Nearly 67,000 fresh cases, tally now rises to 2,396,637

The Covid-19 tally in India rose to 2,396,637 on Thursday after nearly 67,000 fresh cases were registered with a span of 24 hours. The death toll also increased from 46,091 to 47,033 during the same period, according to latest data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

At its first meeting on Wednesday, the National Expert Group on vaccine administration for Covid-19 held detailed deliberations on modifying existing technology platforms to track potential vaccines from procurement to last-mile delivery. Sources told The Indian Express that talks were held on building a digital infrastructure so that a potential vaccine, from the several being developed, can be administered to a large population. Specifically, sources said, there was a discussion on upgrading the existing eVIN (Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network) — an indigenously developed technology that tracks vaccine stocks digitally.

Globally, over 20 million (20,532,835) people have been infected with the novel coronavirus, including 747,845 deaths. The United States continues to remain the worst affected followed by Brazil and India. Amid race for an effective vaccine worldwide, Russia has approved a coronavirus vaccine for public use without the final phase of human trials.