WHO identifies counterfeit versions of Covishield in India
Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Aug, 2021 08:25 PM
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it has identified counterfeit versions of India's primary Covid vaccine, Covishield, BBC reported.
The doses were seized by authorities in India and Africa between July and August, a WHO statement said.
It also said the vaccine's maker, the Serum Institute of India, confirmed that the doses were fake.
The WHO warned that fake vaccines "pose a serious risk to global public health".
It called for their removal from circulation.
Covishield is the Indian-made version of AstraZeneca's jab and is the most widely used vaccine in India with more than 486 million doses administered so far.
Serum had supplied millions of Covishield vaccines to countries in Asia, Africa and South America - as part of deals that were inked with various governments and the global Covax scheme for poorer countries.
India, which is the second worst-affected country in the world, aims to vaccinate all its people by the end of this year.
About 13 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated since the beginning of the drive in January.
Water-logging was reported from chronic spots of Dadar, Parel, Wadala, Sion, besides low-lying areas in Malad, Santacruz, Dahisar. While the suburban services on the Central Railway were hit badly with delays of over 30-minutes due to speed restrictions, Western Railway traffic has not been affected.
Thousands of Congress workers greeted Priyanka at the Chaudhary Charan Singh airport and a long winding convoy of vehicles accompanied her as she headed for the Congress headquarters, covering a distance of about 13 kilometres.
Two men aged 32 and 40 drowned in the swimming pool of a hotel located on the Pataudi-Helimandi Road in Gurugram's Pataudi area on Friday. The police have identified the deceased persons as Rajesh and Sher Singh, both residents of Jatauli village in Pataudi.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over its criticism of his government's decision on debt waiver for farm labourers and landless farmers, saying it exposed the Arvind Kejriwal party's "anti-farmer stance".
With the detailed project report completed and land acquisition started, the work on building India's longest (11.80 km) road tunnel linking Thane-Borivali - passing beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) - will start from March 2022, Maharashtra PWD Minister Eknath Gaikwad said on Thursday.
The Punjab BJP feels that anger among the farmers in the state against the three new farm laws and its leadership is at the behest of the ruling Congress party. Recently over a dozen BJP leaders were taken hostage in Rajpura in Patiala by protesting farmers.
