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Donald Trump refuses to sign COVID-19 relief bill, seeks USD 2,000 stimulus payment

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Washington, Dec 23: US President Donald Trump has refused to sign the COVID-19 relief bill, saying the USD 600 stimulus payment to most Americans was not enough as he asked Congress to increase the amount to USD 2,000.

Trump, in a video posted on Twitter on Tuesday night, said that the bill delivered too much money to foreign countries, but not enough to Americans.

A few months ago, Congress started negotiations on a new package to get urgently needed help to the American people. It’s taken forever. However, the bill they are now planning to send back to my desk is much different than anticipated. It really is a disgrace, he said.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was part of the negotiations.

Despite all of this wasteful spending and much more, the USD 900 billion package provides hardworking taxpayers with only USD 600 each in relief payments, and not enough money is given to small businesses and in particular restaurants whose owners have suffered so grievously,” said the president in his video.

“I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low USD 600 dollars to USD 2,000, or USD 4,000 for a couple,” he said.

Congress passed the USD 900 billion pandemic relief bill on Monday night to provide cash to businesses and individuals, and resources for vaccination amidst the raging COVID-19 pandemic. The bill went to President Trump for his signature.

However, Trump said: “I am also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items in this legislation, and to send me a suitable bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package. And maybe that administration will be me, and we will get it done”.

Trump’s proposal was immediately supported by House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks. At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it! Pelosi said in a tweet soon thereafter.

Congressman Brendan Boyle, who had initially moved a legislation for USD 2,000 cheque, welcomed the demand of President Trump.

I am the co-sponsor of legislation for USD 2,000 stimulus cheques. So, I welcome the sudden support of Trump, he said in a tweet.

With so many Americans suffering, Congress had one job. To help Americans and small businesses get through this crisis, not help every other country and every other pork project out there. Just once, don’t spend for the sake of spending. Know your priorities, Indian-American Republican politician Nikki Haley said.

Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has also been seeking an increase in stimulus cheques.

One USD 600 check isn’t enough. A weekly USD 300 of enhanced unemployment assistance isn’t enough. We’re putting money in people’s pockets, but in a crisis of this scale, people need and deserve so much more. I’ll keep fighting to deliver that, she said in a tweet on Monday.

Bhutan announces seven-day nationwide lock down amid new COVID-19 cases

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While only designated shops within the zones and essential services will be available, all schools, institutions, offices and business establishments should remain closed

Lotay Tshering

THIMPHU: Bhutan will go on lockdown for seven days starting from Tuesday amid rising case of Covid-19 cases, announced Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering.

In a statement, Tshering announced that a nationwide lockdown will be enforced for seven days, starting December 23, adding that the lockdown will enable the government to control the spread of the disease and also discern the extent of transmission in the communities.

“In continuation to the inter-district movement restriction imposed this morning, the national COVID-19 Taskforce decided the need for a more stringent action after detection of sporadic cases in flu clinics in Thimphu and Paro, and also in Lhamoizingkha, which is evident of local transmission,” the statement read.

As per a bulletin by Ministry of Health of the Himalayan Kingdom on December 22, the total number of COVID-19 cases stood at 479 out of which 430 have recovered. Bhutan is yet to record a COVID-19 fatality.

While only designated shops within the zones and essential services will be available, all schools, institutions, offices and business establishments should remain closed.

Similarly, movement of individuals with the card within the zones and delivery of essentials will start in Thimphu tomorrow, as it completes the third day of lockdown. However, zone relaxation will not apply to houses under isolation, the statement noted.

US President-elect Joe Biden publicly receives first course of Pfizer-Biotech COVID-19 vaccine

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Dr Jill Biden, having already received the first course of the vaccine earlier in the day, was also present on the occasion.

US President-elect Joe Biden receives his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine at ChristianaCare Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del., Monday, Dec. 21. (Photo | AP)

WASHINGTON: US President-elect Joe Biden on Monday publicly received the COVID-19 vaccine and said he was doing this to demonstrate that people should be ready to take the vaccine when it is available.

