Covid19 Latest Updates: India records 2.17 lakh cases & 1,185 deaths; 26.02 lakh vaccine doses given

The new strain of the coronavirus has become very dangerous because now the virus has started affecting the children as well. Reportedly, the infection is spreading rapidly among children from 8 months to 14 years. In such a situation, the pertinent question is, how to protect children from this dangerous pandemic. Here's what the doctors suggest!

Over the last year, the pandemic has led people to spend most of their time indoors as they maintain social distance. As India now reels under an alarming second wave, many parts of the country have tightened stay-at-home protocols -- making consumers opt for activities that reduce their need to step out -- a key pastime being 'reading'.

The year 2020 brought about a paradigm shift in everyone's lives -- people began thinking, eating, living and reading differently. Books that deal with weight loss, diets and other 'how to' books saw great demand. Know what India is reading here.

It is important to understand that the virus responsible for Covid-19 spreads mainly from person to person. Therefore, coming in close contact with a sick person can put them in danger. While wearing a mask is one of the protective measures one must take, you should know that it is not enough to avoid contracting the virus. Here's what the doctors have advised.

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The Haj Committee of India (HCI) has said that no Indian Muslims shall be allowed to go for the annual Haj pilgrimage unless they have taken the two vaccine doses.  

With Covid-19 spreading fiercely in many parts of the country, it has now become extremely important to follow all the precautionary measures, besides wearing a mask, to keep infections at bay, health experts have said.

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Registering a steady increase for the 37th day in a row, the active cases have increased to 15,69,743, comprising 10.98 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate dropped to 87.80 per cent. 

According to the ICMR, 26,34,76,625 samples have been tested up to April 15 with 14,73,210 samples being tested on Thursday.

Amid deteriorating Covid-19 situation in the country, the Centre has granted permission to Haffkine Institute, Mumbai to manufacture Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin. The state-run biomedical research institute will manufacture the drug on the basis of transfer of technology.

Are some COVID-19 vaccines more effective than others? It's hard to tell since they weren't directly compared in studies. But experts say the vaccines are alike on what matters most: preventing hospitalisations and deaths. “Luckily, all these vaccines look like they're protecting us from severe disease,” said Dr. Monica Gandhi of the University of California, San Francisco, citing study results for five vaccines used around the world and a sixth that's still in review.

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More than 26.02 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses given till 8 pm on Thursday, push Cumulative Vaccine Coverage to more than 11.70 crore doses