Vaccination

India has reported 1,829 fresh cases of COVID-19 and 33 deaths in the last 24 hours, on May 18. Of the 33 fatalities, 31 were from Kerala and two were from Delhi. India's active caseload stands at 15,647. The daily positive rate in India stands at 0.42% and weekly positivity rate at 0.57%. Also, in the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive, over 191.65 crore cumulative doses have been administered so far.

India registered 2,841 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, confirmed Union Health Ministry on May 13. Furthermore, the nation registered 9 fatalities, reporting a decline in COVID-19 cases.  In addition, the MoHFW said, the active cases comprise 0.05% of the total infections, while the national recovery rate is at 98.74%. Also, the number of active cases fell to 18,604 in India. Moreover, the nationwide-vaccination is also over 191-crore… read-more

India registered 2,288 new COVID-19 cases, which was reduced compared to the cases registered on May 10. Furthermore, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare confirmed 3,044 recovered cases and 10 death cases in India. With the drop in the COVID-19 cases, the active cases stand at 19,637 with a 0.47% daily positivity rate. Besides, the MoHFW reported that approximately 190.50 crore vaccine doses of COVID-19 have been administered.

The Supreme Court has held that vaccine mandates are not proportionate, in its judgement on the plea filed by former NTAGI member Dr Jacob Puliyel. The petitioner had stressed on the fact that natural immunity from past infection is superior to the vaccine-induced immunity, that serious adverse events due to Covid vaccines are being reported all around the world, and that vaccine mandates violate one's right to self-determination.

Amid speculations regarding the Government of India planning to reduce the gap between the second dose and the booster dose, government sources have confirmed that there are currently no such plans. SII CEO Adar Poonawalla had earlier urged the government to cut down the gap between doses. Some experts have, however, suggested that the longer the gap is between the doses, the stronger the immunity develops in the vaccine recipient.