New Delhi: Maharashtra reported two more fully vaccinated people infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19, with both having Dubai travel history, taking the tally in the country to 40 on Monday.
This comes a day after Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh reported their first Omicron case.
With this, Omicron has been detected in Maharashtra (20), Rajasthan (9), Karnataka (3), Gujarat (3), Kerala (1) and Andhra Pradesh (1) and Union Territories of Delhi (2) and Chandigarh (1).
Both the patients, including a woman, detected in Maharashtra are asymptomatic and were fully vaccinated, the health department added.
"Two new cases have been found to be infected with Omicron, according to a report released today by the National Institute of Virology - one from Latur and one from Pune," the state health department said.
Meanwhile, Britain on Monday confirmed what is thought to be the first confirmed death after infection with the Omicron variant, as the country launched an ambitious Covid booster shot programme to stop the virus spiralling out of control.
Here are the LIVE Updates on Coronavirus cases in India:
Dec 14, 2021 20:58 (IST)
Covid Task Force chief pitches for quickly adaptable vaccine platforms
Amid concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus, COVID Task Force chief VK Paul on Tuesday said India should have vaccine platforms that are 'adaptable quickly' with changing nature of the variants.
Addressing an event organised by industry body CII, Paul said he hopes that COVID-19 in India is possibly moving in the direction of endemicity, where there is a low or moderate level of transmission going on.
"There is a potential scenario that our vaccines may become ineffective in emerging situations. In the wake of the last three weeks of living with Omicron, we have seen how such doubts have come up some of them may be genuine, we still do not have the final picture," he said.
Dec 14, 2021 20:19 (IST)
2,410 COVID-19 vaccine doses with an expiry date in December this year: Centre
As of December 9, there are 2,410 COVID-19 vaccine doses with an expiry date in December this year, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Data on the expiry of COVID-19 vaccines at private hospitals is not maintained, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written reply. Centrally, however, the Government of India closely monitors COVID-19 vaccine stocks in states and Union Territories so as to ensure their optimal utilization, she said.
The COVID-19 vaccine stock which has not been utilized in private hospitals and nearing expiry are usually taken up for redistribution by respective state government, for its timely utilization, Pawar said in response to a question on the government policy to deal with vaccine beyond expiry date.
Dec 14, 2021 08:55 (IST)
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 7 Active COVID-19 Cases In Andamans
Seven COVID-19 patients are currently undergoing treatment in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a health bulletin said on Tuesday. The Union territory's caseload remained unchanged at 7,698 as no fresh infection was registered, it said. A total of 7,562 people have recovered from the disease so far, including one in the last 24 hours, while 129 patients have succumbed to the infection to date.
