Covid-19 herd immunity unlikely in 2021 despite vaccines: WHO
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(Ramesh Pathania/Mint)
. Updated: 12 Jan 2021, 07:04 AM IST PTI
Scientists typically estimate that a vaccination rate of about 70% is needed for herd immunity, where entire populations are protected against a disease
But some fear that the extremely infectious nature of Covid-19 could require a significantly higher threshold
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Geneva: The World Health Organization s chief scientist warned that even as numerous countries start rolling out vaccination programs to stop COVID-19, herd immunity is highly unlikely this year.
At a media briefing on Monday, Dr Soumya Swaminathan said it was critical countries and their populations maintain strict social distancing and other outbreak control measures for the foreseeable future.
26 crows, 1 pigeon found dead in AIIMS Rishikesh premises ANI | Updated: Jan 11, 2021 14:01 IST
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], January 11 (ANI): Amid the spreading scare of bird flu across many parts of the country, 26 crows and one pigeon were found dead at the premises of AIIMS in Rishikesh on Sunday in Uttarakhand.
According to the AIIMS Public Relation Officer Hem Bhat, The officials of Forest Division Range and Animal Husbandry Department have reached the spot and collected the samples of dead birds. Later, samples were sent for examination.
Earlier, there were sporadic reports of the sudden death of birds in other areas of the state. A large number of crows were found dead in Bombay Bagh area in Dehradun following that six in Gandhigram, one in Bengali Kothi area and 10 crows in Doiwala in the state.
NEW DELHI: Bird flu cases have been reported in several states across India severely impacting winged populations
Union animal husbandry and dairying minister Giriraj Singh on Monday urged people to not pay heed to rumours about bird flu.
He said there is no risk to humans if the animal or poultry products are cooked properly before consuming.
Cases of bird flu have been confirmed by Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi in the county.
The ministry on Sunday said that the central teams formed for monitoring the spread of bird flu are visiting the affected sites.
Govt wants Serum Institute to lower price of AstraZeneca shot: Report
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(Photo: Mint)
Neha Arora,
, Reuters
Senior officials have been discussing the terms of the deal with the Serum Institute for weeks, hoping to bring down prices below $3 per shot
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The Indian government has been negotiating with the Serum Institute of India to bring down the price of AstraZeneca s COVID-19 vaccine, people close to the matter said, delaying the roll-out of the country s immunisation programme.
India s drug regulator has approved emergency use of the vaccine developed by Oxford University as well as another developed by Indian firm Bharat Biotech, but the government has not placed firm orders with either firm.