The World Health Organisation is in talks with India about joining the “COVAX” global vaccine allocation plan, a senior WHO adviser said yesterday.
“India is certainly eligible, like all countries in the world, to be part of the COVAX facility and discussions are ongoing in that regard,” Bruce Aylward told a briefing in Geneva. “We would welcome Indian participation...India has extensive experience (with vaccines).”
The WHO and the GAVI vaccine alliance are leading the COVAX facility, aimed at helping buy and distribute vaccination shots against the novel coronavirus fairly around the world.
But some countries that have secured their own supplies through bilateral deals, including the US, have said they will not join COVAX.
Meanwhile, India yesterday overtook Brazil as the country with the second highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, even as key metro train lines re-opened as part of efforts to boost the nation’s battered economy.
The country has emerged in recent weeks as the new global pandemic hotspot, although cases continue to soar across the globe with reported infections worldwide nearing 27mn and deaths surpassing 880,000.
France, Israel and Australia were among the nations forced in recent days to extend travel restrictions or impose new ones to try and contain fresh surges.
India, home to some of the world’s most densely populated cities, has been reporting the highest single-day rises in the world and yesterday it confirmed a new record of nearly 91,000 new cases.
Infections have now risen above 4.2mn, surpassing Brazil’s total and making India’s tally the second-highest behind the US’ 6.25mn.
However, with the economy imploding following months of travel restrictions, authorities pressed on with risky reignition plans.
The metro in the capital New Delhi reopened yesterday after a five-month shutdown and 12 other cities restarted subway services.
“For our lives to move on, we have to get out of our homes... so this is a good move by the government,” passenger Deepak Kumar, who took the Delhi subway to work, said.
Authorities imposed strict rules on the trains, with masks, social distancing and temperature checks mandatory.
During peak hour in New Delhi yesterday morning, carriages were sparsely filled as people followed guidelines dictating that only alternate seats could be occupied.
For total deaths worldwide, the US has the most with more than 188,000, followed by Brazil with 126,000.
India is next with about 71,000 fatalities.
Britain, one of the worst-hit countries at the start of the pandemic, is also battling another spike.
The number of daily cases hit nearly 3,000 on Sunday, a level not seen since late May, according to health ministry figures.
from Gulf Times https://ift.tt/3i8aXwv
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