Biden received the first course of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at ChristianaCare Hospital.

“I am doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it’s available to take the vaccine. There’s nothing to worry about,” he said.

Tabe Masa, Nurse Practitioner and Head of Employee Health Services at ChristianaCare Hospital, administered the vaccine.

Dr Jill Biden, having already received the first course of the vaccine earlier in the day, was also present on the occasion.

“Today, I received the COVID-19 vaccine. To the scientists and researchers who worked tirelessly to make this possible – thank you. We owe you an awful lot,” Biden said in a tweet.

“And to the American people know there is nothing to worry about. When the vaccine is available, I urge you to take it,” he said.

“This is what leadership looks like,” Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said in a tweet.

She will publicly receive the vaccine next week.

38 states file anti-trust lawsuit against Google

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Denver, Dec 17: A group of 38 states filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Google on Thursday, alleging that the search giant has an illegal monopoly over the online search market that hurts consumers and advertisers.

The lawsuit, announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, was filed in federal court in Washington, DC by states represented by bipartisan attorneys general.

Consumers are denied the benefits of competition, including the possibility of higher quality services and better privacy protections. Advertisers are harmed through lower quality and higher prices that are, in turn, passed along to consumers, Weiser said in press release.

The lawsuit was joined by the attorneys general of dozens of states including Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico.

Google did not respond to a request for comment.

The case is the third antitrust salvo to slam Google during the past two months as the Department of Justice and attorneys general from across the US weigh in with their different variations on how they believe the company is abusing its immense power to do bad things that harm other businesses, innovation and even consumers who find its services to be indispensable.

In many ways, the flurry of US antitrust suits represent an attempt to catch up with European regulators who have spent the past several years trying to crack down on Google, mostly with huge fines, to little noticeable effect so far.

On Wednesday, 10 states led by Republican attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Google accusing it of anti-competitive conduct in the online advertising industry, including a deal to manipulate sales with rival Facebook.

It targeted the heart of Google’s business the digital ads that generate nearly all of its revenue, as well as all the money that its corporate parent, Alphabet Inc., depends upon to help finance a range of far-flung technology projects.

137,000 people in UK receive Covid vaccine in first week

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The Department for Health and Social Care said 137,897 people had received the jab since December 8. Of those, 108,000 were in England, the most populous of the UK’s four nations.

Nurse Naomi Walsh (R) administers the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to Bernice Wainer, 82 at the Royal Free hospital in London. (Photo | AFP)

LONDON: More than 137,000 people in Britain have received a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine in the week since inoculations began, the government announced on Wednesday.

The Department for Health and Social Care said 137,897 people had received the jab since December 8. Of those, 108,000 were in England, the most populous of the UK’s four nations.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told lawmakers he was “very pleased” with the “good start with the rollout of the vaccination”.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus shot to be authorised for use by the UK’s independent medicines regulator. Patients require two doses, 21 days apart.

Britain has ordered 40 million doses of the jab — enough to vaccinate 20 million people — with 800,000 in the first batch.  

First in line are people aged 80 and above, and frontline health and social care workers.

The vaccination programme was this week expanded into doctors’ surgeries in England, and in care homes in Scotland.

The bulk of Britain’s vaccine requirements are expected to be met by a jab developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, which is awaiting regulatory approval.

Some 100 million doses have been ordered. The government has also ordered seven million of vaccine developed by Moderna.

Britain has been one of the worst-hit countries in Europe by the virus with nearly 65,000 deaths from some 1.9 million cases.

On Wednesday, London and surrounding areas were placed under stricter measures to curb the spread of the virus because of concern about a rise in cases.

We can work together for good of nation: President-elect Joe Biden after election win confirmed

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Biden praised voters for casting ballots in record numbers on November 3 despite fears of COVID-19 and ‘enormous political pressure, verbal abuse and even threats of physical violence’.

US President-elect Joe Biden

WASHINGTON: Joe Biden said Monday that US democracy proved “resilient” against Donald Trump’s “abuse of power” after the Electoral College confirmed him as the next president, shutting the door further on unprecedented efforts to overturn the results.

