A forum of scientific advisers set up by the government warned Indian officials in early March of a new and more contagious variant of the coronavirus taking hold in the country, five scientists who are part of the forum told Reuters.

With 185 new cases detected in 24 hours till 10pm yesterday (Friday), number of Covid-19 cases has crossed the 50,000 mark -- 393 days into the detection of the first case -- in Chattogram.

The Serum Institute of India, which manufactures the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, is planning to start vaccine production in other countries as it struggles to meet supply commitments, its chief executive officer told The Times.

Australian residents and citizens who have been in India within 14 days of the date they plan to return home will be banned from entering Australia as of Monday and those who disobey will face fines and jail, government officials said.

The West Bengal government tonight imposed a partial lockdown in the state with immediate effect amid mounting cases of Covid-19.

Fifty-seven people have died from Covid-19 in 24 hours (till 8am today), according to a press release issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Several Indian states have run out of Covid-19 vaccines a day before a planned widening of a nationwide inoculation drive, authorities said on Friday, as new infections in the crisis-hit country surged to another daily record.

Leader of the Opposition in parliament Raushan Ershad was admitted to Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka last night.

Pfizer Inc's shipment of Covid-19 vaccine to Mexico this week includes doses made in its US plant, the first of what are expected to be ongoing exports of its shots from the United States, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

The Russian developer of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said on Thursday it would sue the Brazilian health regulator Anvisa for defamation, prompting a stern rebuttal from the agency.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today stressed the importance of five actions to fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as it is crucial for preventing future pandemics.

In total, 510 Bangladeshis, including three who are Covid-19 positive, have returned home from India over three days till today.

88 deaths, 2,341 infected in 24 hours.

Total global spending on COVID-19 vaccines is projected to reach $157 billion by 2025, driven by mass vaccination programs underway and “booster shots” expected every two years, according to a report by US health data company IQVIA Holdings Inc released on Thursday.

The government has issued emergency use approval for China’s Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine.

The People’s Vaccine Alliance (PVA) in Asia will call on Japan, Singapore and South Korea to support the ‘temporary TRIPS Waiver’ proposal at the World Trade Organization’s general council meeting tomorrow.

The National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 has alerted the government regarding artificial oxygen crisis in the country.

Europe could reach herd immunity "in July, latest by August," the head of German pharmaceutical company BioNTech, which developed the first widely approved Covid-19 vaccine with US partner Pfizer, said yesterday (Wednesday).

The United States is sending supplies worth more than $100 million to India to help it fight a surge of Covid-19 cases, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.

China, and five South Asian countries, have opposed the idea of "vaccine nationalism" and politicising the issue of Covid-19 origin while calling for the distribution of vaccines under the principle of equity and justice.