DailyWorld News - The First International Newspaper From India https://dailyworld.in/ Thu, 23 Oct 2025 01:33:12 +0530 en https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/indias-reports-4-362-fresh-covid-cases-66-deaths-199587.html New Delhi March 7 India reported further decline in daily Covid cases A total of 4362 fresh infections and 66 new deaths were registered in a span of 24 hours the Union health ministry said on Monday morning On Sunday India reported 5476 fresh Covid infections and 158 deaths The new deaths have taken the overall toll to 515102 in the country The active Covid case has further reduced to 54118 which constitute 013 per cent of the countrys total positive cases as per the ministry report The recovery of 9620 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 42398095 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9867 per cent said the Union Health Ministry on Monday Also in the same period a total of 612926 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7734 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate has further come down to 073 per cent while the daily positivity rate has marginally risen at 071 per cent With the administration of over 480 lakhs Covid vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias inoculation coverage has reached 17890 crore as of Monday morning This has been achieved through 20751079 sessions More than 1558 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered according to the health ministry as of Monday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/indias-reports-4-362-fresh-covid-cases-66-deaths-199587.html Mon, 07 Mar 2022 14:21:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/can-drinking-cow-milk-help-fight-covid-infection-199664.html New York March 7 Cow milk contains proteins with virus inhibiting properties that can help prevent Covid19 from replicating in a persons body and cause infection according to a study The protein lactoferrin is found in the milk of most mammals Researchers from the University of Michigan found that bovine lactoferrin from cow milk has bioactive characteristics against many microbes viruses and other pathogens It has also been found to inhibit SARSCoV2 infection under experimental conditions by blocking the ability of the virus to enter target cells as well as by supporting cells antiviral defense mechanisms Bovine lactoferrin has shown antiviral activity in human clinical trials said lead investigator Jonathan Sexton from the varsitys Department of Internal Medicine For example orally administered bovine lactoferrin has been shown to improve the severity of viral infections including rotavirus and norovirus Given the broad antiviral efficacy and safety minimal side effects and commercial availability of bovine lactoferrin several review papers have suggested using it as a preventive or postexposure treatment for SARSCoV2 infection he added The findings are detailed in the Journal of Dairy Science With the goal of improving clinical relevance and translatability the team tested bovine lactoferrin against some of the most common SARSCoV2 variants of concern from around the world including the WA1 variant representative of the US outbreak in 2020 the B117 B1351 and P1 variants and the Delta variant Each of these variants includes modifications to the SARSCov2 spike protein that reduce the efficacy of newly produced vaccines Furthermore each of these strains shows reduced neutralisation by vaccination sera Sexton explained A key benefit of the broad antiviral efficacy of lactoferrin is its potential for the prevention or treatment of emerging diseases This is especially important when there are limited treatment options or when the treatment options are too costly for widespread use An orally available therapeutic that covers emerging strains would be ideal for treating SARSCoV2 in areas without widespread vaccination or if new strains escape the vaccine Sexton said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/can-drinking-cow-milk-help-fight-covid-infection-199664.html Mon, 07 Mar 2022 18:51:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-logs-278-covid-cases-3-deaths-in-a-day-199457.html Bengaluru March 5 Karnataka logged 278 new Covid cases against 458 discharges and 3 deaths on Saturday the health department said The total active cases in the state came down to 3286 Positivity rate for the day stood at 053 per cent and case fatality rate for the day was 107 per cent The city of Bengaluru reported 182 cases against 222 discharges and reported 1 death in the last 24 hours The number of positive cases stood at 2419 Karnataka logged 233 new Covid cases against 648 discharges and 6 deaths on Friday Vijayapura Ramnagar Raichur Mandya Gadag Davanagere Chikkaballapur and Chamarajanagar districts recorded zero cases of Covid and most of the districts recorded Covid cases in single digit The state has completed administering 10125763 doses of Covid vaccination IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-logs-278-covid-cases-3-deaths-in-a-day-199457.html Sun, 06 Mar 2022 22:09:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/over-3-cr-teenagers-fully-vaccinated-against-covid-199270.html New Delhi March 5 India has administered both doses of Covid19 vaccines to over 3 crore youngsters of 15 to 18 age group so far The vaccination drive for teenagers started on January 3 India has administered 55263296 first vaccine doses and 30157910 second vaccine doses to persons of 15 to 18 age bracket till Saturday morning What a great feat by our young warriors Over 3 crore youngsters between 1518 age group are now fully vaccinated against Covid19 Young India is taking the worlds largest vaccination drive to the next level said Union Health Ministry in a tweet on Saturday The country has also administered over 2 crore precaution doses among the eligible beneficiaries Additionally over 97 per cent of Indias adult population has also received their first dose of vaccine against Covid19 Meanwhile Indias Covid19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 17855 crore as on Saturday with the administration of more than 2462 lakh doses in the last 24 hours This has been achieved through 20652074 sessions Moreover the daily Covid caseload continues to decline as India on Saturday reported 5921 fresh Covid infections in the last 24 hours with 289 deaths taking the death toll to 514878 the union health ministry said on Saturday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/over-3-cr-teenagers-fully-vaccinated-against-covid-199270.html Sun, 06 Mar 2022 06:39:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/four-ktaka-districts-achieve-100-full-vaccination-199274.html Bengaluru March 5 To ramp up the vaccination drive in Karnataka the state Health department is now targeting to ensure that the eligible population receives the second dose of Covid19 vaccine as soon as possible More than 10 crore vaccine doses have been administered to the people in the state so far along with 100 per cent vaccination of people with the first dose Four districts in Karnataka Bengaluru Rural Vijayapura Kodagu and Gadag have achieved 100 per cent second dose vaccination The Gadag district administration ensured both vaccine doses to the eligible population of 775000 and has vaccinated 790593 people including floating population according to statistics released by the state Health and Family Welfare department As many as 831395 persons have been identified and vaccinated in Bengaluru Rural district while 1656611 beneficiaries have been given both vaccine doses in Vijayapura district In Kodagu district 403846 persons have been administered with both doses of vaccines These four districts achieved the vaccination target ahead of Bengaluru Urban district which has managed to vaccinate 91 per cent of people in the city despite good infrastructure workforce and facilities compared to the other four districts Raichur considered as one of the most backward districts in Karnataka has the least administration of second dose of vaccine at 89 per cent Despite the huge eligible population of 3480530 Belagavi district 98 per cent is very close to achieving 100 per cent vaccination with both the doses Kolar district has achieved 97 per cent of vaccination Mandya and Hassan districts are inching closer with 96 per cent of vaccination of the eligible population The state average in terms of vaccination stands at 94 per cent as far as the second dose is concerned State Health Minister K Sudhakar has congratulated the district administrations and health workers of the four districts for ensuring vaccination of all eligible population IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/four-ktaka-districts-achieve-100-full-vaccination-199274.html Sun, 06 Mar 2022 07:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/mrna-covid-vax-doesnt-affect-ivf-success-rates-study-199403.html New Delhi March 5 Covid19 mRNA vaccines do not affect the ovarian response or pregnancy rates in IVF Invitro fertilisation treatment according to a study A team of researchers from the Tel Aviv University in Israel found that in patients undergoing IVF treatments ovarian response and pregnancy rates were similar with those that were vaccinated with the mRNA Covid19 vaccine prior to IVF treatment as compared to unvaccinated women The study published in the peerreviewed medical journal Fertility and Sterility included a total of 400 patients 200 vaccinated women and 200 agematched unvaccinated women undergoing IVF during JanuaryApril 2021 The results showed no effect of Covid19 mRNA vaccine on oocyte yield during hormonal stimulation or on pregnancy rates during IVF treatments The study did not support concerns that the vaccine might affect fertility treatment outcomes were not supported said researchers The theoretical concept of the supposed similarity between the SARSCoV2 spike protein and the syncytin protein that is speculated to take part in the fertilisation process and the formation of the placenta has led to the assumption that the vaccine might induce an immune response which would affect implantation and pregnancy said researchers including Alon Kedem from the varsitys Shamir Medical Centre in the study Our results demonstrate similar oocyte yields and fertilisation rates among vaccinated and unvaccinated women Kedem added The researchers said taking into account the potential harm of the infection itself on fertility the already proven worse pregnancy outcomes among pregnant women with Covid19 infection and the higher risk of infection among unvaccinated pregnant women it seems reasonable to reduce infection risk through vaccination We recommend considering Covid19 vaccination prior to commencing IVF treatments in order to reduce the risk of SARSCoV2 infection during pregnancy Kedem said Preliminary reports on vaccine safety in pregnant women found similar miscarriage rates among vaccinated women as compared to historical data from the literature However the results of this study strengthen the notion that it is unlikely that the vaccine would generate a response that might interfere with placentation researchers said Yet further studies are needed to evaluate the safety of the vaccine beyond the eighth week of pregnancy the team said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/mrna-covid-vax-doesnt-affect-ivf-success-rates-study-199403.html Sun, 06 Mar 2022 17:56:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/finally-daily-covid-cases-drop-below-2-000-in-kerala-199404.html Thiruvananthapuram March 5 After a long gap the daily Covid cases in Kerala have fallen below the 2000 mark The state on Saturday logged 1836 positive cases while the test positivity rate also came down to 602 per cent said Health Minister Veena George in a statement A total 2988 people turned Covid negative The total active cases in the state are 15825 of which 85 per cent of the patients were being treated in various hospitals across the state There were 4 Covid deaths which took the total death tolld to 66136 in the state so far On the vaccination front 100 per cent 269 crore have had one dose of which 86 per cent 231 crore have taken both the doses Likewise in the above aged 15 to 18 years 77 per cent 1188 lakh have been given one dose while 37 per cent 564 lakh have now received their second dose also IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/finally-daily-covid-cases-drop-below-2-000-in-kerala-199404.html Sun, 06 Mar 2022 18:01:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/over-2-cr-precaution-doses-administered-among-eligible-beneficiaries-mansukh-mandaviya-199043.html New Delhi March 4 India has so far administered over 2 crore precaution doses or the third vaccine shots among the eligible beneficiaries Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday Additionally over 97 per cent of the countrys adult population have also received their first dose of vaccine against Covid19 Over two crore healthcare frontline workers and citizens aged 60 years or above have received precaution doses the minister tweeted He also requested the eligible beneficiaries to get their third shot at the earliest So far the country has administered 20369898 precaution doses as on this morning With the administration of over 2484 lakh doses in the last 24 hours the Covid19 inoculation coverage has reached 17829 crore This has been achieved through 20605684 sessions as per the Union Health Ministry data As many as 6396 fresh Covid19 cases were reported in the last 24 hours In the same period 201 Covidrelated fatalities took the death toll to 514589 The active Covid cases have further reduced to 69897 which constitute 016 per cent of the countrys total positive cases as per the ministry report Meanwhile the Health Minister welcomed the Indian students on their arrival from the wartorn Ukraine at Delhi airport in the morning He said that the students have shown amazing courage even in difficult situations Every effort is being made by the PM Modi government for the safe evacuation of everyone IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/over-2-cr-precaution-doses-administered-among-eligible-beneficiaries-mansukh-mandaviya-199043.html Sat, 05 Mar 2022 01:49:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-5-921-fresh-covid-cases-289-deaths-199124.html New Delhi March 5 India on Saturday reported a further decline in fresh Covid19 cases with 5921 infections recorded in the past 24 hours as per Union Health Ministrys data In the same period 289 Covidrelated deaths were reported pushing the toll to 514878 Meanwhile the active Covid cases have further reduced to 63878 which constitute 015 per cent of the countrys total positive cases as per the ministry report The recovery of 11651 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 42378721 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9865 per cent Also in the same period a total of 940905 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7719 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate has further come down to 084 per cent while the daily positivity rate has further fallen at 063 per cent With the administration of over 2462 lakh Covid vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 17855 crore as of this morning This has been achieved through 20652074 sessions More than 1562 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs to be administered according to the ministry IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-5-921-fresh-covid-cases-289-deaths-199124.html Sat, 05 Mar 2022 15:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/study-shows-how-mis-c-gets-started-in-children-199162.html New York March 5 A team of researchers has identified unique features of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children MISC a rare but potentially deadly complication of Covid in children that suggest how the syndrome gets started The findings published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology may lead to faster diagnosis and better treatment of MISC One of the major unanswered questions about MISC is how immunologically the disease evolves from the initial infectious episode to the final immunemediated assault said Mark Gorelik Assistant Professor of pediatrics at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons The team compared eight MISC patients with 14 patients who had other febrile infections by looking at the array of immune cells and responses in blood samples taken at the very first encounter with care in the emergency department before treatments were initiated A clue to what causes MISC may lie in the different immune cells found in MISC patients compared with other patients the researchers said Only some cells were activated which suggests that these cells are mistakenly directing the immune system to attack blood vessels in the body that had been damaged by the virus said Robert Winchester Professor at the varsity These cells are drawn to the blood vessels because of the presence of the virus but they appear to misidentify the culprit when they alert the rest of the immune system he added MISC also appears to drive patients natural killer cells another type of immune cell to exhaustion They get to the point where they are no longer able to carry out their function properly Winchester said This is seen in some other inflammatory diseases and may offer a clue to treatment similar to those diseases Further interleukin27 an inflammatory molecule was very highly upregulated in patients with MISC but not in other febrile children This cytokine is poorly understood but has been associated with increased mortality in patients with serious blood infection or sepsis Gorelik said If validated these findings may allow researchers to run a simple easily available test to readily confirm MISC in patients when they are in the emergency department The researchers also postulate that MISC and adult Covid19 infection may be more similar than is currently believed Perhaps and this is highly speculative what is unique to children is the ability to handle the initial viral infection more efficiently and then a month or so later they develop MISC Gorelik said In contrast adults are not able to suppress the initial viral infection And then secondarily in severe cases a serious MISClike immune response develops In both adults and children however this second phase immune signature appears quite similar IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/study-shows-how-mis-c-gets-started-in-children-199162.html Sat, 05 Mar 2022 17:59:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-6-396-new-covid-cases-201-deaths-198902.html New Delhi March 4 India reported 6396 fresh Covid infections and 201 deaths in a span of 24 hours the Union health ministry said on Friday morning With the new Covid related deaths the death toll has reached 514589 The active cases have further reduced to 69897 which constitute 016 per cent of the countrys total positive cases said the ministry report The recovery of 13450 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 42367070 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9864 per cent said the Union Health Ministry Also in the same period a total of 923351 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7709 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate has come down to 090 per cent while the daily positivity rate has further fallen at 069 per cent With the administration of over 2484 lakh Covid vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias inoculation coverage has reached 17829 crore as of Friday morning This has been achieved through 20605684 sessions More than 1549 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered according to the health ministry as of Friday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-6-396-new-covid-cases-201-deaths-198902.html Fri, 04 Mar 2022 13:08:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/after-2-year-covid-break-tn-announces-schedule-for-class-10-12-exams-198666.html Chennai March 2 Tamil Nadu school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Wednesday said that the board exams for Class 12 students will commence from May 5 He said that exams for Class 11 students will be conducted from May 9 and those for Class 10 on May 6 The minister while speaking to mediapersons said The public exams for Class 12 students will take place from May 5 to May 28 The Class 11 public examinations will be held from May 9 to May 31 and public examinations for Class 10 students will be held from May 6 to May 30 He also said that the practical exams for Class 10 11 and 12 will commence from April 25 It may be noted that public exams were not held for the past two years due to the pandemic Poyyamozhi also said Tentatively the public exam results for Class 12 students will be announced on June 23 Class 10 students will get their results on June 17 and results for Class 11 students will be announced on July 7 The minister said that the results may either be announced slightly earlier or later than these dates The state education minister said I would like to reiterate what the Chief Minister has said to the students to take up the examinations Let them study with joy and write the exams for their satisfaction Poyyamozhi also said that final exams for Class 6 to 9 in governmentaided and matriculation schools following the state common board syllabus will be held from May 5 to May 13 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/after-2-year-covid-break-tn-announces-schedule-for-class-10-12-exams-198666.html Thu, 03 Mar 2022 16:08:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/at-seven-fresh-covid-deaths-in-karnataka-reduce-to-single-digit-198674.html Bengaluru March 2 With Karnataka recording seven Covid casualties in the past 24 hours the daily fatalities in the state reduced to single digit after a long time Though fresh Covid cases registered a dip the death toll had remained in double digits for quite sometime causing concern With the fresh fatalities the death toll in the state mounted to 39957 The state had reported 268 new Covid and cases 14 deaths on February 28 366 cases and 17 deaths on February 27 and 514 cases and 19 deaths on February 26 as per statistics provided by the Health department Though the neighbouring states showed a sharp decline in the number of deaths once the third wave started subsiding Karnataka continued to register deaths in double and triple digits The state recorded 202 infections 971 recoveries in the past 24 hours Total active cases in the state stand at 4847 The positivity rate stood at 052 per cent and case fatality rate at 347 per cent Bengaluru Urban recorded 150 cases 393 recoveries and three deaths in the same time span Gaurav Gupta Chief Commissioner of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike told IANS Its a major achievement This time during the third wave we were fully prepared to ensure that people are not inconvenienced Although the number of cases were rising up to almost 30000 per day fortunately for us extensive vaccination gave protection Severity of cases was less and other measures were taken by us he added Bengaluru sees patients from across India Lot of people from other states come here for treatment Due to lack of vaccination or age factor or comorbidity earlier symptoms of diabetes some of the cases become severe All round efforts are being made through vaccination home visits telephone counselling to ensure no fear and panic among masses about the virus The virus is still among us Mask and social distancing measures have to be practiced he said Bengaluru recorded 3003 active cases in the state in the past 24 hours As many as 1115 cases of Omicron have been registered in the state till date 4431 persons are affected with Delta and its sublineages are being treated in the state A total of 100738337 Covid vaccination doses have been administered in the state IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/at-seven-fresh-covid-deaths-in-karnataka-reduce-to-single-digit-198674.html Thu, 03 Mar 2022 16:40:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/study-shows-sars-cov-2-invaded-cells-in-penis-testicles-of-monkeys-198732.html New York March 2 A study on rhesus macaques by a team of US researchers showed that SARSCoV2 the virus causing Covid19 may infect tissue within the male genital tract The study posted on preprint site and not peerreviewed yet demonstrated that the Covid virus infected the prostate penis testicles and surrounding blood vessels in three male rhesus macaques the New York Times reported According to the team from Northwestern University the study indicates that symptoms like erectile dysfunction reported by some Covid patients may be caused directly by the virus not by inflammation or fever that often accompany the disease The team examined the monkeys with whole body scans specially designed to detect sites of infection the report said The signal that jumped out at us was the complete spread through the male genital tract Thomas Hope Professor of cell and developmental biology at Northwesterns Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago was quoted as saying We had no idea we would find it there he added Although the study was based on findings in just three monkeys the findings were consistent Hope said The team does not know whether the monkeys had symptoms corresponding to the viral infection of the male genital tract such as low testosterone levels low sperm counts pain or sexual dysfunction Hope said Researchers from the University of Miami last year were the first to demonstrate that Covid19 can be present in the penis tissue long after men recover from the infection and lead to erectile dysfunction The Covid19 infection can cause widespread blood vessel dysfunction or endothelial dysfunction which can then contribute to erectile dysfunction the team wrote in the World Journal of Mens Health Since then various studies have reported that about 10 to 20 per cent of men infected with the coronavirus have symptoms linked to male genital tract dysfunction Further men infected with the virus are three to six times as likely as others to develop erectile dysfunction believed to be an indicator of socalled long Covid the NYT report said Other viruses are also known to take a toll on fertility Hope noted Mumps is most famous historically for causing sterility he said The Zika virus goes to the testes and infects the testes and Ebola can also do that He urged men to get vaccinated and to seek a medical evaluation if they are concerned about their sexual or reproductive health the report said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/study-shows-sars-cov-2-invaded-cells-in-penis-testicles-of-monkeys-198732.html Thu, 03 Mar 2022 19:44:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/us-to-launch-covid-antiviral-pills-at-pharmacies-for-free-198637.html Washington March 2 The US is set to launch a new programme that will enable Americans who test positive for Covid19 to receive antiviral pills for free at local pharmacies and community health centers Were launching the Test to Treat initiative so people can get tested at a pharmacy and if theyre positive receive antiviral pills on the spot at no cost CNBC quoted President Joe Biden as saying during his State of the Union speech Tuesday Besides antivirals Biden said that Americans can also order more free Covid tests at the governments website covidtestsgov next week Households are eligible for four free Covid tests per order Families are limited to two orders starting next week based on residential address the report said Although antiviral Paxlovid made by Pfizer have been relatively scarce since the Food and Drug Administration approved them late last year Biden said that Pfizer is working overtime to get us one million pills this month and more than double that next month Biden said the US has reached a new moment in the pandemic with cases of severe illness down to their lowest level since July In line with the new guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week the president said that most Americans are now safe to live a mask free life With 75 per cent of adult Americans fully vaccinated and hospitalisations down by 77 per cent most Americans can remove their masks return to work stay in the classroom and move forward safely Biden said He added that the US is prepared for new Covid variants with the ability to deploy new vaccines within 100 days if needed I cannot promise a new variant wont come But I can promise you well do everything within our power to be ready if it does he said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/us-to-launch-covid-antiviral-pills-at-pharmacies-for-free-198637.html Thu, 03 Mar 2022 14:30:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-4383-mn-198458.html Washington March 2 The global coronavirus caseload has topped 4383 million while the deaths have surged to more than 596 million and vaccinations to over 1054 billion according to Johns Hopkins University In its latest update on Wednesday morning the Universitys Center for Systems Science and Engineering CSSE revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 438372893 and 5964355 respectively while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 10546967667 The US continues to be the worsthit country with the worlds highest number of cases and deaths at 79088507 and 952629 according to the CSSE The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India 42931045 infections and 514023 deaths followed by Brazil 28818850 infections and 649922 deaths The other countries with over 5 million cases are France 22959368 the UK 19120746 Russia 16257688 Germany 14974722 Turkey 14149341 Italy 12829972 Spain 11036085 Argentina 8904176 Iran 7060741 the Netherlands 6572042 Colombia 6065801 Poland 5680034 Mexico 5508629 and Indonesia 5589176 the CSSE figures showed The nations with a death toll of over 100000 are Russia 345427 Mexico 318149 Peru 210672 the UK 162203 Italy 155000 Indonesia 148660 Colombia 138854 France 139594 Iran 137064 Argentina 126257 Germany 123024 Ukraine 112459 and Poland 111586 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-4383-mn-198458.html Wed, 02 Mar 2022 20:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-7-554-new-covid-cases-223-deaths-198501.html New Delhi March 2 Indias daily Covid cases in a span of 24 hours rose marginally to 7554 against 6915 infections reported on the previous day A total of 223 deaths were reported in the same time span taking the death toll to 514246 the Union health ministry said on Wednesday Meanwhile the active Covid cases have further reduced to 85680 which constitute 020 per cent of the countrys total positive cases as per the ministry report The recovery of 14123 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 42338673 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9860 per cent said the Union Health Ministry Also in the same period a total of 784059 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7691 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 106 per cent while daily positivity rate has also come down below 1 per cent The daily positivity rate stands at 096 per cent With the administration of over 8 lakh Covid vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias inoculation coverage has reached 17779 crore as of Wednesday morning This has been achieved through 20501806 sessions More than 1445 cror3e balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered according to the health ministry as of Wednesday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-7-554-new-covid-cases-223-deaths-198501.html Wed, 02 Mar 2022 23:51:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/millennials-have-more-faith-in-indian-covid-vax-than-gen-z-report-198265.html New Delhi Feb 28 About 43 per cent millennials have increased faith in Covid vaccines developed in India more than Gen Z 30 per cent according to a report Millennials are people born between 1977 and 1995 while Gen Z are those born between 1996 and 2015 The report also showed that 88 per cent of Millennials in India agreed with the role of Covid vaccine than Gen Z 81 per cent and others In general 85 per cent people considered Covid vaccines to be safe and effective and a majority considered Indian vaccines safer than those developed in other countries 67 per cent Gen Z below 25 years and Millennials 2641 years also mentioned the World Health Organisation as their most trusted source of information about vaccines The report is based on a survey by HEAL Foundation in collaboration with Saizen Global Insights Consulting The survey included 1106 respondents across nine metro cities of India More than 90 per cent believe in vaccines and understandappreciate the role of vaccines in the fight against Covid19 About 80 per cent are also optimistic about life getting back to normal in the next 25 years from Covid impacts Unvaccinated people showed higher concerns while females were also found somewhat more worried or less sure about vaccine safety and efficacy than males Side effects are a top concern across generations Boomers 5876 have somewhat low belief in vaccine efficacy and its concern IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/millennials-have-more-faith-in-indian-covid-vax-than-gen-z-report-198265.html Wed, 02 Mar 2022 07:12:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-reports-46-fall-in-daily-covid-cases-no-death-after-two-months-198306.html New Delhi Feb 28 Delhi on Monday reported a considerable decline of 46 per cent in daily Covid cases at 258 while there was no Covid death for the first time after December 31 as per the Health Department bulletin The fresh Covid infections has pushed the tally to 1859892 in the city while the death toll continues to be 26122 The infection rate in the city has come down to 071 per cent while the number of active cases stands at 1845 as per the bulletin With the Covid recovery rate climbing to 9849 per cent the death rate stands at 140 per cent and the active case rate continues at 009 per cent With 499 patients recovering in the last 24 hours the total number of recoveries has gone to 1831925 A total of 1471 Covid patients are being treated in home isolation at present The number of Covid containment zones has also declined to 4626 in the city Meanwhile a total of 36584 new tests 33269 RTPCR and 3315 Rapid Antigen were conducted in the last 24 hours taking the total to 36379943 Out of 7563 vaccines administered in the last 24 hours 918 were first doses and 6341 second doses Meanwhile 304 precaution doses were also administered The total number of cumulative beneficiaries vaccinated so far stands at 31348361 according to the health bulletin IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-reports-46-fall-in-daily-covid-cases-no-death-after-two-months-198306.html Wed, 02 Mar 2022 10:52:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/odisha-govt-puts-curbs-celebration-of-holi-at-public-places-198346.html Bhubaneswar Feb 28 The Odisha government on Monday issued Covid19 guidelines for March imposing restrictions on celebration of Holi at public places Holi and its related rituals shall not be observed in public places throughout the state People may celebrate Holi with family members in their houses only and not in any public places including public roads Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena said in an order Mahashivaratri on March 1 will be observed as per the order issued by the SRC on February 25 During celebration of Dola Punima people will have to follow Covid appropriate behavior All religious rituals are allowed with strict adherence of Covid19 protocols Jena said There will be no night curfew across the state The government has allowed all social religious political and sports gatherings along with exhibitions trade fairs expo and melas with strict adherence to Covid19 protocols As urban elections are scheduled to be held on March 24 the state government has allowed political gatherings meetings rallies door to door campaigns as per the instructionsguidelines issued by the State Election Commission from time to time Maximum 500 persons will be allowed for marriages thread ceremony and other related gatherings with approval from local authorities However for marriage processions maximum 100 participants including bridegroom priest friends relatives guests members of band party light sound systems etc will be allowed Funerals last rites and related gatherings are allowed with a ceiling of 250 persons The Collector and Municipal Commissioner concerned can impose any further restrictions as desirable in consideration of local situations the SRC said in the order IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/odisha-govt-puts-curbs-celebration-of-holi-at-public-places-198346.html Wed, 02 Mar 2022 13:45:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/schools-open-after-2-years-in-kashmir-198365.html Srinagar Teachers greet students with flowers as they arrive to attend their classes on the first day of reopening of schools in valley after a gap of almost three years due to abrogration of Article 35A and COVID19 in Srinagar Wednesday March 2 2022 PTI Srinagar March 2 Barring barely a month for which they functioned in 2021 schools across Kashmir opened for offline education on Wednesday after two years Smiling children and parents started the day with cheer and happiness on Wednesday as relief was palpable among parents children and teachers All government run and private schools across the Valley have opened Traffic moved in Srinagar city with the hustle and bustle of a city that seemed to have rebound to active life after months It was a chorus the city had missed for nearly two years Children seemed to enjoy the reopening of their schools like a celebration My son kept on asking me since early morning when he would be leaving for school It was a joy he hardly seemed to be able to contain said Saima living in uptown Srinagar city In the towns and villages the enthusiasm seemed to be equally enthralling I found my daughter polishing her school shoes around 630 am Due to cloudy weather daylight was barely visible when she asked me to show her what she would be wearing today said Zarina another mother in north Kashmir Ganderbal district Officials of the school education department have said it is not necessary for students to wear uniforms for the first few weeks We want the schools to start academic and other activities in the right earnest It is understandable that all children might not have tidy uniforms available in the beginning Those students who dont have their uniforms ready in the beginning can come in casuals said an official of the school education department Asked about their feelings when they attended schools in the absence of children Shabir Ahmad a government school teacher said We felt like gardeners would feel in a garden without any flowers Thanks to the receding pandemic schools across Kashmir have got their blooming flowers back It is hoped that both teachers and children adhere to the required SoPs to ensure that the pandemic stays at bay without interfering with the lives and careers of children IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/schools-open-after-2-years-in-kashmir-198365.html Wed, 02 Mar 2022 14:19:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/medical-oxygen-supplies-in-ukraine-may-last-only-24-hours-who-197941.html Geneva Feb 28 Ukraine is suffering from dangerously low medical oxygen supplies due to the ongoing invasion by Russian forces and may run out of it within 24 hours warns the World Health Organization WHO Lifesaving medicinal oxygen supplies are particularly crucial for patients with health complications stemming from pregnancy childbirth chronic conditions sepsis and injuries and trauma including those with Covid19 About 1700 people are hospitalised with Covid in the country according to the WHO Due to the Russian invasion that began on February 24 the country has been hit with low oxygen supplies The WHO stated that trucks are unable to transport oxygen supplies from plants to hospitals across the country including the capital Kiev which is facing Russian attack The oxygen supply situation is nearing a very dangerous point in Ukraine WHO DirectorGeneral Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P Kluge said in a joint statement The majority of hospitals could exhaust their oxygen reserves within the next 24 hours Some have already run out This puts thousands of lives at risk they added Further they noted that medical oxygen generator manufacturers in several areas are also facing shortages of zeolite crucial mainly imported chemical product necessary to produce safe medical oxygen Ghebreyesus and Kluge have called for critical medical supplies to safely reach those who need them The UN agency is also working with partners to establish safe transit for oxygenrelated medical devices and trauma treatment supplies through Poland In addition patient services in critical hospitals are also being jeopardised by electricity and power shortages The WHO added that ambulances transporting patients are in also danger of getting caught in the crossfire between Russian and Ukrainian forces Oxygen supplies would need safe transit including via a logistics corridor through Poland It is imperative to ensure that lifesaving medical supplies including oxygen reach those who need them Ghebreyesus and Kluge said They added that the progress that Ukraine made strengthening its health systems in recent years with WHO support is now at risk of being derailed during the current crisis IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/medical-oxygen-supplies-in-ukraine-may-last-only-24-hours-who-197941.html Tue, 01 Mar 2022 01:59:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-extends-ban-on-international-commercial-flights-197963.html New Delhi Feb 28 Indias civil aviation regulator the DGCA on Monday extended the ban on scheduled international commercial flights till further orders At present the third Covid wave driven by the Omicron variant is receding in the country In a notification the DGCA extended the ban on scheduled international commercial flights till further orders This restriction shall not apply to international allcargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA Similarly flights under the Air Bubble agreement will not be affected Last month the civil aviation regulator had extended the ban on scheduled international commercial flights till February 28 2022 In late 2021 India had announced plans to allow resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services from December 15 2021 with certain conditions However the plan was postponed due to the emergence of third Covid wave globally India had banned the operation of international flights on March 23 2020 to contain and control the spread of Covid19 Flight restrictions however were later eased under air bubble arrangement with certain countries IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-extends-ban-on-international-commercial-flights-197963.html Tue, 01 Mar 2022 04:42:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/malaysia-reports-24-466-new-covid-infections-40-more-deaths-197996.html Kuala Lumpur Feb 28 Malaysia reported 24466 new Covid infections as of midnight Sunday bringing the national total to 3419636 according to the health ministry There are 246 new imported cases with 24220 being local transmissions as per data released on the ministrys website Further 40 deaths have been reported bringing the death toll to 32674 Xinhua news agency reported The ministry reported 22710 new recoveries bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 3086270 There are 300692 active cases 353 are being held in intensive care and 193 of those are in need of assisted breathing The country reported 101136 vaccine doses administered on Sunday alone and 825 per cent of the population has received at least one dose 788 per cent have been fully vaccinated and 446 per cent have received booster jabs IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/malaysia-reports-24-466-new-covid-infections-40-more-deaths-197996.html Tue, 01 Mar 2022 09:29:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/new-zealand-reports-14-633-new-community-cases-of-covid-197998.html Wellington Feb 28 New Zealand recorded 14633 new community cases of Covid on Monday the Ministry of Health said in a statement More than 9000 cases of the infection were reported in Auckland In addition 23 new cases were detected at the New Zealand border Currently 344 patients in the country are being treated in hospitals for the virus with five of them being in intensive care units Xinhua news agency reported New Zealand reported 100352 confirmed cases of Covid since the beginning of the pandemic including 82105 active community cases which have been identified in the past 21 days and not yet classified as recovered the ministry said The country is at the highest Red settings under its Covid19 Protection Framework At Red settings face masks become mandatory in many indoor environments and gatherings are limited to 100 people IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/new-zealand-reports-14-633-new-community-cases-of-covid-197998.html Tue, 01 Mar 2022 09:43:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/kids-release-less-droplets-aerosols-than-adults-study-198002.html London Feb 28 Children release just a quarter of the aerosolised particles as adults while breathing speaking and singing according to a study The study Journal of the