UK registers nearly 55,000 COVID-19 positive cases in past 24 hours

World News / Covid-19: The United Kingdom registered 54,990 COVID-19 cases within the past 24 hours, a drop from 57,725 the day before, according to government figures.

Image Source: Google

This takes the total number of registered cases in the country to 2,654,779.

At the same time, an additional 454 fatalities, up from 445 on Saturday, put the overall death toll at 75,024.

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UK's health authorities do not keep a tally of recoveries, which leaves the number of active cases in the country unknown.

The UK may have been the origin of a new strain of the coronavirus which is believed to be 70 percent more infectious than its predecessor and may be driving the new wave of transmissions.

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Much of the UK is under the strictest level of lockdown with the holiday season effectively cancelled this year. 

News Source: ANI

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly Suffers Heart Attack, Stable After Angioplasty

World News/Sports News: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has been admitted to Woodlands Hospital after he complained of chest pain.Following this, doctors conducted angioplasty on him.

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Speaking to ANI, sources close to the former India skipper said that Ganguly complained of pain in the chest and might need angioplasty. "Dada (Sourav) complained of chest pain and was rushed to the hospital. He might need to undergo angioplasty. He is out of danger," the source said.

Dr Aftab Khan of Woodlands Hospital told reporters, “Sourav Ganguly has undergone angioplasty. He is stable now. He will be monitored for 24 hours. He is completely conscious. There are two blockages in his heart for which he will be treated. As of now he is stable, we will have a meeting on Monday and then we will decide what needs to be done further, priority is to let him settle down after heart attack. He is risk-free and he is talking as well.”

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The BCCI president had on Wednesday visited Eden Gardens and discussed preparations for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Avishek Dalmiya.

Other office-bearers of CAB including secretary Snehashis Ganguly and joint secretary Debabrata Das were also present at the stadium.

Earlier this week, Ganguly had also cleared the air about him joining politics ahead of West Bengal Assembly polls next year. He had stated that he went to meet the state's Governor upon invitation.

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"If the Governor wants to meet you, you have to meet him. So let us keep it like that," said Ganguly.

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday met Ganguly to discuss various issues and agreed to visit Eden Gardens on his invitation.

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"Had interaction with 'Dada' Saurav Ganguly, BCCI President at Raj Bhawan yesterday at 4.30 PM on varied issues. Accepted his offer for a visit to Eden Gardens, the oldest cricket ground in the country established in 1864," tweeted the Governor.

News Source: ANI

SII’s Covishield approved by India: Efficacy, cost and all about AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine

AstraZeneca had signed an agreement with Serum Institute of India (SII) to produce 1 billion doses of its experimental vaccine for low- and middle-income countries.

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India News/ Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker: A government’s expert panel has reportedly approved the vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, for emergency use in India to provide immunity against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). According to news agency Reuters, a subject expert committee, set up by Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to vet Covid-19 vaccine proposals, recommended granting emergency use authorisation to AstraZeneca’s vaccine AZD1222, dubbed in India as Covishield.

AstraZeneca had signed an agreement with Serum Institute of India (SII) to produce 1 billion doses of its experimental vaccine for low- and middle-income countries. The Pune-based company has sought an emergency use authorisation for the Covid-19 vaccine which recently received approval from British regulators.

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Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on Wednesday authorised the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine for deployment across the United Kingdom on the conditions that the vaccine should be administered in two doses, with the second dose given between 4 and 12 weeks after the first.

Here’s all you need to know about the vaccine:

Efficacy: In two different dosing regimens, the AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine showed the efficacy of 90 per cent and 62 per cent. In participants who received two full doses at least one month apart, vaccine efficacy was 62 per cent, and in participants who received a low dose followed by a full dose, efficacy was 90 per cent.

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Safety: The Lancet publication, a leading medical journal, has confirmed that AZD1222 was well tolerated and there were no serious safety events confirmed related to the vaccine. The safety data published is from over 20,000 participants, so far, enrolled across four clinical trials in the UK and Brazil and South Africa.

Storage: The AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine can be stored, transported and handled at normal refrigerated conditions (2°C to 8°C) for at least six months.

Cost: Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive officer of SII, had told Hindustan Times that Covidshield will be priced in India at Rs 500-600.

Also Read| SII’s Covishield approved by India: Efficacy, cost and all about AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine

Technology: AZD1222 is made of a weakened and modified version of adenovirus (a common cold virus) that causes infections in chimpanzees and contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein. After vaccination, the surface spike protein is produced, priming the immune system to attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus if it later infects the body.

News Source: Hidustan Times