Facing accusations of delay in placing orders for vaccines, the government on Thursday defended its vaccine procurement policy saying it has been pursuing Pfizer, J&J and Moderna since mid-2020 for the earliest possible imports, and has even waived local trials for well-established foreign vaccine makers.

He also said that there were around 620 cases of black fungus or mucormycosis in the city, but there is a shortage of Amphotericin-B injections used in its treatment.

The IMD has also issued a red-coded warning alert to the Odisha and West Bengal coasts.

Coronavirus doesn't remain active in nasal and oral cavities 12 to 24 hours after the death of an infected person as a result of which the risk of transmission from the deceased is highly unlikely, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Forensic Chief Dr Sudhir Gupta said.

Three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology sought hospital care in November 2019, weeks before Beijing disclosed the COVID-19 pandemic, a United States media report said, citing a previously undisclosed American intelligence document that could add weight to growing calls for a full scale probe of whether the coronavirus may have escaped from China's top bio lab.

Domestic pharma major Panacea Biotec in collaboration with Russian sovereign wealth fund Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has begun the production of 'Sputnik V' COVID-19 vaccine in India, according to a joint statement issued.

Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 300 points in opening trade on Monday, tracking gains in index majors HDFC twins, SBI and ICICI Bank amid mixed cues from global markets.

'If you approached it with that level of aggression in 100 days, you would have vaccinated more than half of your country.' 'On a mass scale you will be able to eliminate that wave.'

Do not lose crucial time to begin treatment for Mucormycosis, insists Dr Sanket Jain, consultant pulmonologist, Masina Hospital, Mumbai.

'Now you see a patient, 10 minutes later the patient is dead.' 'The second wave is definitely much more dangerous, brutal and fatal than the first wave.' 'The number of deaths and infections in India today are very, very, high; the actual numbers are not being reported.'

Equity benchmark Sensex ended marginally higher after a choppy session on Friday as concerns over the economic impact of the second wave of Covid-19 and pace of vaccination weighed on investor sentiment.

The NTAGI has also stated that those having laboratory test proven SARS-CoV-2 illness should defer COVID-19 vaccination for six months after recovery, the sources said.

Bharat Biotech said that it is disheartening to listen to some states complaining about company's intentions regarding supply of COVID vaccine Covaxin.

Soumya Swaminathan called on governments to boost exercises on reporting actual numbers.

The B-1617 variant of the coronavirus, first identified in India, has been classified as a variant of concern at the global level by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

While there is a shortage of testing kits, manpower and capacities, India does not have other scalable testing options.

Just as the superstars of Indian cricket only play IPL and international fixtures and ignore the Ranji and Mushtaq Ali trophies in domestic cricket, Narendra Modi should play a very limited role in state assembly elections, argues Sudhir Bisht.

Mrigank Warrier reports on life -- beyond masks and PPE suits -- of frontline medical personnel at vaccination centres.

But the numbers have continued to rise in 23 states including Bihar, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

While the Indian government has been procuring Covid-19 vaccines at low prices so far, manufacturers have to declare the prices of vaccines they would supply to the open market (industries, private hospitals, etc) and state governments before May 1. Sohini Das reports.

L&T was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 3 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, SBI and HDFC Bank. NSE Nifty surged 168.05 points to 14,653.05.

India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

Efforts are being ramped up for massive production of vaccines and make them available in the shortest possible time, a top government official said on Wednesday, stressing that India currently has a promising pipeline of four-five Covid-19 vaccine candidates, while three have already been approved for emergency use.

This import duty exemption would remain in force till October 31 this year.

An ICC source said that Cricket South Africa hasn't yet reached a situation that demands the apex body's intervention.

Sri Lankan cricket legend Muttiah Muralitharan was discharged on Monday after undergoing a coronary angioplasty at a city hospital in Chennai.

The government has also given permission to 20 plants to produce the antiviral drug.

China will carry out major scientific research to enhance its biosecurity science and technological capacity against future infectious diseases, state-run Global Times quoted Xiang as saying.

The research would lead to a better understanding of metabolic reprogramming and aid the development of better therapeutics to deal with the viral pandemics, an institute spokesperson said on Wednesday.

He went on to score 9 more ODI centuries, his highest being 183 not out against Sri Lanka.

India's Vijayveer Sidhu and Tejaswani claimed the gold medal in the 25m rapid fire pistol mixed team event of the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi on Saturday.

A source said two among the three shooters are from the Indian contingent.

A top international shooter has tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi and is currently in isolation at a hospital.

Two days after political commentator Pratap Bhanu Mehta resigned as a professor from the Ashoka University, his colleague, economist Arvind Subramanian, put in his papers on Thursday and faculty members wrote to the vice chancellor expressing their deep anguish.

Dr Dinesh Jain shares some valuable tips.

Dr Seema Rao has trained over 20,000 Indian soldiers. And has never been paid for it. Here's her super-inspirational story.

Renowned oncologist and chairperson of the Cancer Institute in Chennai, Dr V Shanta, who is noted for her outstanding contribution to cancer care, died early on Tuesday. She was 93.