Coronavirus Highlights: Nine Omicron-hit patients in Jaipur recover; India's suspension of flights extended till January 31, 2022

South Africa has approved the use of Pfizer's coronavirus booster vaccine for people aged over 18 years, amid mounting concern following a record of almost 20,000 infections overnight, largely ascribed to the new and highly-mutating Omicron variant. Keep coming back here to get DH's latest updates on Coronavirus. Watch this space for continued updates.

India's vaccination coverage crosses 131-crore mark

The Government of India on Thursday said that India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has crossed the 131-crore mark (131,09,90,768), with more than 67 lakh (67,11,113) doses administered till 7 pmon Thursday.

Nine Omicron-hit patients in Jaipur recover

The Rajasthan health department stated that both reports of all nine patients admitted to RUHS hospital in Jaipur, after being detected with the Covid-19 Omicron variant, came negative. All of them were discharged and advised to remain in home quarantine for seven days.

US FDA authorises Pfizer booster for 16- and 17-year-olds

The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorised booster shots of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer Incand BioNTech SE to those aged 16 and 17, as public health officials have urged Americans to get the additional shots on concerns about the new Omicron variant of the virus.

Delhi records 55 Covid-19 cases

Delhi recorded 55 new Covid-19cases, zero deaths and a positivity rate 0.09 per cent.

Africa accounts for 46% of reported cases of Omicron, WHO official says

Africa accounts for 46% of reported cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 globally, Richard Mihigo, coordinator of the World Health Organisation's Immunisation and Vaccine Development Programme for Africa, told an online briefing on Thursday.

Maharashtra reports 789 Covid-19 cases

Maharashtra reported 789 Covid-19 cases and seven deaths, taking the respective tallies to 66,41,677 and 1,41,211. There are 6,482 active cases of the disease in the state.

Severe illness in South Africa's Omicron outbreak lower than in past waves: Initial data

Early hospital data from South Africa shows less than a third of patients admitted for Covid-19 during the latest wave linked to the Omicron variant are suffering severe illness, compared with two thirds in the early stages of the last two waves.

EU drugs regulator says data supports vaccine boosters after three months

The European Union's drugs regulator said it could make sense to administer Covid-19 vaccine boosters as early as three months after the initial two-shot regimen in case of "extremely worrying" infection numbers in a region, Reuters reported.

TN reports 698 Covid-19 cases

Tamil Nadu reported 698 Covid-19 cases and 15 deaths, taking the respective tallies to to 27,33,346 and 36,575. There are 7,883 active cases left in the state.

India's Serum Institute let Africa down on vaccines, says Africa CDC

The Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine maker, let Africa down by pulling out of talks to supply Covid-19 vaccines, creating distrust that has affected demand, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control said on Thursday, according to a report by Reuters. (In picture)JohnNkengasong, director of the African Union's Centers for Disease Control.

Karnataka reports 373 new cases

On Thursday,Karnataka reported 373 new cases, 4 deaths and 292 recoveries. The active case count currently stands at 7,332.

Karnataka CM speaks about guidelines for hostels

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said thatguidelines will be issued for hostels, which will include sanitisation, serving of food in staggered batches, maintaining distance, compulsory double dose vaccination for cooking personnel, and setting up of isolation rooms.

Andhra Pradesh reports 193 Covid-19 cases

Andhra Pradesh reports 193 Covid-19 cases, 3 deaths. The infection tally rose to 20,74,410, and the death toll 14,460. Currently, the number of active cases stands at 2,037.

Suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India extended till January 31

Kerala reports 4,169 new cases, 52 deaths

Kerala reports 4,169 new cases, 52 deaths and 4,357 recoveries on Thursday, with the active caseload currently at 40,546.

US authorises AstraZeneca's Evushield for pre-exposure prevention

AstraZeneca's Evushield, a long-acting antibody combination, has received emergency use authorisation in the US for the pre-exposure prophylaxis of Covid-19.

WHO Africa official says South Africa has seen a 255% increase in Covid-19 cases

WHO Africa official says South Africa has seen a 255 per cent increase in Covid-19 cases in the past seven days but that only 6 per cent of the ICU beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients, according to a report by Reuters.

Singapore removed from list of 'at-risk' countries in India

Singapore removed from the list of 'at risk' countries from where travellers would need to follow additional measures on arrival in India, including post-arrival testing.

China approves Brii Biosciences antibody Covid-19 treatment

China's medical products regulator said on Wednesday it had approved the use of Brii Biosciences' (2137.HK)neutralising antibody cocktail for Covid-19, the first treatment of its type against the virus given the go-ahead in the country.

