India on Saturday recorded 53,370 new Covid-19 cases, taking its total caseload to 78,14,682, while 650 fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,17,956, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.

Active coronavirus cases in the country stand at 6,80,680 while 70,16,046 people have recovered from the disease so far, the data stated. The national recovery rate has improved to 89.78 per cent, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, on the vaccine development front, Bharat Biotech which has received approval for late-stage human trials for its Covid vaccine candidate, expects to have it ready by June 2021 — unless the government advances its launch through emergency use authorisation, according to a top company official.

The Hyderabad-based firm plans to test over 20,000 volunteers across 12-14 states for Covaxin, its indigenous candidate, Sai Prasad, executive director, Bharat Biotech International Ltd, told The Indian Express.

“If we get all the approvals in place, I think during Q2 of 2021, we should get the efficacy readout from our phase-3 clinical trial — April, May, June, for example. That is for the full efficacy results,” Prasad said.

Source: The Indian Express 

BDST: 1330 HRS, OCT 24, 2020
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