On-site registration, appointment for 18-44 years for Covid vaccine
Walk-in registration on the CoWIN digital platform has been allowed by the centre for people with no internet/smartphone access. Moreover, any pre-registered vaccine doses left unused can be given to a few beneficiaries with same-day on-site registration to help curb vaccine wastage. This will be made available only at government-run vaccination centres.
This decision to impart ad-hoc vaccination is ultimately in the hands of the individual states/UTs and can be based on their local situations.
Source- NDTV
'Not convinced' COVID-19 developed naturally, need more open investigations: Dr. Anthony Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci, America's top expert on infectious diseases and advisor to the President Biden’s administration on the coronavirus pandemic, said that he is "not convinced" that the SARS-CoV-2 virus developed naturally.
In an interview with Fox News, Fauci said "I am not convinced...I think we should investigate what went on in China until we continue to find out to the best of our ability what happened".
Dr. Fauci has called for an investigation into the virus’s origin while discarding one of the widely prevalent theories regarding the origin of the coronavirus disease that Covid-19 emerged from an animal and then infected humans.
Source- Mint
Cheetahs could spring back to India in November
The cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal which was declared extinct in India in 1952, is expected to be reintroduced into the country in November this year at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, state Forest Minister Vijay Shah said on Sunday. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) set up a cheetah reintroduction project for the same. The country’s last spotted cheetah died in Chhattisgarh in 1947.
Source- Times of India
Pfizer and Moderna refused to sell vaccines directly to us: Delhi CM
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that US pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Moderna have informed the Delhi government that “they will deal with the central government” only and not sell Covid-19 vaccines individually to any state. This comes at a time when government vaccination centers in Delhi have been closed for those below 45 years due to the non-availability of doses and the government is trying to place orders with Indian and foreign manufacturers to replenish their stocks and reopen all centers.
Sources- Hindustan Times
Who is Roman Protasevich, the captive journalist in Belarus?
Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko forced a European airliner flying in the country’s airspace to land in Minsk to arrest an opposition journalist on board.
Authorities said they were responding to a bomb threat, which later turned out to be false, but Western officials called it an act of state-sponsored hijacking and voiced concerns about future air travel over the ex-Soviet nation.
Roman Protasevich is co-founder and former editor of the popular opposition Telegram channel NEXTA. NEXTA was central in covering and organizing last year’s unprecedented mass protests against Lukashenko after most independent news media were shuttered in Belarus.
Source- Reuters
India’s FDI jumps 10% in FY21 to touch highest level of $81.72 bn
India’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow increased 10 percent in 2020-21 (year-on-year) to touch the highest ever level of $81.72 billion, the central government said on Monday.
Further, it said that "Measures were taken by the government on the fronts of FDI policy reforms, investment facilitation and ease of doing business have resulted in increased FDI inflows into the country,"
Country-wise Singapore leads the chart with 29%, followed by the U.S.A (23%) and Mauritius (9%) for the FY 2020-21.
India’s forex reserves have also been on the rise for over a month thanks to sustained foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign portfolio investor (FPI) inflow.
Source- TimesNow
Farmers’ protest on 26 May despite curbs
Amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, farmers’ bodies protesting against the Centre’s three contentious laws have given a call for nationwide protests on 26 May to mark six months of the agitation. This move has also been supported by 12 Opposition parties including the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Shiv Sena. While the Congress has officially extended support to the protest, Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh has urged the BKU to call off the march to Delhi as the event could become a super-spreader event and could negate the state’s efforts to tackle the pandemic.
Source- The Quint
Indians vaccinated with Covaxin may not be allowed to travel abroad just yet
People who have been fully vaccinated by both doses of Covaxin might not be allowed to travel internationally as the vaccine produced by Bharat Biotech has not been included in WHO’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL) so far.
However, Covaxin is likely to get approval from the WHO by the end of the third or fourth quarter of 2021, Bharat Biotech's Business Development and International Advocacy Head Dr. Raches Ella revealed. At present, those on the WHO's Emergency Use Listing include vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Johnson and Johnson and Sinopharm.
Source- Republic World
After black and white, yellow fungus case in UP
At a time when several states are witnessing a surge in the number of black and white fungus cases, a 45-year-old patient in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad was on Monday found infected with yellow fungus, which is said to be more dangerous than the other two fungal infections. It is believed that poor hygiene standards or consumption of unhygienic food cause yellow fungus infection.
Source- Hindustan Times
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