Health

NEW DELHI (AP) — India started inoculating health workers Saturday in what is likely the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccination campaign, joining the ranks of wealthier nations where the effort is already well underway.

India is home to the world’s largest vaccine makers and has one of the biggest immunization programs. But there is no playbook for the enormity of the current challenge.

BEIJING (AP) — China on Saturday finished building a 1,500-room hospital for COVID-19 patients in five days to fight a surge in infections in a city south of Beijing, state media reported.

The hospital is one of six with a total of 6,500 rooms being built in Nangong in Hebei province, the Xinhua News Agency said. All are due to be completed within the next week.

China, which largely contained the spread of the coronavirus, has suffered hundreds of infections this month in Nangong and the Hebei provincial capital of Shijiazhuang, southwest of the Chinese capital.

14 Jan 2021; MEMO: Turkey will send 20,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the country's top health official said yesterday.

According to Anadolu's Northern Cyprus office, TRNC's Health Minister Ali Pilli said that the vaccines will be provided both by the European Union and Turkey.

NEW DELHI, Jan 15 (NNN-BSS) –India is set to launch the world’s largest vaccination drive against COVID-19 tomorrow with a record 300,000 health care workers across the country scheduled to get vaccinated on the first day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the pan India rollout of COVID-19 vaccination drive tomorrow morning through video conferencing, according to an official statement issued here last evening.

Paris, Jan 15 (AP-PTI) All of France will be under a stricter curfew starting Saturday at 6 p.m. for at least 15 days to fight spread of the coronavirus.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex also announced strict new controls for those arriving in France from countries outside the European Union. Starting Monday, they must produce a PCR test with negative results and self-isolate for seven days followed by a new, negative test.

Hyderabad, Jan 13 (PTI): Bharat Biotech said on Wednesday that it has successfully air-shipped its COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin to 11 cities in India in the early hours and that it has donated 16.5 lakh doses to the centre.

The company also expressed its deepest gratitude to the nation, all clinical trial volunteers and its partners for making this a successful and milestone public-private partnership for the development of India's first COVID19- vaccine, a press release said.

12 Jan 2021; MEMO: The health ministry of the Palestinian Authority (PA) has approved the main Russian vaccine against COVID-19, known as Sputnik V, for use in Palestinian self-ruled territory, Russia's sovereign wealth fund said on Monday, reports Reuters.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila confirmed that her ministry had granted "emergency approval" for the Russian vaccine to be administered in areas under limited Palestinian self-rule.

12 Jan 2021; MEMO: Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, returned to Germany on Sunday to complete his treatment for COVID-19.

12 Jan 2021; MEMO: Further concerns have been raised over Israel's ongoing failure to include Palestinians in its COVID-19 vaccination programme dubbed by critics as "medical apartheid". The latest comes from Dr Yousef Jabareen, head of the International Relations Committee of the Joint List, a political alliance of the main Arab-majority political parties in Israel.

New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI) The government has committed to buy from the Serum Institute further 4.5 crore doses of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield, at a price of Rs 200 per shot plus applicable taxes by April, in addition to a firm order given to the company for 1.1 crore doses.

Flights have started ferrying the vaccines to different cities from Pune from Tuesday morning.

According to the purchase order placed on Monday, each dose of the vaccine has been priced at Rs 200 and with GST of Rs 10, it would cost Rs 210.