In his first extended attack on Trump since the election, Biden said in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, that the president and his allies “refused to respect the will of the people, refused to respect the rule of law, and refused to honor our constitution.”

Biden was referring to a Republican lawsuit, supported by Trump, that sought to overturn the results in several key states, before it was rejected unanimously by the Supreme Court last Friday.

Biden praised voters for casting ballots in record numbers on November 3 despite fears of COVID-19 and “enormous political pressure, verbal abuse and even threats of physical violence” against those running the election. “The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. And we now know nothing, not even a pandemic or an abuse of power can extinguish that. Our democracy — pushed, tested, threatened — proved to be resilient, true, and strong,” Biden said.

Biden said that Trump has had full opportunity to contest the results in court and “in every case no cause or evidence was found to reverse or question or dispute”. With the Electoral College having formalized his victory just hours earlier, Biden told the bitterly divided country: “It’s time to turn the page. I’m convinced we can work together for the good of the nation.”

Trump continues to maintain that he was cheated of victory, even if his lawyers have not persuaded one court that they have a case. On Monday he announced that Attorney General Bill Barr, who contradicted his fraud claims, would leave his post next week. “Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family,” Trump tweeted.

The Electoral College vote, a formality confirming the will of voters expressed at the polls, is usually ignored by all but hardcore politics buffs. This year, the somewhat arcane procedure took center stage as the US election system withstood weeks of assaults from the powerful president and much of his party.

Biden only needed 270 of the 538 Electoral College votes, which are divided up among the 50 states and he was headed for a total of 306 against Trump’s 232. Counting was underway all day and when it got to California, the Democrat went over the minimum amount, making him officially the president-elect from that point on.

California’s electors burst into applause as the presiding officer read out the tally. Biden, Barack Obama’s former vice president, will be sworn in as the 46th president on January 20.

Thousands of Trump supporters, including members of far-right groups, protested in Washington at the weekend, brawling with counter-protesters, while in Georgia footage showed armed activists in camouflage parading at the state Capitol to support Trump’s claims.

Polls show as few as one in four Republican voters accept the election results. Trump maintained his stream of threats and unsubstantiated claims on Twitter Monday, citing “massive VOTER FRAUD” and declaring that certifying election results would be “a severely punishable crime.”

The legal Electoral College vote, however, puts an official stamp on what voters already decided on November 3. “Although I supported President Trump, the Electoral College vote today makes clear that Joe Biden is now President-Elect,” tweeted a Republican senator, Rob Portman, signalling the changing tide.

In another shift, the staunchly Trump-supporting editorial board of The Wall Street Journal told Trump that his time is up. “President Trump’s legal challenges have run their course, and he and the rest of the Republican Party can help the country and themselves by acknowledging the result and moving on,” it said.

Ahead of Biden’s inauguration one major formality remains, when Congress, presided over by Vice President Mike Pence, opens up and counts the electoral votes on January 6.

Pandemic putting democracy under threat: Study

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STOCKHOLM: More than six in 10 countries around the world have adopted measures during the Covid-19 pandemic that threaten democracy or human rights, a report by democracy institute International IDEA said Wednesday.

The study, which examined the situation in almost all countries of the world, concluded that 61 percent of nations “implemented restrictions that were either illegal, disproportionate, indefinite or unnecessary” in at least one area of democratic freedoms.

Among countries widely considered democracies, 43 percent fell into this category, a figure that rose to 90 percent for authoritarian regimes, according to the Stockholm-based intergovernmental organisation.

“It was to be expected that authoritarian regimes that had less checks and balances would use the excuse provided by the pandemic to tighten their grip,” secretary general Kevin Casas-Zamora.

“What is more surprising is that so many democracies have adopted measures that are problematic from the standpoint of democracy and human rights.” 

India, a democratic country, held the unenviable top spot, with measures of “concern” in nine of 22 areas studied — including freedom of movement, freedom of expression and freedom of the press — ahead of Algeria and Bangladesh with eight areas of concern.

