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From the Newsroom: Union Health Secretary says entire country might not be vaccinated against Covid-19

Last Updated 01 December 2020, 13:24 IST

In your evening news brief, From the Newsroom, Union Health Secretary says the entire country might not be vaccinated against the coronavirus; Serum Institute of India clarifies that the Covishield vaccine is safe and immunogenic; the government expresses confidence that it will reach a solution after discussing issues raised by protesting farmers; Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expresses its concerns over farmers’ protests in India; Election Commission of India approaches government to allow NRIs to vote through postal ballots, and Nirav Modi's remanded extended.

Here is the top news of December 1, 2020:

Union Health Secretary on Tuesday said that the entire country might not be vaccinated against the virus.

"I just want to make this clear that the govt has never spoken about vaccinating the entire country. It's important that we discuss such scientific issues, based on factual information only," ANI quoted Health Secretary as saying when asked how much time it will take to vaccinate the entire country.

"Vaccination would depend on the efficacy of the vaccine and our purpose is to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission. If we're able to vaccinate critical mass of people and break virus transmission, then we may not have to vaccinate the entire population," ICMR DG, Balram Bhargava further added.

With the Chennai vaccine trial volunteer issue compounding into a big issue, the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), which is world’s largest vaccine-maker, on Tuesday clarified that the Covishield vaccine is safe and immunogenic. The company has assured that the vaccine won’t be released for mass use unless it is proven immunogenic and safe.

The Chennai-based 40-year-old volunteer, who is a married male with two children, has sought Rs 5 crore as compensation for the neurological complications that he developed after being administered the dose during the trials. However, the SII has reacted with a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against the volunteer.

The government on Tuesday expressed confidence that it will reach a solution after discussing issues raised by protesting farmers, as a meeting got underway between union ministers and representatives of over 30 farmer organisations.

For the meeting at Vigyan Bhawan here, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar was accompanied by Railways and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, also an MP from Punjab.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed its concerns over protests by thousands of farmers in India, subtly nudging Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in New Delhi to resolve the issue through dialogue.

Trudeau spoke on the issue after several lawmakers of Canada expressed solidarity with the agitating farmers in India. Some of the Canadian lawmakers even criticised the way security forces of India dealt with the protesters. So did some lawmakers in the United Kingdom too.

Election Commission of India has approached the government to allow Non-resident Indians (NRIs) to vote through postal ballots.

A year ago, the Bill that proposed to extend voting for Indians living abroad fell through after the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha.

Currently, Indians living abroad can only vote in their respective constituencies restricting the right to very few living abroad registered voters.

Nirav Modi, wanted in connection with the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, was further remanded in custody on Tuesday by a court in London hearing India's extradition request for the diamond merchant.

The 49-year-old appeared on Tuesday via videolink from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London, dressed in a maroon sweater and sporting a full beard, for his regular 28-day “call-over hearing” at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, where Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot extended his remand for another 28 days until December 29.

Source: DHNS / PTI

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(Published 01 December 2020, 13:24 IST)

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