Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine effective, safe: FDA Drug maker Johnson & Johnson's single-shot COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective as per the data submitted from its ongoing multi-national Phase 3 randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled trials. This is what a  briefing document published by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said. Johnson & Johnson had sought emergency use authorisation for its vaccine on February 4. FDA's advisory co...

Patanjali's Coronil not to be sold in Maharashtra without 'proper certifications' The sale of Patanjali's Coronil tablets will not be permitted without \"proper certifications\" in Maharashtra, said the state's Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Tuesday. Deshmukh's statements come a day after the Indian Medical Association (IMA) expressed shock over Patanjali's claims of getting WHO certification for Coronil tablets, which it says is an evidence-based medicine to fight COVID-19. Uttarakhand f...

Barack Obama shared this story on the latest episode of the Spotify podcast series 'Renegades: Born in the USA' with Bruce Springsteen

Zomato raises $250 million from 5 different investors Food delivery platform Zomato has raised $250 million from five different investors as part of a primary fundraising round. The transactions valued Zomato at a post-money valuation of $5.4 billion, Info Edge, which holds a stake in the company, said in a regulatory filing. Info Edge's stake in the company stands at 18.4 per cent after the fundraising  round. Growth momentum needs to strengthen further for sustained economic reviva...

COVID-19 in Mumbai: State govt fights to curb coronavirus crisis; BMC issues fresh guidelines In the light of a rise in COVID- 19 cases, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has decided to register offences against people who violate safety guidelines, an official said on Thursday. The civic body has intensified action against people found without masks in public, and will take action against function halls, gymnasiums and other establishments that don't follow safety norms, the official ...

Bharat Biotech is in the process of filing regulatory documents for approval of its vaccine, Covaxin, in more than 40 countries

South African variant could significantly reduce vaccine protection, says Pfizer A laboratory study suggests that the South African variant of the coronavirus may reduce antibody protection from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by two-thirds, and it is not clear if the shot will be effective against the mutation, the companies said on Wednesday. Companies are making investments and talking to regulators about developing an updated version of their mRNA vaccine or a booster shot, if needed. COV...

Microsoft co-founder Bill gates during the podcast also said that underestimating Musk is not a good idea and said that firms like Tesla have made great strides on the \"easy stuff,\" like passenger cars.

India to emerge out of COVID-induced recession in Dec quarter: ICRA Bolstered by revival in private consumption and government spending, India is set to exit the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the third quarter of this fiscal, projected rating agency ICRA. The agency estimated Indian economy to record a rise of 0.7 per cent in Q3 FY21, after two very unfavourable quarters. Mumbai to face another lockdown if people violate COVID-19 rules: BMC mayorBrihanmumbai Municipal C...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has invited the Russian President for a discussion on the audio-only app, Clubhouse. Putin's spokesperson noted that the proposal is interesting but the Kremlin needs to first understand what is meant and what is proposed.

Legitimate questions about the virus created perfect conditions for conspiracy theories. In the absence of knowledge, guesswork and propaganda flourished

Airlines allowed to operate 80% of pre-COVID-19 domestic flights till March 31 The cap on the number of domestic flights that Indian airlines are permitted to operate will remain at 80 per cent of their pre-COVID levels till March 31 or till the summer schedule begins, said the Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday. The ministry had set the 80 per cent limit on December 3, 2020, without specifying till what date it would remain in place. Indian pharma grows for 5th straight month; sales ris...

Professor Sharon Peacock, head of UK's genetic surveillance progragramme, said that once the virus mutates itself out of being virulent then one can stop worrying about it

Online grocery delivery company BigBasket has reported a 36 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in its revenue at Rs 3,818 for the financial year ended March 31, 2020; HCL Technologies said it plans to hire 1,000 employees in the next few months for its campus at MIHAN (Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport) in Nagpur; \"We encourage that any differences between the parties be resolved through dialogue,\" a U.S. embassy spokesperson said in a statement, which proffered general support to government measures to 'improve the efficiency of India's markets and attract greater private sector investment.' Watch this and more on News Blast.Also Read: Global shares reach record highs as COVID-19 vaccines bolster normalisation hopes

COVID-19 vaccination: Healthcare workers to receive second dose from Feb 13The second dose of anti-coronavirus vaccine will be administered to healthcare workers from February 13, the Centre said on Thursday, highlighting that 45 per cent of them have been inoculated so far. Addressing a press briefing, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said 45,93,427 beneficiaries have been vaccinated against COVID-19 till 1.30 PM on Thursday.Over 21% Indians already exposed to COVID-19, shows sero-sur...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced today that he will step down as the Chief Executive Officer of the company.

Jassy, 53, joined Amazon in 1997 after completing his MBA from Harvard Business School. He initially worked as technical assistant to Bezos and founded Amazon Web Services in 2006

Budget 2021: India Inc welcomes tax relief, infra spend fillip Finance Minister's third Budget speech managed to enthuse Indian corporate sector. Industry leaders praised the steps to provide tax relief to senior citizens, encourage expenditure for infrastructure development and emphasis on healthcare in Union Budget 2021-22. Uday Kotak, the Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, hailed the focus on healthcare, infrastructure and financial sectors. Stainless...

The Apple Watch Series 7 is expected to see a couple of major improvements. The launch date is far away, but leaks have started pouring in, so we rounded up everything we know so far.

Johnson & Johnson likely to report COVID-19 vaccine data next week; Speaking at virtual Davos Agenda Summit, French President Emmanuel Macron emphasised on the need for an economy that fights inequality as the means to move out of the COVID-19; Icra warns against fiscal tightening, pegs fiscal deficit at 5 per cent. Watch this and more news on News Blast. Listen: Johnson & Johnson likely to report COVID vaccine data next week