Police arrested at least 36 people after thousands turned out in the British capital to protest against ongoing coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

Anti-lockdown demonstrations by hundreds or even thousands have occurred regularly during the pandemic, often resulting in a small number of arrests.&nbsp;

On Saturday, the Metropolitan Police Service said it had made 36 arrests, most for breaching months-old virus regulations that outlaw leaving home except for a limited number of reasons.

Several thousand people were estimated to have gathered for the demonstrations, which began Saturday lunchtime at Hyde Park, holding banners with slogans such as "Stop Destroying Our Kids` Lives" and "Fake Pandemic".

After the crowd marched through central London, a group of around 100 returned to the park where police said they threw missiles at officers. &nbsp;

Officials said several people were injured as a result of targetted assaults.

England's Covid-19 lockdown measures have been in place since early January, when Britain saw a surge in infection rates, hospitalisations and deaths.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/over-60-lawmakers-call-for-protests-to-be-allowed-in-england-during-lockdown-371923">Also read |&nbsp;Over 60 lawmakers call for protests to be allowed in England during lockdown&nbsp;</a>

The situation has improved markedly since then, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month outlined a gradual easing of the restrictions, with the stringent stay-at-home order set to end later this month.

Under England's coronavirus rules it is unlawful for groups to gather for the purpose of protest, but opposition to such measures has grown this week, not specifically related to anti-lockdown demonstrations.

Police were criticised for using heavy-handed tactics to break up an outdoor vigil for 33-year-old Sarah Everard on March 13. A police officer has been charged with her kidnap and murder.

More than 60 British lawmakers wrote to interior minister Priti Patel on Friday calling for protests to be allowed during lockdown and saying that attending a demonstration should not be a criminal offence.

"We call on you to expressly exempt protests from restrictions on gatherings," lawmakers, including Conservative Member of Parliament Steve Baker and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said in the letter, which was organised by campaign groups Liberty and Big Brother Watch.

There were three consecutive nights of protest in London earlier this week, fuelled by the police reaction to the vigil for Everard, and anger over government plans to tighten the law on demonstrations.

(with inputs from agencies)

Police arrested at least 36 people after thousands turned out in the British capital to protest against ongoing coronavirus lockdown restrictions. Anti-lockdown demonstrations by hundreds or even thousands have occurred regularly during the pandemic, often resulting in a small number of arrests.

Police arrested at least 36 people after thousands turned out in the British capital to protest against ongoing coronavirus lockdown restrictions. Anti-lockdown demonstrations by hundreds or even thousands have occurred regularly during the pandemic, often resulting in a small number of arrests. On Saturday, the Metropolitan Police Service said it had made 36 arrests, most for breaching months-old virus regulations that outlaw leaving home except for a limited number of reasons. Several thousand people were estimated to have gathered for the demonstrations, which began Saturday lunchtime at Hyde Park, holding banners with slogans such as "Stop Destroying Our Kids` Lives" and "Fake Pandemic". After the crowd marched through central London, a group of around 100 returned to the park where police said they threw missiles at officers. Officials said several people were injured as a result of targetted assaults. England's Covid-19 lockdown measures have been in place since early January, when Britain saw a surge in infection rates, hospitalisations and deaths. Also read | Over 60 lawmakers call for protests to be allowed in England during lockdown The situation has improved markedly since then, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month outlined a gradual easing of the restrictions, with the stringent stay-at-home order set to end later this month. Under England's coronavirus rules it is unlawful for groups to gather for the purpose of protest, but opposition to such measures has grown this week, not specifically related to anti-lockdown demonstrations. Police were criticised for using heavy-handed tactics to break up an outdoor vigil for 33-year-old Sarah Everard on March 13. A police officer has been charged with her kidnap and murder. More than 60 British lawmakers wrote to interior minister Priti Patel on Friday calling for protests to be allowed during lockdown and saying that attending a demonstration should not be a criminal offence. "We call on you to expressly exempt protests from restrictions on gatherings," lawmakers, including Conservative Member of Parliament Steve Baker and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said in the letter, which was organised by campaign groups Liberty and Big Brother Watch. There were three consecutive nights of protest in London earlier this week, fuelled by the police reaction to the vigil for Everard, and anger over government plans to tighten the law on demonstrations. (with inputs from agencies)

UK police arrest dozens of people at anti-lockdown protests

Brazil’s healthcare system is in its most severe crisis -- doctors are overwhelmed and patients are dying while they wait for intensive care beds in the wake of rising number of coronavirus cases in the country.

The South American country is struggling to contain a surge of Covid-19 that has pushed hospitals in many areas to the brink of collapse.

All this while the country's Covid-sceptic president, Jair Bolsonaro, continues to spurn calls for a lockdown that would save lives.

It is being reported that the Covid intensive care units in virtually all of Brazil’s 26 states and the federal district containing the capital, Brasília, are now either at, or perilously close to capacity.

Brazil has registered nearly 12 million cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 292,752, second only to the US. It recorded 79,069 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 2,438 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.

Hard-hit Brazil has been struggling to secure enough vaccines for its 212 million people. It has so far issued at least one dose of vaccine to around 5.4 percent of the population -- far off pace to reach the health ministry's target of vaccinating all adults by the end of the year.

To this end, authorities said Saturday they were in talks with the United States to import Covid-19 vaccines that Washington is not currently using and has already vowed to share with Mexico and Canada.

The statement from the Brazilian foreign ministry came two days after the White House announced plans to send the US neighbors millions of doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which is still awaiting regulatory approval in the United States.

The US, which has stockpiled a total of seven million doses of the two-dose vaccine, will send 2.5 million to Mexico and 1.5 million to Canada, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. Brazil appeared to be referring to the same stockpile.

"Since March 13, the Brazilian government... has been negotiating with the US government to make it possible for Brazil to import vaccines from the surplus available in the United States," the foreign ministry said in a Tweet.&nbsp;

Brazil is currently using both the AstraZeneca vaccine -- recently given fresh stamps of approval from European regulators and the World Health Organization, following concerns over possible side effects -- and Chinese-developed CoronaVac.

(with inputs from agencies)

Brazil’s healthcare system is in its most severe crisis -- doctors are overwhelmed and patients are dying while they wait for intensive care beds in the wake of rising number of coronavirus cases in the country.

Brazil’s healthcare system is in its most severe crisis -- doctors are overwhelmed and patients are dying while they wait for intensive care beds in the wake of rising number of coronavirus cases in the country. The South American country is struggling to contain a surge of Covid-19 that has pushed hospitals in many areas to the brink of collapse. All this while the country's Covid-sceptic president, Jair Bolsonaro, continues to spurn calls for a lockdown that would save lives. It is being reported that the Covid intensive care units in virtually all of Brazil’s 26 states and the federal district containing the capital, Brasília, are now either at, or perilously close to capacity. Brazil has registered nearly 12 million cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 292,752, second only to the US. It recorded 79,069 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 2,438 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Saturday. Hard-hit Brazil has been struggling to secure enough vaccines for its 212 million people. It has so far issued at least one dose of vaccine to around 5.4 percent of the population -- far off pace to reach the health ministry's target of vaccinating all adults by the end of the year. To this end, authorities said Saturday they were in talks with the United States to import Covid-19 vaccines that Washington is not currently using and has already vowed to share with Mexico and Canada. The statement from the Brazilian foreign ministry came two days after the White House announced plans to send the US neighbors millions of doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which is still awaiting regulatory approval in the United States. The US, which has stockpiled a total of seven million doses of the two-dose vaccine, will send 2.5 million to Mexico and 1.5 million to Canada, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. Brazil appeared to be referring to the same stockpile. "Since March 13, the Brazilian government... has been negotiating with the US government to make it possible for Brazil to import vaccines from the surplus available in the United States," the foreign ministry said in a Tweet. Brazil is currently using both the AstraZeneca vaccine -- recently given fresh stamps of approval from European regulators and the World Health Organization, following concerns over possible side effects -- and Chinese-developed CoronaVac. (with inputs from agencies)

Brazil stares into the abyss as Covid-19 surge pushes hospitals to brink of collapse

Pakistan imposed a complete ban on travel from 12 countries, including South Africa, Rwanda and Tanzania, in a bid to curb the spike of coronavirus cases as the country on Sunday recorded 3,667 new cases, taking the national tally to 626,802.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) notified a fresh list of countries categorised into A, B and C after emergence of South African and Brazilian strain of the virus and imposed a complete ban on travel from 12 countries, categorised as C.

The travel restrictions and a ban on inbound passengers from 12 countries will remain effective from March 23 to April 5.

Botswana, Brazil, Columbia, Comoros, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia have been placed in category C.

The CAA in its notification said there will be a complete travel ban on inbound travel to Pakistan from category C countries, including withdrawal of exemptions earlier provided to certain categories of travellers like Pakistani passport holders.

The temporary measure is being introduced in continuation to the steps being taken to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Pakistan, it said.

The CAA also updated its category C, for inbound travellers and shifted the United Kingdom from category C to category B.

The CAA said the international travellers from category A countries do not require COVID-19 PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test before entry into Pakistan.

Australia, Bhutan, China, Fiji, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mongolia, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago and Vietnam have been placed in category A.

The international travellers from countries not specified in category A require COVID-19 test before commencement of travel to Pakistan.

The notification said all countries which are not specified in A and C fall in category B.

Meanwhile, the ministry of National Health Services reported that another 8.74 positivity rate was recorded in the last 24 hours, which is lower than 9.47 of the previous day but still high.

It said that 44 more patients died in the last one day, pushing the death toll to 13,843 in the country. Also, 581,852 people recovered so far while 2,900 were in critical conditions.

Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were tested positive on Saturday for the COVID-19, two days after the Pakistani premier got the first shot of a vaccine.

Khan, 68, contracted the coronavirus on a day when the country saw the highest number of positive cases since July with 3,876 people getting infected.

Pakistan imposed a complete ban on travel from 12 countries, including South Africa, Rwanda and Tanzania, in a bid to curb the spike of coronavirus cases as the country on Sunday recorded 3,667 new cases, taking the national tally to 626,802.

Pakistan imposed a complete ban on travel from 12 countries, including South Africa, Rwanda and Tanzania, in a bid to curb the spike of coronavirus cases as the country on Sunday recorded 3,667 new cases, taking the national tally to 626,802. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) notified a fresh list of countries categorised into A, B and C after emergence of South African and Brazilian strain of the virus and imposed a complete ban on travel from 12 countries, categorised as C. The travel restrictions and a ban on inbound passengers from 12 countries will remain effective from March 23 to April 5. Botswana, Brazil, Columbia, Comoros, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia have been placed in category C. The CAA in its notification said there will be a complete travel ban on inbound travel to Pakistan from category C countries, including withdrawal of exemptions earlier provided to certain categories of travellers like Pakistani passport holders. The temporary measure is being introduced in continuation to the steps being taken to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Pakistan, it said. The CAA also updated its category C, for inbound travellers and shifted the United Kingdom from category C to category B. The CAA said the international travellers from category A countries do not require COVID-19 PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test before entry into Pakistan. Australia, Bhutan, China, Fiji, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mongolia, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago and Vietnam have been placed in category A. The international travellers from countries not specified in category A require COVID-19 test before commencement of travel to Pakistan. The notification said all countries which are not specified in A and C fall in category B. Meanwhile, the ministry of National Health Services reported that another 8.74 positivity rate was recorded in the last 24 hours, which is lower than 9.47 of the previous day but still high. It said that 44 more patients died in the last one day, pushing the death toll to 13,843 in the country. Also, 581,852 people recovered so far while 2,900 were in critical conditions. Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were tested positive on Saturday for the COVID-19, two days after the Pakistani premier got the first shot of a vaccine. Khan, 68, contracted the coronavirus on a day when the country saw the highest number of positive cases since July with 3,876 people getting infected.

