Geneva [Switzerland], May 11 (ANI): As India is in the grasp of a devastating second wave of COVID-19, World Health Organisation (WHO) Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan on Monday (local time) termed the rate of infections and deaths in the country as worrying and called on governments to boost exercises on reporting actual numbers.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Swaminathan said that the projections of one million deaths by August projected by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) are based on models and available data, which are not predictions of the future and can be changed.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday said the Delhi Government had ordered 1.34 crore doses of COVID vaccines in May but the Centre cleared only 3.5 lakh doses against it.

Briefing the mediapersons, the Deputy Chief Minister said, Today BJP alleged that Delhi Government ordered only 5.50 lakh doses of vaccine. The Government of India had decided in April that the two companies can sell vaccines to states directly, states were also intimated the same. We ordered 1.34 crore doses for Delhi for people above 18 years.

Regular use of the oral antiparasitic drug ivermectin may significantly reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19, according to a review of available data by researchers who claim the medicine can help end the pandemic.

The research, published in the May-June issue of the American Journal of Therapeutics, is the most comprehensive review of the available data on ivermectin taken from clinical, in vitro, animal, and real-world studies, its authors said.

As many as 11 patients, who were on ventilator support, died due to low pressure in medical oxygen supply at Ruia Government Hospital in Tirupati on Monday, Chittoor District Collector M Harinarayan.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has ordered an inquiry into the matter.

US pharma giant Eli Lilly has issued royalty-free, non-exclusive voluntary licences to three Indian drug makers – Cipla, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Lupin – to manufacture and distribute Baricitinib, which is being used to treat Covid-19.

Earlier, Gilead too had signed non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements with Indian pharmaceutical companies to expand the production of Remdesivir, a widely used anti-Covid drug.

Apple Inc is facing a London lawsuit over claims it overcharged nearly 20 million U.K. customers for App Store purchases, yet another legal headache for the tech giant fighting lawsuits across the world.

Apple’s 30% standard fee is excessive and unlawful the claimants said in a press release Tuesday. The claim, filed at London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal on Monday, calls for the U.S. firm to compensate U.K. iPhone and iPad users for years of alleged overcharging.

In an important development, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday (May 10) authorised the emergency use of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in adolescents aged 12-15 for the prevention of the COVID-19 infection.

The FDA has determined that Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine has met the statutory criteria to amend the emergency use authorization (EUA) and that the known and potential benefits of this vaccine in individuals 12 years of age and older outweigh the known and potential risks, FDA said in a news released posted on its website on Monday, Xinhua reported.

In a good news for lakhs of savings account holders of State Bank of India, they can change the SBI Bank Branch work online from their home using the Online Banking services of the bank. The launch of the service means that SBI customers do not need to go to the branch for doing this work.

The SBI has taken this decision due to COVID-19 outbreak.

Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli lost a confidence vote in parliament on Monday (May 10), the speaker said, pitching the country into political turmoil at a time when it is battling a major second wave of coronavirus infections.

Oli's moderate communist party split from former Maoist rebels in March after differences cropped up over its power-sharing deal, wiping out their governing majority. Political parties will now try to cobble together a new ruling coalition.

Drug major Cipla on Monday said it has inked a pact with US-based Eli Lilly and Company to manufacture and produce baricitinib in the country for the treatment of COVID-19.

The Mumbai-based company said it has signed a royalty-free, non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreement with Eli Lilly for baricitinib.

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