Current Affairs in Short: 15 February 2021

Mexico receives shipment COVID-19 vaccines from India

• Mexico on February 14, 2021, received a shipment of 8,70,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca from India.

• The Mexican government has informed that the country has been preparing to prioritize the older people in the next phase of its vaccination program. The country has also been expecting shipments to resume of vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech.

• The latest shipment amounts to about 42% of the 2 million doses of AstraZeneca and the Oxford University Vaccine, that the country plans on importing from India.

• Both Argentina and Mexico have an agreement with AstraZeneca for producing the vaccine for the eventual distribution of 250 million doses in Latin America.

• Mexico has the world’s highest COVID-19 death tolls. The country started vaccinating in December 2020 but struggled to meet the targets amid the global shortages and delays of the Pfizer vaccine.

Aadhar Card mandatory for COVID vaccination in Bihar

• Aadhar Card has been made compulsory to receive the Coronavirus vaccination in Bihar. Beneficiaries in the state will have to certify their Aadhar Card number during the vaccine registration.

• Mangal Pandey, the Health Minister informed that the step has been taken for checking the testing fraud of the vaccination and transparency. District administration has already been instructed in this regard.

• Bihar state government on February 15, 2021, started administering the second dose of vaccines to the health workers of the state.

• So far, 4,92,321 health care and frontline workers have been vaccinated so far and no side effect of the Coronavirus vaccine has been reported from any part of the state.

Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani tests COVID-19 positive

• The Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani tested positive for Coronavirus on February 15, 2021, a day after he collapsed on a stage while addressing the public.

• He has been admitted to a hospital in Ahmedabad where the Chief Minister’s health is being monitored by the doctors. The news of the infection was confirmed by Deputy CM Nitinbhai Patel.

• Rupani was immediately rushed to a hospital after he collapsed on stage where the doctors informed that his condition was stable. However, he was later flown back to Ahmedabad and taken to UN Mehta Hospital for a check-up.

• The Chief Minister was addressing the public gathering in Vadodara while campaigning for the BJP candidates in the polls to six Municipal Corporations on February 21.

Air Quality of Delhi remains in the very poor category

• Delhi’s air quality has continued to remain in the ‘very poor’ category on February 15, 2021.

• According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research, the overall Air Quality Index stands at 342.

• An Air Quality Index between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 is ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 is known as ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 is ‘poor’, 301 and 400 is called ‘very poor’ and 401 and 500 is ‘severe’.

• The air quality of Noida and Gurugram also fell under the ‘very poor’ category with the Index standing at 385 and 301, respectively.

Japanese government officially approves Pfizer vaccine

• Japan has officially given its approval to a Coronavirus vaccine which has been developed by Pfizer the Pharmaceutical Company of the US. The vaccine is also the first to receive approval by the government for use against the pandemic in the country.

• The Health and Welfare Ministry of Japan informed that the authorization was granted after a panel of experts had reached a decision on February 12, 2021, based on their findings on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

• Pfizer had applied for approval in December 2020. The vaccine will be given to those aged 16 or older and two shots will be administered three weeks apart.

• Inoculations have been expected to start on February 17 and medical workers will be the first in line, followed by the elderly people.

• Under a contract with the Japanese government, Pfizer is due to supply the country with enough doses for 72 million people by the end of 2021.