Some studies also show a strong response mounted through hybrid immunity developed in those vaccinated after recovery from natural infection, Bhargava said underlining that vaccination is must for better protection even for those who have suffered from the disease.
While attributing the recent case-spike to a possible spurt of Omicron infections in the country, officials maintained that Delta continues to be the dominant strain in India. The government also said that severity issues of the Omicron variant are still not settled though it appears to be mild.
The EC has also decided to extend polling by one hour since Covid protocol will slow down voting. Further, to ensure that even a corona-infected voter can vote, EC staff in PPE kits will go to them, CEC Sushil Chandra said.
The decision to continue the enforcement of AFSPA across the whole of Nagaland comes amid shrill demands to withdraw the Act from the state in view of the killing of over a dozen civilians in Mon district by 21 Para-Special Forces, allegedly due to “mistaken identity”.
On Thursday, India had recorded 16,695 fresh cases till late night, with data from a couple of states yet to come in. This is the highest single-day increase in cases in 71 days since 18,388 cases were reported on October 20. Thursday’s final tally is expected to exceed 16,700.
Prominent seers in Haridwar have condemned the provocative statements that were made at the ‘Dharma Sansad’ held recently in the holy city. Several speakers at the meeting had then lashed out at the minority community, with one even threatening to kill former PM Manmohan Singh for his alleged “appeasement views”.
The explosion of cases has been sudden and widespread since overall Covid numbers had been falling till last week. At least 18 state and Union territories, spread across the country except the northeast, have registered a rise in cases this week as compared with the corresponding days of the previous week.
A day after the formal announcement of alliance among BJP, former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, former Akali Dal veteran, several prominent faces from the state, including former India cricketer Dinesh Mongia and two sitting Congress MLAs, joined BJP on Tuesday. The Congress legislators who joined BJP are Fateh Singh Bajwa, MLA from Qadian and Balwinder Singh Laddi, sitting MLA from Hargobindpur.
People above 60 years with comorbidities will not be required to upload or provide a medical certificate to be eligibile for the “precautionary” dose of Covid vaccine. However, they must consult their doctor before taking the jab, the Centre said on Tuesday. States have been advised to set up separate vaccination centres dedicated for children between 15-18 years.
Germany has arrested prominent Khalistani terror plotter Jaswinder Singh Multani in what marks a breakthrough for India’s counter-terror effort to foil plans of Pakistan’s Inter State Intelligence to engineer terror attacks in Punjab and other parts, including Mumbai. He is currently in German custody and will be questioned by Indian investigators.
Children between 15 and 18 years can register online on CoWin from January 1 or onsite at vaccination centres to receive Covaxin shots from January 3. They can register themselves online through an existing account or create a new one. Among healthcare workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities, prioritisation and sequencing would be based on completion of 9 months from the date of the 2nd dose as of Jan 10.
Kerala PCC (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran on Sunday said no one, including Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, in the party has the authority to oppose its directions, and warned the latter that he will be removed from the party if he does not fall in line with its decisions. His comments come in the wake of Tharoor's recent open praise of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan for his “investment-friendly” initiatives.
While Covid cases in India saw a fall of 6% in the week ending Sunday, the numbers in Delhi, Haryana and Jharkhand more than doubled during the period as compared with the previous seven days. However, since just around 500 Omicron cases have been documented in the country so far, it's not clear whether the surge across states is linked to the new Covid variant.
“Courts do not have the power of the purse or the sword. Court orders are only good when they get executed. The executive needs to assist and cooperate for the rule of law to prevail in the nation. However, there appears to be a growing tendency to disregard, and even disrespect court orders by the executive,” the CJI said.
The Union home ministry has constituted a five-member committee headed by registrar general of India Vivek Joshi to examine the possibility of withdrawing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from Nagaland in the wake of the botched December 3 Army operation in Mon district that resulted in 14 civilian deaths. The committee will submit its report within 45 days.
Nearly three crore health and frontline workers will be eligible in January for the ‘precaution dose’ of Covid vaccine that will be administered after a gap of nine months from the second dose, official sources said on Sunday. As of now, the third jab that will also be given to around three crore people above 60 with co-morbidities will be of the same vaccine that one had got in the first and second instances.
Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Thursday lamented that attempts were made to prevent the indigenously developed Covaxin from getting WHO recognition. “Several multi-national companies, like Pfizer, on one hand, and scores of people from within India, on the other hand, had made unfair attempts to defame Covaxin. They had even complained to WHO and tried to stall recognition to this made-in-India vaccine,” the CJI said.
Khalistani elements based in Pakistan may have radicalised dismissed Punjab police head constable Gagandeep Singh, the lone casualty and suspected perpetrator of Thursday’s Ludhiana court complex blast, when he was in prison for heroin possession for two years, DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya said on Saturday. A woman cop once attached to the Khanna SP’s office and suspected to have been Gagandeep’s girlfriend was detained.
Gujarat has topped states in the overall Good Governance Index (GGI) for 2020-21 in the indicators launched by Union home minister Amit Shah on the occasion of Good Governance Day. Delhi topped the list among all UTs. The GGI 2021 framework covered 10 sectors and 58 indicators. These include agriculture and allied sectors, commerce and industries, human resource development, public health, public infrastructure and utilities.
In the wake of rising Omicron cases and low vaccination coverage in some states, the Centre on Saturday deployed multi-disciplinary teams in 10 states to assist them in addressing hurdles and suggest remedial measures. These 10 states are Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Mizoram, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Punjab.
PM Narendra Modi announced on Saturday that “precaution doses” (boosters) of Covid vaccines for health and frontline workers as well as for those above 60 with co-morbidities will begin from January 10. He also said vaccination for children aged 15-18, using Covaxin, will begin from January 3.
Nearly two dozen Punjab farm groups are expected to form a political front, or even a party, on Saturday and join electoral politics. According to reliable sources, the new political entity is likely to carry the word “Sanyukt” in its name just as the Haryana-based BKU, led by Gurnam Singh Charuni, named its political wing the Sanyukt Sangharsh Party.
