with respect to the supply of COVAXIN.” It stated that Madison Biotech is its global sales and marketing unit.

The Indian manufacturer further contended that its vaccine pricing had been consistently USD15-$20 per dose for foreign governments, a range in which the Brazil contract fell. 

Washington: Almost all deaths due to Covid-19 in America are among the people who did not get inoculated. This is proving how effective the vaccine is. The number of daily deaths in the US has come down to 300, and if all eligible people are vaccinated, this number can come down to 0 as per reports.

The Associated Press has analyzed government data since May. This shows out of 853,000 cases of breakthrough infection in fully vaccinated people, less than 1,200 were admitted to hospitals. About 0.1% are getting admitted to the hospitals. At the same time, out of 18,000 Covid-19 deaths in May, only 150 people were fully vaccinated. which is about 0.8% or an average of 5 deaths per day.

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45 states report breakthrough infection
This has come to the fore from an analysis of data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC citing data limitations did not give an estimate of hospitalizations and the number of deaths from those fully vaccinated. CDC officials said that about 45 states report breakthrough infections, and some are more aggressive than others. The data probably understates such infections. 

98% of Americans who died of coronavirus were not vaccinated
Earlier this month, Andy Slavitt, a former adviser to the Biden administration on Covid-19, said that 98% to 99% of Americans who died of the coronavirus had not been vaccinated. And CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Valensky said on Tuesday, “vaccine is so effective that it can prevent nearly every death due to Covid-19, especially in adults.” He described such deaths as particularly tragic. The number of deaths in America has decreased since vaccination. 

 According to the CDC, about 63% of all eligible Americans aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 53% have received both. 

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New Delhi: Details of the genetic makeup of some of the earliest coronavirus samples in China were removed from an American database where they were initially stored at the request of Chinese researchers, according to US officials, adding to concerns about the outbreak’s and its origins’ secrecy.

The data, which were first submitted to the US-based Sequence Read Archive in March 2020, were “requested to be withdrawn” by the same researcher three months later in June, according to a statement issued by the National Institutes of Health on Wednesday.

The genetic sequences originated in Wuhan, China, where the Covid-19 outbreak was initially concentrated.

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The reason given for the withdrawal at the time was that the sequence information had been updated and was being submitted to another database, according to the agency. The researcher requested that the data be deleted “to avoid version control issues,” it said.

“Submitting investigators hold the rights to their data and can request withdrawal of the data,” the agency said. “NIH can’t speculate on motive beyond the investigator’s stated intentions.”

The disappearance of the genetic sequences from the database raises concerns about what else from the Wuhan outbreak has been protected, according to American virologist Jesse Bloom, who discovered them missing earlier this week. Bloom, who later recovered the data, stated that it did not provide definitive information on where or how the virus originated.

Politicians and scientists from around the world have grown increasingly frustrated by China’s efforts to divert attention away from the coronavirus’s origins, particularly the possibility that it leaked from a Wuhan laboratory. Despite the fact that a World Health Organization expert team visited China earlier this year to conduct an investigation, they were denied access to raw data and their findings — that the virus likely crossed over from animals — has been criticized as being premature.

US President Joe Biden has directed American intelligence agencies to reinvestigate the matter, while China has categorically denied any connection between the Wuhan laboratory and the outbreak.

“I don’t think we can say very much with high confidence,” said Bloom, an evolutionary biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in terms of the virus’s origins. He also stated that his findings “remind us of how little we know”.

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Noida: According to District Surveillance Officer Dr. Sunil Dohra, only 1 new case of infection was reported on Thursday, while 9 patients were discharged from the hospital after being cured in Gautam Buddha Nagar district. He said that 67 patients are undergoing treatment in the district whereas, 62,484 patients have recovered, and 63,072 cases of infection have been reported in the district.

He added that 466 Covid-19 deaths had been reported so far. Dr. Sunil Dohra said that though the number of Covid-19 infections has reduced in the past few days, people should not be negligent and should follow the Covid-19 rules.

ALSO READ | Bareilly: Security Guard Shoots Railway Employee For Not Wearing Mask Inside Bank, Video Surfaces

32 more people died of corona in UP

In Uttar Pradesh, 32 more Covid-19 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, along with 229 new cases. Amit Mohan Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health Department, told reporters on Thursday that 32 more people died of Covid-19 during the last 24 hours. With this, the total number of people who died of Covid -19 in the state has increased to 22,368.

He said that in the last 24 hours, 229 new cases of coronavirus infection were reported in the state, and the total number of infections has increased to 17,05,012.

Bareilly: In a shocking incident, a railway employee was shot by a security guard at the Junction road branch of the Bank of Baroda. 

The victim has been identified as Rajesh. He is said to have been shot in his leg by guard Keshav Kumar.

Reports have claimed that the victim was shot following an argument over not wearing a mask. 

Uttar Pradesh police have arrested the security guard and the victim is admitted to the hospital.

Responding to a tweet on the incident, Bareilly Police informed: “A person Rajesh has been shot in the thigh by Keshav, a security guard posted in Bank of Baroda under police station Kotwali, Bareilly area”. 

“Rajesh is undergoing treatment in the hospital. The security guard is in police custody. Legal action is being taken,” the tweet by official account read.

More details in the case are awaited.