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deaths. In a release post the meeting of the state cabinet, the government said the average weekly positivity rate has now dropped to 2.4 %. In addition, it reported that of its 36 districts, zero patients were reported in Nandurbar district, less than 10 patients in six districts and less than 100 in eight districts. The state government also said that about 50% citizens above 45 have been given at least one dose of vaccine, while in the 18-45 age group, it is 25%. Overall, over 50 million citizens have been given one dose, while 13,307,000 were fully vaccinated, as of Wednesday.

State surveillance officer Dr Pradeep Awate said the figures indicated the declining trend. “When positivity rate dips below 5%, it indicates that the virus has been controlled,” said Dr Awate. “The authorities apart from their standard practices of testing, contact tracing and medication also took into account the local factors to combat the virus,” he added. Thackeray, meanwhile, issued a statement, saying that he was worried about political, religious as well as social gatherings taking place in the state. “The second wave is not yet over and we have eased the lockdown, just to ensure that the economic cycle is not disrupted,” said Thackeray. “In view of the upcoming festive season, citizens should ensure that they follow all the Covid-19 rules and take all precautions to ensure that the third wave is prevented,” he added. He said not observing Covid-19 rules is harmful for both the individual as well other citizens.

Mumbai saw 285 new cases and added five deaths to its toll, reaching 15,930. The total deaths in Maharashtra since the outbreak last year has reached 135,413. The number of Covid-19 patients right from the outbreak last year has now reached 6,406,345. There were 197,697 tests done on Wednesday, while the number of recoveries clocked 8,196.

The total number of active patients in Maharashtra currently stands at 58,069, while the deaths right from the Covid-19 outbreak has now reached 135,413.

There are currently 58,069 active patients across the state, of which Pune tops with 12,904 patients, followed by Thane with 7,017 active patients and Satara with 6,852. The toll has now reached 135,413 with Pune leading with 18,779 deaths, followed by Mumbai with 15,930 and Thane with 11,213. in the 12-18 age group.

“Our clinical trial final phase is over. We are hoping that by either by month end or by next month we should get the license for vaccine in children. This is the only vaccine in the world that can be given to children between 2 and 18 years,” Ella said in an interview to DD News on Wednesday.

A senior official from Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, which collaborated with Bharat Biotech for Covaxin, said she expected the results from the studies to be out soon and an approval to follow shortly after.

“Hopefully, the results (of the trials) are going to be available very soon. These will be presented to the regulators. So, by September or just after it, we may have Covid-19 vaccines for children,” said Priya Abraham, director of NIV, Pune, in an interview to India Science, a web channel of the government’s Department of Science and Technology.

“...Zydus Cadila’s vaccine trial is also going on. This can also be applied for children and will be made available,” added Abraham.

Experts at India’s drug regulator are assessing Zycov-d’s data for approval. The company has said its assessment of the clinical trials showed an efficacy rate of 66.6%.

An expert aware of the process said early data has shown some promise. “There are a few promising data sets that the experts are examining that includes the vaccine candidate of Zydus Cadila, which has been tried in around 1,000 children. Then there is data from Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin trial in children that people are anticipating,” this person said, asking not to be named.

The expert, who works with the central government, indicated the assessment of Covaxin may be easier since it is already in use and has established efficacy rates. “There are high hopes because Covaxin has already received the necessary approval for adults, so it will be examined for safety and immunogenicity in children.”

Ella and Abraham also spoke on booster doses, which they both said will eventually become necessary.

According to Abraham, studies on booster doses have been going on overseas and at least seven vaccines have been tried for it. “Now, WHO (World Health Organization) has put a stop to it till more countries catch up with vaccination. This is because there is an alarming vaccine [supply] gap between high-income and low-income countries. But, in future, recommendations for boosters will definitely come,” she said.

Ella took a similar position. “It is a fact; I can’t lie about it that booster dose will be required. However, our priority will be to vaccinate all adults first. We are also doing trials for our nasal vaccine candidate against Covid-19, and instead of a booster dose of Covaxin we may even have the option of taking one dose of Covaxin and second dose of the nasal vaccine. It is too early to say anything conclusively at the moment; research is on,” he said.

The NIV Pune director said there were no safety concerns in mixing different Covid-19 vaccines and the institute was carrying out further studies that will lead to more details in the coming days.

Abraham reiterated that vaccination is a must and the studies at NIV show the vaccines in use work against variants of the coronavirus, citing the levels of antibodies produced in the bodies of vaccinated people.

She said that while levels were reduced in case of some variants, “yet, the vaccines are still protective against the variants. They may show a little less efficacy, but vaccines are very important to prevent serious forms of disease due to which patients may get hospitalised and even die. So, whatever the variant, vaccine is till now protective against all, including the Delta variant. So, there should not be any hesitancy at all.”