Royal Society Interface may be useful for making decisions about risk management in schools CNN reported In the study a team of researchers including those from HumboldtUniversitat zu Berlin in Germany analysed 15 children between the ages of 8 and 10 and compared the rates at which they emitted particles for various vocal tasks with the emission rates of 15 adults They measured the number of particles emitted over time as well as the volume of particles emitted The researchers found that overall children emit particles at a lower rate and a lower volume than adults However there was no significant difference in the volume of particle releases between the groups when it came to shouting The study found that children are also on average less loud than adults which partially accounts for the difference in observed aerosolised particle emission between the groups the report said The results may partially be explained by differences in respiratory anatomy between children and adults Pedro Piedra professor at Baylor College of Medicine was quoted as saying For example children have smaller lung sizes and shorter vocal cords said Piedra who was not involved in the study Studies have shown that children have only slightly lower and probably clinically insignificant Covid19 viral loads than adults Yet children are less susceptible to infection and more likely to be asymptomatic the report said In the context of a pandemic kids on average release fewer respiratory droplets and aerosols than adults do and may be less likely to transmit Covid19 Linsey Marr professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech was quoted as saying However there is a lot of variability in particles emitted from person to person so even though on average kids emit less a highemitting kid still emits more than a lowemitting adult cautioned Marr who was also not part of the study According to Piedra the main difference between children and adults is their disease severity with Covid19 As countries weigh decisions on lifting school mask mandates Piedro said its important to not let down our guards and say that masking is not needed Even though children may not be able to generate the same energy in their voice for emission of small particle aerosols theyre still very efficient transmitters he said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/kids-release-less-droplets-aerosols-than-adults-study-198002.html Tue, 01 Mar 2022 10:13:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pakistan-confirms-856-new-covid-19-cases-198029.html Islamabad Feb 28 Pakistan confirmed 856 new Covid19 cases over the last 24 hours the National Command and Operation Center NCOC said on Monday With the new infections the overall number of confirmed cases of Covid has risen to 1509360 in the country said the NCOC a department leading the countrys campaign against the pandemic Xinhua news agency reported A total of 1756 people were reported to have recovered from the pandemic over the last 24 hours bringing the total number of recoveries to 1443284 showed data from the NCOC According to the official data five deaths from Covid were registered on Sunday raising the death toll to 30178 Pakistans southern Sindh province is the worsthit region with 567761 infections recorded followed by the eastern Punjab province which has reported 501370 cases so far IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pakistan-confirms-856-new-covid-19-cases-198029.html Tue, 01 Mar 2022 11:46:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/fourth-covid-wave-in-india-from-june-says-study-198050.html Kanpur Feb 28 The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur IITK researchers have predicted that the fourth wave of Covid19 may set in around June 22 in the country According to the study India is likely to witness the fourth Covid wave in midJune and the surge is to continue for about four months However the severity of the wave will depend on the emergence of new variants vaccination status and administration of booster doses the study said The research was led by Sabara Parshad Rajeshbhai Subhra Sankar Dhar and Shalabh of IIT Kanpurs Mathematic department using a mixture of Gaussian distribution based on the data on Zimbabwe This IITK study has been published as a preprint in MedRxiv and is yet to be peerreviewed According to the researchers the data indicates that the fourth wave of Covid in India will arrive after 936 days from the initial data availability date which is January 30 2020 Therefore the fourth wave starts from June 22 2022 reaching its peak on August 23 2022 and ends on October 24 2022 the study said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/fourth-covid-wave-in-india-from-june-says-study-198050.html Tue, 01 Mar 2022 13:20:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/battle-of-up-caste-war-comes-into-play-in-chillupar-198068.html Gorakhpur UP Feb 28 The legendary ThakurBrahmin war in eastern Uttar Pradesh has come into full play in Chillupar assembly seat of Gorakhpur Chillupar is the stronghold of erstwhile mafia don and former minister Hari Shankar Tiwari Though Tiwari 86 has retired from active politics he has handed over the baton to his sons Bhisham Shankar Tiwari former MP and Vinay Shankar Tiwari a legislator Vinay Shankar Tiwari who quit BSP to join SP is now a candidate from Chillupar The hostility between the Tiwari family and Yogi Adityanath is an extension of the ThakurBrahmin divide which widened further when after coming to power Yogi Adityanaths police raided the home of Hari Shankar Tiwari ostensibly to look for an accused in a theft case The incident intensified the caste war that has been strongly simmering in the region for the past five years Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said in Chillupar In the five years of BJP rule a new Uttar Pradesh has emerged where there is no place for mafia and criminals The reference was obviously to the Tiwari family He further said criminals running organised gangs were on the run and people in rural and urban areas of the state were living without any fear He said that the mafia had sullied the image of Gorakhpur Earlier youths from Gorakhpur were not given jobs The mafia misguided them and lured them into their gangs The BJP government checked the trend by launching a drive against criminal gangs The people of the region also busted the myth that mafia cannot be defeated in the elections he said The BJP candidate in Chillupar is Rajesh Tripathi who had defeated Tiwari in 2007 and 2012 assembly elections Among Brahmins the Tiwari family is the most respected in Purvanchal and local people claim that Brahmin candidates in the region continue to take the blessings of Hari Shankar Tiwari to win elections Yogi Adityanath proudly claims to be a Thakur and represents the Thakur lobby in the region This time the elections have divided the two communities and their leaders are making no bones about supporting candidates from their communities says Rishu Singh a local journalist Before the emergence of Yogi it was gangster turned politician Virendra Pratap Shahi who belonged to the Thakur community who had challenged the might of Tiwari Later the two called for truce and Shahi was murdered in 1997 After brutal murder of Shahi the Thakur community members rallied behind young Yogi Adityanath whom then was designated as successor to Mahant Avaidyanath Yogi Adityanath launched the Hindu Yuva Vahini HYV to win support of the upper caste backwards and Dalits and counter the muscle power of Tiwari and other political rivals IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/battle-of-up-caste-war-comes-into-play-in-chillupar-198068.html Tue, 01 Mar 2022 14:12:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/intl-travel-advisory-for-indians-evacuated-from-ukraine-revised-198099.html New Delhi Feb 28 Indian nationals being evacuated from Ukraine have been exempted from the mandatory Covid requirements for international arrivals it was announced on Monday The Union Health Ministry on Monday revised the International Travel Guidelines in collaboration with the Ministries of External Affairs Civil Aviation and Home to lend support in evacuating Indians from Ukraine Indian nationals not fulfilling either of the mandatory requirements of preboarding negative RTPCR test report or fully vaccinated certificate as laid down in the present Guidelines for International Arrivals have been exempted from uploading these documents on AirSuvidha Portal before departure to India Further the ministry has allowed individuals who have completed their Covid19 vaccination irrespective of the country of departurevaccination to exit the arrival airport in India with the advice to selfmonitor their health for the next 14 days In case a traveller is not able to submit a pre arrival RTPCR test or who has not completed their Covid19 vaccination they have been allowed to submit their samples on arrival with the advice to continue to selfmonitor their health for 14 days after arrival in India If tested positive they shall be clinically managed as per laid down protocol As on February 28 total five flights one in Mumbai and four in Delhi carrying Indians from Ukraine arrived in India carrying a total of 1156 passengers with none of the passengers being kept under isolation so far said the ministry in a statement IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/intl-travel-advisory-for-indians-evacuated-from-ukraine-revised-198099.html Tue, 01 Mar 2022 16:12:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-4351-mn-197738.html Washington Feb 28 The global coronavirus caseload has topped 4351 million while the deaths have surged to more than 594 million and vaccinations to over 1048 billion according to Johns Hopkins University In its latest update on Monday morning the Universitys Center for Systems Science and Engineering CSSE revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 435174068 and 5948306 respectively while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 10486610798 The US continues to be the worsthit country with the worlds highest number of cases and deaths at 78939142 and 948397 according to the CSSE The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India 42916117 infections and 513724 deaths followed by Brazil 28776794 infections and 649437 deaths The other countries with over 5 million cases are France 22862157 the UK 18938546 Russia 16055851 Germany 14728752 Turkey 14025181 Italy 12764558 Spain 10977524 Argentina 8897178 Iran 7040467 the Netherlands 6242936 Colombia 6062701 Poland 5660493 Mexico 5502586 and Indonesia 5539394 the CSSE figures showed The nations with a death toll of over 100000 are Russia 343934 Mexico 318014 Peru 210407 the UK 161797 Italy 154560 Indonesia 148073 Colombia 138693 France 139149 Iran 136631 Argentina 126120 Germany 122696 Ukraine 112459 and Poland 111316 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-4351-mn-197738.html Mon, 28 Feb 2022 11:05:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/skorea-reports-139-626-new-covid-19-cases-197834.html Seoul Feb 28 South Korea reported 139626 more Covid19 cases in the last 24 hours raising the total number of infections to 3134456 the health authorities said Monday The daily caseload was down from 163565 in the previous day due to fewer virus tests over the weekend falling below 140000 in six days according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency The recent resurgence was driven by infections in the Seoul metropolitan area amid the Omicron variant spread Xinhua news agency reported Of the new cases 27911 were Seoul residents The number of newly infected people living in Gyeonggi province and the western port city of Incheon was 37258 and 10740 respectively The virus spread also raged in the nonmetropolitan region The number of new infections in the noncapital areas was 63557 or 456 per cent of the total local transmission Among the new cases 160 were imported lifting the total to 29318 The number of infected people who were in a serious condition stood at 715 up by 52 from the previous day A total of 114 more deaths were confirmed leaving the death toll at 8058 The total fatality rate was 026 per cent The country has administered Covid vaccines to 44852140 people or 874 per cent of the total population and the number of fully inoculated people was 44358888 or 864 per cent of the population The number of those who received booster jabs was 31359539 or 611 per cent of the population IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/skorea-reports-139-626-new-covid-19-cases-197834.html Mon, 28 Feb 2022 17:38:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/indias-daily-covid-tally-drops-below-10-000-197846.html New Delhi Feb 28 Indias daily Covid cases on Monday dropped below 10000 for the first time since the beginning of third wave and recorded 8013 fresh infections in a span of 24 hours A total of 119 new Covid related deaths have also been reported in the same period taking the death toll to 513843 the Union health ministry said on Monday morning On Sunday the country had recorded 10273 fresh Covid cases and 243 deaths Meanwhile the active Covid cases have further reduced to 102601 which constitute 024 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 16765 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 42307686 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9856 per cent said the Union Health Ministry Also in the same period a total of 723828 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7674 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 117 per cent while daily positivity rate has risen to 111 per cent With the administration of nearly 5 lakh Covid vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 17750 crore as of Monday morning This has been achieved through 20349590 sessions More than 1289 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered according to the health ministry as of Monday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/indias-daily-covid-tally-drops-below-10-000-197846.html Mon, 28 Feb 2022 17:49:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/19-lakh-kids-in-india-have-lost-parent-or-caregiver-due-to-covid-lancet-197402.html New Delhi Feb 25 The Covid19 pandemic has rendered nearly 19 lakh children in India without a parent or caregiver the highest in the SouthEast Asia region according to new figures published in The Lancet Child Adolescent Health journal on Friday But media reports claim that the Indian government figures refute these figures and as per the Ministry of Women and Child developments Baal Swaraj Covid care portal the number is 15 lakh Globally the number has surged to more than 52 million revealed the study Calculations of estimated orphanhood cases per capita showed the highest rates were in Peru and South Africa with 8 and 7 out of every 1000 children affected respectively We estimate that for every person reported to have died as a result of the Covid19 pandemic one child is left orphaned or loses a caregiver That is the equivalent of one child every six seconds facing a heightened risk of lifelong adversity unless given appropriate support in time said lead author Dr Susan Hillis from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC Before the Covid pandemic there were an estimated 140 million orphaned children worldwide And in July 2021 the first estimate of Covids impact on orphanhood was 15 million children between March 2020 and April 2021 The new study increased this estimate to more than 27 million children for the same time period by recalculating the figures from updated Covid19 death figures along with excess mortality data to account for indirect deaths associated with the pandemic July 2021 estimates 1562000 children vs latest estimates 2737300 children the findings revealed Yet these may not be the real numbers According to Dr Juliette Unwin lead author from Imperial College London UK the real estimates are likely to be 10 times higher than what is currently being reported Sadly as high as our estimates of orphanhood and caregiver deaths are they are likely to be underestimated and we expect these numbers to grow as more global data on Covid19 deaths becomes available Unwin said Realtime updated data suggests the true totals reached 67 million children as of January 2022 While our current study looked at estimates through October 2021 the pandemic is still raging worldwide which means Covid19 related orphanhood will also continue to surge she noted The global study suggests that two out of three children orphaned from Covid are adolescents aged 10 to 17 years Further in line with evidence that Covid deaths disproportionately affected men three out of four children worldwide lost their father Overall children who experience the loss of a caregiver have an increased risk of poverty exploitation and sexual violence or abuse HIV infection mental health challenges and severe distress and in some contexts increased vulnerability to gang involvement and violent extremism The researchers call for evidencebased programmes for children experiencing orphanhood to be urgently incorporated into pandemic response efforts including programs that support economic strengthening enhanced community and family support and programs that avoid placing children in institutional care IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/19-lakh-kids-in-india-have-lost-parent-or-caregiver-due-to-covid-lancet-197402.html Sun, 27 Feb 2022 01:23:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-to-lift-all-covid-induced-restrictions-from-april-1-197404.html New Delhi Feb 25 The Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA on Friday decided to lift all Covidrelated restrictions in the national capital including the night curfew and 50 per cent capacity rule at restaurants and bars from Monday As per the new DDMA guidelines all online classes will be discontinued from April 1 in the city in view of the declining Covid trends Schools have to do away with the hybrid mode from April 1 All restrictions are likely to be lifted from April 1 The decision was taken in a meeting of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal DDMA withdraws all restrictions as situation improves n people facing hardships due to loss of jobs Schools to function fully offline from 1 Apr Fines for not wearing masks reduced to Rs 500 All shud continue following Covid Appropriate Behaviour Govt will keep strict watch said Kejriwal in a tweet The fine for not wearing the face mask has also been reduced to 500 in the city However all these restrictions are subject to Covid positivity rate remaining below 1 per cent The government will continue to keep watch on the Covid appropriate behaviour and surveillance on testing and vaccination IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-to-lift-all-covid-induced-restrictions-from-april-1-197404.html Sun, 27 Feb 2022 01:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/philippines-logs-1-671-new-covid-19-cases-total-rises-to-3-658-892-197415.html Manila Feb 25 The Philippines Department of Health DOH reported 1671 new Covid19 infections on Friday bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3658892 The DOH said 59 more people died from Covid19 complications taking the death toll to 56224 with three testing laboratories failing to submit data Xinhua news agency reported The number of active cases rose to 55140 from Thursdays 55079 The positivity rate dropped to 56 per cent from 63 per cent the previous day The DOH has reported under 2000 new cases for six straight days as the wave of infections triggered by the Omicron variant of Covid which peaked in midJanuary was ebbing The Philippines has seen four Covid waves since the pandemic began in January 2020 The country reported the highest singleday tally on January 15 with 39004 new cases The Philippines which has around 110 million population has tested over 26 million people for Covid so far IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/philippines-logs-1-671-new-covid-19-cases-total-rises-to-3-658-892-197415.html Sun, 27 Feb 2022 02:42:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-to-lift-all-covid-curbs-from-monday-only-physical-classes-from-april-1-197416.html New Delhi Feb 25 The Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA on Friday decided to lift all Covidrelated restrictions in the national capital including the night curfew and 50 per cent capacity rule at restaurants and bars from Monday As per the new DDMA guidelines all online classes will be discontinued from April 1 in the city in view of the declining Covid trends Schools have to do away with the hybrid mode from April 1 All restrictions are likely to be lifted from April 1 The decision was taken in a DDMA meet chaired by Lt Governor Anil Baijal and attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal DDMA withdraws all restrictions as situation improves n people facing hardships due to loss of jobs Schools to function fully offline from 1 Apr Fines for not wearing masks reduced to Rs 500 All shud continue following Covid Appropriate Behaviour Govt will keep strict watch said Kejriwal in a tweet The fine for not wearing the face mask has also been reduced to Rs 500 in the city However all these restrictions are subject to Covid positivity rate remaining below 1 per cent The government will continue to keep watch on the Covid appropriate behaviour and surveillance on testing and vaccination IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-to-lift-all-covid-curbs-from-monday-only-physical-classes-from-april-1-197416.html Sun, 27 Feb 2022 02:50:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/lab-leak-theory-study-finds-covid-dna-linked-to-moderna-patent-197497.html New Delhi Feb 25 A team of international researchers including from India have found that Covid virus contains tiny chunk of DNA that matched sequence patented by Moderna three years before the onset of pandemic The findings published in Frontiers in Virology has raised fresh suspicion that Covid virus may have been tinkered with in a lab Daily Mail reported The scientists team including Akhil Varshney from Dr Shroff Charity Eye Hospital in New Delhi showed a tiny snippet of a genetic material owned by Moderna in the viruss spike protein But records show that Moderna had filed the patent in February 2016 as part of its cancer research division the report said In the study the team compared Covids makeup to millions of sequenced proteins on an online database The virus is made up of 30000 letters of genetic code that carry the information it needs to spread known as nucleotides It is the only coronavirus of its type to carry 12 unique letters that allow its spike protein to be activated by a common enzyme called furin allowing it to spread between human cells with ease Analysis of the original Covid genome found the virus shares a sequence of 19 specific letters with a genetic section owned by Moderna which has a total of 3300 nucleotides the report said The patented sequence is part of a gene called MSH3 that is known to affect how damaged cells repair themselves in the body Scientists have highlighted this pathway as a potential target for new cancer treatments Twelve of the shared letters make up the structure of Covids furin cleavage site with the rest being a match with nucleotides on a nearby part of the genome The researchers suggest the virus may have mutated to have a furin cleavage site during experiments on human cells in a lab The matching code may have originally been introduced to the Covid genome through infected human cells expressing the MSH3 gene wrote Dr Balamurali Ambati from the University of Oregon in the study At the same time the team also claimed that there is a oneinthreetrillion chance Modernas sequence randomly appeared through natural evolution Were talking about a very very very small piece made up of 19 nucleotides Professor Lawrence Young a virologist at Warwick University was quoted as saying to Daily Mail So it doesnt mean very much to be frank if you do these types of searches you can always find matches Sometimes these things happen fortuitously sometimes its the result of convergent evolution when organisms evolve independently to have similar traits to adapt to their environment Its a quirky observation but I wouldnt call it a smoking gun because its too small It doesnt get us any further with the debate about whether Covid was engineered Young said A statement from the US drug maker Moderna is awaited the report said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/lab-leak-theory-study-finds-covid-dna-linked-to-moderna-patent-197497.html Sun, 27 Feb 2022 11:29:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/47-mn-covid-shots-destroyed-in-uk-over-fears-of-blood-clot-risk-197562.html London Feb 25 Amid fears of over blood clot risk about 47 million Covid vaccine doses were wasted in the UK by the end of October 2021 according to a government report According to the National Audit Office NAO this included about 19 million AstraZeneca shots that ended up in the bins BBC reported The NAO which scrutinises spending of public money said the wastage is far lower than projected for the countrys most ambitious vaccination programme ever Experts had assumed 20 per cent of stocks might not be used because of handling and storage problems or expiry dates The NAO said the vaccine programme met stretching and unprecedented targets to save lives But it was left with too many expiring AstraZeneca doses after experts recommended that people under 40 should preferably be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to avoid a rare but possible link to blood clots Some wastage was avoided by redirecting 45 million AstraZeneca doses to other countries but stocks already at local sites had to be destroyed in line with regulations Approximately 19 million doses were written off the report said The vaccine programme has been successful in getting early access to what were brand new vaccines securing supply of them and administering them to a large proportion of the population at unprecedented speed Gareth Davies head of the NAO was quoted as saying The programme must now redouble its efforts to reach those who are not yet vaccinated while also considering what a more sustainable model will involve as it moves out of its emergency phase he added AstraZeneca Covid vaccine was developed in collaboration with Oxford University and rolled out in less than 12 months in the UK It was celebrated as a UK success story and billed as Britains gift to the world But fears over the links to blood clots led several countries including Germany France Spain Italy the Netherlands the Republic of Ireland Denmark Norway Bulgaria Iceland and Thailand to pause their use of the vaccine Doubts cast by several scientists and politicians alike over the efficacy of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine developed in collaboration with the Oxford University probably killed hundreds of thousands of people Prof John Bell an Oxford scientist who worked on the jab told a BBC Two documentary early this month I think bad behaviour from scientists and from politicians has probably killed hundreds of thousands of people and they cannot be proud of that Bell said They have damaged the reputation of the vaccine in a way that echoes around the rest of the world he added IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/47-mn-covid-shots-destroyed-in-uk-over-fears-of-blood-clot-risk-197562.html Sun, 27 Feb 2022 15:28:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-entering-endemic-phase-but-annual-vaccines-will-be-needed-moderna-197569.html Washington Feb 25 Even as the number of Covid cases are declining in several parts of the world US drug maker Moderna has said that the pandemic will end in 2022 yet annual vaccinations are needed the media reported Although Covid is entering an endemic phase Moderna Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton said the virus will continue to circulate but at a more static and predictable rate CNBC reported We do believe that we are transitioning into an endemic phase marked by a period of stability in case counts hospitalisations and deaths at least in the Northern Hemisphere he was quoted as saying to analysts after the company reported fourthquarter earnings North America Europe most of Asia and much of Africa are in the Northern Hemisphere However Burton said Moderna is closely monitoring the trajectory of the virus in the Southern Hemisphere which includes large nations such as Brazil and South Africa as winter approaches there Burton said Covid will likely follow seasonal patterns like other respiratory viruses such as the flu However he warned people will still get sick and die from Covid even when the virus becomes endemic He noted that other endemic coronaviruses cause 340000 hospitalisations and 20000 deaths annually for people older than 65 years old citing data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development According to Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel there is still a need for another booster shot in the fall particularly for individuals over 50 and those who are at high risk due to underlying health conditions I got a flu shot every year not that I was worried of dying or getting hospitalised I just dont want to get sick Bancel was quoted as saying On Thursdays earnings call Bancel said he expects Covid shots will have a similar role in the future as the virus becomes seasonal the report said Moderna has also announced that it is developing a booster vaccine that targets Omicron and other Covid variants such as Delta Burton said the current booster protects against hospitalisation from Delta and to a lesser extent from Omicron However he said the effectiveness of the vaccine declines over time the report said Burton said the disease burden and deaths have declined from their highest levels during the first wave of infection when no one had immunity to the virus With each subsequent wave in mid2021 with delta and late 2021 and early 2022 with omicron the morbidity observed from these waves tended to be less severe certainly relative to the first wave as our immune systems became more experienced at fighting the SARSCoV2virus Burton said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-entering-endemic-phase-but-annual-vaccines-will-be-needed-moderna-197569.html Sun, 27 Feb 2022 16:13:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/new-covid-cases-in-kerala-come-down-to-3-581-197583.html Thiruvananthapuram Feb 25 The Covid pandemics third wave seems to be in its last stages in Kerala as on Friday the state saw 3581 new cases while the test positivity rate stood at 812 per cent said a statement issued here by Health Minister Veena George There were 7837 recoveries taking the active cases in the state to 37239 of which 7 per cent were admitted in hospitals across the state Six Covid deaths were reported taking the total death tally to 64980 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/new-covid-cases-in-kerala-come-down-to-3-581-197583.html Sun, 27 Feb 2022 16:57:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-4312-mn-197135.html Washington Feb 25 The global coronavirus caseload has topped 4312 million while the deaths have surged to more than 592 million and vaccinations to over 1044 billion according to Johns Hopkins University In its latest update on Friday morning the Universitys Center for Systems Science and Engineering CSSE revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 431217460 and 5927539 respectively while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 10444585895 The US continues to be the worsthit country with the worlds highest number of cases and deaths at 78798989 and 944828 according to the CSSE The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India 42881179 infections and 512924 deaths followed by Brazil 28589235 infections and 647703 deaths The other countries with over 5 million cases are France 22707087 the UK 18906546 Russia 15697674 Germany 14311064 Turkey 13841889 Italy 12651251 Spain 10949997 Argentina 8878486 Iran 7011932 the Netherlands 6242832 Colombia 6056556 Poland 5620946 Mexico 5455237 and Indonesia 5408328 the CSSE figures showed The nations with a death toll of over 100000 are Russia 341624 Mexico 316941 Peru 210116 the UK 161675 Italy 154013 Indonesia 147342 Colombia 138421 France 138784 Iran 135952 Argentina 125872 Germany 122212 Ukraine 112459 and Poland 110858 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-4312-mn-197135.html Sat, 26 Feb 2022 05:35:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/new-zealand-reports-12-011-new-covid-cases-197143.html Wellington Feb 25 New Zealand recorded 12011 new community cases of Covid19 on Friday the Ministry of Health said in a statement Nearly 8000 cases of the infections were reported in the largest city Auckland In addition 19 new cases were detected at the New Zealand border Xinhua news agency reported Currently 237 Covid patients are being treated in New Zealand hospitals with three of them in the intensive care unit The ministry also reported the deaths of five patients with Covid New Zealand has reported 54480 confirmed cases of Covid since the beginning of the pandemic including 39413 active community cases which have been identified in the past 21 days and not yet classified as recovered the ministry said The country moved to the next phase of the governments Omicron response from Friday said Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins The changes will ease some of the pressure on the countrys testing and contact tracing services over the next three to six weeks while helping to ensure critical services and supply chains remain operational and the economy keeps moving he said Close contacts will no longer be required to selfisolate Only confirmed cases and household contacts of a confirmed case will be required to selfisolate for 10 days Hipkins said Rapid Antigen Tests RATs will become the primary form of testing as New Zealanders can now access an RAT from thousands of locations around the country The country is at the highest Red settings under its COVID19 Protection Framework At Red settings face masks become mandatory in many indoor environments and gatherings are limited to 100 people IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/new-zealand-reports-12-011-new-covid-cases-197143.html Sat, 26 Feb 2022 06:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/malaysia-sees-fresh-high-of-32-070-daily-covid-cases-197144.html Kuala Lumpur Feb 25 Malaysia has reported 32070 new Covid19 infections which is the highest daily spike since the outbreak bringing the national total to 3337227 according to the health ministry There are 209 new imported cases with 31861 being local transmissions midnight Thursday data released on the ministrys website showed Xinhua news agency reported A further 46 deaths have been reported bringing the death toll to 32534 The ministry reported 23332 new recoveries bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 3018172 Among 286521 active cases 327 are being held in intensive care and 201 of those are in need of assisted breathing The country reported 137197 vaccine doses administered on Thursday alone and 821 per cent of the population have received at least one dose 788 per cent are fully vaccinated and 44 per cent have received boosters IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/malaysia-sees-fresh-high-of-32-070-daily-covid-cases-197144.html Sat, 26 Feb 2022 06:39:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-13-166-fresh-covid-cases-302-deaths-197148.html New Delhi Feb 25 India recorded a decline in fresh Covid infections at 13166 in a span of 24 hours against 14148 cases registered the previous day Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday The virus claimed 302 lives in the same time span pushing the death toll to 513226 Meanwhile the active Covid cases have reduced to 134235 which constitute 031 per cent of the countrys total cases The recovery of 26988 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 42246884 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9849 per cent said the Union Health Ministry Also in the same period a total of 1030016 tests were conducted across the country taking the total number of tests to over 7645 crore The weekly positivity rate currently stands at 148 per cent while daily positivity rate has risen to 128 per cent With the administration of over 3204 lakhs vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 17686 crore as of Friday morning More than 1102 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories the ministry added IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-13-166-fresh-covid-cases-302-deaths-197148.html Sat, 26 Feb 2022 07:19:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/skorea-reports-1-65-890-new-covid-19-cases-197255.html Seoul Feb 25 South Korea reported 165890 more Covid19 cases as of midnight Thursday compared to 24 hours ago raising the total number of infections to 2665077 health authorities said on Friday The daily caseload was slightly down from 170016 in the previous day falling below 170000 in three days according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency KDCA The recent resurgence was driven by infections in the Seoul metropolitan area amid the Omicron variant spread Xinhua news agency reported Of the new cases 35562 were Seoul residents The number of newly infected people living in Gyeonggi province and the western port city of Incheon was 48080 and 12843 respectively The virus spread also raged in the nonmetropolitan region The number of new infections in the noncapital areas was 69264 or 418 per cent of the total local transmission Among the new cases 141 were imported from overseas lifting the total to 28866 The number of infected people who were in a serious condition stood at 655 up 74 from the previous day At least 94 more deaths were confirmed leaving the death toll at 7783 The total fatality rate was 029 per cent The country has administered Covid vaccines to 44835692 people or 874 per cent of the total population and the number of fully inoculated people was 44333632 or 864 per cent of the population The number of those who received booster jabs was 31002534 or 604 per cent of the population IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/skorea-reports-1-65-890-new-covid-19-cases-197255.html Sat, 26 Feb 2022 14:58:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pakistan-adds-1-122-new-covid-cases-25-more-deaths-197258.html Islamabad Feb 25 Pakistan recorded 1122 new Covid19 cases over the last 24 hours the National Command and Operation Center NCOC a department leading the countrys campaign against the pandemic said on Friday With the new infections the overall number of confirmed Covid cases has risen to 1506450 in the Asian country Xinhua news agency reported citing the NCOC A total of 2550 people were reported to have recovered from the pandemic over the last 24 hours bringing the total number of recoveries to 1414979 showed data from the NCOC According to the official data 25 more deaths from Covid were registered on Thursday raising the death toll to 30139 Pakistans southern Sindh province is the worsthit region with 566505 infections recorded followed by the eastern Punjab province which has reported 500395 cases so far IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pakistan-adds-1-122-new-covid-cases-25-more-deaths-197258.html Sat, 26 Feb 2022 15:09:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/tn-gets-389l-doses-of-corbevax-for-children-in-12-15-age-group-197352.html Chennai Feb 25 Tamil Nadu received 389 lakh doses of Corbevax against Covid19 for children in the age group of 1215 The state health minister Ma Subramanian said that the vaccine will be rolled out after the central government issues guidelines on the same Ma Subramanian while speaking to IANS said The Union government has allocated 2166 lakh doses of Corbevax vaccine for children in the age group of 1218 in the state and of this 389 lakh doses have arrived in Chennai on Thursday However we will roll out the vaccination only after guidelines from the central government There are nearly 10 lakh children in this age group He said that the vaccine against Covid19 for children in the age group of 1518 was rolled out on January 3 The minister said that of the 3346 lakh children in the age group of 1518 who are eligible for vaccination 8227 per cent have received the first dose and the second dose after a gap of 28 days was administered to 3764 per cent The minister also said that in the age group above 18 years of age the first dose coverage has increased to 9139 per cent and the second dose has been administered to 7205 per cent The Minister also said that the number of people who are due to receive the second dose of vaccine has crossed 1 crore Ma Subramanian said The state has provided all facilities for people to get themselves inoculated and I appeal to each and everyone to get vaccinated with both the doses IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/tn-gets-389l-doses-of-corbevax-for-children-in-12-15-age-group-197352.html Sat, 26 Feb 2022 20:37:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/probiotic-capsules-may-speed-up-covid-recovery-study-196759.html London Feb 22 Taking a capsule of probiotics which are designed to boost the number of beneficial bacteria in the gut may speed up recovery from the Covid19 infection according to a new study Probiotics are overthecounter tablets and drinks said to bolster the gut microbiome the complex intestinal soup made up of trillions of bacteria viruses and fungi They have been linked to everything from your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes to depression and now it seems our gut bacteria can also tackle Covid Daily Mail reported For the study published in the journal Gut Microbes half of a group of 300 Covid patients aged 16 to 60 who tested positive on a PCR test but didnt need hospital treatment were given a probiotic capsule while the other half were given a placebo The results showed that 53 per cent of those on the probiotic 78 of 147 in this group were clear of Covid symptoms within a month compared with 28 per cent 41 of 146 on the placebo the report said Probiotics are known to contain lactobacillus which according to research produces substances that could communicate with nerve cells and reduce the chronic inflammation associated with many diseases Previous research has shown that Long Covid sufferers have low lactobacillus levels in their intestines possibly leading to inflammation throughout the body The new study found those taking the bacteria capsule didnt just recover more quickly they also had a lower viral load the amount of virus circulating in their system the report said According to Philip Calder Professor of nutritional immunology at Southampton University probiotics can modify the gut microbiome Through this they might help the immune system to function and limit inflammation he was quoted as saying A healthier diet and probiotic supplements are likely to boost microbiome healthA added Tim Spector Professor of genetic epidemiology at Kings College London However some experts argued that it may not fit every person In an online article Professor Andrew Smith and Dr Paul Gill experts in microbial diseases at University College London warned that the study had excluded those over 60 and did not account for whether volunteers had been vaccinated or not the report said So we dont know if probiotics provide any benefit to those most at risk of severe Covid And taking probiotics may be inappropriate for those with a weakened immune system because of the potential increased risk of infection from consuming large quantities of live bacteria they said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/probiotic-capsules-may-speed-up-covid-recovery-study-196759.html Wed, 23 Feb 2022 19:58:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/kerala-sees-5-691-new-covid-cases-tpr-at-1001-196761.html Thiruvananthapuram Feb 22 After recording a huge number of Covid cases in the third wave Kerala seems to be returning to normal as per figures in the past few days with the state logging 5691 infections on Tuesday and the test positivity rate at 1001 per cent Health Minister Veena George said While there were 10896 recoveries the total number of active cases in the state was 53597 of which 64 per cent of the patients were in hospitals she said in a statement There were another 10 Covid deaths taking the total death toll to 64403 While 100 per cent of the above 18yearold group 269 crore have had one Covid vaccine dose 86 per cent 230 crore have taken both doses In the 1518 years group 76 per cent 1169 lakh have been given one dose while 26 per cent 405 lakh have now received their second dose also IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/kerala-sees-5-691-new-covid-cases-tpr-at-1001-196761.html Wed, 23 Feb 2022 20:09:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/mandaviya-releases-reports-highlighting-indias-covid-vaccination-programme-196771.html New Delhi Union Minister for Health Family Welfare Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya addresses at the release of the two reports COVID19Indias Vaccine Development Story and Indias COVID19 Vaccine Administration Journey in New Delhi Wednesday Feb 23 2022 PIB PTI New Delhi Feb 23 Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday released two reports of the Institute for Competitiveness