EID MUBARAK, DEAR READERS

GOVT UNVEILS ROADMAP FOR VACCINE FOR ALMOST ALL BY YEAR END

As states grapple with a shortage of coronavirus vaccines, the Centre Thursday said over two billion doses will be made available in the country in five months between August and December, enough to vaccinate the entire population.

It also said Russian anti-Covid vaccine Sputnik V is likely to be available by next week.

“Two billion doses (216 crore) will be made in the country in five months for India and for people of India. Vaccine will be available for all as we move forward,” Niti Aayog Member V K Paul said, adding by the first quarter of the next year, the number is likely to be three billion.

He estimated that between August to December, production of 75 crore doses of Covishield is estimated, while 55 cores doses of Covaxin will be made available.

Further, Biological E is expected to produce 30 crore doses, Zydus Cadila 5 crore, Serum Institute of India 20 crore doses of Novavax, and Bharat Biotech 10 crore doses of its nasal vaccine, while Gennova will make available 6 crore doses and Sputnik V 15.6 crore doses.

The Centre has for the first time said that it has been in talks with three global manufacturers — Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson — to supply to India. However, the government said on Thursday, the three pharma giants have communicated that they would be able to open discussions only in “Q3, 2021”.

Dr. V K Paul, head of India’s Covid-19 Task Force, said the government has “formally” approached Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J to provide doses to India, and offered to assist them in various ways. “From the beginning, the Department of Biotechnology and Ministry of External Affairs together have been in touch with Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. It is still ongoing,” Paul said.

“We had formally asked them (the pharma companies), and also held a discussion. We asked them: ‘Would you please want to send doses to India; please would you like to manufacture in India?’ We told them that we would find partners and would assist them. We also asked them if they want to do fill and finish,” he said. However, the three companies have indicated that they do not immediately have free capacity, and that they would “talk” only after a few months.

On Thursday, the Centre said 7.30 crore doses would be available in May for the vaccination drive. Out of these, 1.27 crore doses that are being directly procured by states are in the pipeline, and 80 lakh doses are being procured by private hospitals, the Centre said.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 37,02,252

New Cases in last 24 hours: 3,37,786

Recovered in last 24 hours: 3,37,752

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -3,853

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 3,887 (2,62,239)

Daily Tests: 18,64,594

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 19.4%

Most Affected States:

(S. No. / State / No. of Active Cases / New Cases in last 24 Hrs / Deaths in Last 24 Hrs)

S. No.   States              Active Cases    /           New Cases       /           New Deaths

1          Karnataka                     5,93,078           /           35,297  /           344

2          Maharashtra     5,33,294           /           42,582  /           850

3          Kerala              4,38,909           /           39,955  /           97

4          Rajasthan                     2,11,889           /           15,867  /           159

5          Uttar Pradesh   2,04,658           /           17,745  /           277

6          Andhra Pradesh            2,01,042           /           22,399  /           89

7          Tamil Nadu       1,83,772           /           30,621  /           297

8          West Bengal     1,30,213           /           20,839  /           129

9          Gujarat             1,22,847           /           10,742  /           109

10        Chhattisgarh     1,19,450           /           9,121    /           195

11        Madhya Pradesh           1,08,116           /           8,419    /           74

12        Haryana                       1,03,140           /           12,286  /           163

13        Bihar                96,277  /           7,752    /           90

14        Odisha             91,648  /           10,649  /           19

15        Punjab              79,950  /           8,410    /           186

16        Uttarakhand      78,304  /           7,127    /           122

17        Delhi                77,717  /           10,489  /           308

18        Telangana                    56,917  /           4,693    /           33

19        JnK                  52,848  /           4,356    /           55

20        Jharkhand        48,468  /           4991     /           108

21        Assam              42,144  /           5,468    /           75

22        Himachal Pradesh         40,008  /           4,937    /           63

23        Goa                  32,953  /           2,491    /           63

24        Puducherry       16,568  /           1,942    /           24

25        Chandigarh       8,441    /           760       /           10

26        Manipur                        5,569    /           560       /           10

27        Meghalaya        3,726    /           591       /           18

28        Tripura             3,719    /           480       /           2

29        Nagaland                      3,551    /           366       /           12

GOVT INCREASES INTERVAL BETWEEN COVIDSHIELD DOSES TO 12-16 WEEKS

India yesterday increased the interval between the two doses of the Covishield vaccine from 6-8 weeks to 12-16 weeks after an expert panel recommended changes based on the experience in the UK.

