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This story is from June 8, 2021

Covid round-up: Centre orders 44 crore vaccine doses, AIIMS chief says no imminent concern for children, and more

Centre places orders for 25 cr Covishield, 19 cr Covaxin doses of vaccine
NEW DELHI: The daily Covid case count dropped below the one-lakh mark for the first time in 63 days. India logged 86,498 new cases in the last 24 hours, according to data on the health ministry website. The positivity rate too has dropped to 4.62%.
The government today assured that there is no imminent concern for children from the coronavirus.
Here are the key developments of the day:
Govt places orders for 44 crore doses of Covishield & Covaxin
The Centre on Tuesday said it has placed orders for 44 crore doses of Covishield and Covaxin.

This includes 25 crore doses of Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute, and 19 crore doses of Covaxin made by Bharat Biotech.
"Additionally, 30 per cent of the advance for procurement of both the vaccines has been released to Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech," an official said.
This comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Centre would take over the state procurement quota and provide free jabs to state governments for inoculation of all above the age of 18.

Govt caps prices for vaccines at private hospitals
The government on Tuesday set the maximum price private hospitals can charge for the three Covid-19 vaccines currently available in the country- Covishield Rs 780 per dose, Covaxin Rs 1,410 and Sputnik V Rs 1,145.
The Health Ministry asked states to ensure that the prices declared by various private CVCs do not exceed the ceiling.
The Serum Institute of India sells its Covishield to private hospitals at Rs 600 per dose (excluding GST). Bharat Biotech has set the cost of its Covaxin at Rs 1,200 a dose for private establishments. Both vaccines are supplied to the central government at a cost of Rs 150 a dose.
Sputnik-V is supplied to private hospitals at Rs 948 per dose.

No imminent concern for children in next waves: AIIMS chief
There is no data, either from India or globally, to show that children will be seriously infected in any subsequent Covid-19 waves, AIIMS, Delhi director Dr Randeep Guleria said on Tuesday.
"It is a piece of misinformation that subsequent waves of the Covid-19 pandemic are going to cause severe illness in children" Guleria said.
60-70% children who got infected and got admitted in hospitals during the second wave in India, had either comorbidities or low immunity, Guleria said.
Hhealthy children recovered with mild illness without need for hospitalisation, he added.
Population, caseload, wastage to decide vaccine allocation to states
Vaccine doses to be allocated to states/UTs will be based on population, disease burden, wastage and vaccination' progress, according to revised guidelines for the national Covid vaccination programme released on Tuesday.
Under the revised guidelines, Centre will procure 75 per cent of the vaccines being produced by the manufacturers in the country.
According to the notification issued by the Centre, the revised guidelines will be implemented from June 21 and "will be reviewed from time to time".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Monday announced a centralised procurement system for Covid-19 vaccines, beginning from June 21, with 25 per cent of the procurement being made available for the private sector, as well as free vaccinations for everyone above the age of 18.
The Centre said that the vaccination will be prioritised as the following- Health Care Workers; Front Line Workers; Citizens more than 45 years of age; Citizens whose second dose has become due; and Citizens 18 years and above.
Within the population group of citizens over 18 years of age, the Centre said states/UTs may decide their own prioritisation factoring in the vaccine supply schedule.
Bihar to unlock from June 9; night curfew to remain in place
Lockdown in Bihar, clamped over a month ago in view of the spurt in Covid-19 cases, will be lifted from Wednesday, chief minister Nitish Kumar said.
He made the announcement on his social media handles on Tuesday after a meeting of the crisis management group which reviewed the pandemic situation in the state.
He, however, clarified that night curfew will be in place from 7pm to 5am.
Kumar said private offices will be allowed to reopen and function with 50 per cent staff. Government offices, which have so far been functioning with 25 per cent staff strength, can do so with half of employees reporting on a day.
Both government and private offices will be permitted to run till 4pm. Shops, which had been allowed to remain open till 2 pm shall henceforth be required to down their shutters by 5pm.
Private vehicles would be permitted to ply and educational institutions could conduct online classes, Kumar added.
Telangana extends lockdown by another 10 days
The Telangana government extended the lockdown in the state by another 10 days on Tuesday.
However with a decline in the number of Covid-19 cases in many parts of the state, the government has decided to extend the relaxation timings from 2pm to 5pm.
A grace period of 1 hour will be allowed to those reaching home from work.
However, the relaxation is not applicable in some assembly constituencies like Sattupally, Madhira, Nalgonda, Nagarjunasagar, Devarakonda, Munugode and Miryalaguda as they continue to register high number of cases.
Guleria explains cause of multiple waves in a pandemic
AIIMS, Delhi director Rabndeep Guleria said "waves" normally occur in pandemics caused due to respiratory viruses.
Multiple waves occur when there is a susceptible population and when a large part of the population acquires immunity against the infection, he explained, adding that "the virus becomes endemic and infection becomes seasonal like that of H1N1 that commonly spreads during monsoon or winters."
"Waves can occur due to change in the virus (such as new variants). Since new mutations become more infectious, there is a higher chance for the virus to spread," he said.
WTO panel considers easing protections on Covid-19 vaccines
Envoys from World Trade Organisation member nations are taking up a proposal to ease patents and other intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines. The idea has been backed by the Biden administration but opposed in other wealthy countries with strong pharmaceutical industries.
If accepted, this can accelerate mass inoculation process in several developing countries as cost of vaccines are likely to drop.
On the table for a two-day meeting of a WTO panel opening Tuesday is a revised proposal presented by India and South Africa for a temporary IP waiver on coronavirus vaccines. The idea has drawn support from more than 60 countries, which now include the United States and China.
Advocacy groups, emboldened by the support the United States announced last month, have increasingly pushed the plan and insisted it would not be as difficult to carry out as detractors would say.
Doctors Without Borders, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian agency, faulted the European Union, Switzerland, Norway and other holdouts on the IP waiver idea Monday for employing alleged “delaying tactics.”
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