UN chief says he is willing to take vaccine publicly, calls it a ‘moral obligation’

1.25 pm: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that he intends to take the coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available and he will do so publicly. Guterres says it is a “moral obligation” and will help keep our communities safe.

“I encourage everybody that has access to the vaccine to be vaccinated, because it is a service, not only that we provide to ourselves,” the 71-year-old UN chief says. “Each one of us being vaccinated provides a service to the whole community because we are no longer spreading… there is no risk of spreading the disease. So, vaccination is for me a moral obligation in relation to all of us.”

1.18 pm: The coronavirus tally in Andaman and Nicobar Islands has risen to 4,783 with five new cases, reports PTI. The death toll remains at 61 as no new fatalities were recorded.

1.15 pm: Japan will buy 10,500 deep freezers to store coronavirus vaccines and is also considering purchasing dry ice in bulk, Reuters reports. Pfizer’s vaccines need to be kept at around minus 75 Celsius, and Moderna’s at about minus 20 Celsius, making it a challenge for countries.

9.47 am: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the country will start its vaccination programme against the coronavirus on December 27, making it one of the first countries in the world to innoculate its citizens, reports AP.

9.45 am: India’s drug regulators has sought data from the United Kingdom on the coronavirus vaccine developed by University of Oxford and AstraZeneca for its own assessment, reports the Hindustan Times.

9.42 am: The coronavirus tally in Thane goes up to 2,34,347 after the district registers 562 new cases, reports PTI. The overtally includes 6,670 active cases, 2,21,899 recoveries, 5,778 deaths.

9.40 am: The expert committee scrutinising applications by three firms for emergency use authorisation of their Covid-19 vaccines in India on Wednesday asked the Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech for additional late-stage safety and efficacy data from their ongoing clinical trials, reports The Indian Express. Pfizer, the third applicant, has sought more time to present its data.

9.26 am: Britain’s medicine regulator asks people with a history of anaphylaxis to a medicine or food not to get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, reports Reuters. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency adds there had been two reports of anaphylaxis and one report of a possible allergic reaction since the rollout began.

9.20 am: India registers 31,521 new coronavirus cases, taking its tally to 97,67,371, according to the Union Health Ministry. The toll rises by 412 deaths to 1,41,772. There are 3,72,293 active cases and 92,53,306 recoveries.

9.00 am: Here are the top updates from Wednesday

• The Union Health Ministry dismissed reports claiming that the government has rejected drug manufacturers Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech’s proposals for emergency use of a coronavirus vaccine in the country.
• The coronavirus vaccine developed by the Oxford University and United Kingdom-based drugmaker AstraZeneca has 90% efficacy in a small group who got a half-dose first, but only 62% among them were given two full doses.
• The Supreme Court said that there was no need to put up posters outside the homes of coronavirus patients, unless there were specific directions from the competent authority.
• Sixty-four envoys and high commissioners of various countries took a tour of the Bharat Biotech facility in Hyderabad, where a vaccine against the coronavirus is being developed.
• The Supreme Court directs the Centre and states to submit detailed responses in three days on adherence to safety rules like wearing face masks and observing physical distancing norms in hospitals as well as fire safety guidelines   (Agencies)