AstraZeneca's vaccine has an average efficacy of 70.4 per cent, according to data published in a journal. Russia, meanwhile, has said that Sputnik V is 92 per cent effective

Head of the consumer health watchdog, Anna Popova, told the Komsomolskaya Pravda radio station on Tuesday that people should stop drinking alcohol at least two weeks before getting the first of the two injections

India Stock Market Highlights Today: UltraTech Cement followed by Tata Steel, ONGC, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, M&M, Infosys and Reliance Industries were among the top losers in the Sensex pack. On the other hand, Maruti, Nestle India, Titan and PowerGrid were among the gainers

The government has recently raised hopes of billions of Indians as it came closer  to announcing that the vaccine  is on its way. Three COVID-19 vaccines candidates, developed by Bharat Biotech, Serum Institute of India and Pfizer, are under active consideration of India's drug regulator and there is hope that early licensure is possible for all or any of them, said the Union health ministry. The expert panel will meet today to review the application of drug makers. Watch the video for more details.  

Several experts have raised questions about Bharat Biotech applying for emergency usage as Covaxin is still going through an efficacy trial. However, the ICMR has backed Bharat Biotech's move

Union Health Ministry informed that the current cold chain system in India consists of 85,634 equipments for storage of vaccine at about 28,947 cold chain points across the country

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani said at the Indian Mobile Congress today, that the Indian economy will bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic induced blow and prove cynics, who doubt the country's growth story, wrong by becoming a $5 trillion economy. Ambani said that the economy will not only rebound but will also grow \"with unprecedented acceleration.\" Watch the video for more details.

Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old grandmother from Britain, has become the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine outside of a trial following its rapid clinical approval. An early riser, Keenan received the jab at her local hospital in Coventry, Central England, on Tuesday morning at 0631 GMT, a week before she turns 91. \"I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19,\" said Keenan. Watch the video for more details.

Coffee Day Enterprises appoints VG Siddhartha's wife Malavika Hegde as CEO; Central team to visit Andra Pradesh to investigate mysterious illness; Bharat Biotech files for emergency use of Covaxin. Watch this and more news on News Blast.

Saira Banu, Dilip Kumar's wife said that the veteran actor is 'not too well' and asked fans to pray for his health

As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Serum Institute has manufactured four crore doses of the vaccine under the at-risk manufacturing and stockpiling licence obtained from the DCGI

Frontline healthcare staff, people over the age of 80 and care home workers will be among the first to get the vaccine as part of Phase 1 of the programme from Tuesday, which was approved for rollout by the UK's independent regulator

Total number of people who have recuperated from disease has crossed 91 lakh, pushing national recovery rate to 94.37 per cent, according to Union Health Ministry data

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that PM Modi wil lay foundation stone of the new Parliament building and the construction is expected to be completed by 2022 at an estimated cost of Rs 971 crore

Labour Party MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, while raising the issue of farmers' protesting against the three new agricultural laws in the country, said, \"This is an issue of particular concern to Sikhs in the UK and those linked to Punjab, although it also heavily impacts on other Indian states\"

Study says anti-bodies declined slightly over time but remained elevated in all participants even 3 months after vaccination. NIAID director Anthony Fauci and other infectious diseases experts say it is possible that our bodies would remember virus and produce more anti-bodies if exposed to the virus again

The UK has already ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to vaccinate its 20 million population, of which around 10 million doses will be available soon

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to these facilities and discussions with the scientists are to help him get a first-hand perspective of the preparations, challenges and roadmap in India's vaccination plans

India Stock Market Highlights Today: ICICI Bank, Airtel, Infosys, M&M were among the top losers today. On the other hand, Kotak Bank, NTPC, Maruti were among the top gainers

Bharat Biotech has started the phase- 3 trial of its potential COVID-19 vaccine, involving 26,000 volunteers this month across 25 centres in the country, including Hyderabad, Goa, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, and Aligarh