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- Coronavirus pandemic live updates: Delhi witnesses slight spurt in Covid-19, logs 54 new cases
Coronavirus pandemic live updates: Delhi witnesses slight spurt in Covid-19, logs 54 new cases
India reported 11,466 new cases of Covid-19 and 460 deaths in 24 hours, a government bulletin stated on Wednesday. The current recovery rate in the country is 98.25%, which is the highest since March 2020. India's active caseload stands at 1,39,683, the lowest in 264 days, with a dip of 955 such cases. India's tally of cases has been pushed to 3,43,88,579 and the death toll has risen to 4,61,849, it said. Stay with TOI for all updates.Read Less
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"Bharat Biotech developed the vaccine from scratch... Had I been in the US and done all this thing, I would have been better recognised,” he said.
Dismissing talk of shortcuts in grant of emergency nod to Covaxin, Ella clarified that though the approval process was hastened, no provision of the Indian law or ‘Schedule Y’ rule was violated.
“If anything had been violated, I would have gone to jail by now,” he said.
He said that the people, instead of criticising, could have just approached Bharat Biotech for the truth.
“But (people) making own opinion…it not only hurt us, but also the future of start-ups in the country. If somebody wants to be against the political system of the country, they can take a different angle but not on healthcare. We are neutral, we want India to succeed. We want the people to be benefited,” said the scientist-entrepreneur.
Ella said “the negative things (said about Covaxin) in the country put WHO in a little awkward position”.
He said WHO wanted to be sure if it was doing right or wrong and so reviewed data more intensely, with every small issue becoming a major one.
Bharat Biotech is also talking to the government about using the Cowin platform for doing clinical trials.
He indicated that the Phase 2 trials of the nasal vaccine are done and data was being analysed.
“We should expect it in 3-4 months,” he said.
Spelling hope for a mask-free future, he said that nasal vaccine was more effective in preventing transmission of the virus as compared to an injectable vaccine, which does not reach upper lungs, and could eliminate the need for a vaccinated individual to continue wearing the mask.
Bharat Biotech CMD Krishna Ella on Wednesday blamed the negative campaign against Covaxin in India, particularly in the media, for the delay on part of World Health Organisation (WHO) in granting emergency approval for its ‘made-in-India’ Covaxin.
Hinting at politics as a possible factor behind the negative publicity, Ella recalled how Covaxin, soon after it was taken by the Prime Minister to express confidence in Indian science, innovation and ‘atma-nirbhar’ capabilities, was labelled by some as a “BJP vaccine” or “Modi vaccine”.
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Sikkim's Covid tally rises to 32,074 with 16 fresh cases, death toll remains at 400 as no new coronavirus-related fatality reported in last 24 hrs; number of active cases stands at 124: Health bulletin
US brokered deal between J&J and Covax to send vaccines to conflict zones: Antony Blinken
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Read moreCzechs, Slovaks report surge in Covid-19 cases, hospitals stretched
The Czech Republic and Slovakia reported fresh surges in coronavirus infections on Wednesday and again had to start limiting non-urgent hospital care to cater for admissions of COVID-19 patients.