They were followed by China, Egypt, Malaysia and Cuba, which each had seven.

Russia was the top European nation with six, a score shared by Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Jordan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

IDEA examined the various measures adopted around the world to determine if they were problematic from a democracy and human rights standpoint, regardless of effectiveness from a health perspective.

Along with India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Iraq — all considered democracies, albeit some of them “fragile” — were among the top 15 countries with the worst records.

“The pandemic is an accelerator of trends that were in place before the virus struck,” Casas-Zamora said.

“Countries that were highly authoritarian in most cases have become more authoritarian, (while) democracies that were facing real challenges in their ability to uphold the rule of law and basic human rights have seen those challenges worsen,” he added.

Five European Union countries were mentioned: Bulgaria with three areas of concern, Hungary (two) and Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia (one each).

Among the major Western democracies, only the United States was singled out, with two areas of concern: “freedom of association and assembly”, and “predictable enforcement”. 

Israel had five areas of concern and Argentina two.

Among the most frequent concerns were restrictions on press freedoms in the name of fighting disinformation, excessive use of force such as deploying troops to enforce rules or internment camps for the sick, corruption in emergency supplier contracts, and blaming migrants for the pandemic.

The study also praised several countries as role models for having combined effective health measures with a respect for democratic principles.

They were Iceland, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Taiwan, Uruguay, Cyprus, Japan, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

France, Italy, Canada, Germany, Britain and Spain were not mentioned among the top performers, but did not present any concerns either.

IDEA refuted the idea that undemocratic nations had done better at containing the new coronavirus.

Havana’s and Beijing’s apparent success in fighting the virus “has been achieved at a high democracy and human rights cost,” the report noted.

IDEA said its conclusions were based on global observations of the impact of Covid-19 on democracy, launched in July with the European Commission.

According to the institute, 55 percent of the world’s population currently live in a democracy. In the 162 countries assessed, it counted 99 democracies, 33 authoritarian governments and 30 “hybrid” governments.

US President-elect Joe Biden’s son Hunter faces federal investigation over ‘tax affairs’; ‘Chinese dealings’

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The tax investigation was launched in 2018, the year before the elder Biden announced his candidacy for president.

US President-elect Joe Biden (R) with son Hunter Biden (L) (Photo | AP)

WASHINGTON: The Justice Department is investigating the finances of  US President-elect Joe Biden’s son, including scrutinizing some of his Chinese business dealings and other transactions, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The revelations put a renewed spotlight on questions about Hunter Biden’s financial history, which dogged his father’s successful White House campaign and were a frequent target of President Donald Trump and his allies. They also come at a politically delicate time for the president-elect, who is weighing his choice to lead an agency that is actively investigating his son.

The tax investigation was launched in 2018, the year before the elder Biden announced his candidacy for president. Hunter Biden confirmed the existence of the investigation on Wednesday, saying he learned about it for the first time the previous day.

“I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors,” he said in a statement.

It isn’t clear which entities or business dealings might be tied up in the probe, though the person with knowledge of the matter said at least some of focus was on his past work in China. Federal investigators served a round of subpoenas on Tuesday, including one for Hunter Biden, according to another person familiar with the investigation.

Investigators did not reach out until recently because of Justice Department practice against taking overt investigative actions in the run-up to an election, one of the people said. The people familiar with the investigation insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing probe.

Hunter Biden has a history of international affairs and business dealings in a number of countries. Trump and his allies have accused him of profiting off his political connections, and have also raised unsubstantiated charges of corruption related to his work in Ukraine at the time his father was vice president and leading the Obama administration’s dealings with the Eastern European nation.

Late Wednesday, Trump tweeted a quote from New York Post columnist Miranda Devine claiming, “10% of voters would have changed their vote if they knew about Hunter Biden.”

Biden is actively assembling his Cabinet, but is yet to name a nominee to lead the Justice Department. That person could ultimately have oversight of the investigation into the new president’s son if it is still ongoing when Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20.

