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The number of people who have died of the disease now stands at 82,066 with a case fatality rate of 1.63 per cent.

More than 39 lakh people stand cured with a recovery rate of 78.52 per cent. Almost 83,000 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours, bringing the total recoveries closer to the number of new cases. Only 20 per cent, or 9,95,933 cases, are active.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected State by the pandemic with a tally of 10.7 lakh cases as it continued to report more than 17,000 cases a day.

Close to half (48.8 per cent) of the active cases are concentrated in three states — Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Kerala and Telangana contribute close to a quarter (24.4 per cent) of the active cases, the ministry said.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

Karnataka reported more than 8,200 new cases, most of them from its capital. Bengaluru now has more Covid cases than Mumbai, surpassed only by Delhi and Pune.

Delhi’s COVID-19 tally crossed to over 2.25 lakh after 4,263 fresh cases were reported on September 15. Thirty-six fatalities pushed the death count to 4,806, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.

According to a study (Johns Hopkins University data), India is the second worst-hit nation in terms of COVID-19 cases after the United States. It is in the third spot in fatalities after the US and Brazil.

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While the Government and Industry were trying their best to make available a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19 at the earliest, it was difficult to comment on the exact timelines in view of various complex pathways involved in vaccine development, according to Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare) Ashwini Kumar Choubey.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on September 15, Mr. Choubey said, that the Government has constituted a high-level National Expert Group on vaccine administration for COVID-19 which is chaired by Member, Niti Aayog and co-chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. Other representatives are: Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Secretary, Department of Health Research, Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Head ECD, Indian Council of Medical Research, Director Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Member NTAGI) and Representatives from States & D/o Expenditure. The committee is addressing issues related to vaccine delivery, selection of suitable vaccines, procurement, prioritization of groups, logistics: Cold chain requirements, finance and National/International equity.

Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has granted test license permission for manufacture of COVID-19 Vaccine for pre-clinical test, examination and analysis to the following manufacturers in India.

M/s Serum Institute of India Pvt., Ltd., Pune, M/s Cadila Healthcare Ltd., Ahmadabad, M/s Bharat Biotech International Ltd., Hyderabad, Biological E Ltd., Hyderabad, M/s Reliance Life Sciences Pvt Ltd., Mumbai, M/s Aurbindo Pharma Limited, Hyderabad and M/s Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Limited, Pune are the companies involved.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), an autonomous organisation under the Department of Health Research, has informed that the following companies are conducting clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines in India:

(i) An inactivated whole virion candidate vaccine (BBV152) for SARS-CoV-2 has been developed by Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL) using the virus isolate (NIV-2020-770) provided by ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune. Characterization of the vaccine candidate has been undertaken at ICMR-NIV followed by safety and tolerability studies in small animals like rats, mice and rabbits. Status of clinical trials is as follows:

Phase I clinical trials along with parallel studies in large animals have been completed. The trial has revealed excellent safety of the candidate vaccine. Immunogenicity testing is in progress.

Phase II clinical trials were ongoing.

(ii) A DNA vaccine (ZyCov-D) has been developed by Cadila Healthcare Ltd. Pre- clincial toxicity studies were conducted in small animals: mice, rats, rabbits and guinea pigs. The vaccine has been found to be safe and immunogenic. Cadila has partnered with ICMR for conduct of parallel pre-clinical studies in large animals. Status of clinical trials is as follows:

Phase I clinical trials have been completed. The trial has revealed excellent safety of the candidate vaccine. Immunogenicity testing is in progress.

Phase II clinical trials were ongoing.

(iii) Serum Institute of India (SII) and ICMR have partnered for clinical development of two global vaccine candidates:

ChAdOx1-S, which is a non- replicating viral vector vaccine developed by University of Oxford/AstraZeneca. This vaccine is undergoing phase III clinical trials in Brazil. Phase II/III bridging studies have been initiated by ICMR at 14 clinical trial sites. ICMR-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT), Chennai is the lead institution.

ICMR and SII have also partnered for clinical development of a glycoprotein subunit nanoparticle adjuvanted vaccine developed by Novavax from USA. The trial will be initiated in second half of October after the vaccine is manufactured by SII. The trial is led by ICMR-National AIDS Research Institute (NARI), Pune.

As per details provided by Department of Biotechnology (DBT)/Department of Science and Technology(DST), more than 30 vaccine candidates have been supported which are in different stages of development.

The ICMR has allocated Rs.25.00 crore for various studies and other research activities pertaining to vaccine development.

The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body under the Department of Science and Technology, has supported three projects under COVID-19 on vaccine research under Intensified Research in High Priority Areas (IRHPA) The sanctioned expenditure is Rs.22,27,579/- and the committed expenditure is Rs.3,20,78,161/-.

The Department of Biotechnology is also supporting eight proposals by Industry and academia for candidate vaccine development and associated research resources at a total cost of Rs. 75 crore, the statement said.

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In her address, the minister said the foster care policy will not only cover orphans, but it will also look after other children who are in want of care and protection.

Every child deserves to be with a family as it is the most significant influence in a child’s life. In the best interest of the children, foster care programme will provide a home to the child for a short or extended period.

As part of the policy, foster families will be selected on the basis of their ability, intent, capacity and prior experience in taking care of children. The shortlisted foster families will be properly trained to meet the needs and rights of the child.

The foster family will not be permanent and will not have legal rights over the child. Family foster care is mandated under the Juvenile Justice Act and the policy will be executed on a pilot basis in Mumbai suburbs, Solapur, Pune, Palghar and Amravati

A district-level committee headed by collector will arrange the list of foster parents and will have the final authority in matters related to the programme. They will seek report on whether the shortlisted families are fit to provide care to the child.

The minister further said that the department has also decided to decentralise the Mumbai-based state women’s commission.

The commission will now have offices at district and divisional levels also. These offices will be inaugurated on August 15.

The department will also restart growth monitoring of malnourished children and vulnerable pregnant women and lactating mothers in the wake of Pandemic.

Meanwhile, the state has also developed AAKAR (Shape) curriculum earlier which is administered in the anganwadis already. The formal curriculum is created to ensure early childhood care and education.

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