Travel bans on African countries likely to affect Covid supplies, says CDC

Travel bans imposed on African countries are likely to affect supplies of materials needed for the fight against Covid-19 to the continent, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control John Nkengasong said on Thursday.

Nkengasong also said during an online media briefing that his organisation was not recommending blanket booster shots in Africa, but anyone who was offered a booster should be elderly or immunocompromised.

UEFA confirms Tottenham v Rennes match is off after Covid outbreak

European football's governing body UEFA has confirmed that Tottenham's Europa Conference League game with Rennes on Thursday is off after a Covid outbreak in the Spurs camp.

Spurs announced on Wednesday the Group G fixture would not take place after 13 players and members of staff tested positive for Covid-19.

UEFA said in a statement on Thursday: "We can confirm that the Tottenham-Rennes match will not take place tonight. Further information will follow in due course."

Telangana reaches 4-crore vaccination milestone

Telangana reached another milestone in its fight against Covid-19 as the state crossed four crore doses-mark on Thursday.

Health Minister Harish Rao Thanneeru expressed happiness over the state achieving the key milestone.

According to the health department officials, the latest set of one crore doses were administered in 48 days. The state had reached three crore-mark on October 23.

They said 94 per cent of the 2.77 crore population was administered the first dose while 50 per cent have received the second dose.

WHO's advisory panel outlines recommendations for boosters

The World Health Organization's vaccine advisory panel recommends that people who are immunocompromised or received an inactivated vaccine should receive a booster dose of a Covid-19 shot, the head of the panel said on Thursday.

The recommendation comes after the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on immunisation held a meeting on Tuesday to evaluate the need for Covid-19 boosters.

Speaking in a briefing, SAGE chair Alejandro Cravioto said emerging data shows that vaccines' efficacy against Covid-19 wanes, with a significant decline seen in older people in particular.

Pakistan may have first Omicron case - health ministry official

Authorities in Pakistan are investigating the first possible case of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in the South Asian nation, a provincial health ministry official told Reuters on Thursday.

The health ministry spokesperson in the southern province of Sindh said the infection was found in an unvaccinated patient being treated at a private hospital in Pakistan's most populous city of Karachi.

The official initially said contact tracing was underway and the patient had travelled abroad, but later Sindh authorities said they were uncertain of the person's travel history.

Pakistan's National Institute of Health (NIH) later issued a statement saying the case was not yet confirmed.

Demand still strong for India-made AstraZeneca vaccine doses - COVAX's GAVI

Global vaccine-sharing network COVAX is still seeing strong demand for India-made doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot, its co-lead GAVI said, following comments from producer the Serum Institute of India (SII) that uptake had slowed sharply.

The SII, the world's biggest vaccine maker, told India's CNBC-TV18 this week it would temporarily halve the vaccine's production as it had no fresh orders from the Indian government and COVAX was taking fewer doses than the company could offer.

Covid rolling back progress made for kids in last 75 yrs: Unicef

The Covid-19 pandemic is the biggest threat for children as it is rolling back progress on key challenges such as poverty, health and access to education, the Unicef said in a new report on Thursday, representing the biggest global crisis for children since the UN agency was founded 75 years ago.

The widespread impact of the pandemic continues to deepen, the report warned, increasing poverty, entrenching inequality and threatening the rights of children like never before.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has been the biggest threat to progress for children in our 75-year history," said Henrietta Fore, the Unicef Executive Director, in a statement.

Vaccine makers racing to update Covid shots, just in case

Vaccine makers are racing to update their Covid-19 shots against the newest coronavirus threat even before it's clear a change is needed, just in case.

Experts doubt today's shots will become useless but say it's critical to see how fast companies could produce a reformulated dose and prove it works -- because whatever happens with omicron, this newest mutant won't be the last.

Omicron “is pulling the fire alarm. Whether it turns out to be a false alarm, it would be really good to know if we can actually do this -- get a new vaccine rolled out and be ready,” said immunologist E. John Wherry of the University of Pennsylvania.

"We may have Omicron (wave) but it will not be as devastating as other countries. India is in a better position because a maximum population has been already been infected and vaccinated, abd has also generated hybrid immunity," Dr Padmanabha Shenoy, MD at CARE Hospital, Kochi, told ANI.

India adds 9,419 new Covid-19 cases, 159 deaths

India on Thursday added 9,419 new Covid-19 cases and 159 deaths related to the virus, taking the toll in the country past 4.7 lakh, according to Union Health Ministry.

The active cases across India stood at 94,742.

Read more