part of the global network of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness and affiliated to Harvard Business School highlighting Indias vaccination journey The reports titled COVID19 Indias Vaccine Development Story and Indias COVID19 Vaccination Administration Journey highlight the crucial aspects that have contributed to the success of Indias COVID19 vaccine development and administration efforts which includes manufacturing of indigenous vaccines sturdy and timely procedures and protocols for approvals that ensured the safe administration of vaccines I am delighted to launch this rigorous documentation of the massive efforts that have been undertaken by India as the worlds largest vaccination drive Indias scientific capacity demonstrated by the development of many indigenous vaccines which have been approved by the WHO our ability to trace test treat and contain the infection spread through a strong surveillance network the solidarity displayed by our healthcare professionals frontline workers and citizens under the visionary leadership of Hon Prime Minister coupled with collaboration with states and other ministries have made the COVID19 vaccination drive successful said Mandaviya while launching the reports The reports acknowledge the significant challenges faced by the Indian government of delivering and administering vaccines to a majority of 13 billion people of India who were eligible for the COVID19 vaccines working with the state governments to ensure free and equitable distribution and effective management of vaccine eagerness along with addressing vaccine hesitancy that was prevalent in certain pockets of the country The phased approach of Indias vaccination programme prioritising populations of those who were in the greatest need including the healthcare professionals frontline workers elders and those with morbidities have been highlighted as exemplars in these reports The reports also identify efforts towards training and skilling of healthcare professionals to manage adverse events during vaccination digital scheduling of vaccination sessions and certification postvaccination through the CoWin digital platform as global best practices that other countries can learn from India The measures taken to ensure social distancing and the efforts of all stakeholders and partners have been recognized The documents also study the quality of vaccination sessions coldchain infrastructure and logistics performance and realtime monitoring and feedback through control rooms that were set up at the national and subnational levels all for the smooth management of the vaccination process Reaffirming Indias success being embedded in science Dr Michael Green CEO Social Progress Imperative appreciated Indias response on every front He said The vaccine is the most effective measure against the pandemic and being preventive in nature it has given hope and assurance to humanity in general that the spread of the pandemic can be arrested and the patients cured Highlighting the crucial role played by technology during the pandemic Dr Mark Esposito Harvard University stated that India despite having such diversity not only addressed the national crisis but also generated the blueprint for the world to innovatively use technology to deal with the future public health crisis Dr Amit Kapoor Chair Institute for Competitiveness appreciated Indias unique characteristic of blending science with culture and building solidarity in its communication strategy to remove vaccine hesitancy IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/mandaviya-releases-reports-highlighting-indias-covid-vaccination-programme-196771.html Wed, 23 Feb 2022 21:58:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-16-051-new-covid-cases-206-deaths-196547.html New Delhi Feb 21 India reported a further decline in the new Covid19 cases on Monday In a span of 24 hours 16051 new infections and 206 deaths were registered the Union health ministry said India had logged 19968 new Covid cases and 673 deaths on Sunday and on Saturday a total of 22270 new cases were reported The new fatalities increased the death toll to 512109 in the country The active Covid cases have reduced to 201131 which constitutes 047 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 37901 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 42124284 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9833 per cent said the Union Health Ministry Also in the same period a total of 831087 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7601 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 212 per cent while daily positivity rate has risen to 193 per cent With the administration of over seven lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 17546 crore as of Sunday morning This has been achieved through 19899635 sessions More than 1118 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered according to the health ministry as of Monday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-16-051-new-covid-cases-206-deaths-196547.html Tue, 22 Feb 2022 04:13:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/study-finds-cause-of-inflammation-clotting-in-severe-covid-patients-196575.html New York Feb 21 Scientists have discovered that rogue antibodies found circulating in the blood of Covid19 patients have the potential to cause cells to lose their resistance to clotting A team from the University of Michigan found higherthanexpected levels of antiphospholipid autoantibodies which can trigger blood clots in the arteries and veins of patients with autoimmune disorders including lupus and antiphospholipid syndrome Antibodies typically help the body neutralise infections Autoantibodies are antibodies produced by the immune system that mistakenly target and sometimes damage the bodys own systems and organs In a 2020 study the research group found that autoantibodies from patients with active Covid19 infections caused a striking amount of clotting in mice For the new study the team studied the blood samples of nearly 250 patients hospitalised for Covid19 The team found that the autoantibodies appear to stress the endothelial cells that make up the inner lining of blood vessels and in doing so cause the cells to lose their ability to prevent blood clots from forming The results are published in Arthritis and Rheumatology This provides an even stronger connection between autoantibody formation and clotting in Covid19 said Hui Shi lead author and rheumatology research fellow at Michigan Medicine When endothelial cells are activated they cause healthy blood vessels to become sticky attracting other cells to the vessel walls and becoming more prone to thrombosis This can affect many of the bodys essential organs Shi added The researchers found that when they removed the antiphospholipid autoantibodies from Covid19 blood samples the endothelial cell activation that promotes clotting was lost While the link is strong future studies must be done to find whether these autoantibodies are the precise cause of thrombosis that contributes to clotting and increased severity of Covid19 said Jason Knight Associate Professor of rheumatology at Michigan Medicine We must do more research to decide if it is beneficial to screen patients with severe Covid19 for these autoantibodies to evaluate their risk of clotting and progressive respiratory failure Knight said This may help to repurpose treatments used in traditional cases of antiphospholipid syndrome for Covid19 he noted IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/study-finds-cause-of-inflammation-clotting-in-severe-covid-patients-196575.html Tue, 22 Feb 2022 07:50:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/do-not-reopen-schools-academic-year-almost-over-goa-cong-mp-196596.html Panaji Feb 21 On a day when schools in Goa opened for Class 1 to 12 students Congress Lok Sabha MP Francisco Sardinha on Monday questioned the Goa governments wisdom vis a vis resumption of the schools when the academic year is scheduled to come to a close in a month and a half I urge the Goa government to shut down schools Just a month and a half is left what is the urgency Sardinha a former Chief Minister told a press conference in Margao in South Goa In June schools can start as usual Covid may have come down now but the parents are still worried about their children getting infected Sardinha said adding that schools should be resumed after all minor students are vaccinated The infection rate in Goa has dropped to less than four per cent with the state reporting only 70 new Covid cases by Sundayend There are in all 677 active Covid cases in the state IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/do-not-reopen-schools-academic-year-almost-over-goa-cong-mp-196596.html Tue, 22 Feb 2022 10:41:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/uk-to-scrap-all-covid-restrictions-on-monday-experts-concerned-196597.html London Feb 21 Even as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce the scrapping of all Covid restrictions on Monday in Parliament scientists have urged caution According to Johnson lifting curbs is part of his living with Covid strategy that will return peoples freedom the BBC reported Johnson said the end to restrictions would mark a moment of pride as we begin to learn to live with Covid The plan to move out of the pandemic would bring society towards a return to normality after one of the most difficult periods in our countrys history he said Further Johnson attributed the plan to the success of the Covid vaccination programme which according to him had put England in a strong position to consider lifting the remaining legal restrictions However he has maintained that the pandemic is not over and the plan for living with Covid would take a cautious approach which would retain some surveillance systems and plans for contingency measures which can be stood up if needed to respond to new variants the report said Just over 91 per cent of people in the UK aged 12 and over have had a first dose of a vaccine 85 per cent a second jab and 66 per cent a booster or a third dose according to official data Earlier this week the government also announced it would offer a lowdose Covid vaccine to children aged between five and 11 in England during April As part of he new strategy Johnson said that Covid testing would take place at a much lower level Community PCR testing for people with symptoms is expected to stop under the new plan but it is unclear whether the availability of free lateral flow tests will be reduced the report said The plans would also see councils in England become responsible for managing Covid outbreaks using existing powers The country is also expected to slim down virus surveillance programme But some scientists health experts and charities helping vulnerable people have also voiced concern at the plans to lift all restrictions David Spiegelhalter professor of public understanding of risk at the University of Cambridge said there was significant uncertainty about the impact of the plans the Guardian reported I can see the figures are looking encouraging but the consequences are very difficult to predict It may be fine it may not be he was quoted as saying Scientists at the governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies SAGE have also raised alarm about the prospect of a new mutant strain emerging Daily Mail reported They warned that any sudden change to the rules carries the potential to accelerate the pandemic and trigger a rapid rise in cases In a paper discussed by SAGE the scientists argued that its a common misconception that viruses evolve to become weaker It warned of a realistic possibility that a variant could spawn that is just as lethal as other coronaviruses known to strike humans such as MERS which has a 35 per cent case fatality rate the report said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/uk-to-scrap-all-covid-restrictions-on-monday-experts-concerned-196597.html Tue, 22 Feb 2022 10:50:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-reports-570-new-covid-cases-4-deaths-196447.html New Delhi Feb 20 Delhi on Sunday reported 570 fresh Covid cases against 635 cases reported on Saturday The fresh Covid infection has pushed the tally to 1856071 in the city The national capital has also reported four more Covid deaths in a period of 24 hours taking the citys death toll to 26101 Meanwhile the Covid positivity rate has reduced to 104 per cent in the city The active Covid cases have also reduced to 2545 as per the Delhi health department on Sunday With Covid recovery rate climbing at 9846 per cent the Covid death rate in capital city stands at 141 per cent With 730 patients recovering during the period the total number of recoveries have gone to 1827425 A total of 1742 Covid patients are being treated in home isolation at present The number of Covid containment zones has also declined to 8583 in the city Meanwhile a total of 54614 new tests 46440 RTPCR and 8174 Rapid Antigen were conducted during the 24 hours taking the total to 35986419 Out of 80310 vaccines administered in the day 10018 were first doses 65755 second doses and 4537 precautions doses were also administered The total number of cumulative beneficiaries vaccinated so far stands at 30991704 according to the health bulletin IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-reports-570-new-covid-cases-4-deaths-196447.html Mon, 21 Feb 2022 18:04:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-logs-1-101-covid-cases-18-deaths-196463.html Bengaluru Feb 20 Karnataka logged 1101 new Covid cases against 1780 discharges and 18 deaths on Sunday The number of total active Covid cases in the state stood at 12634 The positivity rate for the day stood at 142 per cent and case fatality rate is at 179 per cent Karnataka on Saturday registered 1137 Covid cases against 3870 discharges and 20 deaths The number of new Covid cases in Bengaluru Urban came down to 485 against 737 discharges The city reported 12 Covid deaths in the last 24 hours The total active cases have come down to 906 in the city Yadgir 4 Vijayapura 4 Uttara Kannada 3 Raichur 4 Koppala 1 Kolar 4 Gadag 2 Davanagere 3 Chikkamagalur 3 Chikkaballapura 6 and Bidar 2 and Bengaluru Rural 3 districts reported Covid cases in single digits No district in the state reported Covid cases in three digits IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-logs-1-101-covid-cases-18-deaths-196463.html Mon, 21 Feb 2022 19:04:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ias-officers-book-highlights-covids-grim-yet-uplifting-reality-196121.html By Sandeep Pauranik Bhopal Feb 20 The Battle Against Covid Diary of a Bureaucrat a book written by an IAS officer recounts the horror of the Covid19 pandemic which has shaken the country and at the same time highlights the uplifting reality which saw people going out of their way to help those in distress Penned by Tarun Pithode and published by Bloomsbury Publishing the book also gives an insight into his experiences of containing the pandemic as Collector of Bhopal As the pandemic scarred the country the plight of migrant labourers carrying loads on their heads and walking towards their native places with huge blisters on their feet was heartwrenching The period also saw family members hesitating to perform the last rites of their loved ones fearing that they will contract the infection During the first wave of Covid19 Pithode was Collector of Bhopal At that time the Madhya Pradesh capital had emerged as a Covid hotspot in the state and Pithode had worked day and night to contain the virus To highlight the bureaucrats role and management of the pandemic Pithode has incorporated the experiences of bureaucrats in MP Maharashtra Rajasthan Chhattisgarh Gujarat Assam Bihar and Uttar Pradesh Talking about the reason for penning the book Pithode said besides making people aware of the steps the administration took during the pandemic it also aims to highlight the problems faced by the common man Actually the book is all about how the administration and the common people battled Covid19 This 224page book will serve as a reference for the new administrative officers on how to face and contain a pandemic he said During the first and the second wave of the contagion there were many instances when people had no idea what to do and administrative officers came to their rescue There was an instance when a man was not ready to cremate his mother then I decided to perform the final rites of the woman However a tehsildar stopped me and performed the cremation Other rituals were also performed by the tehsildar There are several instances when relatives were hesitant to carry out the last rites of their family members and the administration helped them Pithode said The book also encapsulates tales about the difficulties faced by migrant labourers doctors police officers and the public who risked their life and fought the virus According to Pithode it is a priceless record of the battle against Covid IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ias-officers-book-highlights-covids-grim-yet-uplifting-reality-196121.html Sun, 20 Feb 2022 13:47:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-19-968-new-covid-cases-673-deaths-196150.html New Delhi Feb 20 In the last 24 hours India logged 19968 new Covid19 cases and 673 deaths the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday The new fatalities increased the overall death toll to 511903 The active Covid caseload has reduced to 224187 which constitute 052 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 48847 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 42085383 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9828 per cent according to the Ministry Also in the same period a total of 1187766 tests were conducted across the country which took the overall to 7593 crore While the weekly positivity rate currently stood at 227 per cent the daily positivity rate increased to 168 per cent With the administration of over 3081 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage reached 17537 crore as of Sunday morning This has been achieved through 19872555 sessions IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-19-968-new-covid-cases-673-deaths-196150.html Sun, 20 Feb 2022 16:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/vitamins-cannot-reduce-death-risk-from-covid-19-study-196218.html New York Feb 20 In view of several studies claiming efficacy of vitamins against Covid19 a new research proves that taking immuneboosting supplements such as vitamin C D and zinc do not lessen your chance of dying from the virus While these supplements have also been dubbed as an alternative against proven vaccines researchers at The University of Toledo in Ohio the US said theres been little evidence A lot of people have this misconception that if you load up on zinc vitamin D or C it can help the clinical outcome of Covid19 said Dr Azizullah Beran an internal medicine resident at the Universitys College of Medicine and Life Sciences That hasnt been shown to be true Beran added In the study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition ESPEN the team reviewed 26 peerreviewed studies from around the globe that included more than 5600 hospitalised Covid patients The analysis found no reduction in mortality for those being treated with vitamin D C or zinc compared to patients who did not receive one of these three supplements While treatment with vitamin D may be associated with lower rates of intubation and shorter hospital stays the researchers stated that more rigorous study is needed to validate that finding Vitamin C and zinc were not associated with shorter hospital stays or lowering the chance of a patient being put on a ventilator The researchers also analysed a smaller subset of individuals who had been taking vitamin D prior to contracting the virus and found no significant difference in the mortality rate However thy cautioned that the study should not be interpreted as saying vitamin and mineral supplements are bad or should be avoided but rather made it clear that they are not effective at preventing deaths due to Covid At the same time they also noted that its possible that some Covid patients who are malnourished or otherwise deficient in micronutrients may benefit from taking supplements but thats because their bodies already lack essential nutrients not because vitamin D or vitamin C are effective against the virus What were saying is this If you dont medically need these supplements dont take them thinking theyre protective against Covid Beran said Theyre not going to prevent you from getting it and theyre not going to prevent you from dying IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/vitamins-cannot-reduce-death-risk-from-covid-19-study-196218.html Sun, 20 Feb 2022 22:00:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/us-fda-mulls-approving-second-covid-booster-shot-report-196234.html Washington Feb 20 The US Food and Drug Administration FDA is considering approving a fourth dose of a Covid19 vaccine later in the year the Wall Street Journal reported Citing people familiar with the matter the report claimed that the health regulatory body has begun reviewing data that could lead to clearing a second booster dose of the Pfizer Moderna vaccines by September However the planning is still in early stages The authorisation will also depend on ongoing studies establishing that a fourth dose would increase peoples molecular defenses that waned after their first booster and reduce their risk of symptomatic and severe disease the report said The FDA did not comment on the matter But the agency last month cut short the duration to get a booster dose of Covid19 vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech as well as from Moderna in a bid to provide better protection sooner against the Omicron variant Israel became the first country in late December last year to begin the rollout of a second booster dose to people over60s healthcare workers and those with weakened immune systems The US has already approved the fourth dose for immunocompromised people such as those living with HIV or certain transplant recipients Other countries that have approved the fourth shot include the UK Chile Israel is now considering the fourth dose for all adults above the age of 18 in the wake of a surge in infections driven by the Omicron variant South Korea became the latest country last week to begin administering the fourth shots of Covid vaccines for people at high risk However the countrys health regulators do not have plans to expand the fourth dose to all adults Swedens Health Agency also last week recommended people aged 80 or above should receive a fourth jab to ward off waning immunity amid the rampant spread of the Omicron variant Several European countries including Hungary and Denmark have also considered rolling out the second booster dose in the wake of the vaccine evading the Omicron variant IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/us-fda-mulls-approving-second-covid-booster-shot-report-196234.html Sun, 20 Feb 2022 23:38:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-reports-14-decline-logs-22-270-new-covid-cases-195861.html New Delhi Feb 19 In the last 24 hours India registered 22270 new Covid19 cases marking an additional 14 per cent decline said the Union Health Ministry on Saturday Also in the same time span 325 additional fatalities were reported which increased the overall death toll to 511230 Meanwhile the active Covid case has reduced to 253739 which constitute 059 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 60298 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 42037536 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9821 per cent said Union Health Ministry Also in the same period a total of 1235471 tests were conducted across the country which took the total to over 7581 crore While the weekly positivity rate stood at 250 per cent the daily positivity rate increased to 180 per cent With the administration of over 36 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage reached 17503 crore as of Saturday morning This had been achieved through 19809200 sessions IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-reports-14-decline-logs-22-270-new-covid-cases-195861.html Sat, 19 Feb 2022 14:47:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/scientists-pinpoint-mechanisms-linked-with-severe-covid-blood-clotting-195925.html Washington Feb 19 Researchers at the US National Institutes of Health identified rogue antibodies that correlate with severe illness and may help explain mechanisms associated with severe blood clotting The researchers found circulating antiphospholipid antibodies which can be more common among people with autoimmune disorders such as lupus However these autoantibodies which target a persons own organs and systems can also be activated in response to viral infections and activate other immune responses The team studied blood samples from 244 patients hospitalised for Covid19 They compared the blood samples to those from healthy controls and found the Covid19 samples contained higher levels of the antibody IgG which works with other immune cells such as IgM to respond to immune threats Higher levels of IgG were also associated with Covid19 disease severity such as in patients who required breathing assistance The researchers observed similar patterns but to a lesser extent after analysing blood samples from 100 patients hospitalised for sepsis which can leave the body in inflammatory shock following a bacterial or viral infection IgG helps bridge a gap between innate and adaptive immune responses a process that helps the body recognise respond to and remember danger In normal cases these features help protect the body from illness and infection However in some cases this response can become hyperextended or altered and exacerbate illness Further when researchers removed IgG from the Covid19 blood samples they saw molecular indicators of blood vessel stickiness fall When they added these same IgG antibodies to the control samples they saw a blood vessel inflammatory response that can lead to clotting Since every organ has blood vessels in it circulating factors that lead to the stickiness of healthy blood vessels during Covid19 may help explain why the virus can affect many organs including the heart lungs and brain The researchers noted future studies could explore the potential benefits of screening patients with Covid19 or other forms of critical illness for antiphospholipids and other autoantibodies and at earlier points of infection This may help identify patients at risk for extreme blood clotting vascular inflammation and respiratory failure IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/scientists-pinpoint-mechanisms-linked-with-severe-covid-blood-clotting-195925.html Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:41:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-administers-over-175-cr-vaccines-against-covid-19-195932.html New Delhi Feb 19 India on Saturday achieved another milestone of administering over 175 crore vaccine doses among its eligible citizens against Covid pandemic With the administration of more than 3628 lakh Covid19 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 17503 crore said Union Health Ministry on Saturday As per the ministry Indias vaccination coverage has exceeded 1750386834 with 3628578 vaccine doses administered in the last 24 hours New India New Record India has crossed historical figures of administering over 175 crore doses of vaccines The Worlds largest vaccination drive under PM Narendra Modi Jis leadership is touching new heights accomplishing new feats every day said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in a tweet on Saturday Of the total doses administered so far 10400492 health care workers received the first dose and 9949833 received the second dose Total 4022962 precautionary doses have also been administered among healthcare workers so far A total of 18407428 front line workers were administered the first dose 17411477 vaccine doses given as the second dose and 5783690 precautionary doses have been given to front line workers According to the health ministry 550031980 vaccine doses were administered as the first dose and 434294627 vaccine doses were given as the second dose in the age group 1844 years Among 4559 years age bracket total 201986306 people have received the first dose and 178023333 have received the second dose Also in over 60 plus population 126161897 vaccine doses as first dose and 110906468 as the second dose have been administered so far Total 8893489 precaution doses have also been given to the people over 60 years Meanwhile India has started showing declining Covid trends over the past few weeks The nation on Saturday reported 14 per cent decline in fresh Covid infection at 22270 cases against 25920 cases reported on previous day IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-administers-over-175-cr-vaccines-against-covid-19-195932.html Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:53:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/reports-claiming-lic-ipo-data-of-massive-deaths-in-2021-not-factual-centre-196020.html New Delhi Feb 19 The Union Health Ministry on Saturday clarified that media reports claiming LIC IPO data confirming massive death numbers in 2021 are speculative and not factual There has been a media report published related to IPO proposed to be issued by LIC wherein mentioning the details of policies and claims settled by LIC a speculative and biased interpretation has been made that the Covid19 related mortalities could be more than those recorded officially It is clarified that these reports are speculative and baseless said health ministry in a statement The ministry said further that while claims settled by LIC relate to Life insurance policies taken by policy holders for deaths due to all causes but the news reports conclude that this would imply Covid deaths were underreported A flawed interpretation like this is not based on facts and highlights the bias of the author It also reveals lack of understanding of how the Covid19 deaths in India are collated and published daily in public domain since the beginning of the pandemic the ministry said India has a very transparent and efficient system of reporting COVID19 deaths Right from the Gram Panchayat level to the Districtlevel and the State level the process of reporting deaths is monitored and carried out transparently The Government of India has adopted a globally recognised categorization to classify COVID deaths the ministry clarified In the model so adopted compilation of the total deaths in India is undertaken by the Centre based on the independent reporting by the States it added All States and UTs were engaged through multiple platforms formal communications video conferences and through deployment of Central teams for correct recording of deaths in accordance with the prescribed guidelines Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR has also issued Guidance for appropriate recording of COVID19 related deaths in India for correct recording of all deaths as per ICD10 codes recommended by World Health Organisation WHO the ministry said Quoting issues as sensitive as death during a global public health crisis like Covid19 should be dealt with utmost sensitivity and authenticity India has a robust Civil Registration System CRS and Sample Registration System SRS which was in place even before the COVID19 pandemic and covers all States and UTs ministry added The ministry further said that the registration of deaths in the country has a legal backing The registration is done under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act RBD Act 1969 by functionaries appointed by the State Governments Thus data generated through CRS has utmost credibility and should be used rather than depending on unauthenticated data the ministry said further IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/reports-claiming-lic-ipo-data-of-massive-deaths-in-2021-not-factual-centre-196020.html Sat, 19 Feb 2022 21:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-sees-739-fresh-covid-cases-5-deaths-195777.html New Delhi Feb 17 Delhi on Thursday reported marginal decline in its daily Covid tally at 739 cases against 776 on the previous day and five more deaths in the last 24 hours the Health Department bulletin said The Covid positivity rate has risen to 148 per cent while active cases have reduced to 3026 With Covid recovery rate continuing at 9842 per cent the death rate stands at 141 per cent With 905 patients recovering in the last 24 hours the total number of recoveries has gone to 1825050 A total of 1945 Covid patients are being treated in home isolation at present The number of Covid containment zones has also declined to 12324 The fresh infections and deaths have pushed the tally to 1854167 and the toll to 26091 A total of 50035 new tests 44898 RTPCR and 5137 Rapid Antigen were conducted in the last 24 hours taking the total to 35825678 Out of 61697 vaccines administered in the last 24 hours 8524 were first doses and 50202 second doses Meanwhile 2971 precaution doses were also administered The total number of cumulative beneficiaries vaccinated so far stands at 30778437 according to the health bulletin IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-sees-739-fresh-covid-cases-5-deaths-195777.html Sat, 19 Feb 2022 05:53:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/chinas-mrna-vax-booster-effective-against-omicron-study-195588.html Beijing Feb 17 A booster dose of Chinas first ever mRNAbased Covid vaccine may be potent against Omicron according to a study However two doses of the vaccine called ARCoV has seen a significant drop in its ability to neutralise the Omicron strand of the coronavirus compared to its effectiveness against a wildtype strain with no major mutations the South China Morning Post reported ARCoV is being jointly developed by the Academy of Military Medical Sciences Suzhou Abogen Biosciences and Walvax Biotechnology and is at the final stage of a multiregional phase 3 clinical trial The vaccine is being developed using the same revolutionary mRNA technology as the PfizerBioNTech and Moderna products The study analysed serum samples from 11 vaccinated people eight of whom retained low but detectable neutralisation activity against Omicron researchers said in a letter published in the journal Cell Research A third dose was given to a group of lab mice that had already received two doses of ARCoV and it readily induced the production of neutralising antibodies against Omicron and a wildtype strain the letter said The study highlighted the benefits of a homologous booster vaccination and supported further validation of the vaccine in clinical trials Our data presented here clearly demonstrate that a third dose of ARCoV would probably lead to a sharp increase in neutralisation antibodies not only against the wild type SARSCoV2 but also the new Omicron variant the letter said Homologous booster vaccination with ARCoV represents a rational strategy in response to the Omicron emergency it added China has so far relied on traditional inactivated vaccines which have been proved less effective against the Omicron and Delta variants The ArCoV vaccine is the first mRNA vaccine candidate against the Omicron variant that has been validated in animals the report said Chinese researchers are approaching clinical trials to test its safety and efficacy according to the study Chinese regulators have also not approved any vaccine developed overseas In July last year Shanghaibased Fosun Pharmaceuticals came closest by earning a recommendation from the governments expert panel for the PfizerBioNTech vaccine the report said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/chinas-mrna-vax-booster-effective-against-omicron-study-195588.html Fri, 18 Feb 2022 17:37:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/over-75-of-ups-adult-population-vaccinated-against-covid-195340.html Lucknow Feb 17 Over 75 per cent of the adult population in 43 districts of Uttar Pradesh is now fully vaccinated according to data from the state health department The state had achieved the target on February 10 A categorywise assessment however indicated that except for 1844 years age group the 75 per cent mark has been achieved in all the other categories This is significant considering that the Chief Minister had directed the health department to mobilise those due for their second dose and achieve 75 percent coverage before polling begins The Election Commission of India had also asked poll bound states to try for the same In fact more than 98 per cent of the health and frontline workers have been fully vaccinated In the adolescent children category 15 per cent are fully vaccinated The districtwise data indicated that at least 20 districts including Lucknow Gautam Buddha Nagar Ghaziabad Rae Bareli Amethi Kanpur Dehat Hathras Jhansi Mainpuri Hardoi Ayodhya and Deoria have more than 75 per cent fully immunised adult population The list also includes Varanasi Maharajganj Balrampur Barabanki and Fatehpur which are very close to the state average Officials also said that 2883 lakh people have taken the precaution dose in the state Meanwhile health officials urged people in the state to stay cautious against the pandemic virus even though the number of cases were declining Additional Chief Secretary Health and Family Welfare Amit Mohan Prasad said that 923 new cases and 2362 recoveries have been reported in the state in the past 24 hours He added that the number of active cases in the state as on date is 10966 which brings the state back to the situation at the onset of the third wave They cautioned people of the state to adhere to the prevention protocols IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/over-75-of-ups-adult-population-vaccinated-against-covid-195340.html Fri, 18 Feb 2022 02:00:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-30-757-fresh-covid-cases-541-deaths-195367.html New Delhi Feb 17 India reported 30757 fresh Covid cases and 541 deaths in the past 24 hours Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Thursday With the fresh fatalities the death toll due to the infection has mounted to 510413 Active Covid infections have reduced to 332918 which constitute 078 per cent of the countrys total cases With 67538 patients getting cured of the virus in the same time span the total number of recoveries have climbed to 41910984 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9803 per cent the Ministry added A total of 1179705 tests were conducted across the country pushing the cumulative total to over 7555 crore The weekly positivity rate currently stands at 304 per cent while the daily positivity rate has increased to 261 per cent With the administration of over 347 lakhs vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage reached 17424 crore as of Thursday morning More than 1173 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs it added IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-30-757-fresh-covid-cases-541-deaths-195367.html Fri, 18 Feb 2022 05:34:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/centre-resumes-biometric-system-for-attendance-for-its-employees-work-from-home-stopped-195401.html New Delhi Feb 17 The Department of Personnel and Training DoPT has resumed the biometric system for office attendance and stopped the system of work from home for every employee of the Central governments ministries and departments In an office memorandum issued on February 16 the DoPT said while referring to the earlier office memorandum on January 31 2022 Since the period of suspension of biometric attendance is over on 15022022 all the officers officials working in this Department are required to mark their attendance in the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance Control System AEBAS with effect from the February 16 2022 The latest order also said that while marking their attendance in AEBAS all officers officials will follow the preventive measures to contain the spread of Novel Coronavirus COVID19 Soon after the spread of Covid19 during the third phase this year the Ministry of Personnel Public Grievances and Pension had issued a direction to all the Central Ministries and Departments to reduce the office attendance by 50 per cent The officers and staff to ensure strict compliance of Covidappropriate behaviour like frequent washing of hands sanitisation wearing face mask face cover and observing social distancing all the time Earlier the pregnant women employees and Divyang employees were exempted from attending offices while the physical attendance of the government servants below the level of Under Secretary was restricted to 50 per cent of the actual strength and the remaining 50 per cent was working from home with the instruction that those working from home would remain available on telephone and other electronic means of communications at all times IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/centre-resumes-biometric-system-for-attendance-for-its-employees-work-from-home-stopped-195401.html Fri, 18 Feb 2022 10:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/omicron-10x-better-at-escaping-covid-vax-immunity-than-delta-study-195667.html Sydney Feb 17 Although Omicron is touted as mild compared to previous variants it is widely known to be more contagious than previous Covid strains However a team of researchers at University of New South Wales in Australia have mapped the infectious rate of Omicron which also explains why some scientists believe the worst of the virus may not yet be over Daily Mail reported The findings reveal that Omicron is 10 times better at escaping Covid vaccine and immunity than the previous Delta variant This may also explain why the virus spread so swiftly around the world in a little span of time from its discovery The supermutant variant was first discovered from South Africa and Botswana in late November It has so far spread to more than 120 countries outpacing the dominant Delta variant in many countries In a highly secure clean room at the University of NSWs Kirby Institute experts studied the strain at the beginning of Australias Omicron wave in midDecember and found out just how adept the variant is at evading vaccines the report said While the Delta variant was 60 per cent better at evading antibodies than the original virus found in Wuhan even in the bodies of the doublevaxxed Omicron was 165 times better at evading immunity 10 times more than Delta But while the Omicron wave is subsiding across the globe scientists believe new variants may continue to emerge for years particularly in winter Already in Europe and parts of Asia a new subvariant of Omicron known as BA2 is rapidly spreading with indications it could be even more contagious than its predecessor the Omicron BA1 strain the report said Danish health officials estimate that BA2 may be 15 times more transmissible than BA1 based on preliminary data but it likely does not cause more severe disease According to the UKs Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies the best scenario for the end of the Covid pandemic involved new variants no worse than what have already been seen and global immunity remaining high But a worse case scenario involves unpredictable new variants which could evade current immunity and move too fast for updated vaccines to keep up There is a strong theory in the scientific community that Covid will evolve to become less dangerous the report said However experts warn a continued easing in the potency of Covid should not be taken for granted Theres this assumption that something more transmissible becomes less virulent I dont think thats the position we should take Francois Balloux a computational biologist at University College London told scientific journal Nature IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/omicron-10x-better-at-escaping-covid-vax-immunity-than-delta-study-195667.html Fri, 18 Feb 2022 20:05:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-airborne-particles-can-infect-over-200-feet-study-195433.html New York Feb 17 Small coronavirus respiratory particles can remain moist and airborne for a longer time and at greater distance than scientists have thought so far Scientists at the US Department of Energys Pacific Northwest National Laboratory estimates that droplets encased in mucus could remain moist for up to 30 minutes and travel up to about 200 feet There are reports of people becoming infected with a coronavirus downwind of an infected person or in a room several minutes after an infected person has exited that room said Leonard Pease the corresponding author of the study The idea that enveloped virions may remain well hydrated and thus fully infective at substantial distances is consistent with realworld observations Perhaps infectious respiratory droplets persist longer than we have realised Pease added The findings were published in the journal International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer The team analysed the mucus that coats the respiratory droplets that people spew from their lungs Scientists know that mucus allows many viruses to travel further than they otherwise would enabling them to journey from one person to another Conventional wisdom has been that very small aerosolised droplets of just a few microns like those produced in the lungs dry out in air almost instantly becoming harmless But the team found that mucus changes the equation The team found that the mucus