Pakistan bans travel from 12 countries amid spike in coronavirus cases

India is once again witnessing a massive surge in coronavirus cases as it recorded 40,953 infections in the last 24 hours, highest so far since November, taking the total tally to 1,15,55,284 on Saturday. 
 
A single-day spike of 41,810 new infections were recorded on November 28 last year. The country has been registering an increase in cases for the 10th consecutive day. 
 
According to the Health Ministry, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh are exhibiting a steep rise in daily numbers. 
 
The central government is closely monitoring and actively engaging with the states and union territories over the rising cases. 
 
With death of 188 people in the last 24 hours, the toll has reached 1,59,558 in India. The active caseload in country has mounted to 2,88,394. 
 
With the discharge of 23,653 patients in a day, a total of 1,11,07,332 persons have been discharged so far. A total of 10,60,971 tests were done on Friday. 
 
So far, 4.20 crore doses of corona vaccines have been administered in the country since the drive began on January 16 after approval for `Covishield` and `Covaxin`. 
 
More than 18.16 lakh doses were administered on a single day on Friday. 
 
--IANS 
 
aka/in 
&nbsp;

India is once again witnessing a massive surge in coronavirus cases as it recorded 40,953 infections in the last 24 hours, highest so far since November, taking the total tally to 1,15,55,284 on Saturday.

India is once again witnessing a massive surge in coronavirus cases as it recorded 40,953 infections in the last 24 hours, highest so far since November, taking the total tally to 1,15,55,284 on Saturday. A single-day spike of 41,810 new infections were recorded on November 28 last year. The country has been registering an increase in cases for the 10th consecutive day. According to the Health Ministry, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh are exhibiting a steep rise in daily numbers. The central government is closely monitoring and actively engaging with the states and union territories over the rising cases. With death of 188 people in the last 24 hours, the toll has reached 1,59,558 in India. The active caseload in country has mounted to 2,88,394. With the discharge of 23,653 patients in a day, a total of 1,11,07,332 persons have been discharged so far. A total of 10,60,971 tests were done on Friday. So far, 4.20 crore doses of corona vaccines have been administered in the country since the drive began on January 16 after approval for `Covishield` and `Covaxin`. More than 18.16 lakh doses were administered on a single day on Friday. --IANS aka/in

India adds nearly 41,000 new COVID-19 cases

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic almost didn’t happen, a new study suggests. Researchers who were attempting to understand when and how the virus first spread in China found that the first person was infected no earlier than October 2019.&nbsp;

But they also made a startling discovery - that COVID-19 almost didn’t make it as a pandemic virus. It was only owing to the conditions at the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan that the virus was able to become a global pandemic, the researchers ascertained in the journal Science.

The virus simply got lucky, the researchers posit.&nbsp;To reach this conclusion, the team used molecular dating, using the rate of mutations currently underway to understand how long the virus had been around for.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/science/covid-19-vaccination-alone-will-not-able-to-prevent-infection-study-371769" hreflang="en">Covid-19 vaccination alone will not able to prevent infection: Study</a>

In addition, they used computer models to figure out when and how the virus spread. They found that the upper limit of the first instance of the virus was October 2019, and that the virus could not have been circulating before that.

Reports from European countries claimed that many people were infected before October. But according to the findings published on Thursday, only a dozen people were infected between October-December 2019.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/science/cows-fed-small-amount-of-seaweed-burp-86-less-methane-study-371503" hreflang="en">Cows fed small amount of seaweed burp 86% less methane: Study</a>

In addition, the origins of the virus were put to rest in the study, which claims that the virus emerged in China’s Hubei province and not elsewhere. By 2019, a few handful cases around the world caused a global explosion.&nbsp;

Over 2.7 million people have died of the virus, and over 122 million people have been infected globally, with the US and Brazil remaining the worst-affected countries.

Even then, the animal source of the virus is still not confirmed. But based on genetic evidence, scientists claim that bats carry a closely related virus, adding that perhaps another species got the virus from bats and spread it to humans.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic almost didn’t happen, a new study suggests. Researchers who were attempting to understand when and how the virus first spread in China found that the first person was infected no earlier than October 2019.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic almost didn’t happen, a new study suggests. Researchers who were attempting to understand when and how the virus first spread in China found that the first person was infected no earlier than October 2019. But they also made a startling discovery - that COVID-19 almost didn’t make it as a pandemic virus. It was only owing to the conditions at the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan that the virus was able to become a global pandemic, the researchers ascertained in the journal Science. The virus simply got lucky, the researchers posit. To reach this conclusion, the team used molecular dating, using the rate of mutations currently underway to understand how long the virus had been around for. Also read: Covid-19 vaccination alone will not able to prevent infection: Study In addition, they used computer models to figure out when and how the virus spread. They found that the upper limit of the first instance of the virus was October 2019, and that the virus could not have been circulating before that. Reports from European countries claimed that many people were infected before October. But according to the findings published on Thursday, only a dozen people were infected between October-December 2019. Also read: Cows fed small amount of seaweed burp 86% less methane: Study In addition, the origins of the virus were put to rest in the study, which claims that the virus emerged in China’s Hubei province and not elsewhere. By 2019, a few handful cases around the world caused a global explosion. Over 2.7 million people have died of the virus, and over 122 million people have been infected globally, with the US and Brazil remaining the worst-affected countries. Even then, the animal source of the virus is still not confirmed. But based on genetic evidence, scientists claim that bats carry a closely related virus, adding that perhaps another species got the virus from bats and spread it to humans.

COVID-19 almost didn't make it as a pandemic, new study suggests

Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida, was partially closed Friday after some staff members tested positive for the coronavirus, two people familiar with the events confirmed.

The closure affected service in the dining room and at the beach club, according to The Associated Press. The two people familiar with the events confirmed that was the case; they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The Associated Press cited an email that went to members of the club, which also serves as Trump’s permanent residence. The moves were taken out of “an abundance of caution,” and some workers were quarantined, according to the email.

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. A woman who answered the phone at Mar-a-Lago said “no comment” and hung up when asked if the club was open.

The Florida Department of Public Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The club is set to host events during the Republican National Committee spring retreat in Florida next month. It has been Trump’s post-presidency base of operations, where he has hosted Republican officials.

Coronavirus cases have been declining for weeks in Florida, which reopened businesses months before much of the nation. But the state is still averaging about 5,000 new cases a day, according to a New York Times database.

Dr. Alina Alonso, director of the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County, said this week that cases had been declining locally, and she was “cautiously optimistic” about the course of the virus. But she warned the public that it was too early to declare victory over the pandemic.

Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida, was partially closed Friday after some staff members tested positive for the coronavirus, two people familiar with the events confirmed.

Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida, was partially closed Friday after some staff members tested positive for the coronavirus, two people familiar with the events confirmed. The closure affected service in the dining room and at the beach club, according to The Associated Press. The two people familiar with the events confirmed that was the case; they were not authorized to speak publicly. The Associated Press cited an email that went to members of the club, which also serves as Trump’s permanent residence. The moves were taken out of “an abundance of caution,” and some workers were quarantined, according to the email. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. A woman who answered the phone at Mar-a-Lago said “no comment” and hung up when asked if the club was open. The Florida Department of Public Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The club is set to host events during the Republican National Committee spring retreat in Florida next month. It has been Trump’s post-presidency base of operations, where he has hosted Republican officials. Coronavirus cases have been declining for weeks in Florida, which reopened businesses months before much of the nation. But the state is still averaging about 5,000 new cases a day, according to a New York Times database. Dr. Alina Alonso, director of the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County, said this week that cases had been declining locally, and she was “cautiously optimistic” about the course of the virus. But she warned the public that it was too early to declare victory over the pandemic.

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club partially closed after positive COVID tests

The overall number of global Covid-19 cases has surpassed 122.2 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 2.70 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University. 
 
In its latest update on Saturday morning, the University`s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 122,248,381 and 2,700,817, respectively. 
 
The US is the worst-hit country with the world`s highest number of cases and deaths at 29,728,104 and 541,096, respectively, according to the CSSE. 
 
Brazil follows in the second place with 11,871,390 cases and 290,314 fatalities. 
 
The other countries with more than a million confirmed coronavirus cases are India (11,871,390), Russia (4,388,268), the UK (4,299,200), France (4,242,145), Italy (3,332,418), Spain (3,212,332), Turkey (2,971,633), Germany (2,645,199), Colombia (2,324,426), Argentina (2,234,913), Mexico (2,187,910), Poland (2,010,244), Iran (1,786,265), Ukraine (1,569,596), South Africa (1,535,423), Indonesia (1,450,132), Czech Republic (1,449,696), Peru (1,443,521) and the Netherlands (1,203,622), the CSSE figures showed. 
 
In terms of deaths, Mexico comes in the third place with 197,219 fatalities. 
 
Nations with a death toll of over 50,000 are India (159,370), the UK (126,263), Italy (104,241), Russia (92,704), France (91,833), Germany (74,466), Spain (72,910), Colombia (61,771), Iran (61,649), Argentina (54,476) and South Africa (52,035).

The overall number of global Covid-19 cases has surpassed 122.2 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 2.70 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

The overall number of global Covid-19 cases has surpassed 122.2 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 2.70 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University. In its latest update on Saturday morning, the University`s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 122,248,381 and 2,700,817, respectively. The US is the worst-hit country with the world`s highest number of cases and deaths at 29,728,104 and 541,096, respectively, according to the CSSE. Brazil follows in the second place with 11,871,390 cases and 290,314 fatalities. The other countries with more than a million confirmed coronavirus cases are India (11,871,390), Russia (4,388,268), the UK (4,299,200), France (4,242,145), Italy (3,332,418), Spain (3,212,332), Turkey (2,971,633), Germany (2,645,199), Colombia (2,324,426), Argentina (2,234,913), Mexico (2,187,910), Poland (2,010,244), Iran (1,786,265), Ukraine (1,569,596), South Africa (1,535,423), Indonesia (1,450,132), Czech Republic (1,449,696), Peru (1,443,521) and the Netherlands (1,203,622), the CSSE figures showed. In terms of deaths, Mexico comes in the third place with 197,219 fatalities. Nations with a death toll of over 50,000 are India (159,370), the UK (126,263), Italy (104,241), Russia (92,704), France (91,833), Germany (74,466), Spain (72,910), Colombia (61,771), Iran (61,649), Argentina (54,476) and South Africa (52,035).

