India has reported 83,876 new COVID19 cases in the last 24 hours on February 7 and the active cases now stand at 1,108,938 whereas the daily positivity rate is 7.25 per cent. The death toll in the last 24 hours is 895 deaths, thus taking the total death toll to 502,874.
Taking into consideration the reduction in the number of COVID19 cases, Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh announced that full attendance for government employees would resume from Monday (January 7) onwards. Additionally, he said that officers would have to strictly follow COVID protocols in their workplaces.
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India approves one-shot Sputnik Light COVID vaccine
The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has granted emergency use approval to the Russian-made one shot COVID19 vaccine named Sputnik Light.
According to a statement released by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF),clinical studies and the real-world data in many countries have demonstrated that Sputnik Light is a safe and effective vaccine when used both on a standalone basis and as a booster,
“A preliminary study of the Gamaleya Center has found that Sputnik Light as a booster significantly increases virus-neutralizing activity against Omicron, which is comparable to titers observed after Sputnik V against wild-type virus, associated with high levels of protection,” RDIF stated in a statement issued on January 6.
The statement further informed that Sputnik V has been authorised in 71 countries with a total population of over four billion people.
“Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, a major partner of RDIF in India, has conducted local clinical trials of Sputnik Light in India. Positive data from these trials have been presented to India’s regulator and contributed to the positive decision by DCGI,” RDIF added.