shell that surrounds respiratory droplets likely reduces the evaporation rate increasing the time that viral particles within the droplets are kept moist Since enveloped viruses like SARSCoV2 have a fatty coating that must be kept moist for the virus to be infectious the slower evaporation allows viral particles to be infectious longer While there have been many factors proposed as variables in how Covid spreads said Pease mucus remains largely overlooked The focus on mucus also helped the team in a separate study published in the journal Indoor Air to address how the virus moves in a multiroom office building In the study Chemist Carolyn Burns created artificial respiratorylike droplets to study how the particles moved from room to room The scientists found that both low and high levels of filtering were effective at reducing levels of respiratory droplets in all rooms The team also found that increasing ventilation rapidly reduced particle levels in the source room But particle levels in the other connected rooms jumped immediately levels spiked 20 to 45 minutes later with vigorous air changes increasing the spike Ultimately after the initial spike levels of droplets in all the rooms gradually dropped after three hours with filtration and after five hours without it The scientists noted that increased air exchange for crowded spaces may be beneficial in certain situations like large conferences or school assemblies but in normal work and school conditions it may actually increase transmission rates throughout all rooms of a building If youre in a downstream room and youre not the source of the virus you probably are not better off with more ventilation said Pease IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-airborne-particles-can-infect-over-200-feet-study-195433.html Fri, 18 Feb 2022 12:54:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/has-omicron-led-to-surge-in-covid-reinfections-195697.html Sydney Feb 17 The highly contagious Omicron variant of SARSCoV2 has significantly increased the number of people reinfected with Covid unlike previous variants experts contended in an article on Nature A recent study by the Imperial College London has shown that the risk of reinfection with the Omicron coronavirus variant is more than five times higher than other strains Researchers at Deakin University in Australias Melbourne stated that the first signs of Omicrons immuneevasive properties came from data collected in South Africa In November last year South African researchers showed higher than expected rates of reinfection compared with those of previous waves Similar trends have now been documented elsewhere Data collected by the UK Health Security Agency showed that more than 650000 people have probably been infected twice in England and most of them were reinfected in the past two months the report said Before midNovember reinfections accounted for about 1 per cent of reported cases of Covid19 but the rate has now increased to around 10 per cent Understanding reinfection rates is crucial for assessing how infections might surge and if hospitals will be able to cope Catherine Bennett an epidemiologist at Deakin was quoted as saying Further the UK Office for National Statistics in Newport has also seen a sharp increase in possible reinfections in recent months as part of its random sampling of households across the country The survey counts a possible reinfection if four months have passed since the previous one It found reinfection risk was 16 times higher between midDecember last year and early January this year when Omicron dominated than in the 7 months leading up to December when Delta was the dominant variant Such surveys could be underestimating the true rate of reinfection because some infections go undiagnosed and some could have happened sooner after the first infection especially in countries where cases of Omicron quickly followed a Delta wave Bennett said So what is causing the reinfection According to Bennett multiple factors could explain the spike in reinfections With more people now already exposed to the virus there is a higher chance of seeing reinfections she explained Omicrons speedy spread also increases the chance But the variants ability to evade immunity is probably playing a part Bennett was quoted as saying According to the experts the recent surge in Covid cases driven by the highly contagious Omicron is because of its ability to evade the bodys immune defences Several studies have shown that the variant can outwit immunity induced by vaccination as well To understand how far Omicron can evade immunity a team of researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar in Doha conducted a nationwide study Their findings published in The New England Journal of Medicine this month showed that although having previously been infected was around 90 per cent effective at preventing an infection with the Alpha Beta or Delta variants it was only 56 per cent effective against Omicron the report said However most reinfections occurred about one year apart showing that a previous infection offers immunity for some time And protection against severe Covid19 caused by Omicron remained high at around 88 per cent But Shabir Madhi a vaccinologist at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg South Africa was quoted as saying that the study probably missed many infections that were asymptomatic or mild and were therefore not recorded So it might be overestimating the effectiveness of a previous infection against Omicron IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/has-omicron-led-to-surge-in-covid-reinfections-195697.html Fri, 18 Feb 2022 21:36:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/england-to-roll-out-covid-vax-for-kids-aged-5-to-11-in-april-195560.html London Feb 17 After several delays health regulators in England have approved a lowdose Covid vaccine for children aged between five and 11 in April According to scientists on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation JCVI the move would help protect the very small number of children who become seriously ill with Covid BBC reported About six million children in the UK in the age group between five and 11 will be offered the jab However the rollout will be nonurgent Health Secretary Sajid Javid was quoted as saying with an emphasis on parental choice The NHS will prepare to extend this nonurgent offer to all children during April so parents can if they want take up the offer to increase protection against potential future waves of Covid19 as we learn to live with this virus Javid said While the vaccine had received regulatory approval only in December it will be rolled out in April The roll out was delayed due to a disagreement with the UK government which says it is reviewing the JCVIs advice as part of wider decisionmaking Javid emphasised that children are at low risk from Covid and that the priority remains for the NHS to offer vaccines and boosters to adults and vulnerable young people and to catchup with other childhood immunisation programmes Two 10 microgram doses of the PfizerBioNTech vaccine with at least 12 weeks between each dose would be administered to those whose parents decide to take up the offer the report said Due to low risk of infection severity in children the JCVI scientists have been weighing up the evidence for immunising five to 11yearolds They concluded vaccination should go ahead to prevent a very small number of children from serious illness and hospitalisation in a future wave of Covid the report said Were offering this to five to 11yearolds now in order to futureproof their defences against a future wave of infection Prof Wei Shen Lim from the JCVI was quoted as saying Lim suggested that parents consider getting their children vaccinated during school holidays to minimise disruption to their education from any flulike side effects of the jab The full guidelines also claim that fewer than two children would develop inflamed heart muscle myocarditis out of every million vaccinated However it estimates vaccinating one million children would prevent 98 hospitalisations if the next wave was more severe like previous variants and 17 hospitalisations if the next wave was relatively mild like Omicron the report said The Pfizer vaccine for kids which contains just a third of the adult dose has already been used widely in other countries The US alone has given it to eight million children in this age group IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/england-to-roll-out-covid-vax-for-kids-aged-5-to-11-in-april-195560.html Fri, 18 Feb 2022 17:01:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/reports-claiming-covid-mortality-higher-than-official-counts-are-ill-informed-ministry-195566.html New Delhi Feb 17 Union Health Ministry on Thursday said that reports claiming that Covid19 mortality is higher than the official counts are ill informed and speculative There have been some media reports based on a published research paper alleging that mortality due to Covid19 in India is much higher than the official count and actual numbers have been undercounted The study estimates that people between 32 million and 37 million have died of Covid by early November 2021 in the country as compared to official figures of November 2021 of 046 million 46 lakhs said health ministry in a statement As has been stated earlier for similar media reports it is again clarified that these reports are fallacious and completely inaccurate They are not based on facts and are speculative in nature The ministry said that India has a robust system of reporting deaths including Covid19 deaths that is compiled regularly at different levels of governance starting from the Gram Panchayat level to the districtlevel and state level All deaths are compiled by the Centre after being independently reported by states Based on globally acceptable categorisation Government of India has a comprehensive definition to classify Covid deaths which has been shared with the states who are following it Union Health Ministry has also regularly emphasised the need for a robust reporting mechanism for monitoring district wise cases and deaths on a daily basis Therefore to project that Covid deaths have been underreported is without basis and devoid of justification the ministry added The ministry has further said that the study quoted in the media reports has taken four distinct subpopulations the population of Kerala Indian Railways employees MLAs and MPs and school teachers in Karnataka and uses triangulation process to estimate nationwide deaths Any such projections based on limited data sets and certain specific assumptions must be treated with extreme care before extrapolating the numbers by putting all states and country of the size of India in a single envelope This exercise runs the risk of mapping skewed data of outliers together and is bound to give wrong estimations thereby leading to fallacious conclusions The sheer justification that the study has credence since its findings estimates are in convergence with another study is baffling defies logic and highlights the bias with which the article has been written Highlighting the reports which claim that experts believe Indias civil registration system is vulnerable to gaps the ministry said It is reiterated that the Union Government has followed a transparent approach regarding Covid data management and a robust system of recording all Covid19 related deaths already exists In order to avoid inconsistency in number of deaths being reported Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR has issued Guidance for appropriate recording of Covid19 related deaths in India for correct recording of all deaths as per ICD10 codes recommended by World Health Organisation WHO The date of cases and deaths due to Covid are being put in public domain on a daily basis since start of the pandemic and similarly all states including districts are releasing regular bulletins with all details on a daily basis which is also in public domain it said further The ministry has also said that there is added push in India to capture and report all Covid19 deaths due to the entitlement to monetary compensation to the next of kin of each and every deceased person This whole process is being continuously monitored by the the Supreme Court Therefore likelihood of underreporting of Covid deaths in the country is significantly less added the ministry IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/reports-claiming-covid-mortality-higher-than-official-counts-are-ill-informed-ministry-195566.html Fri, 18 Feb 2022 17:11:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-cases-again-on-the-rise-in-lucknow-195116.html Lucknow Feb 16 The Covid cases in Lucknow have increased after recording a decline for four days At least 279 people have tested positive for Covid in the past 24 hours The case count was nearly 27 per cent more than Mondays 203 With this the tally of the third wave that started on December 22 has reached 56658 In all 54270 patients have recovered while 36 could not survive The number of active cases as on Tuesday evening was 2352 The severity of the third wave has been lesser than the second wave It might be because of largescale vaccination or due to the less virulent variant of the virus prevalent at present said a senior health officer Among the fresh cases the maximum 52 were reported from Chinhat followed by Aliganj 44 and Indiranagar 32 The remaining cases were from other areas Meanwhile at least 18651 people were vaccinated against Covid in the district on Tuesday Altogether 4962 people got the first dose 12038 took the second and 1651 precautionary received booster dose IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-cases-again-on-the-rise-in-lucknow-195116.html Wed, 16 Feb 2022 14:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-4151-mn-195117.html Washington Feb 16 The global coronavirus caseload has topped 4151 million while the deaths have surged to more than 583 million and vaccinations to over 1025 billion according to Johns Hopkins University In its latest update on Wednesday morning the Universitys Center for Systems Science and Engineering CSSE revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 415114723 and 5836364 respectively while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 10257109696 The US continues to be the worsthit country with the worlds highest number of cases and deaths at 78036352 and 925438 according to the CSSE The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India 42692943 infections and 509358 deaths followed by Brazil 27677468 infections and 640076 deaths The other countries with over 5 million cases are France 21886335 the UK 18521452 Russia 14267875 Turkey 13079683 Germany 12692053 Italy 12205474 Spain 10707286 Argentina 8766174 Iran 6860255 Colombia 6026988 the Netherlands 5931934 Poland 5408754 and Mexico 5300537 the CSSE figures showed The nations with a death toll of over 100000 are Russia 334785 Mexico 312965 Peru 208466 the UK 160400 Italy 151684 Indonesia 145176 Colombia 137439 France 136187 Iran 134053 Argentina 124585 Germany 120277 Ukraine 110105 and Poland 108515 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-4151-mn-195117.html Wed, 16 Feb 2022 14:34:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/canada-eases-on-arrival-test-requirements-for-fully-vaccinated-travellers-195148.html Ottawa Feb 16 Canada is easing the onarrival test requirements for fullyvaccinated travellers starting February 28 as the latest wave of Covid19 driven by the Omicron variant has passed its peak Public Health Agency of Canada announced According to the press release issued on Tuesday travellers may still be selected for random testing upon arrival but will no longer have to quarantine while awaiting their test results Travellers can instead opt for a rapid antigen test approved by the countries they are coming from Xinhua news agency reported Currently all travellers regardless of vaccine status must provide proof of a negative molecular test such as a PCR test within 72 hours of their scheduled flight or land entry into Canada The government is also easing its advisory recommending Canadians avoid nonessential travel due to the rise of the Omicron variant Restrictions on unvaccinated children below 12 and travelling with vaccinated adults are also being lifted They will no longer need to wait and self isolate before attending school daycare or camps Unvaccinated travellers will still be required to be tested on arrival into Canada and must quarantine for 14 days the press release said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/canada-eases-on-arrival-test-requirements-for-fully-vaccinated-travellers-195148.html Wed, 16 Feb 2022 16:14:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/israel-approves-astrazenecas-covid-drug-for-people-with-weakened-immune-systems-195161.html Jerusalem Feb 16 The Israeli Ministry of Health has approved the administration of AstraZenecas Evusheld Covid19 drug to people with weakened immune systems The antibody drug which includes two injections of two types of longacting antibodies given at the same time is only authorised for those who are not currently infected or have not recently been exposed to an individual infected with the virus Xinhua news agency reported The antibodies bind to the spike protein of the virus and neutralise the entry of the virus into the human cells thus reducing the risk of developing a symptomatic disease the ministry noted on Tuesday The drug has been shown to reduce severe morbidity and mortality from Covid by 83 per cent it added The ministry approved the treatment for those aged 12 and above weighing at least 40 kgs with moderate to severely compromised immune systems In early December 2021 the treatment received an emergency use authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration FDA in certain adults and pediatric individuals with weakened immune systems or with a history of severe adverse reactions to a Covid vaccine IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/israel-approves-astrazenecas-covid-drug-for-people-with-weakened-immune-systems-195161.html Wed, 16 Feb 2022 17:26:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-records-30-615-new-covid-cases-514-deaths-195167.html New Delhi Feb 16 India reported 30615 fresh Covid infections in a span of 24 hours a marginal rise from 27409 cases reported on the previous day said the Union Health ministry on Wednesday morning A total of 514 deaths were registered in the 24 hour span taking the toll to 509872 The active Covid cases have reduced to 370240 which constitutes 087 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 82988 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 41843446 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9794 per cent said the Union Health Ministry Also in the same period a total of 1251677 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7542 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 332 per cent while the daily positivity rate has risen to 245 per cent With the administration of over 41 lakhs vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 17386 crore as of Wednesday morning More than 1188 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and unio0n territories to be administered according to the health ministry as of Wednesday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-records-30-615-new-covid-cases-514-deaths-195167.html Wed, 16 Feb 2022 17:51:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/79-cops-have-died-during-covid-19-pandemic-delhi-police-chief-195172.html New Delhi Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana speaks after the launch of monthly eNewsletter Kissa Khaki Kaa on the 75th Raising Day of Delhi Police at PHQ in New Delhi Wednesday Feb 16 2022 PTI New Delhi Feb 16 Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana on Wednesday informed that 79 policemen have so far lost their lives due to coronavirus Putting their lives in danger by remaining on the frontline during the COVID Delhi Police has lost its 79 policemen the Commissioner said during his address at the 75th Raising Day of the Delhi Police He said the work done during those testing times by the Delhi Police won the hearts of the residents of the national capital Since then the Delhi Police is known among people as Dil Ki Police the police with a heart Asthana said The Commissioner said that the police department is providing 30 types of digital services to Delhiites which include EBeat Book Complaint Monitoring System Safe City Project CCTNS ICJS and ERSS112 He said that apart from providing best services to the residents the Delhi Police Department is equally aware about the welfare of its own force More than 5000 police personnel were recently promoted 38 were given outofturn promotions and 45 were awarded exceptional work awards the Commissioner said He added that 164 members of deceased cops families were inducted into the force on compassionate grounds On the COVID vaccination front the Commissioner said that special camps are being organised for the inoculation of the Delhi Police personnel with a booster dose IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/79-cops-have-died-during-covid-19-pandemic-delhi-police-chief-195172.html Wed, 16 Feb 2022 18:11:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/molnupiravir-appears-to-work-against-omicron-as-other-variants-study-194978.html New Delhi Feb 14 The muchhailed antiviral drug Molnupiravir is expected to work against the highly contagious Omicron as other variants of concern and more beneficial than monoclonal antibodies according to a new study The study pointed out that no clinical studies are yet available to indicate effectiveness of molnupiravir in people infected with Omicron But subgroup analysis found molnupiravir was effective irrespective of strain although no data is available for its effect on Omicron in particular stated the published in the journal Diabetes Metabolic Syndrome Clinical Research Reviews Unlike monoclonal antibodies the mechanism of action of molnupiravir is independent of mutations in the spike protein and thus it is expected to work against Omicron theoretically Indeed in vitro study of VeroE6GFP cells does indicate that molnupiravir retain their activity against the VOCs of Alpha Beta Gamma Delta and Omicron The findings were jointly conducted by a team of doctors at Fortis CDOC GD Hospital and Diabetes Institute Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital and the Diabetes Foundation In general there is no doubt it is effective against Omicron but yes it has not been tested Dr Anoop Misra Executive Chairman and Director Diabetes and Endocrinology Fortis CDOC told IANS Further the study also stated that the antiviral molnupiravir may be much better than monoclonal antibodies and remedivisir According to the US Food and Drug AdministrationFDA Regenerons Casirivimabimdevimab are ineffective against the Omicron variant Also both remdesivir and casirivimabimdevimab require hospital admission for infusion administration and need subsequent monitoring Molnupiravir on the other hand can be used in outpatient settings through oral route with a lower cost Mishra said adding these findings are very important in the context of India The study also proved that a 5day course of Molnupiravir could reduce deaths and prove effective and safe at relatively lower costs in adults and nonpregnant Covid19 unvaccinated patients at increased risk of severity or needing hospitalisation It doesnt seem to have any major side effects Mishra said However Mishra warned against the inappropriate and injudicious use in too many individuals without assessing risk He also noted in the study that the benefit ratio may pose an unknown longterm risk of theoretical public concern The study recommends the use of molnupiravir in adults above 18 years and in nonpregnant women Females with childbearing potential must use a reliable method of contraception during the entire duration of treatment and for 4 days after the last dose of molnupiravir Also males having reproductive potential must use a reliable method of contraception during treatment and for at least 3 months after the last dose of molnupiravir From the available evidence Molnupiravir appears to be a reasonably useful drug in reducing deaths and hospitalisation in adult patients with Covid19 having high risk with a relatively lower cost Mishra said in a statement It could be a useful drug in nonpregnant unvaccinated adults with Covid19 who are at increased risk of severity including hospitalisation he added Developed by USbased drug company Merck Molnupiravir is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration against Covid19 India has also approved the drug amid rising cases of new Covid variant Omicron in India An expert panel of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation recently approved the antiviral Molnupiravir for restricted use in emergency situations The antiviral drug will be manufactured by 13 companies in India IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/molnupiravir-appears-to-work-against-omicron-as-other-variants-study-194978.html Wed, 16 Feb 2022 00:01:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-uk-monitoring-hybrid-deltacron-strain-194994.html London Feb 14 Initially touted as a laboratory error a hybrid of Omicron and Delta strain called Deltacron may be real Health officials in the UK have identified a patient diagnosed with both Delta and Omicron at the same time according to the UK Health Security Agencys weekly variant surveillance report However the agency noted it is not clear if it was imported or originated in Britain the Daily Mail reported The UKHSA officials also dont know how infectious or severe the newlyevolved virus is or whether it will impact vaccine performance A source at the UKHSA insisted officials were not concerned by the variant because case numbers are low the report said The agency has also not revealed how many times it has been spotted According to Professor Paul Hunter an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia it shouldnt pose too much of a threat because the UK has huge levels of immunity against the original Delta and Omicron strains So at the moment Im not overly worried at the moment If both Delta and Omicron are falling then in theory this variant should struggle to take off he was quoted as saying Deltacron as first reported from Cyprus last month but was later dismissed and put down to sample contamination Several recombinant variants have been detected in the pandemic but they have not led to any serious outbreaks Scientists say it is rare for these to occur but when they do the variant is normally less fit than its rivals and easily outcompeted Deltacron will have shared antigens from both Delta and Omicron and we already have high levels of immunity to those Hunter said So in theory it should not pose too much of a threat But nobody can predict everything with certainty but at the moment I am not overly worried he noted IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-uk-monitoring-hybrid-deltacron-strain-194994.html Wed, 16 Feb 2022 02:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-logs-below-1k-cases-for-fourth-consecutive-day-deaths-dip-to-4-195000.html New Delhi Feb 14 Delhi on Monday reported 586 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours staying below the thousand level for the fourth consecutive day while the number of deaths also came down to four as per the Health Department bulletin The Covid positivity rate has further dipped at 137 per cent and the active cases also reduced to 3416 With the recovery rate climbing to 9840 per cent the active cases rate stands at 018 per cent while the death rate continues at 141 per cent With 1092 patients recovering in the last 24 hours the total number of recoveries has gone to 1822414 A total of 2361 Covid patients are being treated in home isolation at present The fresh infections and deaths has pushed the tally to 1851906 and the death toll to 26076 The number of Covid containment zones has also declined to 16154 in the city Meanwhile a total of 42797 new tests 39190 RTPCR and 3607 Rapid Antigen were conducted in the last 24 hours taking the total to 35669739 Out of 12833 vaccines administered in the last 24 hours 2277 were first doses and 9555 second doses Meanwhile 1001 precaution doses were also administered The total number of cumulative beneficiaries vaccinated so far stands at 30535393 according to the health bulletin IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-logs-below-1k-cases-for-fourth-consecutive-day-deaths-dip-to-4-195000.html Wed, 16 Feb 2022 03:03:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/andhra-pradesh-lifts-night-curfew-as-covid-cases-drop-195028.html Amaravati Feb 14 With the number of Covid19 cases coming down in Andhra Pradesh the state government on Monday decided to lift the night curfew Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy held a review meeting on the prevailing situation of Covid19 As the positivity rate and the number of cases have come down it was decided to lift the night curfew During the review meeting he said that Covid precautions must be taken at all times especially in the public and commercial spaces by wearing masks He directed the authorities to continue the fever survey and told them to conduct tests for those with symptoms The Chief Minister also stressed the need to achieve 100 percent vaccination The officials informed him that only 794 patients are getting treated in hospitals while the total number of active cases in the state has come down to 18929 The positivity rate has also fallen to 329 per cent from 1707 per cent and there were zero cases in 9581 villagewards secretariats On the vaccination front the officials said that 39083148 people have been administered two doses of vaccination and 3904927 were given a single dose While the target for the precautionary doses is 1502841 and so far 1184608 people have been vaccinated They informed that 967 per cent of vaccination was completed in the above 45 year age group and similarly 9007 per cent vaccination was done in people between 1844 age group For teens between 1518 years 2441 lakh have been administered with a single dose of vaccine while 1248 lakh have received their second dose of vaccine Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the authorities to complete the entire recruitments in the Medical and Health Department at the earliest ensuring that all the hospitals are enabled with proper workforce with zero vacancies He instructed the officials to separate both administrative and medical responsibilities in hospitals and hand over the administrative work to those having expertise in that field During the meeting the Chief Minister announced special incentives to specialist doctors and doctors working in tribal areas In this context the officials stated that 50 per cent of the basic salary can be given as an incentive to specialist doctors and similarly for doctors 30 per cent of the basic pay can be given as a special incentive IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/andhra-pradesh-lifts-night-curfew-as-covid-cases-drop-195028.html Wed, 16 Feb 2022 07:33:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-logs-1-568-covid-cases-25-deaths-cases-in-bluru-drop-to-754-195040.html Bengaluru Feb 14 Karnataka reported 1568 new Covid cases and 25 deaths against 6025 discharges on Monday The number of active Covid cases in the state stood at 31215 on Monday with a test positivity rate of 225 per cent and fatality rate of 159 per cent The state had logged 2372 new Covid cases and 27 deaths against 5395 discharges on Sunday The number of new cases in Bengaluru Urban came down to 754 against 2089 discharges Five persons succumbed to the virus in Bengaluru on Monday The city presently has 12890 active cases Gadag 7 Bidar 8 and Bengaluru Rural 6 reported Covid cases in single digits Total Covid tests conducted in the last 24 hours stood at 69546 The states recovery rate stood at 9819 per cent IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-logs-1-568-covid-cases-25-deaths-cases-in-bluru-drop-to-754-195040.html Wed, 16 Feb 2022 09:01:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/no-mandatory-covid-testing-in-assam-from-tuesday-194948.html Guwahati Feb 14 The Assam government has decided to discontinue the mandatory testing for Covid19 at airports railway stations other entry points and hospitals from Tuesday and people with symptoms have been requested to conduct tests on a voluntary basis officials said on Monday The Principal Secretary in the Health and Family Welfare Department Anurag Goel said in a notification that Covid positivity is gradually decreasing in the state and the country The notification said that the number of people vaccinated twice in the country has increased significantly and various relaxations have been allowed by the government of India and leading health institutions like AIIMS in New Delhi in view of the decreasing number of Covid cases and the difficulties faced due to testing protocols in emergency departments These instructions are issued in better public interest in view of the evolving situation of the Covid pandemic and shall be liable for change if required as per the SOPs and guidelines issued by the government of India and the eventual situation of Covid19 in the country and the state it said The states daily positivity rate has reduced from 4 per cent to 083 per cent during the past two weeks as per the Health and Family Welfare Department report As on Sunday night the state had 2499 active cases with the recovery rate increasing to 9856 per cent against the national recovery rate of 9768 per cent IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/no-mandatory-covid-testing-in-assam-from-tuesday-194948.html Tue, 15 Feb 2022 21:47:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/how-covid-causes-stillbirths-scientists-find-out-how-194967.html New York Feb 14 Covid19 infection is known to cause stillbirths in unvaccinated pregnant women but the mechanism was not yet understood A 44member international research team studied 64 stillbirth cases and four early neonatal deaths from 12 countries to determine how Covid19 caused perinatal deaths in unvaccinated expecting mothers USA Today reported The findings published in Archives of Pathology Laboratory Medicine showed that the Covid19 infection destroys the placenta depriving the foetus of oxygen Researchers determined the virus reaches the placenta and causes it to fail by passing through the mothers bloodstream a process known as viremia Our study identified placental insufficiency as the root cause for stillbirths in women with Covid19 during pregnancy said Dr David Schwartz an Atlantabased pathologist who led the study was quoted as saying Among the 68 cases an average of 77 per cent of the placenta had been destroyed and rendered useless for supporting critical foetal needs resulting in stillbirth or early neonatal death he added In all the studied cases researchers found the placentas from infected mothers had a severe abnormality called SARSCoV2 placentitis Schwartz said The team also found viralinduced lesions in the placenta blocked maternal and foetal blood flow and oxygen killing placental tissues and causing irreparable damage the report said Further in almost all the cases an increase was observed in fibrin a key protein involved with blood clotting was so massive it blocked blood and oxygen flow to the placenta All the placentas also showed dead cells made up the major cell barrier between the mother and foetus known as trophoblast necrosis Another placental complication that may have been caused by the virus was a rare accumulation of inflammatory cells called chronic histiocytic intervillositis which was seen in 97 per cent of cases studied by the international research team Moreover the researchers assumed that many of the infections were from the Delta variant and not Omicron Although other viral bacterial and parasitic infections that occur in pregnancy and cause stillbirth travel through the placenta and damage the foetal organs but Schwartz said SARSCoV2 appears to stop at the placenta and do the most damage there The placental destruction is so severe that whether or not the foetus becomes infected might be irrelevant he said Studies have shown that the Covid vaccine is safe and effective for both the expectant parent and baby The studies have also shown that antibodies from the vaccine can pass through to the foetus and protect the baby from Covid19 after birth IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/how-covid-causes-stillbirths-scientists-find-out-how-194967.html Tue, 15 Feb 2022 23:04:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/daily-covid-cases-in-kerala-drop-below-10k-mark-194971.html Thiruvananthapuram Feb 14 After several weeks daily Covid cases in Kerala fell down below the 10000 mark with the state logging 8989 cases on Monday and the test positivity rate at 1547 per cent state Health Minister Veena George said in a statement There were 24757 recoveries taking the active cases to 144384 of which 43 per cent patients were admitted in hospitals Another 25 Covid deaths were reported taking the total death tally to 62377 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/daily-covid-cases-in-kerala-drop-below-10k-mark-194971.html Tue, 15 Feb 2022 23:14:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/daily-covid-cases-drop-below-1000-mark-in-odisha-194738.html Bhubaneswar Feb 14 The daily Covid19 cases in Odisha have come down below 1000mark with 859 persons testing positive during the last 24 hours officials said on Monday According to the State Information and Public Relation department out of the 859 new Covid19 cases 172 were from the 018 age group 503 cases were detected among people under quarantine and 356 are the local contact cases This is the lowest daily case the state has recorded since January 4 Khurda district continued to remain in top of the daily infection list with 105 fresh cases followed by Koraput 71 Cuttack 65 and Sundergarh 62 All remaining districts of Odisha recorded below 50 cases The daily test positivity rate has also decreased to 145 per cent from 182 per cent recorded on Sunday The active case load in Odisha stood at 11324 However the fatalities continued to remain high in Odisha with the health department confirming the death of another 20 persons due to Covid19 following due audit Six death cases were reported from Balasore district while four persons died due to the virus in Jajpur district two each in Puri and Cuttack and one each in Bhadrak Kendrapara Keonjhar Jagatsinghpur Dhenkanal and Bhubaneswar the health department said With this the Covid19 death toll in the state now has increased to 8904 Odisha had registered 1148 Covid19 cases and 22 deaths on Sunday Meanwhile schools for Class 1 to 7 students have been reopened in the state on Monday for sanitization and cleanness of the campus However physical classes for the primary students will resume on February 28 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/daily-covid-cases-drop-below-1000-mark-in-odisha-194738.html Tue, 15 Feb 2022 06:55:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/study-links-long-covid-with-nerve-responsible-for-heart-rate-speech-194758.html London Feb 14 Long Covid symptoms could be linked to the effect of the virus on the vagus nerve one of the most important multifunctional nerves in the body according to a study The vagus nerve extends from the brain down into the torso and into the heart lungs and intestines as well as several muscles including those involved in swallowing The nerve is responsible for a wide variety of bodily functions including controlling heart rate speech the gag reflex transferring food from the mouth to the stomach moving food through the intestines sweating and many others The study led by researchers from University Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol in Spain said that SARSCoV2mediated vagus nerve dysfunction VND could explain some long Covid symptoms including dysphonia persistent voice problems dysphagia difficulty in swallowing dizziness tachycardia abnormally high heart rate orthostatic hypotension low blood pressure and diarrhoea Our findings so far point at vagus nerve dysfunction as a central pathophysiological feature of long Covid said Dr Gemma Llados from the University hospital Long Covid is a potentially disabling syndrome affecting an estimated 1015 per cent of subjects who survive Covid19 The symptoms are likely to persist from weeks up to a year The team performed a pilot extensive morphological and functional evaluation of the vagus nerve using imaging and functional tests in a prospective observational cohort of 348 long Covid subjects with symptoms suggestive of VND About 66 per cent showed at least one symptom suggestive of VND up to 14 months Further tests were carried out in the first 22 subjects with VND symptoms Most long Covid subjects with vagus nerve dysfunction symptoms had a range of significant clinicallyrelevant structural andor functional alterations in their vagus nerve including nerve thickening trouble swallowing and symptoms of impaired breathing Llados said The pilot study will be presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases ECCMID 2022 to be held in Lisbon in April IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/study-links-long-covid-with-nerve-responsible-for-heart-rate-speech-194758.html Tue, 15 Feb 2022 09:37:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/south-korea-rolls-out-4th-covid-vaccine-shots-to-high-risk-groups-194812.html Seoul Feb 14 South Korea on Monday started to roll out fourth shots of Covid vaccines for people at high risk even as the country faces a surge in infections due to the highly contagious Omicron variant The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced a fourth dose for the highrisk group who face less protection after receiving a third shot This includes about 13 million people with reduced immunity and some 500000 who live or work at nursing homes and care facilities The Washington Post reported The purpose is to prevent deaths and critically ill cases in the highrisk group amid a surge in infections since omicron became the dominant variant the KDCA said in a statement About 85 per cent of South KoreaaÂs 52 million people are considered fully vaccinated Just over 57 per cent have received a third shot or booster A fourth shot or second booster can be received four months after the third the KDCA said According to KDCAs commissioner Jeong Eunkyeong the agency does not have plans to expand the fourth dose to all adults the report said South Koreas daily caseload on Monday topped 50000 for the fifth day in a row a 10fold increase from the levels seen three weeks agoA About 1200 coronavirus patients are in hospitals as of Monday according to the KDCA The countrys health officials warned that the rise in infections could lead to more deaths and critically ill cases Meanwhile Swedens Health Agency also on Monday recommended people aged 80 or above should receive a fourth jab to ward off waning immunity amid the rampant spread of the Omicron variant the Guardian reported The recommendation also covered all people living in nursing homes or who receive assisted living services at home The second booster shot should be administered at least four months after the first booster jab the agency said in a statement Sweden hit record levels of infections earlier this year as Omicron spread rapidly across the country In January Israel became the first country to roll out a fourth dose of Covid19 vaccine to health workers and people aged 60 years old and those with weakened immune systems Several European countries including Hungary and Denmark have considered rolling out the second booster dose in the wake of the vaccine evading Omicron variant IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/south-korea-rolls-out-4th-covid-vaccine-shots-to-high-risk-groups-194812.html Tue, 15 Feb 2022 13:37:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-sees-daily-covid-tally-fall-below-four-digits-194429.html New Delhi Feb Delhi on Friday reported 977 fresh Covid infections in last 24 hours the first time that daily cases have fallen before a thousand since the onset of the third wave while there were 12 more deaths according to the Health Department bulletin This is the lowest number of cases after December 30 when 1313 cases were reported The Covid positivity rate has come down to 173 per cent and active cases has also reduced to 4812 With recovery rate climbing at 9833 per cent the active cases rate in Delhi stands at 026 per cent while the death rate continues at 141 per cent With 1591 patients recovering in the last 24 hours the total number of recoveries has gone to 1818737 A total of 3135 Covid patients are being treated in home isolation at present The new cases and deaths have pushed the tally to 1849596 and the death toll to 26047 The number of Covid containment zones has declined to 19582 Meanwhile a total of 56444 new tests 46664 RTPCR and 9780 Rapid Antigen were conducted in the last 24 hours taking the total to 35518310 Out of 85533 vaccines administered in the last 24 hours 14630 were first doses and 63785 second doses Meanwhile 7118 precaution doses were also administered The total number of cumulative beneficiaries vaccinated so far stands at 30351020 according to the health