Pakistan has detected another dozen and a half Covid-19 infections with no fatality during the last 24 hours (Friday), showed the statistics released by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Saturday morning, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

According to the NIH data, the death toll in the country remained the same at 30,640 whereas the number of total infections now rose to 1,576,361 after adding the fresh 18 cases. 

During the last 24 hours (Friday), 4,425 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 0.41 percent. The number of patients in critical care stood at 11.

https://twitter.com/NIH_Pakistan/status/1621679887005122561

California won't require vaccine to attend schools

The Department of Public Health in the US state of California said Friday it is not exploring emergency rules to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required school vaccinations.

That's a reversal from Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom's 2021 announcement that the state would add the COVID-19 vaccine to its list of mandated vaccinations for kids to attend school. Last year, state officials delayed that requirement until at least the summer of 2023.

Now public health officials say they are no longer moving ahead with the effort as the state prepares to end its coronavirus emergency on Feb. 28.

State public health officials said they still “strongly recommend" immunization of students and staff. They added that any changes to the vaccine requirement are “properly addressed through the legislative process.”