“The Health Ministry has accepted this recommendation of the Covid Working Group for extension of the gap between the first and second doses of Covishield vaccine to 12-16 weeks,” an official statement said.

The panel chaired by leading vaccinologist NK Arora relied on studies from the UK that established the efficacy of AstraZeneca vaccine reached 82.4 per cent after the second dose in people with a dosing interval of 12 weeks or more. If the two doses were given less than six weeks apart, the efficacy was only 54.9 pc. “It’s a science-based decision. We started with a dosing interval of 4-6 weeks for Covishield which was raised to 6-8 weeks. The UK and WHO recommended an interval of over 12 weeks between the two doses of Covishield. In the UK, millions have been inoculated with the second dose at 12-16 weeks apart from the first,” said VK Paul, chairman, National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration.

No changes were recommended for Covaxin dosing with two shots still to be taken 28 days apart.

The expert panel  has also suggested that Covid positive persons defer their vaccination for six months after recovery as against the current period of 14 days after recovery.

Another receommendation pertains to people who develop serious illness. Such people should take jabs four to eight weeks after recovery.

PM MISSING ALONG WITH VACCINES, OXYGEN, MEDICINES: RAHUL

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, alleging that he is missing along with vaccines, oxygen and medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic and what remains are the central vista project and the PM's photos.

The former Congress chief has been attacking the prime minister over the government's handling of the pandemic and has been critical of the Centre for the lack of oxygen, medicines and vaccines in the country amid a surge in the number of cases during the second wave of COVID-19.

"The prime minister is also missing, along with vaccines, oxygen and medicines. All that remain are the central vista project, GST on medicines and the prime minister's photos here and there," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

ISRAELI TROOPS MASS AT GAZA BORDER AMID ROCKET FIRE

Palestinian militants fired more rockets into Israel’s commercial heartland on Thursday as Israel kept up a punishing bombing campaign in Gaza and massed tanks and troops on the enclave’s border. The four days of cross-border violence showed no sign of abating and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the campaign “will take more time”.

Synagogues were attacked and fighting broke out on the streets, prompting Israel’s president to warn of the dangers of civil war.

Worried the hostilities could spiral out of control, the US is sending an envoy. Truce efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the UN have so far offered no sign of progress.

In Gaza, Israeli warplanes struck a six-storey residential building that it said belonged to Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Palestinian enclave. Netanyahu said Israel has struck close to a thousand militant targets. Gaza health ministry said 87 people, including 18 children and eight women, have been killed and 530 wounded.

Seven people have been killed in Israel, the Israeli military said.

Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida responded with defiance. “Mass up as you wish, from the sea, land and sky. We have prepared for you kinds of deaths that would make you curse yourselves,” he said. Gaza authorities said they were investigating several deaths of people who may have inhaled poisonous gas.

US CDC SAYS FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE CAN RESUME PRE-PANDEMIC LIFE

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer need their masks indoors and outdoors. In a guideline on its website, the CDC said that if people are fully vaccinated, they can resume their activities without any further restrictions prior to the pandemic.

People travelling in the United States will no longer need to get tested before or after arrival or self-quarantine after travel.

However, people will still need to show a negative test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before boarding an international flight to the United States, and get tested 3-5 days after international travel.

Furthermore, if anyone has been around someone who has COVID-19, they do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless they have symptoms.

However, the CDC asked the people to follow the guidance at the workplace and local businesses and watch out for COVID-19 symptoms.

The CDC also urged people to find a COVID-19 vaccine if they haven't been vaccinated yet.

"If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic. We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy," said Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House COVID-19 briefing. According to The Hill, this update comes as the agency has been criticised for being too slow to react to changing science, overly cautious and even contradictory in its recommendations to the public.