The transition team said in a statement, “President-elect Biden is deeply proud of his son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger.”

The revelations could also add weight to Trump’s broad accusations that Biden was weak on China. Trump took a tough line on China during the campaign as he tried to deflect blame for the coronavirus. Biden has rejected the characterization that he was weak and said that, unlike Trump, he would rebuild global coalitions to check China’s power.

A New Yorker profile on Hunter Biden last year detailed some of his business work in China, including how he accompanied his father on a 2013 trip to Beijing, where he met with a business associate. He also acknowledged having received a diamond from a Chinese energy tycoon interested in liquified natural gas projects.

He downplayed the idea that the gift could have been intended to affect his father’s policy. He told the magazine he gave the diamond to an associate.

“What would they be bribing me for? My dad wasn’t in office,” he said.

Hunter Biden has been caught up in controversies before. While his father was vice president, Hunter joined the Naval Reserve and was discharged after testing positive for cocaine in his system, later revealing a yearslong struggle with addiction.

He also joined the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma in 2014, sparking concerns about the perceptions of a conflict of interest given the elder Biden was deeply involved in U.S. policy toward Ukraine. An investigation by the Republican-led Senate did not identify any policies that were directly affected by Hunter Biden’s work.

In the weeks before the election, Trump supporters used the existence of a laptop they said was connected to Hunter Biden — and the emergence of someone who maintains he had business discussions with him — to raise questions about Joe Biden’s knowledge of his son’s activities in Ukraine and China. The president-elect has said he did not discuss his son’s international business dealings with him and has denied having ever taken money from a foreign country.

The laptop surfaced publicly in October when The New York Post reported on emails that it said had come from Hunter Biden’s laptop and that it said it received from Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer.

A third person familiar with the matter said the tax investigation does not have anything to do with the laptop.

In a CNN interview last week, President-elect Biden addressed the business dealings of his son Hunter and his brothers, pledging that they would avoid any perceived conflicts of interest during his time in office.

“My son, my family will not be involved in any business, any enterprise that is in conflict with or appears to be in conflict, where there’s appropriate distance from the presidency and government,” Biden said.

Joe Biden wants Census Bureau to ensure everyone is counted accurately

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Biden said that he hoped the US Supreme Court rejects a plan by President Donald Trump’s administration to exclude from the census the immigrants living illegally in the country.

President-elect Joe Biden speaks at The Queen theater. (Photo | AP)

WASHINGTON: US President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday said the Census Bureau must ensure that every American is counted accurately in the ongoing nationwide population counts.

Biden said that he hoped the US Supreme Court rejects a plan by President Donald Trump’s administration to exclude from the census the immigrants living illegally in the country.

The apex court heard a case on Tuesday regarding the plan of the Trump administration to exclude illegal immigrants from once-in-a-decade census.

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States heard a case about whether everyone in America will be counted in the census for the purpose of apportionment of Congressional seats, as the Constitution plainly and clearly requires, Biden said.

“Or whether the partisan politics of intimidation and xenophobia will intentionally exclude specific groups of people from being counted.

It’s a case about whether we deny our ability to govern responsibly and undermine our fidelity to our laws and values as a government of, by, and for all people,” he said in a statement.

“In America, we make ourselves heard when we fill out the Census to be counted. It’s a critical way the power of the nation resides in the people. That’s America. We can’t keep rewriting history, scrambling norms, and ignoring the Constitution and the precedents we abide by,” Biden said.

“It is my hope the Supreme Court does the right thing. And, Congress must give the experts at the Census the time to make sure everyone gets counted accurately.

Let everyone be counted and let us begin the work to heal and unite our nation,” Biden said.

Noting that the census will determine the future of the country for the next decade, Biden said it helps decide where and how to invest in the health and safety of the nation — everything from whether children can attend a good school and eat a warm lunch, families can drink clean water and breath clean air, and people have access to basic health care and good jobs.

