Coronavirus News May 13 highlights: AP govt, BMC float global tenders for vaccines; Sputnik V vaccine sale to begin next week

Amid COVID surge, Uttarakhand looks at sugar mills to increase oxygen production
Uttarakhand minister Swami Yatishwaranand has asked officials to rope in sugar mills to start producing oxygen to augment the supply of the lifesaving gas in view of the rising COVID19 cases in the state. Two sugar mills in Hardiwar have already agreed to the proposal, the minister for sugarcane development and sugar industry said.

AP govt floats global tender for 1 crore COVID vaccines
The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday floated a global tender for procurement of Covid19 vaccine, from foreign producers, sufficient to inoculate one crore people. Global firms have been given time till June 3 to submit their bids, according to Principal Secretary (Health) Anil Kumar Singhal.

MP records 8,419 COVID-19 cases, 74 deaths; 10,157 recover
Madhya Pradesh on Thursday reported 8,419 fresh COVID19 cases and 74 more fatalities, taking the tally of infections to 7,08,621 and the toll to 6,753, the state health department said. This was the fourth day on the trot when Madhya Pradesh registered less than 10,000 cases, signalling a possible plateauing of the viral infection in the state.

Maharashtra COVIDー19 update: Recovery rate higher than new cases
👍🏻New Cases: 42,582 Vs 46,781 Cases 
👍🏻Recovery Rate: 88.34% Vs 88.01%
👎🏻850 Vs 816 Deaths, Case Fatality At 1.5%
👎🏻Positivity Rate Flat At 17.36
👍🏻Daily Recovery (54,535) Higher Than New Cases

Punjab govt announces free cooked food for poor COVID patients, Rs 3,000 for construction workers
The Punjab government on Thursday announced the delivery of free cooked food to poor coronavirus patients and a subsistence allowance of Rs 3,000 to all registered construction workers amid a surge in COVID19 cases. These decisions were taken during the state cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

COVID-19: UP reports 281 new fatalities, 17,775 more cases
Uttar Pradesh on Thursday recorded 17,775 fresh COVID19 cases that pushed the infection count to 15,80,980, while 281 new fatalities took the death toll to 16,646 in the state, officials said. The number of active cases in the state has come down by over 1.06 lakh in the past 12 days, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said.

Supreme Court directs ration for migrant workers through PDS from May
The Supreme Court on Thursday heard a plea on the impact of the second wave of COVID-19 on migrant workers. The apex court ordered the centre and the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi to take steps to provide relief to migrant workers. Watch our report

Punjab to join global COVAX alliance to procure anti-Covid vaccines

Facing an anti-Covid vaccine shortage, the Punjab government on Thursday decided to join the global COVAX alliance for sourcing the immunisation shots at the best price. Punjab will become the first state in the country to take the initiative of addressing the vaccine shortage amid the deadly second wave of the pandemic, a state government statement said here. Abbreviated as COVAX, the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access is a worldwide initiative aimed at providing equitable access to anti-Covid vaccines. COVAX is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi and the World Health Organization (WHO), alongside key delivery partner UNICEF. It aims at accelerating the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

Mixing COVID-19 vaccine doses safe but increases side effects: UK study

Mixing the doses of different types of two-dose coronavirus vaccines has been found to be safe but increased the frequency of mild to moderate symptoms, a new UK study has found. The COM-COV study, led by the University of Oxford, has been investigating the immune responses of volunteers given a dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine followed by the Pfizer/BioNTech jab, and vice versa, since February. In its report for the medical journal Lancet' on Wednesday, the research team said adverse reactions from this mix and match approach were short-lived and there were no other safety concerns. The findings at this stage are limited to reactogenicity findings, or how people feel after the vaccine, and not the immunogenicity findings, that is how well the mixed dosing worked at inducing an immune response, work on which remains ongoing.

Make GST zero for COVID-19 vaccines, drugs: TN CM tells Modi

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring the Goods and Services Tax for COVID-19 vaccines and drugs to zero level. Pending GST compensation and subsidy on rice should be released immediately and adhoc grants-in-aid must be provided as the Centre has not shared with states the revenue from additional levies on fuel, he said in a letter to Modi. Also, Stalin wanted the borrowing limit increased by one more per cent from the current three per cent of Gross State Domestic Product. State governments were procuring COVID-19 vaccines and drugs to treat the patients and the GST for such supplies should be made zero, he said.

Russian watchdog denies report on first cases of Indian COVID variant

Russia's consumer health watchdog on Thursday denied a report that the country had recorded its first cases of the COVID-19 variant first found in India, which some preliminary studies show spreads easily. The denial from a research institute attached to the Rospotrebnadzor watchdog came after the Kommersant newspaper reported that authorities in Ulyanovsk, a city 700 km (435 miles) east of Moscow, had recorded 16 cases of the variant among Indian students.

Oxygen Express: Nearly 7,115 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen delivered since Apr 19, says Rlys

Indian Railways has delivered nearly 7,115 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) in more than 444 tankers to various states across the country since April 19, the national transporter said on Thursday. On Wednesday, the Oxygen Express' trains delivered nearly 800 tonnes of LMO, it said. So far, 115 Oxygen Expresses trains have completed their journey, it added.

Till now, 407 tonnes of the life-saving gas has been offloaded in Maharashtra, nearly 1,960 tonnes in Uttar Pradesh, 361 tonnes in Madhya Pradesh, 1,135 tonnes in Haryana, 188 tonnes in Telangana, 72 tonnes in Rajasthan, 120 tonnes in Karnataka and more than 2,748 tonnes in Delhi. Tamil Nadu is set to receive its first Oxygen Express on Thursday night with 80 tonnes of LMO arriving from Durgapur, it said. The Oxygen Express trains have delivered more than 3,900 tonnes of LMO in the Delhi-National Capital Region so far for further distribution, it said.

Karnataka sets up task force for preparedness for COVID 3.0

Karnataka is setting up a Task Force for preparedness for the third wave of COVID 19 under the Chairmanship of Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, Chairman, Narayana Health. The state has also appointed Prof Gagan Deep Kang, Professor of Microbiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, as an adviser on vaccination strategy. Furthermore, the state found several limitations on the Co-win platform -- where one chooses to be vaccinated leading to chaos across centers. To better manage the vaccination process the state is coming up with a technology solution soon, post this it will re-launch  the vaccine programme for the 18-44 age group.

COVID drive: Bajaj Auto to pay salary of deceased staff for up to 2 years

Bajaj Auto, in a new initiative for its staff, has committed to pay the salary of an employee to the family members for up to two years in case of death due to COVID-19. It is the latest in a series of measures that the world's largest manufacturer of two-wheelers has taken for its employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bajaj Auto will also pay for the education of two children of a deceased employee till graduation in any stream of their choice. The company has also extended five-year hospitalisation insurance to cover all family members of a deceased employee.

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