bulletin IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-sees-daily-covid-tally-fall-below-four-digits-194429.html Mon, 14 Feb 2022 02:46:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ending-mask-mandate-probably-premature-joe-biden-194688.html Washington Feb 14 Although Covid cases are seeing a decline in the US it is too soon to end restrictions like mask mandates President Joe Biden has said A number of states have dropped mask mandates or set plans in motion to lift mask rules in schools in coming weeks But Biden stated that lifting indoor mask mandates was probably premature but acknowledged that making that decision is a tough call New York Times reported The President also suggested that rising rates of childhood vaccination as well as the potential authorisation of vaccines for even younger children could allow schools to end their own mask mandates Every day that goes by children are more protected Biden said adding that the more protection they have probably youre going to see less and less requirement to have the masks US cases are falling fast down to about 174000 daily a twothirds drop over two weeks according to a New York Times database But hospitalisations at about 95000 and deaths at more than 2400 daily remain very high A recent CBS poll found that a majority of Americans still support mask mandates including in schools but that many are exhausted and frustrated by a pandemic that is grinding into its third year In schools public health experts agree that mask requirements should not last forever but differ on whether the time has come to remove them I love how people talk about personal freedom If your exercising personal freedom puts someone else in jeopardy their health in jeopardy I dont consider that being very dealing with freedom Biden was quoted as saying on an NBC interview The UK is also planning to lift Covid restrictions as Omicron has peaked in the country But experts have warned to remain cautious Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced plans to end all domestic rules including the requirement to selfisolate if you are infected with the virus from February 24 According to Arnaud Fontanet a senior epidemiologist at Frances Pasteur Institute measures such as mask wearing home working and quarantine remained vital in order to slow the number of infections and keep hospital admissions down the Guardian reported Allowing the virus a free run would be a fundamental error he was quoted as saying Quite small changes in behaviour can really influence the dynamic Reducing contacts now by just 20 per cent a bit of home working wearing masks in indoor public spaces will halve the number of hospital admissions in a fortnight we know this Meanwhile Sweden Denmark and Norway have all lifted Covid restrictions as they look to reclassify the virus as a disease that does not pose a threat to society But WHO DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stated its premature for any country either to surrender or to declare victory He said most regions of the world were experiencing a very worrying increase in deaths due to Covid due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ending-mask-mandate-probably-premature-joe-biden-194688.html Mon, 14 Feb 2022 23:25:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/kerala-sees-covid-cases-tpr-drop-further-194441.html Thiruvananthapuram Feb 11 There finally seemed to be respite for Kerala on the Covid front as new cases fell further to 16012 while the test positivity rate also fell below 20 per cent state Health Minister Veena George said in a statement issued here The day saw 43087 recoveries while the total number of active cases also has come down to 205410 of which 36 per cent were under treatment in hospitals across the state There were 27 Covid deaths taking the total death tally to 61626 On the vaccination front 100 per cent 269 crore have had one dose of which 85 per cent 227 crore have taken both doses In the 1518 years group 74 per cent 1137 lakhs have been given one dose while 11 per cent 172 lakh have now received their second dose also IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/kerala-sees-covid-cases-tpr-drop-further-194441.html Mon, 14 Feb 2022 04:47:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-logs-2-372-covid-cases-27-deaths-194454.html Bengaluru Feb 14 Karnataka logged 2372 new Covid cases against 5395 discharges and 27 deaths on Sunday The number of total active Covid cases in the state stood at 35697 The positivity rate for the day stood at 231 per cent and case fatality rate for the day has been 113 per cent The number of new Covid cases in Bengaluru Urban came down to 1059 against 2501 discharges Todays reported Covid deaths were 7 The total active cases came down to 14230 in the city Yadgir 6 Ramnagar 8 Koppal 6 Haveri 7 districts reported Covid cases in single digits Mysuru 148 and Ballary 112 recorded the maximum number of cases other than Bengaluru in the state The cases came down drastically all over the state Total Covid tests done in the last 24 hours were 102279 The positivity rate has come down to 231 per cent in the last 24 hours from 619 per cent in the last week The recovery rate stood at 9808 per cent in the state 1908 patients are being treated in the state at the hospitals IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-logs-2-372-covid-cases-27-deaths-194454.html Mon, 14 Feb 2022 06:59:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/to-make-up-for-covid-disruption-schools-plan-special-classes-to-help-students-for-board-exams-194491.html New Delhi Feb 14 The CBSE Board exams for Classes 10 and 12 are set to commence on April 26 However with schools in many states yet to open the students are facing difficulties in preparing for the exams Even in Delhi itself the classes resumed last week In such a situation schools in the national capital are now brainstorming to find ways to help the students The Delhis Directorate of Education DoE has geared up for helping the students in their preparations for the upcoming board examinations To intensify the preparations in the government schools a meeting chaired by the Director of Education was organised with all the school heads on Saturday In the meeting Education Advisor Shailendra Sharma and Additional Director School Rita Sharma discussed the necessary preparations for the upcoming examinations as well as the opening of schools for classes from Nursery to 8 from Monday with all the school heads According to the DoE with the shift from online to offline classes after a long gap it has become extremely important to focus on practical classes as well Education Director Himanshu Gupta said that individual attention will be given to each and every child by the teachers to scrutinize the area of betterment of the children Similarly the school heads will conduct review meetings with teachers on a daily basis to understand and meet the learning needs of the students The sample paper prepared by the CBSE and DoE will be made available to every child in printed form According to the DoE it has been decided to organise remedial classes to address the loss in studies due to the closure of schools and to improve the performance of the students Apart from this students can also download sample papers and learning materials by visiting the Academic and Examination section on the website of the Education Department IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/to-make-up-for-covid-disruption-schools-plan-special-classes-to-help-students-for-board-exams-194491.html Mon, 14 Feb 2022 10:52:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-reports-24-decline-logs-32-113-new-covid-cases-194533.html New Delhi Feb 14 In the last 24 hours India reported 34113 new Covid19 cases marking a 24 per cent decline the Union Health Ministry said on Monday Also in the same period there were 346 additional fatalities which took the nationwide death toll to 509011 Meanwhile active Covid cases have reduced to 478882 which account for 112 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 91930 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 41677641 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9768 per cent said the Ministry Also in the same period a total of 1067908 tests were conducted across the country taking the total to 7518 crore While the weekly positivity rate stood at 399 per cent the daily positivity rate fell to 319 per cent With the administration of over 1166 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage reached 17295 crore as of Monday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-reports-24-decline-logs-32-113-new-covid-cases-194533.html Mon, 14 Feb 2022 14:13:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/omicron-replaces-delta-variant-in-odisha-194165.html Bhubaneswar Feb 11 Omicron the highlytransmissible variant of SARSCOV2 has replaced the Delta variant in Odisha This was revealed from the latest genome sequencing report of the Institute of Life Sciences ILS Bhubaneswar As per the report of the 241 samples whose genome sequencing was carried out in between January 27 and February 4 2022 Omicron was detected in 235 samples while Delta variant was found only in 6 samplesIt shows presence of Omicron variant in 98 per cent of the total samples collected from 18 districts of Odisha Out of the detected Omicron cases six are found to be BA1 12 as BA11 and 217 BA2 subvariant of Omicron As many as 13 out of 14 samples received from Angul district were found with Omicron BA2 variant Similarly all 30 samples received from Cuttack district were found to be Omicron Out of the 49 samples from Khordha district 45 were tested with Omicron Apart from Khurda Nayagah and Puri district have recorded two nonOmicron cases All 47 samples of Ganjam district 16 from Gajapati and 12 from Jagatsinghpur districts were found to be infected with the Omicron variant Presence of the Omicron variant has been found in about 98 per cent of the total samples sent for genome sequencing at ILS Though it was not a survey we can see it from a broader perspective and it shows a large presence of Omicron variant in the state said director of health services Bijay Mohapatra here on Friday However it is good news for the state that the number of serious Covid patients will fall down and the daily cases will also come down very rapidly soon he said Meanwhile the state on Friday registered 1572 fresh Covid19 cases taking the number of active cases to 14253 However the fatality trajectory is on a steady rise with reports of another 20 persons due to Covid19 The cumulative death toll in the state now stands at 8838 Khurda district reported the highest number of new cases at 233 followed by Cuttack 161 and Sundargarh 113 All the 30 districts in the state currently have active cases while Khordha with 2922 active cases is placed in the red zone and Sundergarh district under yellow zone with 1078 active cases IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/omicron-replaces-delta-variant-in-odisha-194165.html Sun, 13 Feb 2022 07:05:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/scientists-find-early-versions-of-covid-maybe-linked-to-lab-leak-theory-194183.html London Feb 11 Hungarian scientists have stumbled upon traces of the early versions virus that may have been manipulated in a Chinese lab giving fresh momentum to the pandemics lab leak theory media reports said The team from Eotvos Lorand University and the University of Veterinary Medicine in Budapest have discovered traces of a unique variant of coronavirus while examining DNA from soil from Antarctica that had been sent to firm Sangon Biotech in Shanghai Daily Mail reported They also found genetic material from Chinese hamsters and green monkeys which may suggest the virus was being examined in a lab using either the animals themselves or their cells The findings not yet peerreviewed were made accidentally while examining DNA from soil samples collected from Antarctica in late 2018 and early 2019 in a completely unrelated research project The samples had been sent to company Sangon Biotech in Shanghai to be analysed in December 2019 where a barcode error saw them become contaminated with previously unseen coronavirus mutations the report said The machine being used to analyse the samples has been known to suffer barcode reading errors meaning samples from two different projects can be mixed together In this case the Antarctic soil is believed to have been mixed with the DNA from lab monkeys or hamsters carrying coronavirus The Sangon facility is thought to be used by Chinese researchers including those at the Wuhan Institute of Virology WIV the lab at the centre of the accidental leak hypothesis According to some experts the new mutations bridge the gap between the original bat coronavirus and the one that jumped to humans the missing piece of the puzzle that has escaped scientists for the past two years But others believe the contamination came from samples of Chinas early Covid patients who were announced in December 2019 A yet another theory is that the genetic material is from other animalborne coronaviruses that were circulating at the time or being experimented on by the Chinese The Hungarian team who found the sample error say the virus could be the ancestor of the original Wuhan strain if the mistake happened in December 2019 the report said According to Professor Lawrence Young a virologist at Warwick University the finding was very very intriguing and very very suspicious While this is no definitive proof that Covid was engineered in a lab and released it signalled that coronaviruses were being studied in Chinese labs very early in the pandemic Young was quoted as saying The two things that really stand out for me are there are these three key mutations bringing the bat Covid closer to the first Wuhan strain It is very very suspicious and could be a signature of the ancestral SARSCoV2he said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/scientists-find-early-versions-of-covid-maybe-linked-to-lab-leak-theory-194183.html Sun, 13 Feb 2022 09:39:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/explained-role-of-vitamin-d-in-covid-19-194266.html New Delhi Feb 11 Vitamin D known as the sunshine vitamin and essential for bone health is also known for promoting immune response much needed to fight Covid19 experts said here on Friday Several studies have also shown how Vitamin D deficiencies can reduce vaccine efficacy and also increase the severity of Covid19 infection in individuals In a study led by Purdue University researchers found that Vitamin D functions to reduce inflammation caused by immune cells relevant to responses during severe Covid infection Because the Vitamin D receptor is expressed on immune cells and because these cells can synthesise the active Vitamin D metabolite Vitamin D also has the potential to modulate adaptive immune responses Dr Sanjay Kumar Gogia Director Internal Medicine Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh told IANS Further Covid has been particularly worse to older adults people with obesity and hypertension again a group with deficiency in Vitamin D Another study led by BarIlan University in Safed Israel Vitamin D levels prior to Covid infection may increase severity of the disease as well risk of mortality The study found that patients with Vitamin D deficiency less than 20 ngmL were 14 times more likely to have severe or critical cases of Covid than those with more than 40 ngmL The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently stated that over 75 per cent of people who died due to Covid had comorbidities like uncontrolled hypertension diabetes renal diseases and obesity Low Vitamin D levels have been associated with an increased risk of communityacquired pneumonia in older adults and children Gogia said He cited that in a metaanalysis of randomised clinical trials vitamin D supplementation was shown to protect against acute respiratory tract infection However in few clinical trials administering high doses of Vitamin D to critically ill patients with vitamin D deficiency but not Covid19 did not reduce the length of the hospital stay or the mortality rate when compared to placebos The rationale for using Vitamin D is based largely on immunomodulatory effects that could potentially protect against Covid19 infection or decrease the severity of illness Gogia noted Vitamin D is most often recognised for its role in bone health but low levels of the supplement have been associated with a range of autoimmune cardiovascular and infectious diseases According to Dr Amitav Banerjee Prof Head of Community Medicines DY Patil Medical College Pune cultural and social changes have led to the condition that today young adults are about four times more likely to have Vitamin D deficiencies as compared to older adults Lifestyle changes do not only consist of diet and exercise but stepping outdoors for getting your mandatory dose of Vitamin D Banerjee said Your body needs adequate amounts of Vitamin D to maintain and support the immune system he said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/explained-role-of-vitamin-d-in-covid-19-194266.html Sun, 13 Feb 2022 14:27:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-reports-13-dip-in-new-covid-cases-193903.html New Delhi Feb 11 India reported 58077 fresh Covid infections in a span of 24 hours on Friday which is around 13 per cent lower than those reported on previous day On Thursday the country had seen 67084 new Covid cases In the last 24 hours a total 657 deaths were reported taking the toll to 507177 said the Union Health ministry on Friday morning The active Covid case has been reduced to 697802 which constitutes 164 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 150407 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 41331158 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9717 per cent Also in the same period a total of 1491678 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7478 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 576 per cent while daily positivity rate has fallen to 389 per cent With the administration of over 48 lakhs vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 17179 crore as of Friday morning More than 1205 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs to be administered according to the health ministry as of Friday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-reports-13-dip-in-new-covid-cases-193903.html Sat, 12 Feb 2022 11:35:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-infection-vax-boosts-t-cell-immune-responses-against-omicron-193932.html New York Feb 11 T cell responses are still robust against the variant in most individuals with prior SARSCoV2 infection or vaccination despite low antibody responses finds a study This also provides protection against severe disease said researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital MGH When an individual is infected with the Covid19 causing virus SARSCoV2 the immune system is called into action to produce antibodies and T cells that target viral proteins and clear the infection It has become clear that the recent Omicron variant of SARSCoV2 can unfortunately escape antibody responses even in many people who have been vaccinated against Covid19 But the new research published in the journal Cell showed that T cell responses in individuals with prior infection vaccination both prior infection and vaccination and booster vaccination were largely preserved against the Omicron spike protein Individuals with prior infection also had responses against other proteins in the virus For the study the team obtained blood samples from 76 vaccinated and unvaccinated adults with and without prior SARSCoV2 infection We found that T cells from most individuals retained their recognition of Omicron even when antibodies did not This is good news said colead author Anusha Nathan a medical student working at the Ragon Institute of MGH MIT and Harvard Approximately 20 per cent of individuals had significantly reduced T cell responses despite prior infection or vaccination however and certain genetic characteristics were linked with this poor response But booster vaccination appeared to enhance T cell responses by 20fold the researchers found Our findings should provide some reassurance to the general population that the vast majority of prior infected and vaccinated individuals should have a T cell response to Omicron that gives protection against severe Covid19 said senior author Gaurav D Gaiha a gastroenterologist at MGH However similar to antibody studies our study also provides further impetus for people to get booster vaccines to help protect against Omicron by substantially increasing their T cell immunity he added The scientists noted that their discovery that some people have lower responses to Omicron may indicate that the virus can evolve to escape even T cells So we have to continue to work on vaccines that may be resistant to future variants and keep taking sensible precautions like keeping up to date on vaccination maskwearing and testing appropriately to protect ourselves and our communities said colead author Vivek Naranbhai a hematologyoncology fellow at MGH and DanaFarber Cancer Institute IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-infection-vax-boosts-t-cell-immune-responses-against-omicron-193932.html Sat, 12 Feb 2022 14:01:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/87-of-people-tested-in-tn-have-antibodies-to-covid-study-193556.html Chennai Feb 10 The fourth phase of the Sero surveillance study conducted by the Tamil Nadu health department has revealed that around 87 per cent of people tested in the state have antibodies to Covid The crosssectional survey was conducted in December 2021 at the beginning of the Omicron variant triggered the third wave It may be noted that in the third phase of the serosurveillance survey 70 per cent of the people tested had antibodies The state health minister Ma Subramanian in a statement on Wednesday said that Tiruvarur district had the highest seropositivity rate of 93 per cent in the state The seropositivity of Chennai was 88 per cent according to the minister The statement said that in four districts of the state seropositivity rate was below 85 per cent Tirupathur 82 per cent Kancheepuram 83 per cent Villupuram and Dharmapuri 84 per cent Of the 32245 people tested for the survey 27324 85 per cent were vaccinated and among them 24667 90 per cent had detectable levels of antiSARSCoV2 IgG antibodies Interestingly the statement said that of the 4921 unvaccinated people tested as part of the study 3374 69 per cent had developed antibodies The study highlighted that vaccinated people have better detectable antibody levels Among those who took Covaxin or Covishield more than 80 per cent had antibodies The study also found that 68 per cent of unvaccinated people aged 1118 had detectable levels of antibodies The health department said that this was evidence of indirect exposure to natural infection Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian while speaking to IANS said The state public health department has taken samples from people above the age of 10 years from 1076 clusters across all districts of the state and found that at an average 87 per cent have developed antibodies and this is a good sign He said that each cluster had 30 persons drawn randomly from the community and said that district collectors were told to increase the vaccination coverage in districts with a seropositivity rate below 84 per cent Thirupathur with 82 per cent Kancheepuram with 83 per cent and Villupuram and Dharmapuri with 84 per cent fall under this category the minister said Meanwhile the whole genome sequencing conducted on January 26 found that 97 per cent of samples were the Omicron variant while only 3 per cent was the Delta variant of the Covid19 virus Interestingly on December 7 all samples were Delta but on December 11 87 per cent were Delta while 13 per cent of the Omicron variant The Tamil Nadu health minister said that the first dose vaccination coverage for children in the age group of 1518 is 8048 per cent while the second dose coverage is 2213 per cent He also said that only four per cent of the active cases are admitted in hospitals across the state IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/87-of-people-tested-in-tn-have-antibodies-to-covid-study-193556.html Fri, 11 Feb 2022 02:26:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-reports-67-084-new-covid-cases-1-241-deaths-193580.html New Delhi Feb 10 India reported 67084 fresh Covid infections a marginal decline from 71365 Covid cases reported the previous day In the same time span a total 1241 deaths were reported taking the death toll to 506520 said the Union Health ministry on Thursday morning The active Covid case has reduced to 790789 which constitute 186 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 167882 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 41180751 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9695 per cent Also in the same period a total of 1511321 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7461 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 658 per cent while daily positivity rate has fallen to 444 per cent With the administration of over 4644 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 17128 crore as of Wednesday morning More than 1202 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered according to the health ministry as of Thursday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-reports-67-084-new-covid-cases-1-241-deaths-193580.html Fri, 11 Feb 2022 06:10:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/almost-1-in-3-elderly-develop-long-covid-after-infection-study-193656.html New York Feb 10 Almost a third 32 of every 100 of older adults aged above 65 infected with Covid19 in 2020 developed at least one new condition that required medical attention in the months after initial infection 11 more than those who did not have Covid19 finds a study The longCovid conditions involved a range of major organs and systems including the heart kidneys lungs and liver as well as mental health complications revealed the findings published in The BMJ Researchers from Harvard University in the US used health insurance plan records to identify 133366 individuals aged 65 or older in 2020 who were diagnosed with Covid19 before 1 April 2020 The researchers then recorded any persistent or new conditions starting 21 days after a Covid19 diagnosis the postacute period The results show that compared with the 2020 comparison group Covid19 patients were at increased risk of developing a range of conditions including respiratory failure fatigue high blood pressure and mental health diagnoses However compared with the group with viral lower respiratory tract illness only respiratory failure dementia and fatigue showed increased risk differences of 239 071 and 018 per 100 people with Covid19 respectively Individuals admitted to hospital with Covid19 had a markedly increased risk for most but not all conditions The risk of several conditions was also increased for men for people of colour and for those aged 75 and older This is an observational study so cannot establish the cause and the researchers acknowledge some limitations including the fact that some diagnoses might not truly represent a new condition triggered by Covid19 infection However The number of survivors with sequelae after the acute infection will continue to grow warned Marc Lipsitch Professor at Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health These findings further highlight the wide range of important sequelae after acute infection with the SARSCoV2 virus Understanding the magnitude of risk for the most important clinical sequelae might enhance their diagnosis and the management of individuals with sequelae after acute SARSCoV2 infection Lipsitch said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/almost-1-in-3-elderly-develop-long-covid-after-infection-study-193656.html Fri, 11 Feb 2022 11:45:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/centre-removes-at-risk-nations-category-no-home-quarantine-required-193678.html New Delhi Feb 10 The Union Health Ministry on Thursday revised the guidelines for international arrivals recommending that all travellers selfmonitor their health for next 14 days instead of 7 days home quarantine as was mandated earlier The demarcation of at risk and other countries has also been removed in the revised guidelines which will come into effect from February 14 The demarcation of countries atrisk other countries removed Accordingly need for giving samples on port of arrival waiting till the result is obtained from countries atrisk is dispensed with said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in a tweet In a series of tweets he also said that the need for undertaking RTPCR test on 8th day and uploading the same on Air Suvidha portal is dispensed with Two per cent of international travellers from all countries will undergo random sampling on arrival The travellers can leave the airport after submitting the sample According to the new guidelines if travellers under selfhealth monitoring develop signs and symptoms suggestive of Covid19 they will immediately selfisolate and report to their nearest health facility or call national helpline number 1075state helpline number The passengers found to be symptomatic during screening post arrival shall be immediately isolated and taken to medical facility as per health protocol If testing positive their contacts shall be identified and managed as per laid down protocol according to the revised guidelines IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/centre-removes-at-risk-nations-category-no-home-quarantine-required-193678.html Fri, 11 Feb 2022 13:24:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/iit-jodhpur-team-identifies-covid-19-rna-variations-their-implications-193747.html Jodhpur Feb 10 IIT Jodhpur has identified variations in the RNA of the Covid19 virus using genomic sequencing methods The RNA structure of the Covid19 virus frequently undergoes minor modifications within the host cells aintrahost variations In the study published in the journal Nucleic Acid Research the team studied intrahost Single Nucleotide Variations iSNV using a sequencing platform called Illumina One of the most important aspects to manage the Covid19 pandemic is to unravel the genetic structure of the virus and pick up early warning signatures said Dr Mitali Mukerji Professor and Head Department of Bioscience Bioengineering IIT Jodhpur We observed 16410 iSNV sites spanning the viral genome and a high density of alterations were present in critical areas that could alter or override the bodys ability to trigger an immune response she added During Phase 1 of the project in 2020 the IIT scientists analysed the RNA structure of virus samples collected from China Germany Malaysia the UK the US and different subpopulations of India to map the iSNV across the RNA structure of the virus The team has observed similar patterns across populations and waves of the pandemic It also tracked the iSNVs over time to see if the variants produced inside the host cells can persist outside thereby becoming fixed as SNVs They found that by June 30 2021 about 80 per cent of the iSNV sites they had identified in 2020 became fixed as SNVs The conversion of iSNVs to SNVs was substantiated in Phase 2 studies that showed iSNVs were found in most of the Delta and Kappa variants before their fixation as SNVs by February 2021 The evolution of SNVs from iSNVs can affect vaccine response by altering the antibody generation in infected individuals said Mukerji Tracking and understanding the fate of iSNV can help predict the variantsofconcern and planning actionable interventions It also helps to know the differences in individual and population responses to the infection and helps in the design of therapeutic protocols to treat Covid infections The identification of iSNVs can also help in the identification of key sites in the viral RNA that are important for its survival and spread the researchers explained IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/iit-jodhpur-team-identifies-covid-19-rna-variations-their-implications-193747.html Fri, 11 Feb 2022 18:15:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/as-covid-cases-dip-kerala-reduces-price-of-consumables-193281.html Thiruvananthapuram Feb 9 With the daily Covid cases nosediving to below 30000 mark from 50000 cases the rates of Covid consumables have also been lowered State Health Minister Veena George said on Wednesday The announcement followed the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan According to the new rates a RTPCR test will cost Rs 300 old rate Rs 500and Antigen test Rs 100300 A PPE kit will now cost Rs 175 to Rs 154 depending on the size of it likewise a N95 mask cost will range from Rs 550 to Rs 15 George said strict action will be there against those who fleece the public IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/as-covid-cases-dip-kerala-reduces-price-of-consumables-193281.html Thu, 10 Feb 2022 08:40:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/nobel-laureate-abhijit-banerjee-asks-mamata-govt-to-open-schools-193352.html Kolkata Feb 9 Nobel laureate Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee has asked the West Bengal government to open schools immediately Interestingly for the last two years Abhijit Banerjee is also the head of the Global Advisory Committee created by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to help the state in fighting Covid Virtually speaking from the US at a seminar organised by Annual Status Report of Education ASER the worldfamous economist said It is unfortunate that the students of Class five cannot do the sums of Class two From this it is evident that a section of the students cannot catch up with the present form of education They are being left back This cannot be a good sign for the education system of the state as well of the country The Nobel laureate who has been a strong critic of the economic policies of the country advised all the state governments particularly the West Bengal government to open schools immediately According to him the normal school going process and the students attending the classes will bring them back to the school and this is important for the education system of the country According to the report during the pandemic period 90 per cent of the students have enrolled themselves in the school but the reading level dropped below 10 per cent This is especially true in case of students of first and second standard who could not go to the Anganwadi centres due to overcrowding They are facing the most challenging threat This amply suggests how the quality of education has been compromised for the last one year The states should try and open the schools so that the children from underprivileged sections of the society can develop the habit of reading and going to school Banerjee said The report also indicates that the students going to government schools are the most sufferer in this case They neither have access to the newer technologies nor they have proper resources to continue on with their studies The availability of smartphones has increased from 365 per cent in 2018 to 676 per cent in 2021 However more children in private schools have smartphones at home 79 per cent as opposed to government school going children 637 per cent The state government has recently announced physical classes from Class 7 to Class 12 and alternatively developed a mechanism of schools in the neighbourhood where the students between class up to Class 7 will have their classes in the neighbouring areas only IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/nobel-laureate-abhijit-banerjee-asks-mamata-govt-to-open-schools-193352.html Thu, 10 Feb 2022 12:45:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/nasal-spray-launched-to-treat-adult-covid-patients-in-india-193239.html New Delhi Feb 9 Mumbai based pharma company Glenmark has launched the Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray under the brand name FabiSpray for the treatment of adult patients with Covid19 infection The nasal spray has been launched in partnership with Canadian pharmaceutical company SaNOtize The Mumbaibased drug firm had earlier received manufacturing and marketing approval from the Drugs Controller General of India DCGI for the Nitric Oxide nasal spray NONS as part of the accelerated approval process The nasal spray has been designed to kill the coronavirus in the upper airways FabiSpray Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray is designed to kill the COVID19 virus in the upper airways It has proven antimicrobial properties with a direct virucidal effect on SARSCoV2 NONS when sprayed over nasal mucosa acts as a physical and chemical barrier against the virus preventing it from incubating and spreading to the lungs said the drug manufacturer in a statement A Phase 3 clinical trial was conducted in adult COVID19 patients across 20 clinical sites in India The double blind parallel arm multicenter study conducted in 306 patients evaluated the efficacy and safety of Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray versus normal saline nasal spray in nonhospitalized adult patients All patients received standard supportive care in the study the statement reads further Dr Srikanth Krishnamurthy one of the Principal Investigators of the study said that Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray lowers the viral load and hastens RTPCR negativity when used early in COVID 19 infection leading to recovery Most importantly viral load reduction with NONS has the potential to reduce the chain of transmission Last but not the least NONS being topical is safe and makes this therapeutic option very attractive he added NONS has already received a CE mark in Europe which is an equivalent of marketing authorization in case of a Medical Device claimed the drug company IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/nasal-spray-launched-to-treat-adult-covid-patients-in-india-193239.html Thu, 10 Feb 2022 02:27:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pfizer-to-rake-in-record-breaking-earnings-of-over-100-bn-in-covid-vax-antiviral-pill-193276.html New Delhi Feb 9 Pfizer estimates that it will rake in recordbreaking earnings of more than 100 billion this year due to sales of its Covid19 vaccine and antiviral pill to treat the virus Daily Mail reported The rollout of the vaccine has already led to a substantial financial windfall for the New York Citybased company and the prospect on enhanced distribution of Paxlovid the potential rollout of Omicrontailored vaccines and more booster shots in the future will lead to an influx of even more cash On Tuesday the company revealed its fourth quarter earnings and revenue projections for 2022 where it said it estimates it will earn up to 102 billion in sales next year which would be a new record More than half of those earnings will be off of its two Covid products with the vaccine expected to bring in 32 billion in sales and Paxlovid expected to earn 22 billion But despite the record earnings estimates the drugmaker posted mixed fourthquarter results when it comes to actual revenue with shares down 54 per cent in early morning trading Shares were down 284 per cent by closing the report said The Pfizer Covid19 vaccine is the most commonly used jab in the US and many other countries around the world According to official data from the the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC the jab has been used 319 million times more than half of the 540 million vaccines administered in the nation overall This includes the nearly 50 million Pfizer booster shots that have been administered to Americans The company doubled its Q4 sales this year when compared to last to 2384 billion over the last three months of last year the report said More than half of that revenue 125 billion came from the Covid vaccines alone This revenue stream will remain intact for years to come potentially even the next decade if Pfizer has its way IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pfizer-to-rake-in-record-breaking-earnings-of-over-100-bn-in-covid-vax-antiviral-pill-193276.html Thu, 10 Feb 2022 07:55:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-400-mn-193067.html Washington Feb 9 The global coronavirus caseload has topped 400 million while the deaths have surged to more than 576 million and vaccinations to over 1009 billion according to Johns Hopkins University In its latest update on Wednesday morning the Universitys Center for Systems Science and Engineering CSSE revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 400487672 and 5762582 respectively while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 10096476161 The US continues to be the worsthit country with the worlds highest number of cases and deaths at 77051222 and 908816 according to the CSSE The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India 42339611 infections and 504062 deaths followed by Brazil 26793497 infections and 634118 deaths The other countries with over 5 million cases are France 21174600 the UK 18055318 Russia 12946888 Turkey 12446111 Italy 11765767 Germany 11411464 Spain 10439302 Argentina 8648075 Iran 6657842 Colombia 5985516 Poland 5217106 and Mexico 5160767 the CSSE figures showed The nations with a death toll of over 100000 are Russia 329951 Mexico 309752 Peru 207114 the UK 159220 Italy 149512 Indonesia 144719 Colombia 136197 France 134609 Iran 133048 Argentina 123227 Germany 119023 Ukraine 108417 and Poland 106894 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-400-mn-193067.html Wed, 09 Feb 2022 09:50:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/malaysia-reports-13-944-new-covid-cases-193076.html Kuala Lumpur Feb 9 Malaysia reported 13944 new Covid19 infections in the last 24 hours bringing the national total to 2939198 according to the Health Ministry There are 153 new imported cases with 13791 local transmissions Xinhua news agency reported citing Malaysias Health Ministry A further 13 deaths have been reported bringing the death toll to 32056 As many as 5421 new recoveries were seen on Tuesday bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 2824071 There are currently 83071 active cases 138 of which are in intensive care units and 71 are in need of assisted breathing The country administered 152358 vaccine doses on Tuesday So far 80 per cent of the population has received the first dose 788 per cent the second and 386 per cent the booster dose IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/malaysia-reports-13-944-new-covid-cases-193076.html Wed, 09 Feb 2022 10:46:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/at-71-365-new-covid-cases-india-reports-marginal-rise-193099.html New Delhi Feb 9 India reported 71365 fresh Covid infections in a span of 24 hours a rise of around 6 per cent against 67597 cases reported on the previous day said the Union Health ministry on Wednesday morning A total of 1217 deaths were also reported in the 24 hours taking the death toll to 505279 The active Covid cases have reduced to 892828 which constitute 211 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 172211 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 41012869 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9670 per cent Also in the same period a total of 1571726 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7446 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 757 per cent while daily positivity rate has fallen to 454 per cent With the administration of over 5361 lakhs vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 17087 crore as of Wednesday morning More than 1211 crore balance and unutilized Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered according to the health ministry as of Wednesday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/at-71-365-new-covid-cases-india-reports-marginal-rise-193099.html Wed, 09 Feb 2022 12:09:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/s-koreas-daily-covid-cases-hit-record-high-of-nearly-50-000-193101.html Seoul Feb 9 South Koreas daily number of Covid19 cases hit a new record high amid the spread of the Omicron variant the health authorities said Wednesday The country reported 49567 more cases of Covid in the past 24 hours raising the total number of infections to 1131239 Xinhua news agency reported citing the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency KDCA The daily caseload was sharply up from 36719 the previous day surpassing 49000 for the first time The recent resurgence was driven by infections in the Seoul metropolitan area amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant which became a dominant strain here Of the new cases 11630 were Seoul residents The number of newly infected people living in Gyeonggi province and the western port city of Incheon was 13641 and 3912 respectively The virus spread also raged in the nonmetropolitan region The number of new infections reported in the noncapital areas were 20219 or 409 per cent of the total local transmission Among the new cases 165 were imported from overseas lifting the total to 26761 The number of infected people who were in a serious condition stood at 285 which is 17 more than the previous day As many as 21 more deaths were confirmed leaving the death toll at 6943 The total fatality rate was 061 per cent The country has administered Covid vaccines to 44701330 people or 871 