Oxford COVID vaccine should be available for public by April 2021: Serum Institute CEO

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NEW DELHI: Vaccine maker Serum Institute of India’s CEO Adar Poonawalla on Thursday said the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine should be available for healthcare workers and elderly people by around February 2021 and by April for the general public, and will be priced at a maximum of Rs 1,000 for two necessary doses for the public, depending on the final trial results and regulatory approvals.

Probably by 2024, every Indian will get vaccinated, he said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS), 2020.

“It will probably take two or three years for every Indian to get inoculated, not just because of the supply constraints but because you need the budget, the vaccine, logistics, infrastructure and then, people should be willing to take the vaccine.

So these are the factors that lead up to being able to vaccinate 80-90 per cent of the population.

“It will be 2024 for everybody, if willing to take a two-dose vaccine, to be vaccinated,” Poonawalla said. Asked at what price the public will get it, he said it will be around USD 5-6 per dose with an MRP of around Rs 1,000 for the two necessary doses.

“The government of India will be getting it at a far cheaper price at around USD 3-4, because it will be buying in a large volume and get access to the price that is similar to what COVAX has got.

Asked about the efficacy of the vaccine, he said the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine is so far proving to work very well even in elderly people, which was a concern earlier.

“It has induced a good T-cell response, which is an indicator for your long-term immunity and antibody response but then again, time will only tell if these vaccines are going to protect you in the long term.

Nobody can answer that for any of the vaccines today,” Poonawalla said.

Responding to a question on the safety aspect, he said there has been no major complaints, reactions or adverse events, adding, “We would need to wait and see. The efficacy and immunogenicity results from the Indian trials will come out in about a month-and-a half.”

Asked when the SII will apply for an emergency authorisation, Poonawalla said as soon as the UK authorities and the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) approve it for emergency use, it will apply to the drug controller for emergency use authorisation in India.

“But that will be for a limited use for frontline workers, healthcare workers and elderly people,” he added.

Children would have to wait a little longer till the safety data is out, but the good news is that COVID-19 is not so bad and serious for them, Poonawalla said.

“Unlike measles pneumonia, which is deadly, this disease is seeming to be less of a nuisance for children but then, they can be carriers and can give the infection to others.

“We want to vaccinate the elderly people and others who are the most vulnerable first. Once we have enough safety data to go in on children, we can recommend it for children too,” he said.

Poonawalla said the Oxford vaccine is affordable, safe and stored at a temperature of two to eight degrees Celsius, which is an ideal temperature for it to be stored in the cold storages of India.

He said the SII plans to make about 10 crore doses per month from February.

As regards how many doses would be provided to India, Poonawalla said talks are still going on and no agreement has been arrived at in this regard.

“India wants around 400 million doses by July. I do not know if it will take all from the Serum Institute. We are gearing up to offer that kind of volume to India and still have a few 100 million to offer to COVAX by July and August. No agreement so far,” he said.

Poonawala said the SII is not entering into any agreement with other countries at this moment as India is its priority.

“We have not signed and committed anything else beyond Bangladesh at the moment. We really do not want to partner right now with many countries because we will not have enough stocks to deliver.

“We want to handle India as a priority first and manage Africa at the same time and then help out other countries,” he said.

Poonawalla said 30-40 crore doses of the Oxford vaccine will be available by the first quarter of 2021.

In another session of the summit, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria said there is some talk going on between Pfizer and the Indian government but not much with Moderna.

“It is going to be a huge challenge as far as the Pfizer vaccine is concerned, considering that it needs a cold chain of minus 70 degrees Celsius,” he said and pinned hoped on the vaccines that are at various stages of trial in India.

On the availability of a COVID-19 vaccine, Guleria said the percentage of population to be inoculated will depend on the number of vaccines getting the regulatory approvals and the number of shots they are producing.

He further said the coronavirus goes into the lungs without making a person symptomatic.

“We have individuals who are asymptomatic and you can see patches in their lungs at CT scans directly.

It really bypasses a person’s defence mechanism, which means that you not only have the virus in your nose or throat, but it has gone right into your lungs.

A virus which can do that is something we have to be wary of,” Guleria said.

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