Global COVID-19 caseload tops 122.2 million

Nepal gave emergency authorisation to India’s COVID-19 vaccine COVAXIN, becoming the third country to approve the shot.

COVID-19: Nepal gives an emergency nod to India's COVAXIN

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage across India and the world. The country has recorded its biggest single-day spike in over 3 months with close to 40,000 new infections and over 150 fatalities linked to COVID-19.

India on brink of second COVID-19 wave

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has tested positive for coronavirus, two days after he got his first shot of vaccination.

Imran Khan is "self isolating at home," Pakistan's health minister Faisal Sultan said in a tweet on Saturday.

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PM Imran Khan has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self isolating at home
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Khan received the first shot of vaccination against COVID-19 on Friday. He reportedly&nbsp;had shown symptoms of Covid-19&nbsp;on the same day he was administered the first dose of the vaccine.

The prime minister had urged the citizens of his country to ensure the full implementation of norms to prevent the surge in cases of coronavirus. He was vaccinated as part of the nationwide anti-coronavirus vaccination campaign which is underway in its first phase.

In Pakistan, the COVID-19 vaccine is being provided to people 60 years of age and above and to front-line health workers.

Pakistan on Thursday also imposed smart lockdowns in areas worst hit by the coronavirus as the country recorded a sharp increase in the positive cases. The rise in the cases came as the second batch of 500,000 Sinopharm vaccines sent by China reached Pakistan on Wednesday. 
Pakistan officials last week said that the country was hit by the third wave of the pandemic.

All markets, shopping malls, offices, and restaurants will remain closed in the areas of smart lockdown. However, grocery stores, hospitals, pharmacies, bakeries, meat and milk shops will be allowed to remain open.

Punjab province Health Minister Yasmin Rashid said that smart lockdowns are imposed in Gujrat, Sialkot, and Hafizabad, which will remain in effect till March 30 in Gujrat, March 24 in Sialkot and March 26 in Hafizabad.

The fresh measures were taken as Pakistan recorded the highest 3,495 new coronavirus cases in a single-day after three months as the national tally of infections reached 615,810 on Thursday, according to the official data. It is the highest number of new cases in a day since December 6 last year when 3,795 cases were recorded, according to the ministry of National Health Services reported.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has tested positive for coronavirus, two days after he got his first shot of vaccination. Imran Khan is "self isolating at home," Pakistan's health minister Faisal Sultan said in a tweet on Saturday.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has tested positive for coronavirus, two days after he got his first shot of vaccination. Imran Khan is "self isolating at home," Pakistan's health minister Faisal Sultan said in a tweet on Saturday. PM Imran Khan has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self isolating at home — Faisal Sultan (@fslsltn) March 20, 2021 × Khan received the first shot of vaccination against COVID-19 on Friday. He reportedly had shown symptoms of Covid-19 on the same day he was administered the first dose of the vaccine. The prime minister had urged the citizens of his country to ensure the full implementation of norms to prevent the surge in cases of coronavirus. He was vaccinated as part of the nationwide anti-coronavirus vaccination campaign which is underway in its first phase. In Pakistan, the COVID-19 vaccine is being provided to people 60 years of age and above and to front-line health workers. Pakistan on Thursday also imposed smart lockdowns in areas worst hit by the coronavirus as the country recorded a sharp increase in the positive cases. The rise in the cases came as the second batch of 500,000 Sinopharm vaccines sent by China reached Pakistan on Wednesday. Pakistan officials last week said that the country was hit by the third wave of the pandemic. All markets, shopping malls, offices, and restaurants will remain closed in the areas of smart lockdown. However, grocery stores, hospitals, pharmacies, bakeries, meat and milk shops will be allowed to remain open. Punjab province Health Minister Yasmin Rashid said that smart lockdowns are imposed in Gujrat, Sialkot, and Hafizabad, which will remain in effect till March 30 in Gujrat, March 24 in Sialkot and March 26 in Hafizabad. The fresh measures were taken as Pakistan recorded the highest 3,495 new coronavirus cases in a single-day after three months as the national tally of infections reached 615,810 on Thursday, according to the official data. It is the highest number of new cases in a day since December 6 last year when 3,795 cases were recorded, according to the ministry of National Health Services reported.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tests positive for coronavirus

BRUSSELS — The calls began in December, as the United States prepared to administer its first batches of COVID-19 vaccine. Even then, it was clear that the European Union was a few weeks behind, and its leaders wanted to know what they could learn from their American counterparts.

The questions were the same, from President Emmanuel Macron of France, President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission, and Alexander De Croo, prime minister of Belgium.

“How did you do it?” Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the U.S. vaccine czar, recalled being asked on the calls. “And what do you think we missed?”

Since then, the rollout gap between Europe and the United States has widened, and some of the countries hardest hit early in the pandemic are facing a deadly third wave of infections. France, large parts of Italy, and other regions are back in lockdown. Roughly 20,000 Europeans die of COVID-19 each week.

The continent was dealt a further setback when a scare over blood clots and brain bleeds led several countries this week to temporarily halt the distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Most of them resumed using it Friday after Europe’s top drug regulator vouched for its safety, but public confidence in the shot has been badly shaken.

Vaccine salvation remains, for now, tantalizingly out of reach. Only about 10% of Europeans have received a first dose, compared with 23% in the U.S. and 39% in Britain.

There is no single culprit. Rather, a cascade of small decisions have led to increasingly long delays. The bloc was comparatively slow to negotiate contracts with drugmakers. Its regulators were cautious and deliberative in approving some vaccines. Europe also bet on vaccines that did not pan out or had supply disruptions. And national governments snarled local efforts in red tape.

But the biggest explanation, one that has haunted the bloc for months, is as much philosophical as it was operational. European governments are often seen in the U.S. as free-spending, liberal bastions. This time, though, it was Washington that threw billions at drugmakers and cosseted their business.

Brussels, by comparison, took a conservative, budget-conscious approach that left the open market largely untouched. And it has paid for it.

In short, the answer today is the same as it was in December, Slaoui said. The bloc shopped for vaccines like a customer. The United States basically went into business with the drugmakers, spending much more heavily to accelerate vaccine development, testing and production.

“They assumed that simply contracting to acquire doses would be enough,” recalled Slaoui, whom President Donald Trump hired to speed the vaccine development. “In fact what was very important was to be a full, active partner in the development and the manufacturing of the vaccine. And to do so very early.”

The result in Europe is a stumbling inoculation effort that has led to political fallout, with leaders pointing fingers over why some of the world’s richest countries, home to factories that churn out vast quantities of vaccine, cannot keep pace with other wealthy nations in injecting its people.

Compared with nearly all the rest of the world, the European Union is in an admirable position. Its leaders say it remains feasible to vaccinate 70% of the continent by this summer. The bloc has ordered enough doses to fully vaccinate its population at least three times, to the consternation of countries that will wait years for full coverage.

But Europeans are stung, especially, to see Britain’s rollout going so well after the country exited the bloc. Everyone wants to know why the EU has not triumphed.

‘Not Equipped for a Gunfight’

The European Union trailed the U.S. and Britain from the start.

Washington had already spent billions on clinical trials and manufacturing by the time Europe decided to pool its resources and negotiate as a bloc. In mid-June, the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, announced a joint vaccine purchase with a $3.2 billion pot.

In Washington, Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s vaccine program, had a $10 billion budget. European officials say it’s unfair to compare the two figures because neither amount is a complete picture of all the money spent on vaccines. But there is no dispute that in Washington, officials had decided that money was no object if vaccines could avert the economic cost of a lockdown. Europe, on the other hand, was on a tight budget, so its negotiators chased cheaper doses.

“Pricing has been important since the beginning,” Sandra Gallina, the EU’s main vaccine negotiator, told lawmakers in February. “We are talking about taxpayers’ money.”

Europe’s first deal, with AstraZeneca, came in August, months after the U.S. And while Europe negotiated as a powerful buyer, it lacked the wartime procurement powers that the Trump administration had used to secure raw materials for companies.

That meant that the bloc was not first in line for the doses.

The United States made the negotiations easy — its critics say far too easy — by signing away any right to intellectual property and absolving the drug companies of any liability if the vaccines disappointed. Washington paid for the development and the trials; the companies had essentially nothing to lose.

Drugmakers expected the same concessions in Europe, but the back and forth over liability was the major stumbling block, Gallina said. European negotiators had to reconcile disparate liability laws across multiple countries, finding common ground among 27 leaders.

“In a crisis, it always becomes clear that the EU is not a country,” said Jacob Kirkegaard, of the German Marshall Fund. He said the bloc approached vaccine procurement like a contract negotiation when in fact “it was a zero-sum game with limited supply.”

“It was not equipped for a gunfight,” Kirkegaard said.

Slaoui said Washington and London approached the crisis in lockstep. He recalled biweekly meetings with his British counterpart, Kate Bingham, but said Europe went its own way.

“If you’re at the table from Day 1, and you paid to be the first to pick from the menu, you’re going to eat first,” he said.

The Wrong Horses

European institutions are, by design, risk-averse. One of the founding tenets of the European Union is called the precautionary principle: The bloc errs on the side of caution when risks are unclear.

That, some analysts have said, hurt the bloc. German leaders argued for a heftier bet on vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and CureVac, but they were based on unproven messenger RNA technology and were more expensive. The bloc had just settled a thorny economic rescue package, and there was little appetite for more risk or spending.

It did not help that Europe backed the wrong horse in some cases. It spent billions on a vaccine candidate from French drugmaker Sanofi and Britain’s GSK that was delayed more than a year after disappointing results.

So the bloc relied heavily on AstraZeneca for its early rollout plans, a bet that had repercussions from the beginning. Italy, for example, embraced Europe’s bet on AstraZeneca doses because they were cheaper and did not require extreme storage temperatures. But then Italian regulators recommended against giving the vaccine to older adults until more data were available, leaving a country with the oldest population in Europe more vulnerable to the pandemic.

Britain bet heavily on AstraZeneca, too, but its close working relationship with the drugmaker and its early agreements gave it an advantage when the company hit supply problems in January. AstraZeneca has slashed its delivery plans, telling European leaders that it would hand over 100 million fewer doses by the middle of the year, according to the commission’s president, von der Leyen.

That has pitted the bloc against AstraZeneca, and the dispute has spilled into public view. Leaders in Brussels have been all too happy to blame the company for the shortfalls, and the dispute could end up in a Belgian court.

Europe lost even more time because its medical authorities were slow to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine, seeking to assure the public that it was safe. That “cost us two to three weeks of delay,” von der Leyen said this week.

The bloc fell further behind when national authorities in Germany, France, Italy and elsewhere raised concerns about dangerous clots and bleeding, and temporarily suspended use of the vaccine. Although the World Health Organization and European regulators reaffirmed its safety, the damage was done. Only 1 in 5 French people now trust the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to a poll by the Elabe Institute published Tuesday.

Now Europe is striking a more aggressive tone about protecting its interests. Italy blocked a small shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia this month. Von der Leyen upped the ante this week, threatening to use an emergency mechanism, last used during the 1970s oil crisis, that would allow the bloc to seize production of vaccines.

