India reports 18,177 new COVID-19 cases, DCGI approves vaccines for emergency use

New Delhi [India], January 3 (ANI): India reported 18,177 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,03,23,965, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) informed on Sunday.
With this, the total number of active cases now stands at 2,47,220. As many as 217 lives were claimed by the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 1,49,435. So far 99,27,310 recoveries have been reported in the country.
India's coronavirus active cases continue to go down as the total number of confirmed cases has dropped below 2.5 lakhs on Sunday.
As per the Ministry, this has been possible due to recovery cases exceeding new cases and a low number of fatalities per day.
"India's trajectory of active cases continues to follow a steadily dipping path. The total Active Caseload has dropped below 2.5 lakh (2,47,220) today," the Ministry said in a statement.
Maharashtra continues to the worst affected state by the pandemic with 19,42,136 total cases. Tamil Nadu reported 867 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the state's count to 8,20,712 cases and 12,156 fatalities.
There are 65,278 active cases in Kerala and 13,316 active cases in Uttar Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh reported 232 new COVID-19 cases today, taking the total number of cases to 8,83,082.
Meanwhile, 267 new positive cases were reported in Uttarakhand, taking the total count to 91,811 cases. Karnataka reported 810 new coronavirus cases today. Now, the state's total stands at 9,21,938 cases. Punjab reported 210 new COVID-19 cases, taking the state's count to 1,67,219 cases.
As the COVID-19 vaccines of Serum Institue of India and Bharat Biotech have been granted permission for restricted use in an emergency situation, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday termed it as "watershed moment" in India's battle against COVID-19.
"A watershed moment in India's famed battle against COVID19 under the charismatic leadership of PM Narendra Modi Ji! Our wait for COVID19 vaccine is over with COVISHIELD from Serum Institute of India and COVAXIN from Bharat Biotech approved for emergency use in India," Vardhan tweeted.
COVID-19 vaccines of Serum Institue of India and Bharat Biotech have been granted permission for restricted use in an emergency situation, said Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Sunday.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Dr Randeep Singh Guleria today lauded the work done by Indian laboratories in making indigenous vaccines.
"The research has been done here and it's truly from the scratch and it is Indian vaccine. It's a great moment, especially because unlike past where we had to rely on importing various products like PPE or N95, now we have vaccines which are being manufactured in India itself. We do not have to rely on vaccines coming from outside. They are cost-effective and easy to administer between 2 and 8 degrees Centigrade," he said. (ANI)