The everyday number of coronavirus infections in Pakistan and India have risen sharply with the cases surging nearly 50 percent in both the country. In Pakistan, the daily cases have shot up to nearly 150 and in India the everyday infections have soared to over 12,000.

According to the statistics released by the National Institute of Health Pakistan on Thursday morning, Pakistan has reported 144 coronavirus infections and one death during the last 24 hours (Wednesday). 

As per the latest NIH data, the death toll in Pakistan crawled up to 30,382, whereas the number of total infections now stood at 1,531,581 after adding the fresh 144 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Wednesday), 12,828 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio skyrocketed to 1.22 percent. The number of patients in critical care was recorded at 61.

https://twitter.com/NIH_Pakistan/status/1537248287903862784

During the last 24 hours (Wednesday), another 68 people recovered from the Covid-19 in Pakistan and the number of total recoveries now stood at 1,498,217. As of Thursday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 2,982.

As many as 578,006 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 507,561 in Punjab, 219,756 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 135,643 in Islamabad, 35,506 in Balochistan, 43,356 in Azad Kashmir and 11,753 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

As many as 13,565 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 8,108 in Sindh, 6,324 in KP, 1,024 in Islamabad, 792 in Azad Kashmir, 378 in Balochistan and 191 in Gilgit Baltistan.

India records big jump in fresh infections

India recorded a massive spike in coronavirus cases on Wednesday registering nearly a 40% jump from yesterday. The country logged over 12,000 cases in the last 24 hours and the daily positivity rate climbed to 2.35%. 12,213 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours taking the active case tally to 58,215.

India witnessed 11 deaths, in the last 24 hours, according to the data updated by the health ministry. 7,624 people recovered from the virus. 

US starts shipping vaccines for children to Nepal, Mongolia

The United States on Wednesday announced it was starting to donate vaccines for children abroad with initial shipments to Nepal and Mongolia.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that 2.2 million doses for children aged five to 12 would head to Nepal and another 300,000 to Mongolia in a partnership with the UN-backed Covax program.

"We've got many more ready to go for countries that want them," Blinken told a meeting on the pandemic response.

The United States, after initially prioritizing Covid vaccines at home, has been the leader in donations overseas, with Blinken saying this week that 550 million doses have been shipped, about half of what it has promised to give by the end of the year.

Despite vaccine hesitancy in sections of the public, the United States has also been ahead in efforts to immunize children.

President Joe Biden's administration has sought to contrast its donations with efforts by China and Russia, arguing that the US adversaries, while moving quickly, had commercial or political motives.

The United States has put a key focus on donating vaccines to densely populated developing nations, led by Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Blinken warned the meeting against "pandemic fatigue" and a loss of political will.

"The United States continues to be intently focused on fighting the pandemic and leaving the world better prepared and better defended for whatever comes next," he said.

US panel recommends Covid vaccines for youngest children

A panel of experts convened by the US Food and Drug Administration unanimously recommended Covid-19 vaccines Wednesday for children under five, the final age group awaiting immunization in most countries.

Formal authorizations for Moderna and Pfizer should follow soon, with the first shots in arms expected early next week, just over a year-and-a-half after the first Covid vaccines were greenlighted for the elderly in December 2020.

"This recommendation does fill a significant unmet need for a really ignored younger population," said Michael Nelson, a professor of medicine at the University of Virginia, one of the 21 experts asked to vote for the milestone meeting.

Unlike regulators in other countries, FDA offers livestreams of its internal deliberations and its stamp of approval is considered the global gold standard.

Opening the discussion, senior FDA scientist Peter Marks said that despite studies showing the majority of children have now been infected with the coronavirus, the high rate of hospitalizations among infants, toddlers and young children during last winter's Omicron wave underscored an urgent need for vaccination.

"We are dealing with an issue where we have to be careful we don't become numb to the pediatric deaths because of the overwhelming number of older deaths," he said.

"Every life is important and vaccine-preventable deaths are something we would like to try to do something about."

The United States has recorded 480 Covid deaths in the 0-4 age group in the pandemic -- far higher than even a bad flu season, Marks said.

As of May 2022, there have been 45,000 hospitalizations in that group, nearly a quarter of which required intensive care.

Ahead of the meeting, the FDA posted its independent analyses of the pharmaceutical companies' vaccines, deeming both safe and effective.

Both vaccines are based on messenger RNA, which delivers genetic code for the coronavirus spike protein to human cells that then grow it on their surface, training the immune system to be ready. The technology is now considered the leading Covid vaccination platform.

Pfizer sought authorization for three doses at three micrograms given to children aged six months through four years, while Moderna asked for the FDA to authorize its vaccine as two doses of a higher 25 micrograms for ages six months through five years.

Both vaccines were tested in trials of thousands of children. They were found to cause similar levels of mild side effects as in older age groups and triggered similar levels of antibodies.

- Two doses, or three? -

Efficacy against infection was higher for Pfizer, with the company placing it at 80 percent, compared to Moderna's estimates of 51 percent for children aged six-months to two years old and 37 percent for those aged two to five years.

But the Pfizer figure is based on very few cases and is thus considered preliminary. It also takes three doses to achieve its protection, with the third shot given eight weeks after the second, which is given three weeks after the first.

Moderna's vaccine should provide strong protection against severe disease after two doses, given four weeks apart, and the company is studying adding a booster that would raise efficacy levels against mild disease.

However, Moderna's decision to go with a higher dose is associated with higher levels of fevers in reaction to the vaccine compared to Pfizer.

There are some 20 million US children aged four years and under. 

Although obesity, neurological disorders and asthma are associated with increased risk of severe disease among young children, it's not easy to predict severe outcomes.

In fact, 64 percent of hospitalizations in those under five occurred in patients without comorbidities.

Children can also go on to contract multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a rare but serious post-viral condition. Some three to six percent can experience long Covid symptoms for more than 12 weeks.

The FDA is expected to soon act on the panel's recommendation, and the matter will go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a final say.

White House officials last week said the rollout of 10 million shots at pharmacies and doctors' offices could begin as soon as June 21.

With inputs from AFP.