“It is hard to explain to our citizens why vaccines produced in the EU are going to other countries,” von der Leyen said.

A Lack of Flexibility

Early this month, Toon Vanagt, a Belgian tech entrepreneur, accompanied his 77-year-old father to a vaccination center north of Brussels. Vanagt, 47, was not eligible for the vaccine, but a worker offered him a leftover shot, which he gladly accepted.

Millions of Americans have been vaccinated this way, and software companies have rushed to link patients with doses that would otherwise expire. But in Belgium, when Vanagt tweeted that he had been vaccinated, it became a mini-scandal. Health officials rebuked the vaccine center, which quickly apologized: “A minor communication problem, very quickly rectified.”

Belgium’s rollout is one example of the continent’s rigid approach to following vaccination guidelines. In a country where nursing home infections led to one of the highest per capita death tolls, the policy was intended to strictly prioritize the neediest residents.

Many European countries are also stockpiling doses to guarantee that everyone who receives a first injection will receive the second dose on time. The United States and Britain have been more flexible, erring on the side of giving more first injections.

“In the U.S., there is a much more flexible, liberal system and you just vaccinate people who come along. Same in the U.K. And it can go quicker. Here it is quite regulated,’’ said Steven Van Gucht, the Belgian government’s top virologist, who said it was too soon to know which system is better.

Administrative hiccups have exacerbated the problems. In Frankfurt, Elke Morgenstern was escorted out of a vaccine center because she enrolled using the wrong online application. “It was embarrassing,” said Morgenstern, adding that she qualified for a vaccine because of a preexisting condition.

Because of the AstraZeneca shortages, she cannot book another appointment before May.

“It is a catastrophe how they are handling things here,” she said.

In the Lombardy region of Italy, once the center of the pandemic, the vaccination campaign got off to a slow start in part because the top health care official refused to marshal medical workers over the Christmas holidays. Technical difficulties worsened the problems at the region’s vaccination centers.

“Some sessions were empty,” said Paola Pedrini, the regional secretary-general for Italy’s family doctors federation. “For some others, they called 900 people when they could only vaccinate 600.”

For all of the problems, Slaoui said Europeans were in an admirable position. By the numbers, the continent is about five weeks behind the United States, with vaccine supply expected to increase steadily. “It’s too late to have taken the first bite,” he said. “But they’re in a good place.”

Van Gucht, of Belgium, agreed. But he said European leaders would probably take nationalistic lessons from the past months.

“I think we relied a little bit too much on the free markets,” he said. “What you really need to do from the beginning is really make sure you produce the vaccines on your territory and that they’re destined for your own population.”

BRUSSELS — The calls began in December, as the United States prepared to administer its first batches of COVID-19 vaccine. Even then, it was clear that the European Union was a few weeks behind, and its leaders wanted to know what they could learn from their American counterparts.

BRUSSELS — The calls began in December, as the United States prepared to administer its first batches of COVID-19 vaccine. Even then, it was clear that the European Union was a few weeks behind, and its leaders wanted to know what they could learn from their American counterparts. The questions were the same, from President Emmanuel Macron of France, President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission, and Alexander De Croo, prime minister of Belgium. “How did you do it?” Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the U.S. vaccine czar, recalled being asked on the calls. “And what do you think we missed?” Since then, the rollout gap between Europe and the United States has widened, and some of the countries hardest hit early in the pandemic are facing a deadly third wave of infections. France, large parts of Italy, and other regions are back in lockdown. Roughly 20,000 Europeans die of COVID-19 each week. The continent was dealt a further setback when a scare over blood clots and brain bleeds led several countries this week to temporarily halt the distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Most of them resumed using it Friday after Europe’s top drug regulator vouched for its safety, but public confidence in the shot has been badly shaken. Vaccine salvation remains, for now, tantalizingly out of reach. Only about 10% of Europeans have received a first dose, compared with 23% in the U.S. and 39% in Britain. There is no single culprit. Rather, a cascade of small decisions have led to increasingly long delays. The bloc was comparatively slow to negotiate contracts with drugmakers. Its regulators were cautious and deliberative in approving some vaccines. Europe also bet on vaccines that did not pan out or had supply disruptions. And national governments snarled local efforts in red tape. But the biggest explanation, one that has haunted the bloc for months, is as much philosophical as it was operational. European governments are often seen in the U.S. as free-spending, liberal bastions. This time, though, it was Washington that threw billions at drugmakers and cosseted their business. Brussels, by comparison, took a conservative, budget-conscious approach that left the open market largely untouched. And it has paid for it. In short, the answer today is the same as it was in December, Slaoui said. The bloc shopped for vaccines like a customer. The United States basically went into business with the drugmakers, spending much more heavily to accelerate vaccine development, testing and production. “They assumed that simply contracting to acquire doses would be enough,” recalled Slaoui, whom President Donald Trump hired to speed the vaccine development. “In fact what was very important was to be a full, active partner in the development and the manufacturing of the vaccine. And to do so very early.” The result in Europe is a stumbling inoculation effort that has led to political fallout, with leaders pointing fingers over why some of the world’s richest countries, home to factories that churn out vast quantities of vaccine, cannot keep pace with other wealthy nations in injecting its people. Compared with nearly all the rest of the world, the European Union is in an admirable position. Its leaders say it remains feasible to vaccinate 70% of the continent by this summer. The bloc has ordered enough doses to fully vaccinate its population at least three times, to the consternation of countries that will wait years for full coverage. But Europeans are stung, especially, to see Britain’s rollout going so well after the country exited the bloc. Everyone wants to know why the EU has not triumphed. ‘Not Equipped for a Gunfight’ The European Union trailed the U.S. and Britain from the start. Washington had already spent billions on clinical trials and manufacturing by the time Europe decided to pool its resources and negotiate as a bloc. In mid-June, the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, announced a joint vaccine purchase with a $3.2 billion pot. In Washington, Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s vaccine program, had a $10 billion budget. European officials say it’s unfair to compare the two figures because neither amount is a complete picture of all the money spent on vaccines. But there is no dispute that in Washington, officials had decided that money was no object if vaccines could avert the economic cost of a lockdown. Europe, on the other hand, was on a tight budget, so its negotiators chased cheaper doses. “Pricing has been important since the beginning,” Sandra Gallina, the EU’s main vaccine negotiator, told lawmakers in February. “We are talking about taxpayers’ money.” Europe’s first deal, with AstraZeneca, came in August, months after the U.S. And while Europe negotiated as a powerful buyer, it lacked the wartime procurement powers that the Trump administration had used to secure raw materials for companies. That meant that the bloc was not first in line for the doses. The United States made the negotiations easy — its critics say far too easy — by signing away any right to intellectual property and absolving the drug companies of any liability if the vaccines disappointed. Washington paid for the development and the trials; the companies had essentially nothing to lose. Drugmakers expected the same concessions in Europe, but the back and forth over liability was the major stumbling block, Gallina said. European negotiators had to reconcile disparate liability laws across multiple countries, finding common ground among 27 leaders. “In a crisis, it always becomes clear that the EU is not a country,” said Jacob Kirkegaard, of the German Marshall Fund. He said the bloc approached vaccine procurement like a contract negotiation when in fact “it was a zero-sum game with limited supply.” “It was not equipped for a gunfight,” Kirkegaard said. Slaoui said Washington and London approached the crisis in lockstep. He recalled biweekly meetings with his British counterpart, Kate Bingham, but said Europe went its own way. “If you’re at the table from Day 1, and you paid to be the first to pick from the menu, you’re going to eat first,” he said. The Wrong Horses European institutions are, by design, risk-averse. One of the founding tenets of the European Union is called the precautionary principle: The bloc errs on the side of caution when risks are unclear. That, some analysts have said, hurt the bloc. German leaders argued for a heftier bet on vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and CureVac, but they were based on unproven messenger RNA technology and were more expensive. The bloc had just settled a thorny economic rescue package, and there was little appetite for more risk or spending. It did not help that Europe backed the wrong horse in some cases. It spent billions on a vaccine candidate from French drugmaker Sanofi and Britain’s GSK that was delayed more than a year after disappointing results. So the bloc relied heavily on AstraZeneca for its early rollout plans, a bet that had repercussions from the beginning. Italy, for example, embraced Europe’s bet on AstraZeneca doses because they were cheaper and did not require extreme storage temperatures. But then Italian regulators recommended against giving the vaccine to older adults until more data were available, leaving a country with the oldest population in Europe more vulnerable to the pandemic. Britain bet heavily on AstraZeneca, too, but its close working relationship with the drugmaker and its early agreements gave it an advantage when the company hit supply problems in January. AstraZeneca has slashed its delivery plans, telling European leaders that it would hand over 100 million fewer doses by the middle of the year, according to the commission’s president, von der Leyen. That has pitted the bloc against AstraZeneca, and the dispute has spilled into public view. Leaders in Brussels have been all too happy to blame the company for the shortfalls, and the dispute could end up in a Belgian court. Europe lost even more time because its medical authorities were slow to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine, seeking to assure the public that it was safe. That “cost us two to three weeks of delay,” von der Leyen said this week. The bloc fell further behind when national authorities in Germany, France, Italy and elsewhere raised concerns about dangerous clots and bleeding, and temporarily suspended use of the vaccine. Although the World Health Organization and European regulators reaffirmed its safety, the damage was done. Only 1 in 5 French people now trust the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to a poll by the Elabe Institute published Tuesday. Now Europe is striking a more aggressive tone about protecting its interests. Italy blocked a small shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia this month. Von der Leyen upped the ante this week, threatening to use an emergency mechanism, last used during the 1970s oil crisis, that would allow the bloc to seize production of vaccines. “It is hard to explain to our citizens why vaccines produced in the EU are going to other countries,” von der Leyen said. A Lack of Flexibility Early this month, Toon Vanagt, a Belgian tech entrepreneur, accompanied his 77-year-old father to a vaccination center north of Brussels. Vanagt, 47, was not eligible for the vaccine, but a worker offered him a leftover shot, which he gladly accepted. Millions of Americans have been vaccinated this way, and software companies have rushed to link patients with doses that would otherwise expire. But in Belgium, when Vanagt tweeted that he had been vaccinated, it became a mini-scandal. Health officials rebuked the vaccine center, which quickly apologized: “A minor communication problem, very quickly rectified.” Belgium’s rollout is one example of the continent’s rigid approach to following vaccination guidelines. In a country where nursing home infections led to one of the highest per capita death tolls, the policy was intended to strictly prioritize the neediest residents. Many European countries are also stockpiling doses to guarantee that everyone who receives a first injection will receive the second dose on time. The United States and Britain have been more flexible, erring on the side of giving more first injections. “In the U.S., there is a much more flexible, liberal system and you just vaccinate people who come along. Same in the U.K. And it can go quicker. Here it is quite regulated,’’ said Steven Van Gucht, the Belgian government’s top virologist, who said it was too soon to know which system is better. Administrative hiccups have exacerbated the problems. In Frankfurt, Elke Morgenstern was escorted out of a vaccine center because she enrolled using the wrong online application. “It was embarrassing,” said Morgenstern, adding that she qualified for a vaccine because of a preexisting condition. Because of the AstraZeneca shortages, she cannot book another appointment before May. “It is a catastrophe how they are handling things here,” she said. In the Lombardy region of Italy, once the center of the pandemic, the vaccination campaign got off to a slow start in part because the top health care official refused to marshal medical workers over the Christmas holidays. Technical difficulties worsened the problems at the region’s vaccination centers. “Some sessions were empty,” said Paola Pedrini, the regional secretary-general for Italy’s family doctors federation. “For some others, they called 900 people when they could only vaccinate 600.” For all of the problems, Slaoui said Europeans were in an admirable position. By the numbers, the continent is about five weeks behind the United States, with vaccine supply expected to increase steadily. “It’s too late to have taken the first bite,” he said. “But they’re in a good place.” Van Gucht, of Belgium, agreed. But he said European leaders would probably take nationalistic lessons from the past months. “I think we relied a little bit too much on the free markets,” he said. “What you really need to do from the beginning is really make sure you produce the vaccines on your territory and that they’re destined for your own population.”