THE REST

=========

GOA NIGHTMARE AGAIN: 15 MORE DIE AS OXYGEN DIPS

A day after the High Court of Bombay in Goa directed the state government to ensure there were no more deaths due to oxygen issues, Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), the state’s largest Covid facility, reported 15 more deaths between 2 am and 6 am on Thursday as oxygen supply pressure dipped.

Relatives and resident doctors at GMCH made frantic calls through the night as the oxygen pressure started falling in the hospital’s Covid wards around 1 am.

The High Court had urged the government to ensure there were no more deaths due to oxygen on Wednesday, after Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said deaths of 26 Covid patients at GMCH in the early hours of Tuesday might have been due to oxygen issues. Told about the fresh deaths Thursday, the court said, “We are sorry.”

PROVIDE FOOD, RATION FOR STRANDED MIGRANTS, SC TELLS DELHI, UP AND HARYANA

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to open community kitchens in the NCR for stranded migrant workers amid the current wave of Covid-19 and facilitate transportation for labourers who want to return home.

Passing a slew of interim directions to ameliorate the miseries of migrant workers facing difficulties in the wake of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases and restrictions imposed in several parts of India, the apex court directed that dry ration be provided to them in the national capital region (NCR) under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Scheme’ or any other scheme by the Centre and governments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

DELHI’S SILVER LINING: ‘OXYGEN NEED DROPS, CAN DIVERT TO OTHERS’

After weeks of a bitter face-off with the Centre over the shortage of oxygen for Covid treatment during the second wave, and with at least 23 deaths reported from hospitals due to supplies running out, the Delhi government said the situation has improved to the extent that requirement has dipped from 700 metric tonnes per day to 582 metric tonnes.

In a webcast Thursday, Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that his government has now asked the Centre to divert extra supplies to other states in need.

Delhi’s positivity rate has been below 20 per cent over the past week and dropped to 14 per cent Thursday when 10,489 cases were recorded. This has also led to a reduction in demand for hospital beds: out of 23,423 earmarked for Covid patients, over 5,000 are available.

“In Delhi, around 15 days back, Covid cases were rising like a flood. Positivity rate had also increased to 35 per cent. Around 80,000-1,00,000 tests were being conducted every day, and thousands of patients were being admitted on a daily basis. Now, positivity rate has reduced to 14 per cent and daily cases have reduced to 10,400,” Sisodia said.

ASSAM NRC CHIEF MOVES SUPREME COURT FOR RELOOK AT 2019 ‘DRAFT’ LIST

The state coordinator of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, Hitesh Sarma, has filed an appeal in Supreme Court, urging the apex court to pass appropriate directions for a “complete, comprehensive and time-bound re-verification” of the NRC published in 2019.

The demand is in line with the BJP-led state government’s position.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who took charge on Monday, had earlier this week said, “Regarding the NRC, our position is very clear. In border districts, we want a re-examination of 20% names included, and in other districts, that of 10% names.”

NRC state coordinator Sarma has argued in his application that there were multiple anomalies in the publication, which has led to ineligible persons being included in the list.

GIVE ACCOUNT OF DEATHS IN VILLAGES, PATNA HIGH COURT ASKS GOVT

The Patna High Court on Wednesday asked the Bihar government to give an account of the Covid deaths in the villages during the second wave of the pandemic. It also asked the government to submit the status of about 40 lakh migrants who returned to the villages during the first wave.

The court also asked the state government to submit a detailed report on the bodies found floating in the Ganga in Buxar district earlier this week.

Hearing a PIL, a division bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S Kumar asked the state government to furnish a detailed report on measures being taken by the government to tackle the Covid crisis, especially in the rural areas. It asked for district-wise report on the deaths.

EXPLAIN HOW FILM STARS, POLITICIANS ARE PROCURING, DISTRIBUTING REMDESIVIR: HC TO GOVT

The Bombay High Court has asked the Union and Maharashtra governments to explain how some film stars and politicians were able to procure and distribute the anti-viral drug Remdesivir despite its shortages.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni said that as per previous orders of the Supreme Court and several high courts, Remdesivir was supposed to be allocated to  states only by the Union government.

Advocate Rajesh Inamdar, lawyer of one of the petitioners, said while hospitals were running out of key drugs like Remdesivir and Tocilizumab, some celebrities and politicians were easily procuring and distributing them in response to pleas on Twitter.

