Coronavirus Variants and Vaccinations, Coronavirus Active Cases in India Today News, October 13 Live Updates: In a major development in India’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the Subject Expert Committee of India’s Central Drug Authority on Tuesday recommended granting emergency use approval to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for children in the 2 to 18 years age group with certain conditions. Finally, children in India now have a choice in terms of Covid-19 vaccines with Bharat Biotech becoming the second company after Zydus Cadila to offer Covid-19 vaccines for children. However, the final nod from the Drug Controller General of India is still awaited. The development carries a lot of importance as India braces for a third wave, which, experts say, might impact children more than adults.
India added 15,823 fresh Coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its overall Covid-19 tally to 3,40,01,743, while the national Covid recovery rate improved to 98.06%, according to data from the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday. With 226 new fatalities, the Covid-19 death toll surged to 4,51,189, the Health Ministry said. The daily rise in new Coronavirus infections has been below 30,000 for 19 straight days and less than 50,000 for 108 consecutive days now. The number of active cases in the country has declined to 2,07,653, the lowest in 214 days, and now accounts for 0.61% of the total infections, the ministry said.
India has been reporting below 20,000 new Coronavirus infections for the past few days. The number of active cases has been falling sharply. However, any laxity in adhering to Covid protocol during festival celebration might erase all the gain India has achieved so far in containing the Covid-19 spread, warn experts. Amid the Durga Pooja rush, the daily caseload in West Bengal surged near to 1,000. Some parts of the country have started seeing a spike in new cases in the past few days. Several states/UTs have issued fresh Covid-19 guidelines for festival celebration, in order to check any spike in Covid-19 cases. The Union Health Ministry and state governments/UTs and experts have advised people to follow appropriate Covid behaviours such as wearing masks, maintaining distance, and avoid crowding during festivals.
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