Where Europe went wrong in its vaccine rollout, and why

Nepal's national drug regulatory authority on Saturday granted emergency use approval to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.

Nepal has reported 275,750 cases and 3,016 deaths so far. It is now only the third country to approve India's indigenously developed Covid vaccine -- also the third COVID-19 vaccine authorised in the country.

According to The Kathmandu Post, a meeting of the drug advisory committee of the Department of Drug Administration decided to issue a conditional emergency use authorisation to India's homegrown government-backed vaccine Covaxin.

COVAXIN, which demonstrated an interim vaccine efficacy of 81 per cent in the Phase 3 clinical trials India, was approved for emergency use in India in January and Zimbabwe cleared it early this month.

Bharat Biotech had applied for emergency use authorisation for its vaccine in Nepal on January 13. Of the three applications filed on January 13, the department had first granted emergency use authorisation to Oxford-AstraZeneca on January 15.

The AstraZeneca vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India under the name of Covishiled, was then accordingly brought to the country.

Nepal granted emergency use authorisation to BBIBP-CorV vaccine, developed by China's Sinopharm on February 17.

The country has used one million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines provided by India in January under grant assistance in sync with its Neighbourhood First' policy. It is now also awaiting another consignment of 2 million AstraZeneca vaccines from the Serum Institute of India (SII).'

Nepal's national drug regulatory authority on Saturday granted emergency use approval to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. Nepal has reported 275,750 cases and 3,016 deaths so far.

Nepal's national drug regulatory authority on Saturday granted emergency use approval to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. Nepal has reported 275,750 cases and 3,016 deaths so far. It is now only the third country to approve India's indigenously developed Covid vaccine -- also the third COVID-19 vaccine authorised in the country. According to The Kathmandu Post, a meeting of the drug advisory committee of the Department of Drug Administration decided to issue a conditional emergency use authorisation to India's homegrown government-backed vaccine Covaxin. COVAXIN, which demonstrated an interim vaccine efficacy of 81 per cent in the Phase 3 clinical trials India, was approved for emergency use in India in January and Zimbabwe cleared it early this month. Bharat Biotech had applied for emergency use authorisation for its vaccine in Nepal on January 13. Of the three applications filed on January 13, the department had first granted emergency use authorisation to Oxford-AstraZeneca on January 15. The AstraZeneca vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India under the name of Covishiled, was then accordingly brought to the country. Nepal granted emergency use authorisation to BBIBP-CorV vaccine, developed by China's Sinopharm on February 17. The country has used one million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines provided by India in January under grant assistance in sync with its Neighbourhood First' policy. It is now also awaiting another consignment of 2 million AstraZeneca vaccines from the Serum Institute of India (SII).'

Nepal gives emergency use approval to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin

Switzerland has postponed plans to relax its COVID-19 restrictions, the government said on Friday, citing increasing coronavirus cases and insufficient progress on vaccinations.

Switzerland had planned to allow outdoor events like football matches and concerts with up to 150 people from Monday as well as allowing restaurants to open terraces to outdoor diners, but instead opted for a more cautious approach as neighbouring France and Germany also rein in reopening.

"The risk of an uncontrolled increase in the number of cases is currently too great for further openings," the government said on Friday. "In addition, too few people have yet been vaccinated to prevent a sharp rise in hospitalizations."

The number of coronavirus cases in Switzerland and neighbouring Liechtenstein rose by 1,750 on Thursday, well above the seven-day average of 1,285 cases.

Currently, infections are expected to double every three to four weeks, the government said, warning new variants of COVID-19 make up to 80% of the new cases.

"We've known for a while that they aren't merely more infectious, but also more dangerous," Health Minister Alain Berset said at a press conference. "This is not the moment we'd hoped for."

The government did relax restrictions on indoor meetings for families and friends, up to 10 people from five previously, ahead of Easter.

Torn between public fatigue and warnings from public health experts about reopening too quickly, the government has forged a middle path that is often less strict than neighbouring countries' approaches.

It has unveiled a 1 billion Swiss franc ($1.07 billion) plan to offer free coronavirus tests for all residents, while grappling with shortages of vaccines it needs for its goal to inoculate all who wish by summer.

Shops, museums, and libraries reopened this month and sporting and cultural activities for youngsters resumed. Schools and many ski lifts are open, but restaurants and cultural venues remain closed.

Switzerland has postponed plans to relax its COVID-19 restrictions, the government said on Friday, citing increasing coronavirus cases and insufficient progress on vaccinations.

Switzerland has postponed plans to relax its COVID-19 restrictions, the government said on Friday, citing increasing coronavirus cases and insufficient progress on vaccinations. Switzerland had planned to allow outdoor events like football matches and concerts with up to 150 people from Monday as well as allowing restaurants to open terraces to outdoor diners, but instead opted for a more cautious approach as neighbouring France and Germany also rein in reopening. "The risk of an uncontrolled increase in the number of cases is currently too great for further openings," the government said on Friday. "In addition, too few people have yet been vaccinated to prevent a sharp rise in hospitalizations." The number of coronavirus cases in Switzerland and neighbouring Liechtenstein rose by 1,750 on Thursday, well above the seven-day average of 1,285 cases. Currently, infections are expected to double every three to four weeks, the government said, warning new variants of COVID-19 make up to 80% of the new cases. "We've known for a while that they aren't merely more infectious, but also more dangerous," Health Minister Alain Berset said at a press conference. "This is not the moment we'd hoped for." The government did relax restrictions on indoor meetings for families and friends, up to 10 people from five previously, ahead of Easter. Torn between public fatigue and warnings from public health experts about reopening too quickly, the government has forged a middle path that is often less strict than neighbouring countries' approaches. It has unveiled a 1 billion Swiss franc ($1.07 billion) plan to offer free coronavirus tests for all residents, while grappling with shortages of vaccines it needs for its goal to inoculate all who wish by summer. Shops, museums, and libraries reopened this month and sporting and cultural activities for youngsters resumed. Schools and many ski lifts are open, but restaurants and cultural venues remain closed.

Switzerland postpones plan to lift Covid-19 curbs

UK health secretary has said that there will be a significant shortage in vaccine supply in April confirming supplies have been hit by a need to retest 1.7m doses and a delay in the arrival of imports from India.

United Kingdom: Health Secretary Matt Hancock says need to retest 1.7m COVID-19 doses

Europe is currently witnessing a sharp spike in new COVID-19. Most of the countries have renewed their COVID-19 restrictions to contain the growing outbreak.

Europe: COVID surge fueled by contagious virus variants

Covid-19 appears likely to develop into a seasonal disease, the United Nations said Thursday, cautioning though against relaxing pandemic-related measures simply based on meteorological factors.

More than a year after the novel coronavirus first surfaced in China, a number of mysteries still surround the spread of the disease that has killed nearly 2.7 million people worldwide.

In its first report, an expert team tasked with trying to shed light on one of those mysteries by examining potential meteorological and air quality influences on the spread of Covid-19, found some indications the disease would develop into a seasonal menace.

The 16-member team set up by the UN' World Meteorological Organization pointed out that respiratory viral infections are often seasonal, "in particular the autumn-winter peak for influenza and cold-causing coronaviruses in temperate climates."

"This has fuelled expectations that, if it persists for many years, Covid-19 will prove to be a strongly seasonal disease," it said in a statement.

Modelling studies anticipate that transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19 disease, "may become seasonal over time".

- Trigger? -

But Covid-19 transmission dynamics so far appear to have been influenced mainly by government interventions like mask mandates and travel restrictions, they said, rather than the weather.

The task team therefore insisted that weather and climate conditions alone should for now not be the trigger for loosening anti-Covid restrictions.

"At this stage, evidence does not support the use of meteorological and air quality factors as a basis for governments to relax their interventions aimed at reducing transmission," said task team co-chair Ben Zaitchik of the earth and planetary sciences department at The John Hopkins University in the United States.&nbsp;

He pointed out that during the first year of the pandemic, infections in some places rose in warm seasons, "and there is no evidence that this couldn't happen again in the coming year".

The experts, who focused only on outdoor meteorology and air quality conditions in the report, said laboratory studies had provided some evidence the virus survives longer in cold, dry weather and when there is low ultraviolet radiation.

But it remained unclear whether meteorological influences "have a meaningful influence on transmission rates under real world conditions".

They also highlighted that evidence around the impact of air quality on the virus remained "inconclusive".&nbsp;

There was some preliminary evidence that poor air quality increases Covid-19 mortality rates, "but not that pollution directly impacts airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2".

Covid-19 appears likely to develop into a seasonal disease, the United Nations said Thursday, cautioning though against relaxing pandemic-related measures simply based on meteorological factors.

Covid-19 appears likely to develop into a seasonal disease, the United Nations said Thursday, cautioning though against relaxing pandemic-related measures simply based on meteorological factors. More than a year after the novel coronavirus first surfaced in China, a number of mysteries still surround the spread of the disease that has killed nearly 2.7 million people worldwide. In its first report, an expert team tasked with trying to shed light on one of those mysteries by examining potential meteorological and air quality influences on the spread of Covid-19, found some indications the disease would develop into a seasonal menace. The 16-member team set up by the UN' World Meteorological Organization pointed out that respiratory viral infections are often seasonal, "in particular the autumn-winter peak for influenza and cold-causing coronaviruses in temperate climates." "This has fuelled expectations that, if it persists for many years, Covid-19 will prove to be a strongly seasonal disease," it said in a statement. Modelling studies anticipate that transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19 disease, "may become seasonal over time". - Trigger? - But Covid-19 transmission dynamics so far appear to have been influenced mainly by government interventions like mask mandates and travel restrictions, they said, rather than the weather. The task team therefore insisted that weather and climate conditions alone should for now not be the trigger for loosening anti-Covid restrictions. "At this stage, evidence does not support the use of meteorological and air quality factors as a basis for governments to relax their interventions aimed at reducing transmission," said task team co-chair Ben Zaitchik of the earth and planetary sciences department at The John Hopkins University in the United States. He pointed out that during the first year of the pandemic, infections in some places rose in warm seasons, "and there is no evidence that this couldn't happen again in the coming year". The experts, who focused only on outdoor meteorology and air quality conditions in the report, said laboratory studies had provided some evidence the virus survives longer in cold, dry weather and when there is low ultraviolet radiation. But it remained unclear whether meteorological influences "have a meaningful influence on transmission rates under real world conditions". They also highlighted that evidence around the impact of air quality on the virus remained "inconclusive". There was some preliminary evidence that poor air quality increases Covid-19 mortality rates, "but not that pollution directly impacts airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2".