per cent of the total population and the number of fully inoculated people was 44156016 or 86 per cent of the population At least 28587836 or 557 per cent of the population has received their booster jabs IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/s-koreas-daily-covid-cases-hit-record-high-of-nearly-50-000-193101.html Wed, 09 Feb 2022 12:28:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/omicron-ba2-subvariant-likely-to-spread-globally-who-193144.html Geneva Feb 9 The BA2 subvariant of Omicron is likely to spread globally however it remains unclear whether it will cause reinfection among those infected with the original Omicron strain according to the World Health Organisation According to Maria Van Kerkhove the WHOs Covid19 technical lead the BA2 subvariant which is more contagious than the currently dominant BA1 version will likely become more common CNBC reported BA2 is more transmissible than BA1 so we expect to see BA2 increasing in detection around the world Van Kerkhove said during a question and answer session live streamed on WHOs social media platforms Tuesday The WHO is monitoring BA2 to see if the subvariant causes an increase of new infections in countries that saw a rapid increase and then a sharp decline in omicron cases Van Kerkhove said While research is still ongoing theres no indication of a difference in the severity of infections caused by either subvariant she added Although Omicron spreads faster it is known to cause mild infections than the Alpha and Delta variants Researchers in Denmark have found that BA2 is about 15 times more transmissible than BA1 and it is more adept at infecting people who are vaccinated and even boosted However people who are fully vaccinated are less likely to spread it than the unvaccinated Van Kerkhove said the vaccines remain highly effective at preventing severe disease and death though they dont prevent all infections She called on people to get vaccinated and wear masks indoors Dr Abdi Mahamud the WHOs Covid incident manager said its unclear whether BA2 can reinfect people who previously had BA1 the report said The information could have a significant impact on how much the virus is able to spread A study in the UK found that twothirds of people who caught Omicron said they had Covid before IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/omicron-ba2-subvariant-likely-to-spread-globally-who-193144.html Wed, 09 Feb 2022 15:42:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/scientists-detect-novel-covid-variants-in-nyc-wastewater-193003.html New York Feb 7 A team of US researchers has detected at least four cryptic variants of SARSCoV2 the virus that causes Covid19 in samples of wastewater from New York Citys public sewer system Marc Johnson Professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the University of Missouri and a cocorresponding author on the study believes the results suggest the cryptic mutations they identified in New York City could be linked to possible animal origins While these origins have not been verified yet he believes one possible source could be the rats that frequent New York Citys sewer system The findings are published in Nature Communications journal For instance we still dont know where the Omicron variant came from but it had to come from somewhere Johnson said These variants are bubbling up everywhere including Omicron which eventually spilled into the general population and wreaked havoc We think these weird lineages could be where the next variant of Covid19 comes from The researchers have been sampling wastewater from 14 treatment plants in New York City since June 2020 They also reached out to other researchers in the US who were doing similar work with wastewater They observed some unusual results They were different but all of them had similar mutations in common at one particular location on the virus Q498 Whats amazing is that in most of the samples from New York City the Q in Q498 had turned into a Y or glutamine into tyrosine If you look at the database there was not and continues to not be a human patient who has had that mutation Johnson said The researchers noted a possible explanation could be a biological process called convergent evolution An animal in Missouri is not going to mix with the same type of animal in New York City said John Dennehy a virologist and professor of biology at Queens College City University of New York Therefore the evolution of the virus in each geographic area is independent of each other but because its the same animal the virus looks the same in both places he added According to Davida Smyth the lead author Associate Professor at Texas AM UniversitySan Antonio wastewater surveillance is fast inexpensive and unbiased It also has the ability to be implemented depending on resource availability in a variety of contexts especially in areas with limited resources such as low testing and vaccine availability Smyth said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/scientists-detect-novel-covid-variants-in-nyc-wastewater-193003.html Wed, 09 Feb 2022 00:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-cases-further-dip-in-odisha-schools-colleges-reopened-192780.html Bhubaneswar Feb 7 The Covid19 cases in Odisha continued to decline and on Monday 1497 news cases were reported The state had reported 2106 cases Sunday and 2603 cases on Saturday According to the State Information and Public Relations department among the 1497 positives reported on Monday 874 cases were detected in quarantine and 623 were the local contact cases This is the lowest daily case reported since January 6 2022 Highest 251 cases have been reported from Khurda district while 101 cases detected in Sundergarh districts All other 28 districts of Odisha have recorded below 100 cases today The daily test positivity rate TPR has also dropped to 318 per cent from 348 per cent the previous day However the fatalities due to Covid19 continued to remain high in Odisha The state which had reported 23 death cases on Sunday registered another 20 deaths on Monday The death toll due to Covid19 in Odisha now stands at 8754 Khurda district reported six new fatalities followed by four in Kalahandi three in Cuttack two each in Jagatsinghpur and Nayagarh and one in Rayagada Kendrapara and Jajpur district Meanwhile all educational institutions of Class 7 and above including universities colleges polytechnics ITIs and technical colleges were reopened on Monday with strict adherence to Covid19 protocols All schools have been reopened for students of Class 7 to 12 for the academic session 202122 The physical teaching for KG to Class 7 students will resume from February 14 The teaching hours for the students of Class 9 to 12 will begin at 10 am and will continue till 4 pm while the Class 7 students attended classroom teaching from 10 am to 1 pm The classes will continue on all days excluding Sundays and public holidays However cooked meals will not be served to the students at schools officials said Similarly the colleges and universities also reopened in the state Monday The students started attending classes at their respective institutions The school and college hostels have also been reopened After doing thermal scanning and ensuring wearing masks students have been allowed into the school We have kept an isolation room ready for those students who develop any Covidlike symptoms said a teacher from Municipality College Rourkela The students are allowed to attend the classes either online mode or offline mode in consultation with their parents Attendance is not mandatory for students in offline mode the officials said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-cases-further-dip-in-odisha-schools-colleges-reopened-192780.html Tue, 08 Feb 2022 11:54:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/indias-daily-covid-cases-drop-below-1-lakh-192693.html New Delhi Feb 7 Indias singleday Covid cases dropped below one lakh reporting 83876 new infections in a span of 24 hours on Monday In the time span 895 deaths were reported taking the death toll to 502874 said the Union Health ministry on Monday morning The active Covid cases now stand at 1108938 which constitute 262 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 199054 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 40660202 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9619 per cent Also in the same period a total of 1156363 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7415 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 918 per cent while daily positivity rate has fallen to 725 per cent With the administration of over 1470 lakhs vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 16963 crore as of Monday morning More than 1207 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered according to the health ministry as of Monday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/indias-daily-covid-cases-drop-below-1-lakh-192693.html Tue, 08 Feb 2022 03:20:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-era-sees-hybrid-classrooms-make-debut-at-iit-hyderabad-192989.html Hyderabad Feb 7 In a potential solution to the uncertainties that Covid is bringing to academic activities the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad IITH has ushered in the concept of hybrid classrooms on campus As part of its digital transformation initiatives IIT Hyderabad has upgraded eight of its classrooms to hybrid classrooms which combine elements of physical classrooms with that of remote learning Depending upon the Covid situation over the past two years educational institutions have been constantly switching between online and physical classes for students leading to uncertainties and inconveniences for all students and teachers as well Offering a potential solution to the challenges of conducting classroom activities in these uncertain times hybrid classrooms incorporate a live streaming video of inperson class activities that serve as a twoway conversation integrating remote and inperson students in a singular environment Hybrid learning can improve the flexibility and customization of classes the accessibility of education and the use of digital tools during any course proceedings This experience will facilitate an allaround better teachinglearning environment for Faculty and students observed an IITH official statement The hybrid classrooms have come up as part of the CSR initiatives by Cyient foundation under the vision of Inventing Innovating in Technology for Humanity Dr BVR Mohan Reddy founder chairman Cyient and Chairman Board of Governors IIT Hyderabad said The unprecedented circumstances for last two years has accelerated digital transformation of education and learning The new norm will be hybrid learning with infrastructure in classrooms with smart boards AV projection systems and interactive virtual platforms I am delighted IIT Hyderabad has initiated actions to create the new classrooms Welcoming the initiative Prof B S Murty Director IITH said We wish many more such helping hands come forward to convert every classroom at IITH into hybrid classrooms This is a small step towards the Digital India Mission We have recently launched a portal Giving to IIT where many such opportunities to support IITH have been listeda Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad IITH is one of the eight new IITs established by the Government of India in 2008 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-era-sees-hybrid-classrooms-make-debut-at-iit-hyderabad-192989.html Tue, 08 Feb 2022 22:37:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/majority-kids-suffer-no-post-covid-syndrome-after-omicron-study-192735.html Moscow Feb 7 Most children carry the Omicron strain of Covid19 without any consequences for their health according to a study While the Omicron variant has been touted as mild it has led to significant rise in infection among kids However we have only preliminary data so far It is currently impossible to estimate the frequency of complications in kids Deputy Director for Clinical Research of the Russian sanitary watchdogs Gabrichevsky Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology Tatyana Ruzhentsova told TASS news agency But most children do not have any consequences after being infected with Omicron she said At the same time according to Ruzhentsova some young patients still have fatigue headaches and a slight temperature rise Such children should be under medical supervision generally under supervision of a local pediatrician If necessary they should get an additional examination she added Ruzhentsova said earlier that the Omicron coronavirus variant causes a milder postCovid syndrome than the Delta strain the report said A study by Case Western Reserve University looked at health records of 80000 kids and found the Omicron hospitalisation rate was 1 per cent With Delta it was higher at 3 per cent But again with a lot more infected kids that 1 per cent turns into a bigger actual number Long covid diagnosis is considered very rare in children But some children across the US have reported an array of symptoms ranging from headaches stomach aches and dizziness to fatigue brain fog and mood changes long after their initial infection the Guardian reported One Danish study published online in the European Journal of Pediatrics in January included about 30000 children aged 0 to 17 around half of whom had previously tested positive for Covid For those ages six to 17 08 per cent more Covidpositive children recalled having symptoms lasting more than four weeks compared with a control group Another report from Italy showed that among 129 children who tested positive for Covid about 43 per cent experienced at least one symptom more than 60 days after their initial infection IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/majority-kids-suffer-no-post-covid-syndrome-after-omicron-study-192735.html Tue, 08 Feb 2022 08:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/at-107l-india-reports-16-drop-in-new-covid-cases-192385.html New Delhi Feb 6 India on Sunday reported 107474 new Covid cases in a span of 24 hours 16 per cent lower than the previous day said the Union Health Ministry on Sunday morning A total of 865 new deaths were also reported taking the toll to 501979 The active caseload has reported a marginal decline at 1225011 which constitutes 290 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 213246 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 40461148 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9591 per cent Also in the same period a total of 1448513 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7401 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 1020 per cent while daily positivity rate has fallen to 742 per cent With the administration of over 45 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 16946 crore as of Sunday morning More than 1183 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered according to the health ministry as of Sunday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/at-107l-india-reports-16-drop-in-new-covid-cases-192385.html Mon, 07 Feb 2022 00:43:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/people-with-booster-jab-93-less-likely-to-die-from-covid-than-unvaccinated-192398.html London Feb 6 People who have been triplevaccinated against Covid19 are 93 per cent less likely to die from the the virus than the unjabbed according to the latest official figures A report by the Office for National Statistics ONS looked at 70000 coronavirus deaths in England between July and December 2021 reports the Daily Mail The death rate was 236 per 100000 for the fully boosted compared to the 3565 per 100000 rates in the unvaccinated during the period Adjusting for age statisticians found having two doses also reduced the risk by 81 per cent during the same period The period does not cover the full Omicron wave which may influence the findings The new variant has made two doses significantly weaker but Omicron itself is much milder than past strains In the ONS report people were classified based on how many jabs they received and whether there had been more or less than 21 days since their last dose The risk of dying was consistently lower every month from September for people who had a booster since third doses started being rolled out More than 374 million people in the UK have now had their Covid booster with 80 per cent of those eligible over18s coming forward for a third dose ONS statisticians looked at all of the more than 69000 people aged 10 or over who died with Covid in England last year to calculate their risk of dying based on how many doses they had The most vulnerable over90s saw an 89 per cent fall in risk after getting a booster with death rates falling from 32371 per 100000 in the unvaccinated to 3432 per 100000 in the triplejabbed For much of 2021 mortality rates for a death involving Covid for people who had received two doses of vaccine remained well below the equivalent figures for unvaccinated people the ONS found But rates among doublejabbed people started to increase at the end of last year jumping from 920 deaths per 100000 in October to 2211 in November and 3677 in December This may have been driven by a change in the composition of the doublejabbed group with most older people have received a booster or third dose by this point the ONS said It might also be connected to waning protection from prior vaccination the report said They found the rate was 462 per 100000 in people not vaccinated during December when Omicron caused a surge in cases across the country But in people who had a booster at least 21 days before the rate was reduced 94 per cent to just 245 per 100000 For comparison the rate was 3777 per 100000 18 per cent less in people who had just one jab And it was 3677 per 100000 20 per cent less in those who had two jabs The rate was nearly six times higher in the doublejabbed compared to their sixmonth death rate from July to December which was 672 per 100000 Experts warned Omicrons slightly higher vaccine escape and waning immunity from the second dose would result in more deaths if people did not get their boosters at the time IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/people-with-booster-jab-93-less-likely-to-die-from-covid-than-unvaccinated-192398.html Mon, 07 Feb 2022 02:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/uk-set-to-bin-35mn-covid-vax-doses-report-192442.html London Feb 6 Up to 35 million Covid19 vaccine doses are set to be binned in the UK after reaching their expiry date a media report says A leaked memo last month revealed that tens of millions of jabs sent to hospitals GP surgeries and pharmacies in the runup to Christmas to fight Omicron had largely gone unused the Daily Mail reported Now National Health Service NHS sources say more than half of the doses sent to some clinics are still sitting in fridges amid falling demand for booster shots One wellplaced official estimated up to 35 million doses are likely to be binned based on stock counts in several English regions the Health Service Journal reports And they accused officials of sending out jabs way in excess of demand in the race to boost the nation leaving them struggling to fill appointments Pfizer jabs which make up the bulk of booster shots had their shelflife extended from 31 to 45 days last month to allow more time for them to reach patients But even with this extension sources say these are now set to pass their useby date and be disposed of Recently the expiry date for thawed Moderna jabs also used in the rollout was extended from 30 to 60 days but it is feared these too could expire Britain purchased another 114 million Covid jabs when Omicron first hit in 2022 and 2023 which ministers said will help the country to buy time against variants The UKs booster rollout is one of the best in Europe outpacing other nations including France and Germany IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/uk-set-to-bin-35mn-covid-vax-doses-report-192442.html Mon, 07 Feb 2022 08:15:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/tn-vaccinates-7-91-889-people-during-21st-mega-camp-192460.html Chennai Feb 6 The Tamil Nadu public health department in a statement on Sunday said that the state vaccinated 791889 people during the 21st mega vaccination camp held across the state on Saturday The state has been conducting mega vaccination camps since September 12 2021 Of the 791889 people who were inoculated on Saturday 186785 received the first dose of their vaccine while 577397 people took the second dose A total 27707 people received the booster dose or precaution dose during the mega vaccine camp on Saturday The state health department in the statement also said that there will not be any mega vaccination on Sunday Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian while speaking to IANS said After the 21st mega vaccination camp the vaccination rate stood at 9078 per cent for the first dose and 7002 per cent for the second dose respectively He also said that five per cent of the children in the age group of 1518 were given the second dose of the vaccine in the past four days 0The state according to the health minister has already inoculated 2661866 children in the age group of 1518 with the first dose of the vaccine This accounts for almost 80 per cent of the eligible population in the age group of 1518 Subramanian also said that reopening of schools will increase the pace of vaccination of children in the age group of 1518 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/tn-vaccinates-7-91-889-people-during-21st-mega-camp-192460.html Mon, 07 Feb 2022 10:10:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/chinas-strict-zero-covid-approach-wont-limit-omicron-spread-us-epidemiologist-192504.html Hong Kong Residents line up to get tested for the coronavirus at a temporary testing center for COVID19 in Hong Kong Monday Feb 7 2022 The number of local COVID19 infections in several Asian countries including Hong Kong and Singapore have spiked following the Lunar New Year holidays and are expected to continue to rise as countries grapple with the highlytransmissible omicron variant PTI Washington Feb 7 While Beijing has claimed to curb coronavirus spread with its zeroCovid strategy the same authoritarian approaches may not be successful against Omicron as the variant is unlike others according to an epidemiologist from US Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy Trying to stop Omicron is kind of like trying to stop the wind Dr Michael Osterholm director of the institute was quoted as saying on CNBCs Squawk Box Asia According to Osterholm China is uniquely at risk to Omicron It is because early studies suggest the countrys Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines are not very effective against the variant and at the same time Chinas success at preventing the spread of Covid so far means it has a very large population that remains vulnerable Chinas policy of zero Covid includes barring foreign spectators and not opening tickets for the general public the BBC reported Groups of local spectators are being invited to events and will have to observe strict Covid prevention measures before during and after watching the Games And people are advised not to travel into the capital Beijing from other parts of China It is also keeping the media athletes and observers in distinct bubbles with the rules saying anyone entering these bubbles must be fully vaccinated or spend 21 days in quarantine Covid testing is carried out on a daily basis masks have to be worn at all times overseas participants are required to enter into a bubble upon arrival in China and remain so until they leave the report said However there have been more than 300 positive Covid19 tests confirmed at the Olympics since January 23 including from people arriving at the airport athletes and officials media reports have said Olympic athletes have also complained of Covid quarantine conditions in China According to USbased consultancy Eurasia Group Chinas zeroCovid policy ranks among the top risks for 2022 CNBC reported While the approach looked incredibly successful in 2020 it has now become a fight against a much more transmissible variant with broader lockdowns and vaccines with limited effectiveness Eurasia said in a January report Sticking with the strict measures also could lead to more economic disruption it added Chinas policy will fail to contain infections leading to larger outbreaks requiring in turn more severe lockdowns This will in turn lead to greater economic disruptions more state intervention the report said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/chinas-strict-zero-covid-approach-wont-limit-omicron-spread-us-epidemiologist-192504.html Mon, 07 Feb 2022 13:32:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-tests-make-indians-poorer-by-rs-74k-cr-in-2-years-says-ngo-192352.html By Quaid Najmi Mumbai Feb 6 In the past two years of the Coronavirus pandemic Indians have coughed out a stupendous Rs 74000 crore for 74 crore Covid19 tests from dubious private pathological labs Finally around 420 crore positive cases were detected with more than 500000 deaths till date A Nagpurbased consumer rights NGO Grahak Bharati has said that Indians have taken various Covid19 tests like RTPCR RAT TrueNAT CBNAAT and other tests through currently 3255 testing labs including 1844 private and 1411 government Of these 3255 only 2141 764 government and 1377 private labs are for conducting the muchindemand compulsory for most purposes and universally accepted RTPCR tests and the remaining 1114 647 government467 labs offer the other tests In the initial stages of the pandemic a test was costing around Rs 3500 or more but gradually the figures have stabilised to around Rs 600 besides cheap hometest kits available for around Rs 250 now Considering an average of Rs 1000test Indians have been compelled to spend over Rs 74000crore only for Covid19 tests with private labs netting the major portion of the loot Grahak Bharati FounderPresident Barrister Vinod Tiwari told IANS He claimed that a majority of these tests were virtually forced on the people even though they had no initial symptoms or unnecessary considering the low positivity rate and ended up spooking the country in the name of coronavirus Grahak Bharati has shot off a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi Minister of Health Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray the ICMR top central and state officials and the Central Vigilance Commission demanding a probe into the massive unbridled dacoity being perpetrated on gullible Indians He warned that if the government fails to take priority cognisance of this nationwide racket Grahak Bharati would file a PIL in the Supreme Court Alleging that it is a systematic megascam with the connivance of government officials unscrupulous private labs and their franchisees operating with the generous blessings of politicians Tiwari contended that it violates provisions of the central Clinical Establishments Registration and Regulation Act 2010 and make such shady labs liable for severe penal action Elaborating Tiwari explained that many of the private labs are remotely located franchisees under the officially approvedrecognised Advanced Laboratories 1844 in India Shockingly many of these labs apparently conduct thousands of Covid19 tests daily ostensibly without proper approval authority quality control infrastructure or qualified manpower The ICMR has said that on a single day on Feb 4 there were an unbelievable 1603856 tests conducted Were these necessary and practical This only points to the possibility that a majority of the Covid tests are concocted to scare the masses alleged Tiwari The worrisome aspect is that merely based on these illegallyconducted tests the government has been taking major policy decisions like lockdowns restrictions curbs on interdistrict interstate and even international public movements which in turn has spelled the deathknell for the economy India ranks second globally after the USA in terms of the total infectees notched up till date The socalled franchisee labs lack infrastructure qualified postgraduate doctors particularly Pathologist and Microbiologist and others compulsorily required for the RTPCR tests and to determine the Covid19 positive patients tests are conducted in remote locations and the test results are issued indiscriminately with the digital signatures of the medicos at Advanced Laboratories thousands of kms away fumed Tiwari Grahak Bharati says there is no control on the procedures for sample collection handling proper testing or accurate determination which often lead to contradictory results It recently happened with two Mumbaikars who got two different results Covid negative and Covid positive from two labs in 24 hours IANS report Jan 12 but the Aarogya Setu portal remained unfazed Tiwari said that the country is in the grip of the mild Third Wave but there is no guarantee how many more waves will sink Indians unless the government immediately clamps down on this blatant organised scam Quaid Najmi can be contacted at qnajmiiansin IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-tests-make-indians-poorer-by-rs-74k-cr-in-2-years-says-ngo-192352.html Sun, 06 Feb 2022 20:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/vaccine-effectiveness-of-993-seen-in-fully-vaccinated-mandaviya-192118.html New Delhi Feb 4 Vaccine effectiveness of 993 per cent has been seen in individuals fully inoculated against Covid as per the data uploaded on India Covid19 Tracker till January 2 the Parliament was told on Friday The Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR has developed the India Covid19 Vaccine Tracker by merging mainly three national databases CoWIN National Covid19 Testing database and Covid19 India portal Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told the Lok Sabha in a written reply The latest data analysed and uploaded till January 2 2022 depicts vaccine effectiveness of 993 per cent in fully vaccinated individuals against Covid19 he said adding that the tracker is updated periodically and displays the effectiveness of partial and full vaccination against Covid19 He said that the Omicron variant is the dominant variant in the country presently Whole genome sequencing for Omicron variant is done for all RTPCR positive samples from international travellers arriving since November 28 2021 Stressing that the Centre is supporting states in their endeavour to manage Covid19 since the beginning of the pandemic Mandaviya said that given the emergence of mutated variants with variable impact on transmissibility virulence and effectiveness of vaccines the likelihood of resurgence of Covid19 trajectory in the country is monitored by various expert committees under ICMR DGHS and other departments IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/vaccine-effectiveness-of-993-seen-in-fully-vaccinated-mandaviya-192118.html Sat, 05 Feb 2022 15:58:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/mp-removes-cap-on-marriage-gatherings-night-curfew-to-continue-192124.html Bhopal Feb 5 After reviewing the prevailing Covid situation in the state the Madhya Pradesh government on Friday removed the cap on the number of guests attending wedding ceremonies The review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took note of the declining trend in the number of daily Covid cases in the state Following the meeting the state home department on Friday evening issued a fresh notification lifting restrictions at marriage functions Earlier a total of 250 guests were allowed to attend weddings The fresh guidelines will come into effect from February 5 Considering the present situation of Covid19 in Madhya Pradesh the government has decided to lift its earlier decision to allow only 250 guests for marriages the notification read The new rule is applicable only on marriage functions All other gatherings political social or religious will continue to follow the 250 attendees cap The night curfew will continue to be in place from 11 pm to 5 am Similarly only 50 people can gather at funerals while rallies and protest demonstrations continue to be prohibited till further orders The state reported 6516 new Covid19 cases and 8451 recoveries in the last 24 hours IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/mp-removes-cap-on-marriage-gatherings-night-curfew-to-continue-192124.html Sat, 05 Feb 2022 16:35:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/52-199-more-covid-cases-in-kerala-tpr-at-4189-192022.html Thiruvananthapuram Feb 2 There seems to be no respite for Kerala in new Covid cases as on Wednesday 52199 people turned Covid positive with the daily test positivity rate marginally coming down to 4189 per cent as per an official statement According to the statement by Health Minister Veena George there were 41715 recoveries while the total number of active cases stood at 377823 of which just 3 per cent of the positive patients were at hospitals A record 11224 people in Ernakulam district tested positive while the second highest tally was the state capital district with 5701 cases There were 136 Covid deaths taking the total death toll to 56100 On the vaccination front while 100 per cent 268 crore have had one dose 84 per cent 225 crore have taken both the doses In the 1518 year group 72 per cent 1092 lakh have been given one dose IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/52-199-more-covid-cases-in-kerala-tpr-at-4189-192022.html Fri, 04 Feb 2022 15:05:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ddma-to-discuss-further-relaxing-covid-curbs-on-february-4-192034.html New Delhi Feb 2 The Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA has called a virtual meeting on Friday to discuss Covid restrictions amid declining cases in the national capital Lt Governor Anil Baijal will chair the meeting attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwalw among others at 12 noon The DDMA meeting is expected to take decision on reopening of schools along with easing other Covid curbs in the city including the night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am In its meeting on January 27 the weekend curfew and oddeven formula for shops in the market was lifted as the Covid cases started declining Bars restaurants and cinema have also been allowed to reopen with 50 per cent capacity in the city The DDMA also capped the number of people attending wedding festivals in the national capital to 200 in the meeting The Delhi BJP has also demanded the reopening of gyms and spas IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ddma-to-discuss-further-relaxing-covid-curbs-on-february-4-192034.html Fri, 04 Feb 2022 16:10:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pfizer-applies-to-us-fda-for-two-dose-vaccine-for-kids-under-5-191888.html Washington Feb 2 US drugmaker Pfizer has applied to the Food and Drug Administration FDA to authorise two doses of their Covid vaccine for children younger than five years the media reported Although a clinical trial among children in the age group of 2 to 4 years in December showed that two doses failed to produce the hopedfor immune response the federal regulators pressed the company to submit the request the New York Times reported The request for emergency authorisation comes as the highly contagious Omicron variant has led to record numbers of infections The under5 group includes more than 19 million children the only Americans not yet eligible for vaccination The disappointing trial results also prompted Pfizer to test a third low dose of the shot in that age group While the results are expected at the end of March federal regulators have encouraged Pfizer to apply for authorisation of a twodose regimen now the report said In the trial only children between 6 months and 2 years old demonstrated an immune response comparable to that of older teenagers and young adults But in meetings about the strategy government officials argued that two doses had proved safe even if they failed to produce an immune response in the whole age group according to multiple people familiar with the discussions Children in the trial received onetenth of the adult dose If children can get an initial injection this month some officials reasoned they will be ready for a third dose by the time researchers get what they hope will be successful results from the threedose trial The first two doses would be spaced three weeks apart followed by a third dose two months after the second It was important to act quickly given the surge in Omicron cases which has now peaked in many parts of the country and the likelihood that other variants would follow Dr Janet Woodcock the acting FDA commissioner and Dr Peter Marks an agency regulator who oversees its vaccines office were quoted as saying on Tuesday IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pfizer-applies-to-us-fda-for-two-dose-vaccine-for-kids-under-5-191888.html Fri, 04 Feb 2022 00:50:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/zydus-supplies-first-consignment-of-covid-vaccine-to-centre-191924.html New Delhi Feb 2 Ahmedabadbased vaccine manufacturer Zydus Cadila on Wednesday announced that it has started supplying Covid vaccine ZyCoVD to the Centre The company has started the supplies of its Covid19 vaccine ZyCoVD to the Government of India against their order from its newlycommissioned state of the art Zydus Vaccine Technology Excellence Centre at the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad Zydus said in a statement It is also planning to make the vaccine available in the private market it added ZyCoVD is a threedose vaccine administered intradermally using the painless PharmaJet needle free system on day 0 day 28 and day 56 It will be priced at Rs 265 per dose and the applicator being offered at Rs 93 per dose excluding GST A Plasmid DNA vaccine it when administered produces the spike protein of the SARSCoV2 virus and elicits an immune response mediated by the cellular and humoral arms of the human immune system playing a vital role in protection from disease as well as viral clearance Zydus VTEC manufactures the drug substance for the needlefree vaccine The manufacturing process and in process material transfers within the plant are automated Zydus has also entered into a definitive agreement with Shilpa Medicare Ltd a contract manufacturing organisation to produce the vaccine The company has also entered into an agreement with Enzychem Lifesciences of South Korea for the manufacturing license and technology transfer for the vaccine IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/zydus-supplies-first-consignment-of-covid-vaccine-to-centre-191924.html Fri, 04 Feb 2022 06:55:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/no-need-to-provide-booster-doses-for-covid-in-the-country-sp-leader-191953.html New Delhi Feb 2 Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav on Wednesday said in the Rajya Sabha that there is no need to provide a booster dose for Covid19 in the country and only the vaccine companies are being benefited by this drive Slamming the government he said that he was supporting the Motion of Thanks on the Presidents address because its a tradition but he was doing it unwillingly as this address did not reflect the reality of the country Yadav said that when the parliamentarians asked the Union Health Secretary and DG of the Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR about the booster dose they said that the Additional DG of ICMR will reply and he ADG of ICMR said that there was no necessity to provide booster doses in the country He said Only vaccination companies are being benefited because of this drive and it was not needed Speaking further on the Presidents address Yadav said that the Presidents speech was far away from reality However he said that he agreed that the frontline workers have done a commendable job during the pandemic and he appreciated these workers Talking about the record vaccinations in the country he said that India has a huge population of over 126 crore and that is why the government has vaccinated such a large number of people The record was made by Israel which vaccinated all its citizens last year this is called a record Yadav quipped Mentioning Aayushman Bharat he said that the scheme is good but there is a huge shortage of doctors in the country The government has set up over 80000 wellness centres but there are no doctors available in these centres Yadav added that the mover of the Motion of Thanks BJP Member Geeta alias ChandraPrabha and another BJP MP Shwait Malik who seconded the Motion of Thanks both were absent from the House after their speech This is against the Parliamentary tradition and they should remain in the House today while the discussion is on he added DMK MP Tiruchi Siva while participating in the debate said that the government was ignoring the farmers of the country The country was an agrarian economy but now it is becoming a corporate economy he said Calling the BJP government as antiregional languages Siva said that it is imposing Hindi on nonHindi speaking States The BJP government came to power with the mantra of minimum government maximum governance but now there is only maximum government and no governance Siva added The debate on the Motion of Thanks remained inconclusive and will be taken up again on Wednesday The proceedings of the House were also adjourned for the day IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/no-need-to-provide-booster-doses-for-covid-in-the-country-sp-leader-191953.html Fri, 04 Feb 2022 10:37:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/how-pandemic-affected-cancer-treatment-in-india-191975.html New Delhi Feb 2 While early treatment has been key to defeating cancer Covidinduced lockdowns fear and travel restrictions forced many patients to delay their treatment during the last two years of the pandemic said experts ahead of the World Cancer Day February 4 With the increasing burden of Covid patients straining hospitals and healthcare workers other diseases were neglected In many hospitals the OPDs were shut and surgeries were put on hold According to a study published in the journal Lancet Oncology in May last year between March 1 and May 31 2020 the number of new patients registered decreased to 54 per cent patients who had followup visits decreased to 46 per cent chemotherapy decreased to 37 per cent During these two years of the pandemic what we have observed is that many newlydiagnosed cancer patients in 2020 avoided hospital visits and thence the treatment or shifted to alternative treatment modalities Manish Bhushan Pandey Senior Consultant Radiation Oncology Action Cancer Hospital Delhi told IANS Pandey noted that with the delay in treatment they reached an advanced stage and lost the opportunity of cure According to a survey by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network ACS CAN nearly one in four cancer patients said the pandemic has made it more difficult to contact their providers with questions about their healthcare needs and one in five said they are worried their cancer could be growing or returning due to delays and interruptions caused by the Covid19 outbreak We do not advise any delay in cancer treatment due to the present Covid situation as the disease may progress to a higher stage which may make the disease incurable Pandey said The patients who are undergoing active treatment should continue their chemotherapy and radiotherapy provided they are in good general condition not suffering from Covid related complications with adequate setup and infrastructure in the hospital he added Further the pandemic also led to economic losses due to loss of jobs This also affected cancer patients as people could not afford treatment Covid19 has shone a spotlight on the barriers to affordable healthcare that cancer patients have long faced said Nitesh Rohatgi Senior Director of Medical Oncology at Fortis Cancer Institute in Gurugram The experts advised cancer patients to take a high protein diet as they are low on immunity levels Vaccines have shown to be safe in cancer patients Besides getting vaccinated they must avoid crowded places maintain proper hand social distancing respiratory and lavatory hygiene and wear masks at all times they said Please remember that all the healthcare establishments are taking all precautions for the safety of their cancer patients so please dont be afraid and dont ignore your symptoms and keep on getting treatment for cancer Pandey said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/how-pandemic-affected-cancer-treatment-in-india-191975.html Fri, 04 Feb 2022 12:40:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/too-early-to-talk-about-end-of-covid-pandemic-says-who-191993.html Moscow Feb 2 It is far too early to talk about the end of the Covid19 pandemic WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge has said Definitely we cannot say that this is the end of the pandemic This is far too early This virus has surprised us greatly more than once for example the Delta virus But yes this is a cause for optimism But we should not relax Kluge told TASS news agency in an interview However the current wave of infections with the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus will be strong but brief he said According to Kluge there are five pandemic stabilisers vaccination boosters masks ventilation particularly of classrooms increase in access to treatments These are the five pandemic stabilisers but we see based on the experience in countries which have already reached the peak that the wave will be strong but short and the priority is to protect shield the vulnerable people he said The WHO Regional Director also said that although those infected with the Omicron variant have a milder form of the disease it still causes postCovid syndrome like any other strain We definitely shouldnt say let the Omicron variant affect us we do not need vaccination it is milder No because there is also a syndrome which is called longCovid Up to 30 per cent of people with Covid19 will suffer for months and months We should not play with modern nature Kluge emphasised Kluge also called for revaccination against Covid19 the report said I encourage all people to get vaccinated get boosted Vaccines have already allowed us to avoid 500000 deaths in our region he noted He stated that with vaccination there is hope for optimism that we will get out of the acute phase of the pandemic IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/too-early-to-talk-about-end-of-covid-pandemic-says-who-191993.html Fri, 04 Feb 2022 13:27:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/malaysia-reports-5-566-new-covid-infections-7-deaths-191768.html Kuala Lumpur Feb 2 Malaysia reported 5566 new Covid19 infections in the last 24 hours bringing the national total to 2876324 according to the Health Ministry There are 227 new imported cases with 5339 being local transmissions data released on the ministrys website showed A further seven deaths have been reported bringing the death toll to 31985 Xinhua news agency reported As many as 3187 new recoveries brought the total number of the discharged patients to 2787190 There are 57152 active cases 113 are being held in intensive care and 59 of those are in need of assisted breathing The country reported 28683 vaccine doses administered on Tuesday alone and 798 per cent of the population have received at least one dose 787 per cent are fully vaccinated and 368 per cent have received boosters IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/malaysia-reports-5-566-new-covid-infections-7-deaths-191768.