The Maharashtra government and Centre must file reply affidavits explaining how Remdesivir was being "parallely distributed by political and film personalities", the court said. The replies are to be filed by May 19.

REGULATOR CLEARS CLINICAL TRIALS OF COVAXIN ON CHILDREN AGED 2 TO 18 YEARS

National regulator Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has accepted the recommendation of the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) and accorded permission to conduct the phase-II/III clinical trials of Covaxin in the age group 2 to 18 years.

Covaxin manufacturer Bharat Biotech had proposed to carry out the trial, which will be conducted on  525 healthy volunteers.

In the trial, the vaccine will be given by intramuscular route in two doses at day 0 and day 28.

‘33 MN GODS…NOT ONE PRODUCING OXYGEN’: CHARLIE HEBDO CARTOON

Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly magazine, has released a cartoon strongly critiquing India’s acute oxygen crisis amid the devastating second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

Published on 28 April, the cartoon depicts Indians lying on the ground, gasping for oxygen. It also takes a dig at the multiple gods and goddesses in India, and how they have been unable to help the country’s plaguing oxygen crisis.

The accompanying catchphrase of the cartoon in French, reads: “33 million gods in India and not one capable of producing oxygen.”

Author Devdutt Pattanaik pointed out the irony of how Charlie Hebdo’s cartoon on Prophet Mohammad had found support among Hindu extremists, but they will be offended by this particular cartoon.

40 STOCKS TAKE UP THREE-FOURTHS OF INSTITUTIONAL EQUITY OWNERSHIP IN INDIA

The equity ownership pattern of institutional investors for the quarter ended March 31 shows acute concentration of investments, with three fourths of their portfolios in just 40 stocks, a report by Kotak Institutional Equities observes.

Forty stocks account for 75 per cent of FPIs’ equity portfolio in India, with HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and HDFC being the top picks.

Similarly, 40 stocks account for 74 per cent of the portfolio for banks, financial institutions and insurers, with RIL, ITC and TCS being the favourites.

LIC's portfolio was the most concentrated among institutional investors, with 40 stocks accounting for 81 per cent of the portfolio. RIL, TCS and ITC were the insurer's top picks.

The portfolio of mutual funds was the least concentrated, with 40 stocks making up 67 per cent of the equity portfolio. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Infosys were the top picks.

BITCOIN CRASHES ON MUSK U-TURN CITING ENERGY USE

Tesla CEO Elon Musk doubled down on his attack on Bitcoin’s energy demands, calling recent consumption trends “insane”.

Musk posted a chart on Twitter from the University of Cambridge showing Bitcoin’s electricity consumption has skyrocketed this year. It’s the second day he’s criticised crypto mining for using fossil fuels and comes after an announcement that Tesla would suspend car purchases using Bitcoin.

The turnaround by one of crypto’s loudest believers took investors by surprise and sent prices tumbling across the board. Bitcoin plunged over 10% in early trading to below $50,000.

INDICATORS

(Indian Stock Markets were closed yesterday on account of Id-Ul-Fitr)

Nasdaq 13,125 (+93) Dow 34,021 (+434), S&P 4,112 (+49)

US$-Rs. 73.53 GBP-Rs. 103.28, Euro-Rs. 88.81, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.01, Can$-Rs. 60.55, Aus$- Rs. 56.77

GBP 0.71 /US$, Euro 0.82 /US$, Jap.Yen 109.56 /US$, Aus$ 1.29 /US$, Sing 1.33 /US$, Bang Taka 83.41 /US$, Can$ 1.21 /US$, Mal Ring 4.12 /US$,

Pak Re 151.78 /US$, Phil Peso 47.82 /US$, Russian Rouble 74.23 /US$, NZ$ 1.39 /US$, Thai Baht 31.29 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 27.43 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 50,181

Dollar Index 90.72 Brent Crude 66.77  BDI 3,139

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,823 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,572 / 4,472, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 71,130

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice. - Albert Einstein

OFF TRACK

A university creative writing class was asked to write a concise essay containing these four elements: 1) religion, 2) royalty, 3) lust 4) mystery

The prize-winning essay read:

'My God,' said the Queen. 'I'm pregnant. I wonder who did it?'