Covid may become 'seasonal', UN says

In Europe, conflicts seem to brew between the European Union blocking the United Kingdom over the supplies of COVID-19 vaccines. It started after EU's Chief Ursula Von Der Leyan said that they could take some exceptional steps to halt the export of vaccine to Britain.

European Union threatens to halt vaccine export to United Kingdom

Former US president Donald Trump has encouraged his Republican supporters -- one of the main groups resistant to Covid-19 vaccines -- to get their shots.

This was Trump's most explicit endorsement for the national mass vaccination campaign since he left office in January. The former president has notably been a naysayer, and was rarely seen wearing masks while in office.

Trump also remained non-committal about seeking to recapture the presidency (in 2024) following his one term in office.

Trump spoke a day after the White House suggested he shouldn't be waiting for an "engraved invitation" to join the public campaign encouraging Americans to take Covid-19 vaccines.

"I would recommend it," Trump said during an interview on Fox News. "I would recommend it to a lot of people that don't want to get it and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly," he said.

"It's a great vaccine, it's a safe vaccine and it's something that works."

Polls show that Republican men, who are overwhelmingly supporters of Trump and his "Make America Great Again" or MAGA platform, are the leading vaccine skeptics.

And while all other living former presidents, including Democrat Barack Obama and Republican George W Bush, have delivered high profile public service announcements, Trump has largely been silent while the man who defeated him, President Joe Biden, masterminds the vaccine rollout.

When asked about his political future, Trump said, "Based on every poll, they want me to run again. But we're going to take a look and we'll see."

Trump hoped Meghan Markle would run for president in 2024 to make his decision on whether to run for a second term much easier.

Asked on Fox News about the Duchess meeting with Democrat operatives to consider entering politics, Trump said he was “not a fan”.

“Well I hope that happens because if that happened I think I’d have an even stronger feeling toward running,” Trump said.

“I’m not a fan of hers. I think that what she talks about the Royal family and the Queen, and I happen to think, I know the Queen as you know, I met with the Queen and I think the Queen is a tremendous person and I am not a fan of Meghan.”

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-teases-2024-presidential-run-in-cpac-2021-speech-366953">Also read |&nbsp;Donald Trump teases 2024 presidential run in CPAC 2021 speech</a>

Former US president Donald Trump has encouraged his Republican supporters -- one of the main groups resistant to Covid-19 vaccines -- to get their shots. This was Trump's most explicit endorsement for the national mass vaccination campaign since he left office in January.

Former US president Donald Trump has encouraged his Republican supporters -- one of the main groups resistant to Covid-19 vaccines -- to get their shots. This was Trump's most explicit endorsement for the national mass vaccination campaign since he left office in January. The former president has notably been a naysayer, and was rarely seen wearing masks while in office. Trump also remained non-committal about seeking to recapture the presidency (in 2024) following his one term in office. Trump spoke a day after the White House suggested he shouldn't be waiting for an "engraved invitation" to join the public campaign encouraging Americans to take Covid-19 vaccines. "I would recommend it," Trump said during an interview on Fox News. "I would recommend it to a lot of people that don't want to get it and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly," he said. "It's a great vaccine, it's a safe vaccine and it's something that works." Polls show that Republican men, who are overwhelmingly supporters of Trump and his "Make America Great Again" or MAGA platform, are the leading vaccine skeptics. And while all other living former presidents, including Democrat Barack Obama and Republican George W Bush, have delivered high profile public service announcements, Trump has largely been silent while the man who defeated him, President Joe Biden, masterminds the vaccine rollout. When asked about his political future, Trump said, "Based on every poll, they want me to run again. But we're going to take a look and we'll see." Trump hoped Meghan Markle would run for president in 2024 to make his decision on whether to run for a second term much easier. Asked on Fox News about the Duchess meeting with Democrat operatives to consider entering politics, Trump said he was “not a fan”. “Well I hope that happens because if that happened I think I’d have an even stronger feeling toward running,” Trump said. “I’m not a fan of hers. I think that what she talks about the Royal family and the Queen, and I happen to think, I know the Queen as you know, I met with the Queen and I think the Queen is a tremendous person and I am not a fan of Meghan.” Also read | Donald Trump teases 2024 presidential run in CPAC 2021 speech

Trump asks his supporters to get Covid vaccine, remains non-committal about political future

India's PM Narendra Modi has interacted with all the State Chief Ministers as India now witnessing a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases in the last few days. According to a Health Ministry report, India has reported more than 28,000 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds key meet on COVID-19 with CMs

The world’s first baby with COVID-19 antibodies was recently born in the United States. Born to a woman in south Florida who had received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the baby was born with antibodies to fight coronavirus.

Doctors laid out findings about the world’s first baby born with antibodies in an article which is yet to be peer reviewed.

The mother is a frontline healthcare worker, and received her first dose of the Moderna shot in January, when she was 36 weeks pregnant.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/woman-in-singapore-gives-birth-to-baby-with-covid-19-antibodies-346195" hreflang="en">Woman in Singapore gives birth to baby with COVID-19 antibodies</a>

Doctors Paul Gilbert and Chad Rudnick said that the woman gave birth to a “healthy” girl three weeks after the first dose. By analysing blood on the baby’s umbilical cord, scientists ascertained that the antibodies were present at the time of delivery.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/west-virginia-44-people-accidentally-injected-with-antibodies-instead-of-covid-19-vaccine-353802" hreflang="en">West Virginia: 44 people accidentally injected with antibodies instead of COVID-19 vaccine</a>

Based on this, the doctors extrapolated that the rate of infection can be stopped by vaccinating pregnant women. Gilbert told the West Palm Beach, a local network the following - “We tested the baby’s cord to see if the antibodies in the mother passed to the baby, which is something we see happen with other vaccines given during pregnancy”.

Even then, the doctors add that further study is required to understand whether infants are protected by the antibodies.

The world’s first baby with COVID-19 antibodies was recently born in the United States. Born to a woman in south Florida who had received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the baby was born with antibodies to fight coronavirus.

The world’s first baby with COVID-19 antibodies was recently born in the United States. Born to a woman in south Florida who had received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the baby was born with antibodies to fight coronavirus. Doctors laid out findings about the world’s first baby born with antibodies in an article which is yet to be peer reviewed. The mother is a frontline healthcare worker, and received her first dose of the Moderna shot in January, when she was 36 weeks pregnant. Also read: Woman in Singapore gives birth to baby with COVID-19 antibodies Doctors Paul Gilbert and Chad Rudnick said that the woman gave birth to a “healthy” girl three weeks after the first dose. By analysing blood on the baby’s umbilical cord, scientists ascertained that the antibodies were present at the time of delivery. Also read: West Virginia: 44 people accidentally injected with antibodies instead of COVID-19 vaccine Based on this, the doctors extrapolated that the rate of infection can be stopped by vaccinating pregnant women. Gilbert told the West Palm Beach, a local network the following - “We tested the baby’s cord to see if the antibodies in the mother passed to the baby, which is something we see happen with other vaccines given during pregnancy”. Even then, the doctors add that further study is required to understand whether infants are protected by the antibodies.

World's first baby with coronavirus antibodies born in US

After days of touting the safety of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, Italy’s Health minister, Roberto Speranza, took a call from his German counterpart Monday and learned that Germany was concerned enough about a few cases of serious blood clots among some who had received the vaccine to suspend its use.

For Italy and its neighbors, that call could not have come at a worse time.

Their vaccine rollouts were already lagging because of shortages, and they were encouraging people to get those shots that were available. Only days earlier, Prime Minister Mario Draghi reassured Italians who had become wary of the AstraZeneca vaccine. “There is no clear evidence, clear correlation, that these events are linked to the administration of the vaccine,” he said.

But once Germany hit pause, the pressure mounted on other governments to do the same, lest public opinion punish them if they seemed incautious by comparison, and for the sake of a united European front.

German’s decision set off a domino effect of defections from the vaccine. A cascade of countries — Italy, France and Spain — soon joined the decision to suspend AstraZeneca, dealing a significant blow to Europe’s already shaky inoculation drive despite a lack of clear evidence that the vaccine had caused any harm.

On Tuesday, the European Union’s top drug regulator pushed back against concerns about the shot, saying that there was no sign of its causing dangerous problems and that its lifesaving benefits “outweigh the risk of the side effects.” The European Medicines Agency was still studying the issue, said Emer Cooke, its executive director, adding that there was “no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions.”

It appears increasingly clear that the suspensions have as much to do with political considerations as scientific ones.

“There is an emotional situation that is the fallout from this case that started in Germany,” Giorgio Palù, the president of Italy’s Medicines Agency, said on Tuesday. He said: “There is no danger. There is no correlation at the epidemiological level.”

The agency’s director was more explicit.

“It was a political choice,” Nicola Magrini, the director, told La Repubblica newspaper Monday, saying that Italy suspended the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine because other European countries had decided to do so.

By Tuesday, some governments were already recasting their decisions as a step to buck up confidence in vaccinations — a regrouping, of sorts, of a troubled effort. But for now, the suspensions seem certain to have had the opposite effect, further delaying Europe’s stumbling rollout and perhaps putting at risk hundreds or thousands more lives.

Analysts say the delays will make it exceedingly difficult for any European country to meet a goal of vaccinating 70% of residents by September, and will raise pressure on governments to secure vaccines that have not yet been authorized by the bloc’s regulators.

France said in a statement Tuesday that President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s prime minister, Draghi, had discussed the decision to suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine and that comments made by European health regulators Tuesday were “encouraging.”

Suspending use of the vaccine is a “temporary precaution” while countries wait for the European Medicines Agency’s assessment, the statement said.

No causative link has yet emerged between the vaccine and blood clots or severe bleeding, and the European Union’s medicines agency has said the vaccine should remain in use. Health officials in Europe on Tuesday said that the concerns had less to do with the low number of clotting problems than with their unusual manifestations, especially in younger people.

But there have been shifting concerns about the vaccine in Europe.

At first, countries like Austria reported rare but serious cases of blood clotting. European regulators, though, have said those conditions were no more prevalent in vaccinated people than anyone else. And they are more common in older people, who have been the target of vaccination campaigns.

As those concerns seemed to dissipate, some countries began reporting small numbers of other, seemingly unrelated problems: low platelets, a blood component essential for clotting, in patients in Norway, as well as clots in a channel that drains blood from the brain in German recipients of the vaccine. The German patients were younger than 50, adding to the concern of health officials.

