Covid Tracker Live: Active cases continue to drop, tally at 3,643

West Bengal reported the highest net addition of active cases since Tuesday at 24.

January 10, 2024 / 19:33 IST

220.67 crore doses of Covid vaccines have so far been administered in the country.

India witnessed 605 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours on January 10 morning, government data said.

There were 3,643 active cases as of 8 am, representing a net decrease of 276 cases since January 9. Four people – two in Karnataka and Kerala each – died to contracting the disease.

The number of daily cases had dropped to double-digits till December 5, 2023, but cases began to increase after the emergence of a new variant and cold weather conditions.

Cases across states

West Bengal reported the highest net addition of active cases since Tuesday at 24, with 27 new cases reported and 3 cases being discharged. Karnataka reported the highest number of new cases since January 9 at 252, but discharged 441 cases in the same time period, resulting in a net decrease of 191 active cases in 24 hours.

Some state governments in India have advised people, including senior citizens, to wear face masks in public places or when necessary.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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