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India has become the world’s second country after the United States to exceed ten million people infected with coronavirus. This is according to data released today by the Indian Ministry of Health. However, India has a population of more than 1.35 billion, while the U.S. has 328 million, and the ten million infected figure was reached earlier in November.
In India, the rise in both the number of infected and fatalities appears to be slowing. Since yesterday, 27,022 new infections were reportedly registered – bringing the total to 10,004,893. The number of deaths rose by 338 to 144,789 within 24 hours.
Preparation for vaccination underway
Since Dec. 14, new infections have consistently fallen below the threshold of 30,000 per day, with fewer than 400 victims reported daily since Dec. 12. However, senior officials cautioned that sustained improvement cannot be taken for granted, as an overwhelming proportion of the roughly 1.3 billion population is still vulnerable to the virus. “Things can change and escalate quickly,” said India’s Covid 19 task force chief Vinod Kumar Paul, citing the current situation in some European countries as an example.
Currently, the Indian government is making preparations to vaccinate about 300 million people, which is scheduled to begin in January.
Three vaccine candidates have applied to the Drug Regulatory Authority of India for emergency approval. A decision on one or more
several candidates is expected in the coming weeks, according to government officials.
- hp, source: ORF.at/agencies/picture: pixabay.com
