As America dispatches Covid vaccines and medical supplies as aid to countries such as India, an influential Republican senator said the coronavirus came from China, while the best vaccines come from the United States.

President Joe Biden had announced that the US will allocate 75 per cent, nearly 1.9 crore of the first tranche of 2.5 crore doses, of unused COVID-19 vaccines from its stockpile through the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing programme to several countries.

Pfizer on Tuesday (June 9) said it will begin testing its COVID-19 vaccine in a larger group of children under age 12 after selecting a lower dose of the shot in an earlier stage of the trial.

The study will enroll up to 4,500 children at more than 90 clinical sites in the United States, Finland, Poland and Spain, the company said.

Shares of Laurus Labs continued their upward journey in Tuesday's session to hit a new high of Rs 599, up 5 per cent on the BSE, in an otherwise subdued market. The stock was quoting higher for the eighth straight trading day. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.17 per cent at 52,237 points at 10:10 am.

Laurus Labs is a leading research-driven pharmaceutical manufacturing company in India. The company has grown to become one of the leading manufacturers of API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) for anti-retroviral (ARV), oncology, cardiovascular, antidiabetics, anti-asthma, and gastroenterology.

A top World Health Organisation official estimated Monday that COVID-19 vaccination coverage of at least 80% is needed to significantly lower the risk that imported coronavirus cases like those linked to new variants could spawn a cluster or a wider outbreak.

Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO's emergencies chief, told a news conference that ultimately, high levels of vaccination coverage are the way out of this pandemic.

India reported less than one lakh new coronavirus infections after a gap of 63 days, while the daily positivity rate dropped to 4.62 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

A single day rise of 86,498 cases were registered, the lowest in 66 days, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,89,96,473,

The Centre has taken back control of vaccine procurement and will supply Covid-19 jabs to states free of cost to inoculate all above 18 years of age from June 21, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Monday.

No state would have to spend anything on vaccines. The 25 per cent of the vaccination work that was with states will also be handled by the Government of India...Now, all above 18 will be able to get the shot for free, Modi said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday of the danger of buying overpriced vaccines from intermediaries, reminding those countries should buy vaccines certified by the WHO and make sure to identify the origin of the product.

We have received concerns regarding other vaccines... with intermediates selling it (one vaccine) at a much higher price than what has been actually sold by the manufacturers, said Mariangela Batista Galvao Simao, WHO Assistant Director-General for Access to Medicines and Health Products, during a press conference.

The ongoing COVID-induced curfew in Andhra Pradesh which was in force till June 10 was extended till June 20, announced Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday.

The curfew relaxation timings were also changed to 6 am to 2 pm after June 10.

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Monday said it has signed up an investment pact for adding petrochemical and lube plants to its previously announced plan to expand crude oil processing capacity at its Koyali refinery at Vadodara in Gujarat.

Expanding refining capacity by 4.3 million tonnes per annum to 18 million tonnes and adding plants to produce 500,000 tonnes per annum of polypropylene and 2,35,000 tonnes of lube oil base stock at the site would see total investment of about Rs 24,000 crore.

US pharma major Pfizer said on Monday that it was helping to create around 400 oxygen-supported beds in Delhi and equipping a 30-bed ICU facility in Mumbai.

Besides this, the company is sponsoring essential Covid medicines valued at Rs 510 crore for government hospitals in India.

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