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 16:01:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/australian-state-concerned-about-low-child-vaccination-rate-as-schools-to-reopen-soon-191810.html Sydney Feb 2 Authorities in Australias state of Queensland are urging eligible children to receive Covid19 vaccines before the schools reopening next week On Wednesday the state reported 9630 new cases and 16 deaths including a child under the age of 10 underlying serious medical conditions It sparked calls for more kids to get vaccinated before facetoface learning at school Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urged more families to get their children vaccinated as increased numbers of cases are expected to be seen due to school reopening next week Xinhua news agency reported In Queensland 35 per cent of children aged five to 11 were vaccinated while 755 per cent of 12 to 15yearolds have received their first dose and 6754 per cent were double vaccinated which the states Health Minister Yvette DAth said is too low We really do encourage parents to come forward with their young ones and get them vaccinated she said The states Chief Health Officer John Gerrard also said the child vaccine rate has shown a substantial decline recently The reopening date of Queenslands schools was postponed from January 24 to February 7 to avoid the previously predicted peak of the Omicron wave Authorities hoped the delay could allow more time for children to receive their Covid vaccinations IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/australian-state-concerned-about-low-child-vaccination-rate-as-schools-to-reopen-soon-191810.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 17:27:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/singapore-reports-6-264-new-covid-19-cases-191817.html Singapore Feb 2 Singapore reported 6264 new confirmed cases of Covid19 on Tuesday bringing the total tally to 359075 Of the new cases 1893 were detected through PCR polymerase chain reaction tests and 4371 through ART antigen rapid test according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health Among the PCR cases 1768 were local transmissions and 125 were imported cases Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk 4352 were local transmissions and 19 were imported cases Xinhua news agency reported A total of 756 cases are currently warded in hospitals with 12 cases in intensive care units Three more patients have passed away from complications due to Covid infection bringing the death toll to 858 the MOH said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/singapore-reports-6-264-new-covid-19-cases-191817.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 17:52:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-death-toll-in-us-reaches-highest-level-report-191824.html Washington Feb 2 The US has hit the highest death rate due to Covid in about a year the media reported The US continues to be the worsthit country with the worlds highest number of cases and deaths at 75316209 and 890528 respectively according to Johns Hopkins University data However it showed that this week the countrys Covid death toll rose 39 per cent over the past two weeks CNBC reported The number of deaths from Covid rose to an average of more than 2400 fatalities per day over the previous seven days as of Monday the data showed Experts say that the death rate will continue to increase in the country The death rate in the country is more likely to surge because states with lower vaccination rates got hit later by Omicron and havent experienced the full brunt of the variant yet said Jennifer Nuzzo head of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Covid Resource Center States that have not yet peaked in infections will likely do so within the next two weeks with peak deaths following about two weeks later added Dr Scott Braithwaite Professor of population health and medicine for NYU Langone Health The Hopkins data also shows that US cases surged to a pandemic high of close to 1 million new infections a day in midJanuary the report said The country is now reporting a sevenday average of about 450000 new cases per day down 36 per cent over the past two weeks Meanwhile the highly contagious Omicron variant accounted for 999 per cent of new weekly Covid19 infections in the US according to data updated by the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention CDC While the variant is touted as mild it has led to an increase in hospitalisation straining many healthcare systems Theres nothing mild about whats going on in our hospital and in our ICUs particularly if you are unvaccinated or unboosted Dr Ken Silverstein chief physician executive of ChristianaCare which has three hospitals and more than 1200 beds was quoted as saying About half as many patients who come in with Covid end up needing intensive care in this wave as compared with previous surges added Dr Shereef Elnahal CEO of Newark New Jerseybased University Hospital Its just so transmissible that the absolute numbers of people needing ventilators looked similar to previous waves he said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-death-toll-in-us-reaches-highest-level-report-191824.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 18:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/africas-covid-19-cases-surpass-108-mn-191830.html Addis Ababa Feb 2 The number of confirmed Covid19 cases in Africa reached 10809836 in the last 24 hours the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Africa CDC said The specialised healthcare agency of the African Union said that the Covid death toll across the continent stands at 239615 and some 9791949 patients have recovered from the disease so far South Africa Morocco Tunisia and Ethiopia are among the countries with the most cases on the continent said the Africa CDC South Africa tops the list with 3605222 cases followed by the two northern African countries Morocco and Tunisia with 1135796 and 909813 cases respectively it said In terms of caseload southern Africa is the most affected region in Africa followed by the northern and eastern parts of the continent while central Africa is the least affected region said the Africa CDC IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/africas-covid-19-cases-surpass-108-mn-191830.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 18:40:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pakistan-confirms-6-047-new-covid-19-cases-29-more-deaths-191833.html Islamabad Feb 2 Pakistan has confirmed 6047 new Covid19 cases and 29 more deaths in the last 24 hours the National Command and Operation Center NCOC said on Wednesday The NCOC a department leading the nations campaign against the pandemic said that the countrys number of confirmed cases has increased to 1436413 while 1304980 out of them have recovered The active cases dropped to 102103 after 9590 patients recovered on Tuesday Currently 1559 patients in critical condition are being treated at intensive care units in different hospitals across the country According to the NCOC data 29 people died due to Covid on Tuesday increasing the overall death toll to 29330 Pakistans southern Sindh province is the mostaffected region of the country in terms of the number of cases with 544722 infections followed by the eastern Punjab province which has reported 482316 cases so far IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pakistan-confirms-6-047-new-covid-19-cases-29-more-deaths-191833.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 18:58:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/moldova-pm-tests-positive-for-covid-19-191854.html Bucharest Feb 2 Moldovas Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita said that she has tested positive for Covid19 Today I performed a PCR test for the detection of SARSCoV2 virus which turned out to be positive she wrote in her social media account late Tuesday adding that she will work from home for the next few days Xinhua news agency reported In the last 24 hours 4348 cases were confirmed after testing 13988 samples in the country according to the Health Ministry The confirmed infections have totalled 445046 in the 35million population country IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/moldova-pm-tests-positive-for-covid-19-191854.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 20:51:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-3812-mn-191612.html Washington Feb 2 Amid an ongoing resurgence across the world the global coronavirus caseload has topped 3812 million while the deaths have surged to more than 568 million and vaccinations to over 995 billion according to Johns Hopkins University In its latest update on Wednesday morning the Universitys Center for Systems Science and Engineering CSSE revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 381223883 and 5685472 respectively while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 9955996883 The US continues to be the worsthit country with the worlds highest number of cases and deaths at 75316209 and 890528 according to the CSSE The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India 41469499 infections and 496242 deaths followed by Brazil 25634781 infections and 628356 deaths The other countries with over 5 million cases are France 19681231 the UK 17544380 Russia 11795059 Turkey 11722483 Italy 11116422 Spain 10039126 Germany 10079791 Argentina 8427778 Iran 6408244 and Colombia 5901715 the CSSE figures showed The nations with a death toll of over 100000 are Russia 325321 Mexico 306091 Peru 205834 the UK 157404 Italy 146925 Indonesia 144320 Colombia 134551 Iran 132504 France 132307 Argentina 121513 Germany 118026 Ukraine 107086 and Poland 105434 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-3812-mn-191612.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 00:48:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/new-zealands-covid-booster-vax-interval-reduced-to-3-months-191623.html Wellington Feb 2 The New Zealand government on Wednesday decided to reduce the interval between a persons primary Covid19 vaccination course and the booster from four months to three months so that more people can take their booster jabs as soon as possible A million more people above 18 years of age will be eligible for their boosters from this Friday when the decision takes effect Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins told a press conference Xinhua news agency reported The government has considered advice from the DirectorGeneral of Health and the Covid Vaccine Technical Advisory Group Hipkins said This is a significant step in our response to the Covid pandemic as it now means more than 306 million people aged 18 and above two thirds of the population will be eligible for their boosters from this weekend he said adding more than 13 million people have already got boosters We are in a race against Omicron and the more people who are boosted the more we can reduce the impact of the outbreak Hipkins said Bringing forward the booster timing will help those who have been immunised more recently It will mean more people especially Maori will be able to receive a booster before Omicron takes hold in communities he said To date about 94 per cent of the eligible people in New Zealand are fully vaccinated with at least two doses That is close to 4 million Kiwis over a quarter of whom have now also had their booster shots according to the minister New Zealand recorded 142 new community cases of Covid on Wednesday with 103 in the largest city Auckland 12 in nearby Waikato five in Bay of Plenty two in the Lakes region and 11 in Northland said the Ministry of Health in a statement IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/new-zealands-covid-booster-vax-interval-reduced-to-3-months-191623.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 02:08:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/us-house-majority-leader-steny-hoyer-tests-positive-for-covid-19-191880.html Washington Feb 2 US House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has said that he was he experiencing mild symptoms after testing positive for Covid19 The secondranking Democrat in the House said on Tuesday that he will work and cast votes remotely Xinhua news agency reported Thankfully I am fully vaccinated and already received my booster shot the lawmaker from Maryland said in a statement Hoyer is the second member of the House Democratic leadership to test positive for the virus over the past few weeks amid a surge in cases fuelled by the Omicron variant across the US House Majority Whip James Clyburn tested positive late last year More than 50 House members have contracted breakthrough cases of Covid along with 12 Senators The US has reported more than 75 million Covid infections and 890000 deaths as of Tuesday evening according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/us-house-majority-leader-steny-hoyer-tests-positive-for-covid-19-191880.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 23:39:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/at-161-lakh-indias-covid-cases-down-by-34-191648.html New Delhi Feb 2 India on Wednesday reported 161386 new cases in the last 24 hours 34 per cent lower than a before of 167059 cases In the same time span as many as 1733 deaths were also reported as Kerala added a backlog of 1063 fatalities which were included in days count taking the death toll to 497975 The top five states which have registered maximum cases are Kerala with 51887 cases followed by Tamil Nadu with 16096 cases Maharashtra with 14372 cases Karnataka with 14366 cases and Gujarat with 8338 cases Meanwhile the active caseload has reported a marginal decline at 1621603 which constitute 390 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 281109 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 39511307 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9491 per cent Also in the same period a total of 1742793 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7324 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 1415 per cent while daily positivity rate has come down to 926 per cent below 10 per cent from 116 per cent With the administration of over 57 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 16729 crore as of Wednesday morning More than 1148 crore balance and unutilized Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs to be administered according to the health ministry as of on Wednesday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/at-161-lakh-indias-covid-cases-down-by-34-191648.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 05:44:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/how-omicron-escapes-from-antibodies-191666.html New York Feb 2 The dozens of mutations found in the spike protein of the Omicron variant help it to evade all four of the classes of antibodies that can target the SARSCoV2 virus that causes Covid19 suggests a study This includes antibodies generated by vaccinated or previously infected people as well as most of the monoclonal antibody treatments that have been developed said Ram Sasisekharan Professor of Biological Engineering and Health Sciences and Technology HST at MIT According to Sasisekharan the traditional approach of only examining changes in the virus genetic sequence reduces the complexity of the spike proteins threedimensional surface and doesnt describe the multidimensional complexity of the protein surfaces that antibodies are attempting to bind to It is important to get a more comprehensive picture of the many mutations seen in Omicron especially in the context of the spike protein given that the spike protein is vital for the viruss function and all the major vaccines are based on that protein he said There is a need for tools or approaches that can rapidly determine the impact of mutations in new virus variants of concern especially for SARSCoV2 said Sasisekharan in the journal Cell Reports Medicine Even though Omicron is able to evade most antibodies to some degree vaccines still offer protection Sasisekharan said Whats good about vaccines is they dont just generate B cells which produce the monoclonal antibody response but also T cells which provide additional forms of protection he said The team focused their analysis on the receptor binding domain RBD which is the part of the spike protein targeted by antibodies Using their network modeling approach the researchers studied how each of the mutations on the RBD changes the proteins shape and affects its interactions with four classes of human antibodies that target SARSCoV2 Class 1 and 2 antibodies target the RBD site that binds to the ACE2 receptor while class 3 and 4 antibodies bind to other parts of the RBD The researchers compared the Omicron variant to the original SARSCoV2 virus as well as the Beta and Delta variants The Beta and Delta variants have mutations that help them evade class 1 and 2 antibodies but not class 3 and 4 Omicron on the other hand has mutations that affect the binding of all four classes of antibodies The findings from the new study could help to identify regions of the RBD that could be targeted with future vaccines and therapeutic antibodies IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/how-omicron-escapes-from-antibodies-191666.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 08:04:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/vax-drive-must-target-people-not-yet-infected-with-covid-aiims-professor-191689.html New Delhi Feb 2 Vaccination and natural infection both boost herd immunity against Covid but people who remain uninfected yet are more at risk thus inoculating them is of utmost importance according to an AIIMS professor New variants of Covid19 have been emerging consistently for the last two years and the vaccine drive is on with the same intensity to mitigate the infection and other severity brought in While vaccines are a priority for the susceptible population natural infection is also helping boost immunity just like vaccines Vaccine is the smart way of controlling diseases However in the current scenario those recovered from Covid infection are bestprotected people so vaccinate such people first who are not Covid infected Dr Sanjay Kumar Rai Professor Department of Community Medicine AIIMS New Delhi said at a weekly health show by the NewDelhibased HEAL Foundation Recently the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also observed that natural infection provides better and longer protection Several studies also prove that one may develop lifelong immunity after a natural infection Rai said that vaccination and natural infection will provide herd immunity Natural immunity provides a better and longer duration of protection Further to observe the efficacy of vaccines Rai suggested making two comparator groups for vaccination one who recovered from Covid and another who are uninfected Universal vaccination is completely irrational as there is no additional benefit It is unethical because the risk is more than the benefit Now there is sufficient evidence that those who have recovered from Covid are the bestprotected persons on the earth Rai noted emphasising the need for judicious use of vaccination Currently 334 vaccines for Coronavirus are in different stages of development 140 in clinical trials and 194 in preclinical stages and 33 vaccines are approved for full use Rai said We must vaccinate those who havent had Covid ever Vaccines are effective in preventing severity and death up to 8090 per cent in a susceptible population More than 60 per cent of the population across the world have received 1st dose of Covid vaccineshe noted IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/vax-drive-must-target-people-not-yet-infected-with-covid-aiims-professor-191689.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 10:30:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/centre-asks-states-uts-to-accelerate-second-dose-vaccination-among-adolescents-191700.html New Delhi Feb 2 The Centre has asked the states and UTs to accelerate the second dose vaccination coverage amongst due beneficiaries of 15 to 18 age bracket In a letter to states and UTs Rajesh Bhushan Union Health Secretary said that timely completion of Covid vaccination schedule is important to confer full protection of vaccines to the recipients It is important that the coverage of second dose among adolescents is reviewed daily at your level at state and UTs and similar review is undertaken at district level as well the letter said Over 466 crore doses have been administered in this age range covering 63 per cent adolescents with the first vaccine dose in a span of less than one month The vaccination drive for this age bracket was started nationwide from January 3 The vaccine used in this group is Covaxin which has an interval of 28 days between the two doses to complete the primary vaccination schedule Hence all the 42 lakhs adolescents who received the first dose vaccine on 3rd January have become eligible for second dose from January 31 the letter read A tailored communication strategy focused on adolescents population and their caregivers should also be rolled out to make them aware about the timely completion of vaccination schedule and sustain their vaccine confidence the letter reads further With the proactive efforts of states and UTs along with government of India we have administered more than 16668 crore doses of Covid vaccines which is amongst the highest in the world it said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/centre-asks-states-uts-to-accelerate-second-dose-vaccination-among-adolescents-191700.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 11:34:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/australias-covid-19-cases-death-count-continue-to-rise-191735.html Canberra Feb 2 Australia reported more than 40000 new Covid19 cases on Wednesday when more than 50 million doses had been delivered in total during the vaccine rollout Nationally there were 70 deaths reported on Wednesday including 27 in New South Wales 25 in Victoria 16 in Queensland and one each in the Northern Territory NT and South Australia according to official figures from states and territories According to Department of Health data published on Tuesday night there were 4954 cases being treated in hospitals nationwide including 375 in intensive care units Xinhua news agency reported Health Minister Greg Hunt on Wednesday announced that Australia has surpassed 50 million coronavirus vaccine doses administered including more than eight million booster doses Health authorities in NT said it was approaching the peak of the current wave of coronavirus infections The NT health officials on Wednesday reported more than 1000 new coronavirus infections and the NTs third Covid death Charles Pain NT acting deputy chief health officer said that pressure on the health system was significant at the moment but that he was optimistic the caseload would reach its peak within days We hope that it will peak in the next few days the next week or so he told reporters on Wednesday In South Australia SA some students began to return to school on Wednesday after the summer holidays were extended amid surging Covid infections SA Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said returning to school was a safe thing to do Our modelling does show that we expect to have increases in paediatric admissions but its not a high number and so were expecting to have a little blip she told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio But were still overall expecting to have our numbers decrease every day over this period of time IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/australias-covid-19-cases-death-count-continue-to-rise-191735.html Thu, 03 Feb 2022 13:55:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/karnataka-logs-24-172-fresh-covid-cases-56-deaths-191507.html Bengaluru Jan 31 Karnataka logged 24172 fresh Covid cases against 30869 discharges on Monday while there were another 56 Covid deaths in the last 24 hours as per the Health and Family Welfare Department bulletin The positivity rate stood at 1711 per cent and case fatality rate at 023 per cent while the number of total active cases in the state rose to 244331 The cases in Bengaluru Urban have come down to 10692 against 8813 discharges while there were 12 deaths It was followed by Mysuru 1327 Dharwad 1044 and Tumakuru 1090 districts A 2yearold female kid from Kalaburagi and 15yearold female from Chikkaballapura were among the latest fatalities The positivity rate in the state has come down from last week in the state from 2670 per cent to 1711 per cent and the recovery rate has been increased from 8919 per cent to 9256 per cent as per the Health and Family Welfare Department According the bulletin 5111 active cases are admitted to hospitals and 180 persons are on ventilator beds in ICUs As many as 141240 Covid tests were conducted in the last 24 hours IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/karnataka-logs-24-172-fresh-covid-cases-56-deaths-191507.html Wed, 02 Feb 2022 17:44:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-reports-2-779-fresh-covid-cases-38-deaths-191513.html New Delhi Jan 31 Delhi on Monday registered a considerable decline in its daily Covid cases at 2779 while there were another 38 deaths The positivity rate has also reduced to 620 per cent with active cases declining to 18729 as per the Delhi Health Department With the new cases and deaths the tally has risen 1830268 and the death toll to 25865 The Covid recovery rate has climbed to 9756 per cent and the active cases rate stands at 102 per cent while the death rate continues at 141 per cent With 5502 patients recovering in the last 24 hours the total number of recoveries has gone to 1785674 A total of 14328 Covid patients are being treated in home isolation at present The number of Covid containment zones has also declined to 38946 Meanwhile a total of 44847 new tests 40476 RTPCR and 4371 Rapid Antigen were conducted in the last 24 hours taking the total to 34902560 Out of 10127 vaccines administered in the last 24 hours 3562 were first doses and 5449 second doses Meanwhile 1116 precaution doses were also administered in last 24 hrs The total number of cumulative beneficiaries vaccinated so far stands at 29553161 according to the health bulletin IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-reports-2-779-fresh-covid-cases-38-deaths-191513.html Wed, 02 Feb 2022 18:11:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-death-toll-on-the-rise-in-gujarat-even-as-new-cases-dip-191550.html Gandhinagar Jan 31 Continuing the recent trend Gujarats Covid death toll went up on Monday with the state reporting 35 deaths caused by the virus five more than Sundays tally taking its overall Covid death toll to 10473 till date While the number of fresh cases has been coming down over the past few days the death toll is on the rise with the state reporting as nearly 300 deaths in a span of 13 days The state had reported 12 deaths on January 19 13 on January 20 16 on January 21 15 on January 22 19 on January 23 25 on January 24 28 on January 25 21 on January 26 22 on January 27 30 on January 28 33 on January 29 and 30 fatalities on January 30 Of the lives lost on Monday Surat reported the maximum deaths at 7 followed by Ahmedabad 6 Bhavnagar 5 Vadodara 4 Rajkot 3 Panchmahals 2 and Gandhinagar Jamnagar Mehsana Valsad Amreli Porbandar Devbhumi Dwarka and Botad 1 each Meanwhile after reporting nearly 25000 new Covid cases on January 20 Gujarat on Monday recorded 6679 fresh infections Ahmedabad led the list with 2399 cases followed by Vadodara 1045 Rajkot 777 Surat 418 Gandhinagar 392 Kutch 211 Rajkot 175 Patan 146 Mehsana 144 Morbi 135 and Jamnagar 134 Mondays new additions took Gujarats overall Covid tally to 1160659 The state currently has 83793 active cases of which 83528 are stable while 265 persons are on ventilator support A total of 14171 patients were discharged on Monday taking the total number of recoveries till now to 1066393 A total of 246397 vaccine doses were administered on Monday taking the total count in the state so far to above 979 crores IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-death-toll-on-the-rise-in-gujarat-even-as-new-cases-dip-191550.html Wed, 02 Feb 2022 20:39:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/genetic-variants-in-covid-patients-may-explain-severe-illness-191351.html New York Jan 31 Rare structural gene variants involved in body processes like inflammation which the virus needs to be successful may explain the tremendous range of responses to infection with the Covid19 virus from symptomfree to critically ill suggests a research study The virus has to attach to our cells it has to get inside our cells and it has to multiply inside our cells It also has to attract inflammation said Dr Ravindra Kolhe director of the Georgia Esoteric and Molecular Laboratory at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University We have identified genes with structural changes in very sick individuals that are part of all four of these essential processes he added In the study the team used optical genome mapping to get a thorough threedimensional assessment of the genome of 52 severely ill patients with Covid19 In nine of the sickest patients they identified seven rare structural variants affecting a total of 31 genes involved in key pathways mediating the response between a person or host and a virus These include innate immunity our frontline immune defense against invaders like viruses the inflammatory response a key response to an infection that gone awry can also destroy the lungs of some of the sickest patients and the ability of a virus to replicate and spread As an example one variant they identified can lead to overexpression of keratin genes Keratins are proteins that are the structural components of things like our hair and nails but that also have been identified as key to the transmission of both flu viruses and the Covid virus between cells and are known to be upregulated in the respiratory tract during an infection Its a hyperactivation of the normal systems said Kolhe in the study published in the journal iScience Millions of people get infected and fortunately only a very small percentage become symptomatic and a very small percentage of the symptomatic individuals require oxygen and a small percentage of those individuals are hospitalised and die Kolhe said But even a small percentage amounts to millions of people and that is too many Our data show that large structural variants identified using optical genome mapping might further explain the interindividual clinical variability in response to Covid19 the researchers said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/genetic-variants-in-covid-patients-may-explain-severe-illness-191351.html Wed, 02 Feb 2022 05:26:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/kerala-sees-42-154-new-covid-cases-10-deaths-191367.html Thiruvananthapuram Jan 31 After recording more than 50000 daily new Covid cases in the past week Kerala on Monday saw its tally come to 42154 and the test positivity rate settle at 4240 per cent Health Minister Veena George said in a statement The day also saw 38458 people turn negative while the active cases totalled 357552 of which only 32 per cent of the patients were in hospitals There were another 10 Covid deaths taking the total death tally to 54395 Meanwhile the high level committee overseeing the Covid matters in the state on Monday decided to continue with the Sunday lockdown there during the past two Sundays where the police keep a close tab on movements in the roads and allow only essential travel On the vaccination front 100 per cent 268 crore have had one dose of which 84 per cent 225 crore have taken both the doses In the 1518 years segment 71 per cent 1075 lakh have been given one dose IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/kerala-sees-42-154-new-covid-cases-10-deaths-191367.html Wed, 02 Feb 2022 07:30:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/omicron-can-spread-in-several-hours-after-infection-191368.html Moscow Jan 31 An individual infected with Omicron can spread the infection within hours according to an expert On the other hand infections spread with previous strains in three to four days TASS news agency quoted Alexander Semyonov head of the Yekaterinburg branch of the Vector State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology as saying The saddest thing is due to its rapid replication you can communicate the virus not in three to four days but already by the evening he said in an interview with the Rossiya1 television channel At the same time he said Omicron is cleared from the body in about a week or much faster than other strains According to a study led by researchers at the University of Hong Kong Omicron spreads 70 times faster than Delta variant On November 26 the World Health Organisation WHO designated the B11529 variant identified in South Africa as a Variant of Concern and assigned it the Greek letter Omicron In its statement the WHO noted that this variant has a large number of mutations some of which are concerning So far it has spread to more than 120 countries outpacing the previous Delta variant to become the dominant one While it has surged infections in many countries the infections are generally touted as mild leading to less hospitalisation as well as deaths compared to Delta Meanwhile the Hong Kong study also showed that Omicrons replication rate in human lung tissue was more than 10 times lower than what was seen with the original strain an observation that may suggest lower severity of diseasea IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/omicron-can-spread-in-several-hours-after-infection-191368.html Wed, 02 Feb 2022 07:33:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/hamsters-can-infect-humans-with-covid-study-191371.html Hong Kong Jan 31 The Delta variant of Covid19 can be transmitted from humans to hamsters and then be transferred back to humans according to a new study The new study published in The Lancet in preprint and awaiting peerreview suggests that hamsters can spread the virus back to humans Jerusalem Post reported The study revealed that the firstever hamstertohuman transmission was found on January 15 2022 in Hong Kong linked to a hamster imported from the Netherlands the report said Before this however Hong Kong had ordered the culling of thousands of hamsters in pet shops particularly those purchased on or after December 22 Currently at least two people in Hong Kong were confirmed to have been infected by these hamsters with one other person infected through humantohuman transmission after this If the findings are accurate and hamsters can indeed transmit Covid19 to humans this could become a serious concern as they would serve as yet another vector to spread the virus worldwide the researchers noted The only other animal known to transmit SARSCoV2 back to humans was in the case of minks which resulted in a mass culling of mink farms around the world especially in Denmark Besides hamsters the novel coronavirus has been seen in many other animals after having been spread to them by humans This includes cats dogs otters minks mice deer gorillas ferrets and pigs However these animals may often deal with the virus differently Cats for example were noted by some as having recovered from Covid19 very quickly Deer were shown to be able to spread it to one another but they showed no symptoms Pigs while they are shown to catch coronavirus not only do never show symptoms they also never spread it to others the report said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/hamsters-can-infect-humans-with-covid-study-191371.html Wed, 02 Feb 2022 07:59:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-sets-up-dedicated-gom-to-handle-covid-compensation-cases-191410.html New Delhi Jan 31 The Delhi cabinet on Monday set up a dedicated Group of Ministers to handle Covid19 compensation cases of all Delhi government employees including doctors nurses healthcare and frontline workers an official release said This Group of Ministers to be headed by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and comprise Health Minister Satyendar Jain and Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot will individually examine every case and send its recommendations to the Chief Minister as the final authority Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will look after compensation of Delhi government employees himself the Delhi government release said As a responsible and sensitive government the entire Delhi government must look after the family of every single employee on Covid duty like their own and stand with them in the need of the hour he said as per the release Kejriwal had earlier announced that any person including doctors nurses paramedical staff security and sanitation staff or any other government officer and official including police officers whether temporary or permanent employee or contractual in government or private sector deployed for Covid19 duties by the Delhi government expires by contracting the disease during discharge of their duty their family shall be paid an ex gratia amount of Rs one crore IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-sets-up-dedicated-gom-to-handle-covid-compensation-cases-191410.html Wed, 02 Feb 2022 12:05:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/with-fewer-tests-andhras-covid-tally-drops-to-5-879-191454.html Amaravati Jan 31 Andhra Pradeshs daily Covid19 tally dropped to 5879 on Monday as the authorities conducted fewer tests during the last 24 hours Only 25284 samples were tested during the period ending 10 am on Monday The positivity rate dropped to 2325 per cent from 2623 per cent on Sunday but still much higher than the national average of around 15 per cent The state had Sunday reported 10310 new Covid cases while 39296 samples were tested According to the state command control room nine persons succumbed to the virus in the 24hour period The virus claimed two lives each in Kurnool and Nellore districts A death each was reported from Kadapa Chittoor Krishna Prakasam and Visakhapatnam districts The cumulative death toll mounted to 14615 Anantapur district reported the maximum number of new cases 856 during the last 24 hours followed by East Godavari 823 Kadapa 776 and Krishna 650 The number of active cases dropped to 110517 from 116031 the previous day Prakasam district has the highest number of active cases at 13496 followed by Guntur 12843 and Nellore 11677 The 24hour period saw 11384 people recovering from the virus With this the cumulative recoveries have gone up to 2151238 Meanwhile Telangana reported 2861 new cases and one death on Monday A total of 81486 samples were tested during the last 24 hours ending 530 pm on Monday The daily Covid tally of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation GHMC dropped to 746 from 1045 the previous day but the other districts saw a jump in daily infections Medchal Malkajgiri and Rangareddy districts bordering GHMC reported 234 and 165 new cases respectively Khammam and Nalgonda were the only other two districts with new cases in three digits According to the Director of Public Health the 24hour period saw more recoveries than new cases As many as 4413 people recovered from the virus taking the cumulative numbers to 722654 The recovery rate improved to 9460 per cent A total number of 37168 cases were currently under treatment or isolation IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/with-fewer-tests-andhras-covid-tally-drops-to-5-879-191454.html Wed, 02 Feb 2022 14:40:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ba2-will-quietly-replace-omicron-australian-scientists-190998.html Sydney Jan 31 The BA2 sub variant of Omicron may not increase infection numbers as the original strain or Delta instead quietly replace Omicron Australian scientists have said According to them while BA2 is more transmissible than the original strain there is no evidence that its more vaccineevasive The Sydney Morning Herald reported The subvariant BA2 is one of at least three sublineages of Omicron The virus is found in about 2 per cent of local samples and has started to gain a serious foothold in England India and Denmark where it has outcompeted Omicron and now makes up most viruses sampled That does seem to suggest there is an intrinsic transmissibility advantage Dr Adam Wheatley who heads a research team studying the immune response to Covid19 at the University of Melbourne was quoted as saying However the high level of similarity between Omicron and BA2 probably means that it would not cause a huge wave of disease as did Delta and Omicron Wheatley said Instead BA2 is likely to slowly replace Omicron much as a variant known as D614G quietly replaced the version of the virus that emerged from Wuhan in the middle of 2020 he explained Nothing ominous has come out so far There is no reason to panic added Professor Seshadri Vasan who has been tracking Covid19s variants at the CSIRO Further evidence from a small number of Omicron infections tracked by British health authorities suggests BA2s secondary attack rate the chance of an infected person passing the virus on to someone else in the household is 134 per cent compared with 103 per cent for Omicron the report said A preliminary data released by UK Health Security Agency suggests a twodose course of vaccine provides essentially no protection against catching either Omicron or BA2 But a booster dose provides strong protection Data on how effectively vaccines prevent serious illness from BA2 is not yet in The takehome message is if you are not vaccinated please go and get that first dose And if you are doublevaccinated please go and book a booster Vasan was quoted as saying IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ba2-will-quietly-replace-omicron-australian-scientists-190998.html Tue, 01 Feb 2022 10:20:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/children-unlikely-to-develop-severe-covid-disease-ntagi-chief-191165.html New Delhi Jan 31 Children are as susceptible as adults to catching Covid19 infection as several serosurveys have proved but they are unlikely to develop severe diseases National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation in India NTAGI Chairman NK Arora said on Monday Usually children suffer from sore throat cough or cold he said Some children develop fever which in some cases may go up to 103 degrees Some also face gastric symptoms Typically these symptoms settle in 45 days said Arora who is also a paediatric gastroenterologist Most hospitalisations doctors say are among children suffering from other comorbidities On the ratio of children hospitalisation rate Praveen Kumar Associate Professor Paediatrics Lady Hardinge Medical Institute said In the past few weeks we have admitted children who have tuberculosis leukemia neurological disease liver abscess When tested for Covid19 they were found positive They were primarily admitted for other conditions not Covid19 Doctors say that most children need only symptomatic treatment such as paracetamol for fever Steam inhalation helps in relieving congestion Any other medicine should be given only under medical supervision they added Doctors believe that there is no need for high radiation tests such as CT scan of the chest for children I recommend that parents should consult a doctor if the child shows some symptoms of Covid19 so that the physician can advise required investigation