Health

New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) In the second tranche of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan after it fell to the Taliban, India on Saturday supplied 5,00,000 doses of the Covaxin vaccine to the war-torn country and announced that an equal number of jabs would be sent in the coming weeks.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the consignment of vaccine doses was handed over to the Indira Gandhi Hospital in Kabul.

It said another batch of additional 5,00,000 doses of the vaccine would be supplied to Afghanistan in the coming weeks.

Nashik, Dec 30 (PTI) Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, who was seen without a mask at an event here on Thursday, claimed he was following the prime minister's 'example'.

On the sidelines of the event at Nashik in Maharashtra, some reporters asked the Rajya Sabha member why he was not wearing a mask, a norm to be followed to curb the spread of COVID-19.

New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) India logged 309 fresh Omicron infections, taking the total tally of such cases in the country to 1,270, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The 1,270 cases have been detected across 23 states and UTs so far, and 374 people have recovered or migrated.

Maharashtra recording the maximum number of 450 cases followed by Delhi at 320, Kerala 109 and Gujarat 97.

New Delhi, Dec 29 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the first half of next month has been postponed, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday.

The prime minister was scheduled to visit the strategically important Gulf nation around January 6, they said.

BENGALURU, Dec 28 (Reuters) - India has approved Merck's (MRK.N) COVID-19 pill and two more vaccines for emergency use as the world's second most populous country braces for a possible spike in coronavirus cases due to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.

Asia's third-largest economy has already said it will allow COVID-19 booster shots for some of its population as some Indian states logged an uptick in Omicron cases.

Dec 28 (Reuters) - Research by South African scientists suggests that Omicron could displace the Delta variant of the coronavirus because infection with the new variant boosts immunity to the older one.

The study only covered a small group of people and has not been peer-reviewed, but it found that people who were infected with Omicron, especially those who were vaccinated, developed enhanced immunity to the Delta variant.

SYDNEY, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Australia recorded another record surge in COVID-19 infections on Tuesday as an outbreak of the highly infectious Omicron variant disrupted reopening of the economy, while state leaders argued over domestic border controls.

The country reported 11,264 new cases of the coronavirus in the previous day, according to a Reuters calculation of state figures, once again surpassing its peak of a day earlier, as it grapples with a planned reopening while the new variant rages.

AP: The U.S. flu season has arrived on schedule after taking a year off, with flu hospitalizations rising and two child deaths reported.

Last year’s flu season was the lowest on record, likely because COVID-19 measures — school closures, distancing, masks and canceled travel — prevented the spread of influenza, or because the coronavirus somehow pushed aside other viruses.

“This is setting itself up to be more of a normal flu season,” said Lynnette Brammer, who tracks flu-like illnesses for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said Monday the nation should consider a vaccination mandate for domestic air travel, signaling a potential embrace of an idea the Biden administration has previously eschewed, as COVID-19 cases spike.

Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief science adviser on the pandemic response, said such a mandate might drive up the nation’s lagging vaccination rate as well as confer stronger protection on flights, for which federal regulations require all those age 2 and older to wear a mask.

NEW YORK (AP) — Flight cancellations that disrupted holiday travel, stretched into Monday as airlines called off more than 1,000 U.S. flights because crews were sick with COVID-19 during one of the year’s busiest travel periods, and storm fronts added to the havoc.