It is not yet known whether those conditions were related to vaccines, either.

Some cases of immune thrombocytopenia, the disorder characterized by a lack of platelets, have also been reported in the United States in people who have received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

But whatever the case, scientists said that the disorders were so exceedingly rare — even in people who had been vaccinated — that the most lives would be saved by continuing to administer vaccines.

“We need to do the thing that reduces the burden of total risk in the community,” said Naor Bar-Zeev, a public health expert at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “At this stage, that means continuing to vaccinate, but making sure we have very rapid, very thorough, and as good as possible an analysis of the available safety data.”

Just as EU member states broke with the bloc’s centralized drug regulator in initially restricting the vaccine to younger people, they split with regulators a second time in pausing rollouts altogether this week. Analysts said that reflected a growing impatience with the bloc’s bureaucracy in the midst of a disastrously slow vaccine rollout.

“It’s been a terrible blow to Europe’s self-confidence, I’d say, on the international stage,” said Johan Norberg, a Swedish-based historian who has written about the Continent’s pandemic response. “We always have that tendency of retreating to our own national politics.”

Those political considerations rippled across the Continent in recent days after someone in Austria who had been given the AstraZeneca vaccine died after developing blood clots. An unremarkable event, it nevertheless prompted that country in early March to stop using a batch of that vaccine. Other countries soon followed suit, raising an alarm about any new reports of blood clotting, rare as they may have been.

In recent days, Spain’s Health minister, Carolina Dorias, spoke to her counterparts around the Continent, according to an official from the ministry, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private. There was a case of thrombosis detected in Spain last weekend, and some regions had stopped distributing a batch of AstraZeneca vaccines, amid safety concerns.

But the chief motivation was political.

France, too, appeared to bow to pressure to act in unison with its powerful neighbors. It had been relying on the AstraZeneca vaccine to catch up on vaccinations after its glacial start, and Olivier Véran, France’s Health minister, had said only days ago said there was “no reason to suspend.”

But after Germany made its intentions clear — and public — Macron had a choice between following suit or being an outlier. And so on Tuesday, Véran changed his tune. France, he told Parliament, had to “listen to Europe, listen to all the European countries.”

That was the sort of thing Speranza, Italy’s Health minister, expected might happen after he spoke with his counterpart in Germany, in a discussion recounted by an Italian official with knowledge of it.

When Speranza brought the issue to Prime Minister Draghi, he noted the unbearable public pressure Italy would face if it alone used a vaccine considered too dangerous for Europe.

Draghi, a champion of European unity, checked in with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, and with Speranza decided to suspend AstraZeneca until Europe’s medicines agency gave it the all clear.

As the damage of the delays became clear Tuesday, European officials tried to play down the disruption. They said they were only waiting for European regulators to complete a fast review of the problems before they began vaccinating people with the AstraZeneca shot again.

Italy even argued that once European regulators gave their recommendation Thursday, as is expected, it would quickly make up the 200,000 vaccines lost to the suspension, in part, the government said, with help from the Pfizer vaccine.

For many European scientists, that is a tortured argument, and the suspensions a devastating miscalculation.

After days of touting the safety of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, Italy’s Health minister, Roberto Speranza, took a call from his German counterpart Monday and learned that Germany was concerned enough about a few cases of serious blood clots among some who had received the vaccine to suspend its use.

After days of touting the safety of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, Italy’s Health minister, Roberto Speranza, took a call from his German counterpart Monday and learned that Germany was concerned enough about a few cases of serious blood clots among some who had received the vaccine to suspend its use. For Italy and its neighbors, that call could not have come at a worse time. Their vaccine rollouts were already lagging because of shortages, and they were encouraging people to get those shots that were available. Only days earlier, Prime Minister Mario Draghi reassured Italians who had become wary of the AstraZeneca vaccine. “There is no clear evidence, clear correlation, that these events are linked to the administration of the vaccine,” he said. But once Germany hit pause, the pressure mounted on other governments to do the same, lest public opinion punish them if they seemed incautious by comparison, and for the sake of a united European front. German’s decision set off a domino effect of defections from the vaccine. A cascade of countries — Italy, France and Spain — soon joined the decision to suspend AstraZeneca, dealing a significant blow to Europe’s already shaky inoculation drive despite a lack of clear evidence that the vaccine had caused any harm. On Tuesday, the European Union’s top drug regulator pushed back against concerns about the shot, saying that there was no sign of its causing dangerous problems and that its lifesaving benefits “outweigh the risk of the side effects.” The European Medicines Agency was still studying the issue, said Emer Cooke, its executive director, adding that there was “no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions.” It appears increasingly clear that the suspensions have as much to do with political considerations as scientific ones. “There is an emotional situation that is the fallout from this case that started in Germany,” Giorgio Palù, the president of Italy’s Medicines Agency, said on Tuesday. He said: “There is no danger. There is no correlation at the epidemiological level.” The agency’s director was more explicit. “It was a political choice,” Nicola Magrini, the director, told La Repubblica newspaper Monday, saying that Italy suspended the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine because other European countries had decided to do so. By Tuesday, some governments were already recasting their decisions as a step to buck up confidence in vaccinations — a regrouping, of sorts, of a troubled effort. But for now, the suspensions seem certain to have had the opposite effect, further delaying Europe’s stumbling rollout and perhaps putting at risk hundreds or thousands more lives. Analysts say the delays will make it exceedingly difficult for any European country to meet a goal of vaccinating 70% of residents by September, and will raise pressure on governments to secure vaccines that have not yet been authorized by the bloc’s regulators. France said in a statement Tuesday that President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s prime minister, Draghi, had discussed the decision to suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine and that comments made by European health regulators Tuesday were “encouraging.” Suspending use of the vaccine is a “temporary precaution” while countries wait for the European Medicines Agency’s assessment, the statement said. No causative link has yet emerged between the vaccine and blood clots or severe bleeding, and the European Union’s medicines agency has said the vaccine should remain in use. Health officials in Europe on Tuesday said that the concerns had less to do with the low number of clotting problems than with their unusual manifestations, especially in younger people. But there have been shifting concerns about the vaccine in Europe. At first, countries like Austria reported rare but serious cases of blood clotting. European regulators, though, have said those conditions were no more prevalent in vaccinated people than anyone else. And they are more common in older people, who have been the target of vaccination campaigns. As those concerns seemed to dissipate, some countries began reporting small numbers of other, seemingly unrelated problems: low platelets, a blood component essential for clotting, in patients in Norway, as well as clots in a channel that drains blood from the brain in German recipients of the vaccine. The German patients were younger than 50, adding to the concern of health officials. It is not yet known whether those conditions were related to vaccines, either. Some cases of immune thrombocytopenia, the disorder characterized by a lack of platelets, have also been reported in the United States in people who have received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. But whatever the case, scientists said that the disorders were so exceedingly rare — even in people who had been vaccinated — that the most lives would be saved by continuing to administer vaccines. “We need to do the thing that reduces the burden of total risk in the community,” said Naor Bar-Zeev, a public health expert at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “At this stage, that means continuing to vaccinate, but making sure we have very rapid, very thorough, and as good as possible an analysis of the available safety data.” Just as EU member states broke with the bloc’s centralized drug regulator in initially restricting the vaccine to younger people, they split with regulators a second time in pausing rollouts altogether this week. Analysts said that reflected a growing impatience with the bloc’s bureaucracy in the midst of a disastrously slow vaccine rollout. “It’s been a terrible blow to Europe’s self-confidence, I’d say, on the international stage,” said Johan Norberg, a Swedish-based historian who has written about the Continent’s pandemic response. “We always have that tendency of retreating to our own national politics.” Those political considerations rippled across the Continent in recent days after someone in Austria who had been given the AstraZeneca vaccine died after developing blood clots. An unremarkable event, it nevertheless prompted that country in early March to stop using a batch of that vaccine. Other countries soon followed suit, raising an alarm about any new reports of blood clotting, rare as they may have been. In recent days, Spain’s Health minister, Carolina Dorias, spoke to her counterparts around the Continent, according to an official from the ministry, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private. There was a case of thrombosis detected in Spain last weekend, and some regions had stopped distributing a batch of AstraZeneca vaccines, amid safety concerns. But the chief motivation was political. France, too, appeared to bow to pressure to act in unison with its powerful neighbors. It had been relying on the AstraZeneca vaccine to catch up on vaccinations after its glacial start, and Olivier Véran, France’s Health minister, had said only days ago said there was “no reason to suspend.” But after Germany made its intentions clear — and public — Macron had a choice between following suit or being an outlier. And so on Tuesday, Véran changed his tune. France, he told Parliament, had to “listen to Europe, listen to all the European countries.” That was the sort of thing Speranza, Italy’s Health minister, expected might happen after he spoke with his counterpart in Germany, in a discussion recounted by an Italian official with knowledge of it. When Speranza brought the issue to Prime Minister Draghi, he noted the unbearable public pressure Italy would face if it alone used a vaccine considered too dangerous for Europe. Draghi, a champion of European unity, checked in with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, and with Speranza decided to suspend AstraZeneca until Europe’s medicines agency gave it the all clear. As the damage of the delays became clear Tuesday, European officials tried to play down the disruption. They said they were only waiting for European regulators to complete a fast review of the problems before they began vaccinating people with the AstraZeneca shot again. Italy even argued that once European regulators gave their recommendation Thursday, as is expected, it would quickly make up the 200,000 vaccines lost to the suspension, in part, the government said, with help from the Pfizer vaccine. For many European scientists, that is a tortured argument, and the suspensions a devastating miscalculation.

Europe’s vaccine suspension may be driven as much by politics as science

A new Coronavirus variant has been found in France's Brittany. In a statement, the French health ministry said that the new mutant strain had been found in a cluster of cases several of which had not been detected by RT-PCR tests.

Coronavirus Update: New Coronavirus variant found in France's Brittany

China is all set to ease travel restrictions for foreigners provided they have taken China made vaccine after more than a year of shut the borders.

China set to ease travel restrictions for foreigners

President Joe Biden and his allies are hitting the road this week to promote the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill he signed in law last week as the right prescription for a country humbled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biden and a slate of advocates including Vice President Kamala Harris and first lady Jill Biden are being deployed to politically important states and to television as part of what the White House is calling the "Help is Here Tour" to tout measures that include a $1,400 check for most U.S. households.

"I promised the American people, and I guess it`s becoming an overused phrase, that help was on the way," Biden told a White House ceremony on Friday. "We`ve delivered on that promise."

The bill was Biden`s first legislative priority on taking office in January and his fellow Democrats used narrow majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate to pass a large measure of what Biden originally proposed without Republican support.

Democrats regard the bill as good policy and politics. Opinion polls show majorities supporting efforts to shore up the coronavirus vaccination campaign, prepare schools to reopen and ease poverty after a year-long pandemic that has killed over 526,000 Americans and put millions out of work.

Republicans, who broadly supported coronavirus relief early in the crisis when Republican Donald Trump was president, have dismissed the latest measure as an overpriced collection of pet projects unrelated to the pandemic.

