Here are the top updates from Wednesday:

  1. The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Novavax may get approval for use in India between July and September, NDTV reported. It is likely to have a higher price than Serum Institute of India’s Covishield, Novavax Chief Executive Officer Stanley Erck said.
  2. India recorded 45,951 new coronavirus cases, taking the total count of infections since the outbreak of the pandemic in January last year to 3,03,62,848. The country’s toll rose by 817 to 3,98,454.
  3. The Supreme Court gave the National Disaster Management Authority six weeks to frame guidelines to provide financial aid to the families of those who died due to Covid-19.
  4. Brazil said it will suspend its Covid-19 vaccine contract with India’s Bharat Biotech, amid allegations of corruption in the deal. Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech said it followed a “step-by-step” approach for supply contracts and regulatory approvals for its coronavirus vaccine, Covaxin, in Brazil.
  5. The Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court that it will soon start trials for home vaccination of those who are bedridden. Maharashtra said it will not wait for the Centre’s approval.
  6. The Union health ministry directed the West Bengal government to conduct an inquiry into unauthorised vaccination camps that were allegedly run in parts of Kolkata and submit a report to it in the next two days. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said her government was taking action, ANI reported.
  7. The Supreme Court directed yoga guru Ramdev to produce before it the video and transcripts of his statements on allopathy’s effectiveness in treating coronavirus cases.
  8. The Odisha government paused vaccination drives in 11 districts because of a shortage of Covishield doses, PTI reported. Mumbai is also facing a shortage of doses. On Thursday, vaccination centres run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Maharashtra government in the city will remain closed.
  9. Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Darwin cities in Australia were under a lockdown to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19, Reuters reported.
  10. The worldwide coronavirus tally since the outbreak of the pandemic in December 2019 rose to 18,19,26,290, while the toll reached 39,40,122, according to Johns Hopkins University.