India's Covid-19 tally nears 94-lakh mark after 41,810 new cases in 24 hours
At present, there are 4,53,956 active cases of coronavirus infection in the countryIn the one-day period, 496 people lost their lives to the deadly virus, taking the overall fatalities to 1,36,696
India's coronavirus caseload rose to 93.92 lakh with 41,810 fresh infections, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to over 88.02 lakh, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Sunday.
The overall Covid-19 cases mounted to 93,92,920, with 41,810 infections being reported in a span of 24 hours while the death toll climbed to 1,36,696 with 496 new fatalities, the government data showed.
There are 4,53,956 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country as on date, the data stated.
The total discharged cases are at 88,02,267 with 42,298 new recoveries in the last 24 hours.
The Indian Council of Medical Research said that a total of 13,95,03,803 samples have been tested for Covid-19 up to 28 November. Of these, 12,83,449 samples were tested yesterday, the ICMR added.
Coronavirus vaccine update
The Serum Institute of India chief Adar Poonawalla on Saturday said that the SII will apply for emergency authorisation of the coronavirus vaccine within two weeks. "We are in the process of applying in the next two weeks for the emergency use," Poonawalla said.
Poonawalla also said that the Indian Government may purchase 300 to 400 million 'Covidshield' doses by July next year.
Poonawalla's statement comes after PM Modi on Saturday visited the firm's pandemic level facility in Pune to personally review the development of Covid-19 vaccine and the manufacturing process.
Serum Institute of India has partnered with global pharma giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University for the vaccine candidate 'Covidshield'.
On the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine, Poonawalla stressed that the SII's priority is India and other COVAX countries.
"Vaccine will be distributed initially in India, and then we will look at the COVAX countries which are mainly in Africa. The UK and European markets are being taken care of by AstraZeneca and Oxford. Our priority is India and COVAX countries," he said.
"We are manufacturing 50-60 million doses per month. After January it will be 100 million doses," the SII chief added.
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