The White House has said it does not believe President Barack Obama`s administration, in which Biden served as vice president, did enough to promote its more than $800 billion 2009 economic rescue program. Democrats went on to lose control of the House to Republicans the next year.

Taking their case directly to the people, Harris will launch the tour on Monday in Las Vegas, while Biden goes to Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday and Atlanta on Friday. He will also do an interview on Wednesday on ABC`s "Good Morning America" program.

Biden defeated Trump in closely divided Nevada, Pennsylvania and Georgia in the 2020 presidential election.

Each state will also feature a competitive Senate race in 2022. Losing just one seat in that evenly divided chamber would all but doom Biden`s legislative agenda, handing Senate control to Republicans for the rest of the president`s four-year term.

At least two outside political spending groups that backed Biden`s presidential bid, Priorities USA and Unite the Country, said they would put millions into advertisements supporting the stimulus measures.

Priorities USA said its ads would partly be targeted at voters who flipped from supporting Trump in 2016 to Biden in 2020, in "2022 battleground states" including Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

President Joe Biden and his allies are hitting the road this week to promote the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill he signed in law last week as the right prescription for a country humbled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Joe Biden and his allies are hitting the road this week to promote the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill he signed in law last week as the right prescription for a country humbled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden and a slate of advocates including Vice President Kamala Harris and first lady Jill Biden are being deployed to politically important states and to television as part of what the White House is calling the "Help is Here Tour" to tout measures that include a $1,400 check for most U.S. households. "I promised the American people, and I guess it`s becoming an overused phrase, that help was on the way," Biden told a White House ceremony on Friday. "We`ve delivered on that promise." The bill was Biden`s first legislative priority on taking office in January and his fellow Democrats used narrow majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate to pass a large measure of what Biden originally proposed without Republican support. Democrats regard the bill as good policy and politics. Opinion polls show majorities supporting efforts to shore up the coronavirus vaccination campaign, prepare schools to reopen and ease poverty after a year-long pandemic that has killed over 526,000 Americans and put millions out of work. Republicans, who broadly supported coronavirus relief early in the crisis when Republican Donald Trump was president, have dismissed the latest measure as an overpriced collection of pet projects unrelated to the pandemic. The White House has said it does not believe President Barack Obama`s administration, in which Biden served as vice president, did enough to promote its more than $800 billion 2009 economic rescue program. Democrats went on to lose control of the House to Republicans the next year. Taking their case directly to the people, Harris will launch the tour on Monday in Las Vegas, while Biden goes to Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday and Atlanta on Friday. He will also do an interview on Wednesday on ABC`s "Good Morning America" program. Biden defeated Trump in closely divided Nevada, Pennsylvania and Georgia in the 2020 presidential election. Each state will also feature a competitive Senate race in 2022. Losing just one seat in that evenly divided chamber would all but doom Biden`s legislative agenda, handing Senate control to Republicans for the rest of the president`s four-year term. At least two outside political spending groups that backed Biden`s presidential bid, Priorities USA and Unite the Country, said they would put millions into advertisements supporting the stimulus measures. Priorities USA said its ads would partly be targeted at voters who flipped from supporting Trump in 2016 to Biden in 2020, in "2022 battleground states" including Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

Biden White House launching 'Help is Here' tour to promote stimulus package in key states

The European Union is mulling to issue what is described as the COVID Pass to allow for seamless travel in a bit to boost the tourism industry.

Coronavirus Update: European Union seeks to restart travel with 'COVID Pass

India on Tuesday logged 24,492 cases of Covid-19 and 131 fatalities in the last 24 hours. The cases declined by 1,800 from the previous day, while 13 more deaths were reported, the data shared by the Union Health Ministry showed. 
 
On Monday, the country had logged 26,291 cases of Covid-19, the highest tally recorded in 85 days. 
 
The cumulative tally of the cases has risen to 1,14,09,831 while the death toll has reached 1,58,856 in India. 
 
The infection level in the country is back to last year`s December as it has soared to 1.96 from 1.55 per cent in a short interval. 
 
As per the Ministry`s data, the active caseload in country has reached 2,23,432, rising by over 4,000 cases from previous day. 
 
With the discharge of 20,191 patients in a day, a total of 1,10,27,543 persons have been discharged so far. 
 
The rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, which had so far appeared confined to Maharashtra and Punjab, is now beginning to show up in several other states. 
 
States/UTs such as Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh have had very similar growth trajectories in recent weeks. 
 
As the number of Covid-19 cases is rising across the country, the Centre has sounded a word of caution for states which are not yet seeing a surge but are at the threshold. 
 
Niti Aayog (health) member V.K. Paul last week said the situation of Maharashtra is worrying as part of the state is going back to strict lockdown. However, he shared his concern for other states as well. 
 
"Would like to caution Delhi-NCR, Gurugram, part of Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad too to some extend. These areas are seeing a slight rise in the number of cases," Paul had said. 
 
The Ministry also informed that 8,73,350 samples were tested on Monday. The cumulative tests done by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) so far stands at 22,82,80,763. 
 
So far, 3,29,47,432 doses of corona vaccine have been administered in the country since the drive began on January 16 after approval for `Covishield` and `Covaxin`.

India on Tuesday logged 24,492 cases of Covid-19 and 131 fatalities in the last 24 hours. The cases declined by 1,800 from the previous day, while 13 more deaths were reported, the data shared by the Union Health Ministry showed.

India on Tuesday logged 24,492 cases of Covid-19 and 131 fatalities in the last 24 hours. The cases declined by 1,800 from the previous day, while 13 more deaths were reported, the data shared by the Union Health Ministry showed. On Monday, the country had logged 26,291 cases of Covid-19, the highest tally recorded in 85 days. The cumulative tally of the cases has risen to 1,14,09,831 while the death toll has reached 1,58,856 in India. The infection level in the country is back to last year`s December as it has soared to 1.96 from 1.55 per cent in a short interval. As per the Ministry`s data, the active caseload in country has reached 2,23,432, rising by over 4,000 cases from previous day. With the discharge of 20,191 patients in a day, a total of 1,10,27,543 persons have been discharged so far. The rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, which had so far appeared confined to Maharashtra and Punjab, is now beginning to show up in several other states. States/UTs such as Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh have had very similar growth trajectories in recent weeks. As the number of Covid-19 cases is rising across the country, the Centre has sounded a word of caution for states which are not yet seeing a surge but are at the threshold. Niti Aayog (health) member V.K. Paul last week said the situation of Maharashtra is worrying as part of the state is going back to strict lockdown. However, he shared his concern for other states as well. "Would like to caution Delhi-NCR, Gurugram, part of Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad too to some extend. These areas are seeing a slight rise in the number of cases," Paul had said. The Ministry also informed that 8,73,350 samples were tested on Monday. The cumulative tests done by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) so far stands at 22,82,80,763. So far, 3,29,47,432 doses of corona vaccine have been administered in the country since the drive began on January 16 after approval for `Covishield` and `Covaxin`.

India logs over 24,000 daily COVID cases again, infection rate nears 2%

The overall number of global Covid-19 cases has surpassed the grim milestone of 120 million as the pandemic is still raging, while the deaths have surged to more than 2.65 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University. 
 
In its latest update on Tuesday morning, the University`s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 120,180,835 and 2,659,623, respectively. 
 
The US is the worst-hit country with the world`s highest number of cases and deaths at 29,492,616 and 535,596, respectively, according to the CSSE. 
 
Brazil follows in the second place with 11,519,609 cases and 279,286 fatalities. 
 
The other countries with more than a million confirmed coronavirus cases are India (11,385,339), Russia (4,350,728), the UK (4,276,840), France (4,132,104), Italy (3,238,394), Spain (3,195,062), Turkey (2,894,893), Germany (2,585,385), Colombia (2,305,884), Argentina (2,201,886), Mexico (2,166,290), Poland (1,917,527), Iran (1,754,933), South Africa (1,530,033), Ukraine (1,516,865), Indonesia (1,425,044), Peru (1,412,406), Czech Republic (1,402,420) and the Netherlands (1,178,501), the CSSE figures showed. 
 
In terms of deaths, Mexico comes in the third place with 194,710 fatalities. 
 
Nations with a death toll of over 50,000 are India (158,725), the UK (125,817), Italy (102,499), Russia (90,958), France (90,924), Germany (73,503), Spain (72,258), Iran (61,330), Colombia (61,243), Argentina (53,836) and South Africa (51,421).

The overall number of global Covid-19 cases has surpassed the grim milestone of 120 million as the pandemic is still raging, while the deaths have surged to more than 2.

The overall number of global Covid-19 cases has surpassed the grim milestone of 120 million as the pandemic is still raging, while the deaths have surged to more than 2.65 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University. In its latest update on Tuesday morning, the University`s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 120,180,835 and 2,659,623, respectively. The US is the worst-hit country with the world`s highest number of cases and deaths at 29,492,616 and 535,596, respectively, according to the CSSE. Brazil follows in the second place with 11,519,609 cases and 279,286 fatalities. The other countries with more than a million confirmed coronavirus cases are India (11,385,339), Russia (4,350,728), the UK (4,276,840), France (4,132,104), Italy (3,238,394), Spain (3,195,062), Turkey (2,894,893), Germany (2,585,385), Colombia (2,305,884), Argentina (2,201,886), Mexico (2,166,290), Poland (1,917,527), Iran (1,754,933), South Africa (1,530,033), Ukraine (1,516,865), Indonesia (1,425,044), Peru (1,412,406), Czech Republic (1,402,420) and the Netherlands (1,178,501), the CSSE figures showed. In terms of deaths, Mexico comes in the third place with 194,710 fatalities. Nations with a death toll of over 50,000 are India (158,725), the UK (125,817), Italy (102,499), Russia (90,958), France (90,924), Germany (73,503), Spain (72,258), Iran (61,330), Colombia (61,243), Argentina (53,836) and South Africa (51,421).

Global COVID-19 caseload tops 120 million

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha became the first person to be inoculated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the Southeast Asian country on Tuesday after the rollout had been temporarily put on hold over safety concerns. 
 
Prayuth and other cabinet members had been initially due to get their vaccine shots on Friday, before Thailand suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports it could cause blood clots prompted a number of European countries to hit pause. 
 
Thailand`s health minister said on Monday the rollout would resume after many countries had said there were no blood clot issues with the vaccine.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha became the first person to be inoculated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the Southeast Asian country on Tuesday after the rollout had been temporarily put on hold over safety concerns.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha became the first person to be inoculated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the Southeast Asian country on Tuesday after the rollout had been temporarily put on hold over safety concerns. Prayuth and other cabinet members had been initially due to get their vaccine shots on Friday, before Thailand suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports it could cause blood clots prompted a number of European countries to hit pause. Thailand`s health minister said on Monday the rollout would resume after many countries had said there were no blood clot issues with the vaccine.

Thai PM gets first shot of AstraZeneca vaccine after safety scare

Standing tall like a wall: Coronavirus inspires graffiti to spread awareness

The World Health Organisation and the European drug regulator urge country not to panic as several of them have since halted the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

WHO: Countries should continue AstraZeneca rollout

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