Covid-19 infections in the 'fully' vaccinated are rare but are more common and severe in people with weaker immune systems, according to a real-world retrospective study led by the US drug maker Pfizer involving nearly 1.2 million people.

Bharat Biotech on Monday announced that it has commenced export of Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin.

Long Pending export orders have been executed during November, to be further expanded during the following months, the Hyderabad-based company said in a statement.

The European Union will not renew its mandatory approval system for Covid-19 vaccine exports when it expires at the end of the year, the European Commission has said.

The currently available vaccines against Covid-19 appear to be effective against the newly detected omicron Covid variant, South Africa's health minister has said.

India recorded 8,318 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the country's total caseload since the pandemic began to 3,45,63,749, according to health ministry data updated on Saturday morning.

Fifteen more countries have recognised India's Covid-19 vaccination certificate, taking the total number of such nations that have approved India's vaccine certificate to 21, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Two-dose of Covaxin, developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, provided only 50 per cent protection against the Covid-19 infection during the second wave of the pandemic in India, according to the first real-world assessment published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal on Wednesday.

Indonesia on Sunday confirmed 314 new Covid-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 4,253,412, according to the country's Health Ministry. The death toll from the virus in the country rose by 11 to 143,739, while 331 more people recovered during the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 4,101,547.Indonesia started

The national capital Delhi on Saturday reported 32 fresh cases of Covid-19, pushing the tally to 14,40,637, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department. However, no Covid death has been reported in the last five days in Delhi. The city's death toll stands at 25,095. The death rate stands at 1.74 per cent in the city. The Covid infection rate in the national capital stands at 0.06 per cent. The active case in the city stands at 325 as per the latest health bulletin. With 32 patients recovering in the last 24 hours, the total number of recoveries rose to 14,15,217 so far, the health bulletin said.

Tennis player Nick Kyrgios has waded into the sensitive issue of vaccination of players ahead of the Australian Open next year, saying that the opening major of the next season should not go ahead as it is "morally wrong to force someone to be vaccinated".

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced quarantine-free travel for all fully vaccinated inbound passengers after most of the country's population have been inoculated against Covid-19.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on Saturday launched the Aotearoa (New Zealand) Plan of Action towards achieving the Putrajaya Vision 2040 for future cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Armenia has announced its declaration to extend the nationwide Covid-19 quarantine to June 20, 2022 due to the current pandemic situation.

Fiji has relaxed its border restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers from travel partner countries which include New Zealand, Australia, the UK and the US.

Covaxin, India's first indigenous vaccine for Covid-19, has been found to be 77.8 per cent effective, according to the safety and efficacy analysis data from Phase III clinical trials peer reviewed and published in reputed medical journal The Lancet.

More than 12 crore people are due for their second Covid-19 vaccine shot in India, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Thursday.

Of the total eligible adult population, only 79 per cent has got the first dose, while 38 per cent has received the second dose, he added.

France has become the fifth European nation to recommend people aged under 30 against using the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine due to concerns over the risk of myocarditis -- a rare heart inflammation.

A single shot of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals's antibody cocktail reduced the risk of Covid-19 by 81.6 per cent for two to eight months, according to results of the phase-3 trials presented by the company.

Indonesia will start administering Covid-19 booster shots after 50 per cent of the country's population are fully vaccinated against the virus, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said.

The Union Health Ministry on Monday said that more than 15.6 crore of balanced and unutilised doses of Covid-19 vaccines are available with the states and the Union Territories (UT).

A total of 11,04,55,016 people above the age of 60 years have been administered with the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine in the country so far, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday. However, only 6,78,27,591 people in this age group have been administered with both the doses.

The Japanese government said that it would shorten the Covid-19 quarantine period for vaccinated business travellers from overseas upon their arrival to three days starting from November 8 onwards.

Children under the age of 12 now account for over 20 per cent of Canada's daily new cases coronavirus cases, health authorities have confirmed.

Just five African countries, less than 10 per cent of the continent's 54 nations, are projected to hit the year-end target of fully vaccinating 40 per cent of their population, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

Advisors to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are set for a key meeting on Tuesday on whether to recommend the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children aged between 5 to 11, as experts have predicted that younger kids will be eligible for the jab by early November.

Hyderabad-based vaccine maker, Biological E expects the rollout of its Covid-19 vaccine 'Corbevax' by the end of November and is looking to supply nearly 10 crore doses on the day of its launch.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended Moderna and Johnson & Johnson's Covid booster doses and has given the freedom for people to mix and match the third shot.

Pfizer and BioNTech has announced that a large-scale trial of their Covid-19 vaccine booster showed it restored full protection against the disease.

After endorsing both Moderna and Johnson & Johnson's Covid booster doses last week, the US Food and Drug Administration is now planning to grant a go ahead for 'mix-and-match' approach for the third jab.

India reported 13,058 new Covid cases on Tuesday, the lowest in 231 days, and 164 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to Union Health Ministry data.

With the new fatalities, the overall death toll has increased to 4,52,454.

Thailand has announced a further easing of Covid-19 restrictions nationwide starting from Saturday onwards, as the country's immunisation rates have witnessed a gradual spike.

Medical syringe major Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices Ltd (HMD) is in the process of expanding its cannulas (needle points) and needle capillary tubing production capacity, said a top company official.

Japanese pharmaceutical group Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma is planning to launch the first-ever plant-based Covid-19 vaccine in the world, which will likely to be of low-cost, easier to transport as well as store than the conventional jabs, the media reported.

Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) have recommended that Covid-19 booster shots should be offered to moderately and severely immunocompromised people.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday asked the states to focus on working towards achieving the nation's 100-crore Covid-19 vaccine doses goal. India has so far administered 94 crore vaccine doses.