Coronavirus: India reports 46K+ new cases; 70% in Kerala alone
India witnessed a rise in COVID-19 cases, reporting over 46,000 fresh infections on Thursday. Nearly 70% of infections reported on the day were concentrated in Kerala, which has been leading the latest surge. Active cases have now crossed 1% again and the recovery rate declined slightly to 97.63% from 97.67% the day before. The daily positivity rate rose to 2.58% from 2.10% on Wednesday.
India's tally crosses 3.25 crore; 4.36 lakh dead
According to the Union Health Ministry, till Thursday morning, India reported a total of 3,25,58,530 COVID-19 cases. The death toll has reached 4,36,365. So far, 3,17,88,440 patients have recovered, while 3,33,725 cases involve active infections. In the past 24 hours alone, India recorded 46,164 new infections, 34,159 more discharges, and 607 fresh fatalities. 60,38,46,475 vaccine doses have been administered so far.
India's second wave peaked on May 7
To recall, India's second wave peaked on May 7, when 4.14 lakh single-day cases were reported, over four times the number of cases reported during the first wave in mid-September. Although infections have declined since the second wave peaked, India crossed the three crore-mark on June 23. India had crossed the one crore-mark on December 19, 2020, and the two crore-mark on May 4.
Over 68% new cases concentrated in Kerala
Maharashtra reported 5,031 new COVID-19 cases along with 4,380 more recoveries. Kerala, the second worst-hit state after Maharashtra, reported 31,445 new cases and 20,271 discharges. Meanwhile, the third worst-hit Karnataka added 1,224 new cases and 1,668 recoveries. Tamil Nadu, the fourth worst-hit state, reported 1,573 new cases and 1,797 recoveries. Andhra Pradesh reported 1,601 new cases and 1,201 recoveries.
1 crore/day inoculations required to vaccinate all adults by 2021-end
Notably, India has managed to fully vaccinate over 10% of its population, while around 35% has received at least one dose. If the nation hopes to achieve its target to vaccinate the entire adult population by the 2021-end, one crore doses would need to be given daily. Currently, India's best week has seen an average 59 lakh doses being administered daily between June 19-25.
Protection from 2 doses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca lasts 6 months
Highlighting the need for booster shots, researchers in the United Kingdom have said that protection offered by two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines fades within six months. Data from the ZOE COVID study showed that the efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech fell from 88% to 74% after five-six months, while the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot's efficacy dropped from 77% to 67% after four-five months.