and treatments which may vary from casetocase says Kumar In rare cases however children may develop complications requiring hospitalisation If a child has a persistent fever for more than three days if heshe is facing difficulty in breathing has bluish lips rashes on the skin feeling confused seek medical help immediately he added As many experts have opined that majority of Covidpositive children are asymptomatic the parents have started urging government to reopen schools Meanwhile the Union Health Ministry is also working on a national plan to reopen schools with Covid protocols as schools have remained closed for the longest time due to the Covid19 pandemic It is likely to issue advisory to the states and Union Territories to reopen the schools with Covid protocols amid declining trend of new infected cases A UNICEF India report in May 2020 reported that parents of onethird of primary schools and half of the secondary school children noted that staying away from school has adversely impacted the mental and socioemotional health of their children IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/children-unlikely-to-develop-severe-covid-disease-ntagi-chief-191165.html Tue, 01 Feb 2022 16:12:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/patnas-igims-stops-genome-sequencing-due-to-lack-of-reagents-190917.html Patna Jan 31 Genome sequencing test at Patnas Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences IGIMS has been stopped due to lack of reagents The officials of the IGIMS said that the service was halted due to unavailability of reagents required to detect the Omicron variant of the coronavirus Dr Namrata Kumari head of microbiology department of IGIMS said We lack stocks of reagents in our microbiology lab Hence the genome sequencing test has been stopped for now We are not sure when it will start again Dr Manish Mandal the medical superintendent of IGIMS said We have informed the non availability of stock to the health department of Bihar The department has ordered the same Reagents are imported from the US We have learnt that the reagents have reached Delhi and it will come to Patna in the next few days IGIMS is the only institute in Bihar having facility of genome sequencing which was started on January 2 Genome sequencing is required to detect omicron variant of the coronavirus in an infected person It is a process to analyze all kinds of viruses a patient has Omicron or Delta variant of the virus can be detected only through genome sequencing and reports also come in 7 days At least 68 cases of Omicron infection have been detected ever since this service was started at IGIMS In the last 24 hours 1238 cases of the coronavirus were detected in Bihar including 156 new cases in Patna The total number of active cases in Bihar is 6557 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/patnas-igims-stops-genome-sequencing-due-to-lack-of-reagents-190917.html Tue, 01 Feb 2022 00:25:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/can-mobile-device-data-help-predict-covid-19-outbreaks-191210.html New York Jan 31 US researchers have accurately predicted outbreaks of Covid19 using anonymous location information from mobile devices The novel analysis applied in the study led by a team at the Yale School of Public Health could help health officials stem community outbreaks of Covid19 and allocate testing resources more efficiently researchers said In the study published in the journal Science Advances the researchers were able to identify incidents of high frequency close personal contact defined as a radius of 6 feet in Connecticut down to the municipal level The CDC advises people to keep at least six feet of distance with others to avoid possible transmission of Covid19 Close contact between people is the primary route for transmission of SARSCoV2 the virus that causes Covid19 said lead author Forrest Crawford an associate professor of biostatistics at Yale The contact rate we developed in this study can reveal highcontact conditions likely to spawn local outbreaks and areas where residents are at high transmission risk days or weeks before the resulting cases are detected through testing traditional case investigations and contact tracing Crawford said The findings are based on a review of Connecticut mobile device geolocation data from February 2020 to January 2021 A novel algorithm computed the probability of close contact events across the state times when mobile devices were within six feet of each other based on geolocation data We measured close interpersonal contact within a 6foot radius everywhere in Connecticut using mobile device geolocation data over the course of an entire year This effort gave Connecticut epidemiologists and policymakers insight to peoples social distancing behavior statewide Crawford said Other studies have used socalled mobility metrics as proxy measures for social distancing behaviour and potential Covid19 transmission But that analysis can be flawed Many health officials currently rely on general surveillance data such as the number of confirmed cases hospitalisations and deaths to track the spread of Covid But that process can lag actual disease transmission by days and weeks Analysing close personal contact rates is much faster the researchers said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/can-mobile-device-data-help-predict-covid-19-outbreaks-191210.html Tue, 01 Feb 2022 17:35:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/hc-rejects-plea-seeking-details-of-covid-preps-in-3rd-wave-190958.html New Delhi Jan 31 The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation PIL seeking directions for the Centre and Delhi government to submit their plans to contain the pandemic in view of the rising cases of the Omicron variant including the preparedness for Oxygen and other essential items Hearing the plea the bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Jasmeet Singh said the present situation of the pandemic is getting better in the national capital We are dealing with a declining number of cases now hospital beds are vacant and you are filing this frivolous petition now the court said Following the courts refusal of the plea Adv Rudra Vikram Singh withdrew the petition With the plea Congress leader Jagdish Sharma had approached the court through Adv Rudra Vikram Singh and Adv Manish Kumar seeking postponement of the upcoming Assembly elections in five states Seeking direction from the Election Commission to postpone the polls for some months the plea also prayed for a mandatory quarantine of people returning from pollbound States The plea contended that the Head of the World Health Organisation has already warned all the countries that Omicron is more transmissible and more resistant to treatment than other variants Dr Tedros of the WHO warned that while Omicron does appear to be less severe compared to Delta especially in those vaccinated it does not mean it should be categorised as mild it read It stated that the country has faced two variants of COVID19 in the last two years and the country has lost 484213 lives due to COVID19 as per government record IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/hc-rejects-plea-seeking-details-of-covid-preps-in-3rd-wave-190958.html Tue, 01 Feb 2022 05:49:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/fresh-covid-cases-dip-in-all-tn-districts-190745.html Chennai Jan 31 The Tamil Nadu public health department said that fresh Covid19 cases were decreasing in the state with all the districts showing a reduction On Sunday the state reported 22238 new cases a dip from Saturdays 24418 and Fridays 26533 Chennai which has been registered a high number recorded the steepest decline in fresh cases The state capital on Sunday reported 3998 new cases a fall from Saturdays 4508 Coimbatore which reported the secondhighest number of cases in the state also showed a major dip The city reported 2865 new cases on Sunday after it had logged 3309 a day before Perambalur reported the least number of cases with 52 While speaking to IANS Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian said The state is reporting a dip in the number of cases and these are good signs The public health department is trying its best to curtail the number of cases and the results are there to be seen Anyway people have to be on guard and they should wear masks maintain social distancing and sanitise and wash hands regularly IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/fresh-covid-cases-dip-in-all-tn-districts-190745.html Mon, 31 Jan 2022 11:52:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/schools-in-bengaluru-reopen-some-in-staggered-way-190831.html Bengaluru Jan 31 School managements welcomed students of class 1 to 9 standards in Bengaluru on Monday after the government lifted restrictions on resumption of classes Students arrived in schools with all the enthusiasm as they were extended a warm welcome Though the classes are being held in districts other than the capital city the government had decided to close down physical classes due to higher Covid positivity rate The school managements have arranged thermal screening sanitizers for students to ensure safety Kiran Prasad founder of Vidya Vaibhav Educational Institutes and Member of Karnataka Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools told IANS that 70 per cent of students are attending classes in his schools We expect 90 per cent of children to be back by Wednesday Some are returning to Bengaluru Unlike the first wave and second wave there is demand this time to open schools Parents have realized what their kids missed out In media panel discussions parents and other members who used to be hostile when I advocated for reopening of schools earlier now I found them pitching in for children attending physical classes The narrative has changed he explained Starting school for economic reasons is secondary There are serious learning gaps among kids For every years loss they go backward in learning by two years They have totally missed socializing peer learning which they are going to catch up to he said The governments decision to close down a classroom only if Covid infections are found is a step in right direction he said However some school managements have decided to reopen in a staggered way As they are facing staff crunch and still waiting for students from outstations However there is a feeling of elation among staff members students and parents as well about attending classes Many institutions have retained most of their staff during the pandemic and are ready to begin classes right away and those where teachers have been terminated are finding it difficult sources in the education department said Saanvi a class 9 student said she is very happy to go back to classes and meet friends She said that offline classes are the first preference and face to face interaction with teachers and her friends is always better Chinmayi a class 8 student explained that the school is providing sanitizers and they have been asked not to share food and snacks with friends She also explained that they have been asked to bring hot water The schools have given protocols and guidelines to parents to watch out Covid symptoms in their children Most of the schools are keeping their online teaching option open and parents are given freedom to make choices IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/schools-in-bengaluru-reopen-some-in-staggered-way-190831.html Mon, 31 Jan 2022 16:08:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/at-209-lakh-india-reports-10-dip-in-new-covid-cases-190849.html New Delhi Jan 31 India has reported 209918 Covid cases in a span of 24 hours 10 per cent lower than the previous days 234 lakh In the same time span 959 fresh Covid deaths have also been reported said the Union health ministry on Monday morning With the addition of new Covid fatalities the death toll has reached 495050 However Kerala added 374 deaths as backlog to Mondays count The active caseload has reported a marginal decline at 1831268 which constitutes 443 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 262628 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 38976122 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9437 per cent Also in the same period a total of 1331198 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7289 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 1575 per cent while daily positivity rate has reported marginal rise at 1577 per cent With the administration of over 28 lakhs vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 16603 crore as of Monday morning More than 1238 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered according to the health ministry as of Monday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/at-209-lakh-india-reports-10-dip-in-new-covid-cases-190849.html Mon, 31 Jan 2022 17:10:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/11-yr-old-israeli-boy-catches-3-different-covid-variants-report-190879.html Jerusalem Jan 31 In a rare case an 11yearold Israeli boy has been infected with three different Covid variants in a year Alon Helfgott has officially been infected with Alpha Delta and now Omicron Hes been in quarantine 34 times since the start of the school year The Times of Israel reported Helfgott from the central Israel city of Kfar Saba tested positive for Omicron last week The boy although in isolation is doing well than when infected with previous variants Im fine feeling pretty healthy without so many symptoms he told Channel 12 news on Sunday Compared to the previous strains which Helfgott said he experienced with pretty serious symptoms this time he does not feel that sick In the Alpha infection I suffered from a high fever he said Despite his thorough experience with quarantine Helfgott stated that boredom manages to overcome everything He added that since the start of the school year he was forced to enter quarantine between three and four times I try to pass the time in bed or on the phone There are really no things to do he said With his birthday coming up on Wednesday the day in which he is expected to be released from quarantine Helfgott made a wish to stay healthy and not get infected again the report said While Covid is known to provide protection against repeated infections reinfections do occur after in some cases In a similar case in July last year a 61yearold Delhi doctor contracted both the Alpha and Delta variants after vaccination presenting the first such documented case of two reinfections and two breakthrough infections She first tested positive on August 16 2020 and was asymptomatic On April 12 2021 she was tested positive for the second time and had symptoms such as acute abdominal pain fever myalgia and fatigue Within 19 days on May 3 she tested positive for the third time There have also been documented cases of confections where people were infected with two different strains at the same time According to a study published in Nature people who have been infected with SARSCoV2 can expect to become reinfected within one or two years unless they take precautions such as getting vaccinated and wearing masks The results suggest that the average reinfection risk rises from about 5 per cent four months after initial infection to 50 per cent by 17 months IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/11-yr-old-israeli-boy-catches-3-different-covid-variants-report-190879.html Mon, 31 Jan 2022 18:15:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/small-period-changes-after-covid-jab-seen-to-be-short-lived-uk-expert-190650.html London Jan 30 Small changes to periods can follow a Covid19 vaccine but they quickly return to normal a leading UK menstruation expert has said Victoria Male from Imperial College London called studies from the US and Norway which tracked womens cycles reassuring and she blamed misinformation for fuelling concerns over infertility the BBC reported The UK regulator said there is no evidence Covid19 vaccines affect the ability to have children the report said The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has received more than 37000 reports of unexpected vaginal bleeding heavier and delayed periods after a Covid19 jab It has always been said there is no evidence of a link to the vaccine because womens cycles vary naturally but scientists called for more research In a British Medical Journal editorial Male a lecturer in reproductive immunology pointed to two studies A US study of nearly 4000 women using a menstrualcycle tracking app found their next period was delayed by half a day after a second vaccine dose but there was no delay after the first Those who had two doses in the same cycle had a twoday delay but Male said that was unlikely among women in the UK where the gap between doses is at least eight weeks The cycle length of one in 10 of the women changed by more than eight days compared with one in 25 unvaccinated women but after just two cycles their periods returned to normal Another study of more than 5600 people in Norway shows how much periods can vary naturally Nearly 40 per cent saw at least one change even before being vaccinated with the most common complaint heavier than normal bleeding IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/small-period-changes-after-covid-jab-seen-to-be-short-lived-uk-expert-190650.html Mon, 31 Jan 2022 01:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/odisha-reports-19-more-covid-deaths-toll-mounts-to-8-594-190653.html Bhubaneswar Jan 30 The Odisha government on Sunday confirmed death of another 19 persons due to Covid19 The death toll in the state has now risen to 8594 According to State health department highest five Covid deaths were reported from Khurda district while three deaths occurred in Ganjam two in Angul two in Nabarangpur and one each from Bhadrak Cuttack Dhenkanal Jajpur Keonjhar Mayurbhanj and Puri districts This list does not reflect deaths occurring on a particular day It gives details of past deaths for which the death audit process has been duly completed and the cause of death has been identified as due to Covid19 said the department However the daily Covid cases continued to remain below 5000 for a second consecutive day on Sunday The State has reported 4843 cases including 663 from the 0 to 18 years age group today As many as 4842 positive cases and 15 deaths were reported in Odisha on Saturday Out of the new cases detected on Sunday Khurda district continued to report the highest 1023 cases followed by Sundargarh 735 and Cuttack 379 Other districts reported below 200 cases With the fresh infections the total active cases in the state increased to 53090 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/odisha-reports-19-more-covid-deaths-toll-mounts-to-8-594-190653.html Mon, 31 Jan 2022 01:20:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-234-lakh-new-covid-cases-893-deaths-190563.html New Delhi Jan 30 India registered 234281 Covid cases and 893 deaths in a span of 24 hours the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Sunday With the addition of fresh fatalities the death toll mounted to 494091 Active caseload has reported a marginal decline at 1884937 which constitute 459 per cent of the countrys total cases With the recovery of 352784 patients in the last 24 hours a total of 38713494 have been cured of the virus Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9421 per cent Also in the same period a total of 1615993 tests were conducted across the country pushing the cumulative tests to over 7273 crore Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 1640 per cent while daily positivity rate has reported a marginal rise at 1450 per cent With the administration of over 62 lakhs vaccine doses in the last 24 hours the countrys Covid inoculation coverage has reached 16570 crore as of Sunday morning More than 1243 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs the ministry added IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-234-lakh-new-covid-cases-893-deaths-190563.html Sun, 30 Jan 2022 16:38:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/60-youths-in-15-18-year-age-group-are-vaccinated-modi-in-mann-ki-baat-190617.html New Delhi Jan 30 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that about 60 per cent of youths in the age group of 15 to 18 years are vaccinated The Prime Minister also said that within 20 days one crore people have taken the precaution dose as well Addressing his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat Prime Minister said that India is fighting with great success with the new wave of corona it is also a matter of pride that till now about four and a half crore children have been administered the dose of Corona Vaccine This means that about 60 per cent of youth in the age group of 15 to 18 years have got their vaccines within three to four weeks This will not only protect our youth but will also help them to continue with their studies Another good thing is that within 20 days one crore people have taken the precaution dose as well the Prime Minister said He mentioned that now the cases of corona infection have also started decreasing and this is a very positive sign People should be safe the pace of economic activities of the country should be maintained this is the wish of every countryman he said Sundays Mann Ki Baat is the first episode of 2022 and Prime Minister remembered Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary Today is also the death anniversary of our revered Bapu Mahatma Gandhi ji The 30th of January reminds us of the teachings of Bapu he said Talking about the just concluded Republic Day celebrations Modi said The display of the nations valour and strength which we witnessed on Rajpath in Delhi filled everyone with pride and enthusiasm One change you must have noticed is that now the Republic Day functions will start from the January 23 ie the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and will continue till the January 30 ie Gandhijis death anniversary He also talked about the digital sculpture of Subhas Chandra Bose installed at India Gate We can never forget the way the country welcomed this the wave of joy that arose from every corner of the country the kind of feelings expressed by every countryman he said The Prime Minister also talked about the Swachhta Abhiyan Vocal for Local and Aatmanirbhar Bharat We should not forget the Swachhta Abhiyan we should accelerate the campaign against singleuse plastic Vocal for Local mantra is our responsibility we have to work wholeheartedly for the Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign With the efforts of all of us the country will reach new heights of development he said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/60-youths-in-15-18-year-age-group-are-vaccinated-modi-in-mann-ki-baat-190617.html Sun, 30 Jan 2022 20:20:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/omicron-sub-variant-likely-behind-1-in-30-covid-cases-in-england-190624.html London Jan 30 The subvariant of Omicron BA2 feared to be even more infectious than its ancestor strain is behind one in 30 Covid19 cases in England according to official estimates media reports say A report by the UK Health Security Agency found the mutant BA2 substrain accounted for 34 per cent of the countrys new infections by January 16 and it is doubling every week the Daily Mail reported The growth advantage of the new variant is substantial the health agency claimed Scientists believe it may have evolved to be slightly more transmissible than the ancestral strain of Omicron and could slowly become the UKs dominant Covid variant It is already outcompeting its parent variant in Denmark but the countrys government deemed the strain such a nonthreat it this week announced it was ending all Covid restrictions the report said Professor Paul Hunter an epidemiologist at the University of East Anglia told MailOnline there was no reason to panic about BA2 He said it was not causing a substantial difference to our current threat estimates There had been fears it might have been slipping past vaccine immunity more easily than Omicron which would explain its evolutionary edge But UKHSA analysis found two and three vaccine doses work just as well against both strains providing about 70 per cent protection against symptomatic disease and even better immunity against severe outcomes Scientists have not yet been able to tell whether the substrain differs in severity from Omicron which itself was a much milder variant than past strains However there is nothing to indicate the strain would be any more lethal IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/omicron-sub-variant-likely-behind-1-in-30-covid-cases-in-england-190624.html Sun, 30 Jan 2022 21:08:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/75-adult-population-in-india-fully-vaccinated-190633.html New Delhi Jan 30 India achieved another milestone in its fight against Covid19 on Sunday as it administered more than 75 per cent of the adult population with both doses of vaccines said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya With the mantra of Sabka Saath Sabka Prayas India has administered 75 per cent of its adult population with both doses of the Covid vaccine We are getting stronger in the fight against the pandemic We have to follow Covidappropriate behaviour and receive the vaccine as soon as possible Mandaviya added in a tweet As per the Health Ministry report on Sunday morning with the administration of more than 62 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 1657 crore in India This has been achieved through 18135047 sessions Seventyfive per cent of all adults are fully vaccinated Congratulations to our fellow citizens for this momentous feat Proud of all those who are making our vaccination drive a success tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this feat Meanwhile India reported marginal decline in Covid19 cases at 234281 with 893 deaths in the last 24 hours However the daily positivity rate in the country has risen to 145 per cent The active caseload has also reported a marginal decline at 1884937 which constitute 459 per cent of the countrys total Covidpositive cases IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/75-adult-population-in-india-fully-vaccinated-190633.html Sun, 30 Jan 2022 22:24:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/andhra-pradesh-reports-11-573-fresh-covid-cases-3-deaths-190448.html Amaravati Jan 30 The number of Covid19 cases in Andhra Pradesh remained above the onelakh mark with the active caseload standing at 115425 on Saturday The state reported 11573 new cases and three deaths during the 24hour period ending 10 am on Saturday Guntur district has highest number of active cases at 12770 followed by Prakasam 12732 Nellore 11696 Visakhapatnam 11343 Kurnool 10518 and Anantapur 10258 Of the three deaths recorded on Saturday one each were reported from Chittoor Guntur and Visakhapatnam The cumulative death toll stands at 14594 The authorities conducted 40357 Covid tests during this period AYSR Kadapa district reported the highest number of cases at 1942 followed by Kurnool 1522 Guntur 1298 Visakhapatnam 1024 Krishna 969 and East Godavari 951 The 24hour period also saw 9445 people recovering from the virus taking the total number of recoveries to 2130162 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/andhra-pradesh-reports-11-573-fresh-covid-cases-3-deaths-190448.html Sun, 30 Jan 2022 00:51:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pil-in-delhi-hc-seeks-deferment-of-assy-polls-in-5-states-190281.html New Delhi Jan 27 A Public Interest Litigation PIL has been filed in Delhi High Court seeking postponement of the upcoming Assembly elections in five states in view of the rising cases of Omicron the spiralling variant of Covid19 virus The PIL filed by Congress leader Jagdish Sharma was listed before a Division bench presided over by Chief Justices DN Patel and Jyoti Singh on Thursday However the matter could not be heard as the bench did not assemble Filed through Adv Rudra Vikram Singh and Adv Manish Kumar the plea also sought the Centre and Delhi government to submit their plans to contain the pandemic during the third wave of the pandemic including the preparedness for Oxygen and other essential items in this regard Seeking direction from the Election Commission to postpone the polls for some months the plea also prayed for a mandatory quarantine of people returning from pollbound States Recently the EC had extended the ban on public rallies and roadshows in the five pollbound states Uttar Pradesh Punjab Goa Uttarakhand and Manipur by a week from January 15 to January 22 The campaigning had been restricted after the election notification on January 8 when the EC banned rallies public meetings and road shows first till January 15 and then till January 31 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pil-in-delhi-hc-seeks-deferment-of-assy-polls-in-5-states-190281.html Sat, 29 Jan 2022 00:12:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/centre-mulling-to-revisit-precaution-dose-policy-190292.html New Delhi Jan 27 The Centre is mulling over the relevance of the precaution dose which is currently being administered to the frontline and healthcare workers along with 60 plus population as some experts are sceptical about the benefits of the third dose The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation NTAGI for Covid19 held a high level meeting with NITI Aayog on Wednesday A source said that the NTAGI group is sceptical about the benefits of the third dose being administered The NTAGI presented some research papers on third dose administered in several countries which has not helped in curbing infection to the NITI Aayog in the meeting a source told IANS Some cases of getting infected even after third dose have also been reported in India The source said that the experts from NTAGI have assessed the data from the countries where booster doses have been administered It has also studied the impacts of third dose against the infection The NTAGI is expected to meet the Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR next week with some more fact finding papers on the third dose source said However the policy on booster or precaution dose could be revisited for the extension of the policy among other age group beneficiaries As per the source the precaution dose may continue among healthcare and frontline workers and 60 plus population Meanwhile according to the health ministry report total 9703569 precaution doses have been administered so far which includes 2987993 for healthcare workers 3102620 for frontline workers and 3612956 for over 60 population IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/centre-mulling-to-revisit-precaution-dose-policy-190292.html Sat, 29 Jan 2022 01:46:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/gujarat-reports-12-131-new-cases-30-deaths-190318.html Gandhinagar Jan 29 Gujarat on Friday reported 12131 new Covid cases taking its overall infection tally to 1132791 while 30 persons succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours eight more than the toll reported on Thursday While the number of fresh cases has been coming down over the past few days the death toll is on the rise with the state reporting as many as 201 deaths in a span of 10 days Of the 30 fatalities recorded on Friday Ahmedabad reported 7 deaths followed by Rajkot 5 Vadodara 4 Surat and Bhavnagar 3 each Valsad and Bharuch 2 each and Jamnagar Gandhinagar Panchmahals and Mahisagar 1 each Continuing the trend Ahmedabad reported the maximum number of new cases on Friday at 4124 followed by Vadodara 2517 Rajkot 1213 Surat 1071 Gandhinagar 399 Patan 286 Jamnagar 269 Bhavnagar 208 and Kutch 206 among others A total of 22070 patients were discharged on Friday taking the overall number of recoveries to 1014501 The state presently has 107915 active cases of which the condition of 107618 is stable while 297 critical patients are on ventilator support Over 194 lakh doses of Covid vaccine were administered on Friday taking the statewide tally to above 973 crore IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/gujarat-reports-12-131-new-cases-30-deaths-190318.html Sat, 29 Jan 2022 05:29:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-cm-to-hold-meeting-on-covid-restrictions-190344.html Bengaluru Jan 29 Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will on Saturday chair an expert committee meeting to take a final call on lifting of Covid19 restrictions in Karnataka According to sources the meeting will deliberate on reopening of schools cap on 50 per occupation in theatres pubs bars hotels and restaurants as well as the night curfew Though the number of new Covid cases are higher in Bengaluru quick recoveries which are exceeding the number of positive cases may pave the way for lifting of curbs with few restrictions Karnataka has logged 31198 new Covid cases against 71092 discharges on Friday Bengaluru Urban district recorded 15199 positive cases on a single day against 44866 discharges Fifty deaths have been reported on a single day Positivity for the day stood at 2091 per cent and case fatality rate for the day stood at 016 per cent The Karnataka government had lifted the weekend curfew last week and announced that a decision on reopening of schools will be announced on Saturday CM Bommai is under pressure from the business community to lift the night curfew They want the government to let them operate till 11 pm Film industry is hoping that the cap on 50 per cent occupation of seats will be taken off The government the sources said is in favour of opening schools in Bengaluru in a phased manner Education Minister BC Nagesh had already given hints regarding reopening of schools and stated the department is ready to begin classes On Friday the government held a meeting with the Covid19 Technical Advisory Committee TAC The committee has submitted the guidelines to be followed from next week The government will discuss these recommendations and take a final call regarding restrictions IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-cm-to-hold-meeting-on-covid-restrictions-190344.html Sat, 29 Jan 2022 10:42:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-235-lakh-new-covid-cases-871-deaths-190398.html New Delhi Jan 29 In the last 24 hours India logged 235532 new Covid cases and 871 deaths the union Health Ministry said on Saturday The additional fatalities increased the overall death toll to 493198 Meanwhile the active caseload has reported a marginal decline at 2004333 which account for 491 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 335939 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 38360710 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9389 per cent Also in the same period a total of 1759434 tests were conducted across the country taking the total to 7257 crore Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 1689 per cent while daily positivity rate has come down to 1339 per cent With the administration of over 56 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage reached 16504 crore as of Saturday morning More than 12 crore balance and unutilised doses are still available with the states and UTs IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-logs-235-lakh-new-covid-cases-871-deaths-190398.html Sat, 29 Jan 2022 16:19:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pakistan-reports-7-539-new-covid-19-cases-25-more-deaths-190219.html Islamabad Jan 27 Pakistan reported 7539 new Covid19 cases over the past 24 hours the National Command and Operation Centre said on Thursday The countrys overall number of confirmed cases has risen to 1393887 according to the centre which leads Pakistans campaign against the pandemic At least 25 people have succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours taking the death toll to 29162 while 1240 patients are in critical condition Xinhua news agency reported During the period 1784 patients recovered from Covid bringing the total recoveries to 1272871 the centre said The southern Sindh province is the worstaffected region with 533496 infections followed by the eastern Punjab province which has reported 469540 cases IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pakistan-reports-7-539-new-covid-19-cases-25-more-deaths-190219.html Fri, 28 Jan 2022 18:26:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-lifts-weekend-curfew-no-odd-even-for-shops-190223.html New Delhi Jan 27 The Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA on Thursday decided to lift the weekend curfew and oddeven rule for shops in the market However the night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am will continue in the national capital The decision to relax the curbs was taken following a DDMA meeting chaired by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal with Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier in the day The bars restaurants and cinema will reopen with 50 per cent capacity in the capital city now However the academic institution will remain closed for now The reopening of schools is expected to be discussed in the next DDMA meeting The Delhi government also said that the government office will open with 50 per cent capacity in the capital city The DDMA has also capped the number of people attending wedding festivals in the national capital to 200 The decision has been taken following the declining Covid cases in the city Meanwhile Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said that the Covid situation is under control in the city He said that the national capital may report below 5000 cases by this evening The national capital Delhi on Wednesday reported a marginal rise on Covid cases at 7498 against 6028 cases reported on Tuesday The fresh Covid infection has pushed the tally at 1810997 In the same time 29 deaths were also reported pushing the death toll at 25710 on Wednesday IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-lifts-weekend-curfew-no-odd-even-for-shops-190223.html Fri, 28 Jan 2022 18:48:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/philippines-logs-18-191-new-covid-cases-190243.html Manila Jan 27 The Philippines Department of Health DOH reported 18191 new Covid19 infections on Thursday raising the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3493447 The DOH said the number of active cases dropped to 226521 from Wednesdays 230410 Xinhua news agency reported At least 74 more people succumbed to the virus pushing the countrys death toll to 53736 with two testing laboratories failing to submit data The agency added that the countrys positivity rate also dipped to 352 per cent from 358 per cent the previous day Meanwhile the DOH has detected more Omicron variants of Covid including its subvariant BA2 or the socalled stealth Omicron in the latest batch of wholegenome sequencing of samples taken from locals and returning overseas Filipinos The DOH said it has detected both the original Omicron lineage and its sublineages BA1 and BA2 The BA2 sublineage first seen on December 31 last year was prevalent in the latest samples However the DOH sees no significant difference in BA1 and BA2 characteristics in terms of transmissibility or severity of the disease Nevertheless the DOH vowed to continue to investigate why BA2 has become more prevalent than BA1 But so far the detection of BA2 does not entail any significant change in the Covid response it added The DOH also said 35 more cases of the Delta variant have been detected pushing the total to 8647 The Philippines has seen four Covid waves since the pandemic began in January 2020 The country reported the highest singleday tally on January 15 this year with 39004 new cases With a population of 110 million the Philippines has tested more than 25 million people since the virus emerged IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/philippines-logs-18-191-new-covid-cases-190243.html Fri, 28 Jan 2022 20:47:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/chandigarh-administration-lifts-covid-19-restrictions-190261.html Chandigarh Jan 27 The Chandigarh administration on Thursday decided to lift Covid19 restrictions with the decline in daily positive patients Administrator Banwarilal Purohit took the decision at a highlevel meeting to review the pandemic situation in the city He expressed his satisfaction over the decline in positivity rate and appreciated the health officials for being proactive in handling the ongoing situation He also congratulated the administration for administering 100 per cent second doze of vaccination to the eligible population Now all gyms and health centres will be allowed to operate till 10 pm with 50 per cent of capacity subject to the staff and the users being fully vaccinated All markets including apni mandis will be allowed to operate till 10 pm From February 1 the schools will start functioning physically from Class 1012 and all universities and colleges will be allowed to open normally IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/chandigarh-administration-lifts-covid-19-restrictions-190261.html Fri, 28 Jan 2022 21:50:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-reports-286l-covid-cases-573-deaths-in-24-hours-190044.html New Delhi Jan 27 India reported 286384 fresh Covid cases and 573 new deaths in a span of 24 hours said the Union health ministry on Thursday morning With the addition of fresh new Covid fatalities the toll has climbed to 491700 The active caseload has reported a marginal decline at 2202472 which constitute 546 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 306357 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 37677328 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9333 per cent Also in the same period a total of 1462261 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7221 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate has climbed to 1775 per cent while daily positivity rate has also risen to 1959 per cent With the administration of over 22 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 16384 crore as of Thursday morning More than 1360 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered according to the health ministry as of Thursday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-reports-286l-covid-cases-573-deaths-in-24-hours-190044.html Fri, 28 Jan 2022 00:09:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/anti-covid-pills-work-against-omicron-antibody-drugs-less-effective-190083.html New York Jan 27 The drugs behind the new pills to treat Covid19 remain very effective against the Omicron variant of the virus in lab tests according to a new study However lab tests also showed that the available antibody therapies typically given intravenously in hospitals are substantially less effective against Omicron than against earlier variants of the virus Some antibodies have entirely lost their ability to neutralise Omicron at realistic dosage found researchers from the University of WisconsinMadison The findings corroborate other studies that show most available antibody treatments are less effective against Omicron Drug makers could design test and produce new antibody drugs targeted at the omicron variant to overcome the limitations of current therapies but this process would take months The bottom line is we have countermeasures to treat Omicron Thats good news said Yoshihiro Kawaoka the lead of the study and virologist at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine and the University of Tokyo However this is all in laboratory studies Whether this translates into humans we dont know yetKawaoka said The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine The clinically available pills and antibodies were designed and tested before researchers identified the Omicron variant which differs significantly from earlier versions of the virus In lab experiments using nonhuman primate cells Kawaokas team tested a suite of antibody and antiviral therapies against the original strain of the Covid19 virus and its prominent variants including the Alpha Delta and Omicron strains Mercks pill molnupiravir and the intravenous drug remdesivir were just as effective against the Omicron variant as they were against earlier viral strains The team also tested a related drug by Pfizer that is given intravenously The two drugs disrupt the same part of the viral machinery The researchers found that the intravenous form of the drug retained its effectiveness against Omicron and this version is currently in clinical trials All four antibody treatments the researchers tested were less effective against Omicron than against earlier strains of the virus Two treatments sotrovimab by GlaxoSmithKline and Evusheld by AstraZeneca retained some ability to neutralise the virus However they required anywhere from 3 to 100 times more of the drugs to neutralise Omicron compared to earlier versions Two antibody treatments by Lilly and Regeneron were unable to neutralise omicron at common dosages IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/anti-covid-pills-work-against-omicron-antibody-drugs-less-effective-190083.html Fri, 28 Jan 2022 05:52:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/two-thirds-of-omicron-cases-are-reinfections-uk-study-190133.html London Jan 27 About 65 per cent Omicron cases are from reinfection according to a study based in England The study led by Imperial College London researchers found that almost two out of every three Covidpositive participants reported having had Covid before The team concluded that past infection was associated with a high risk of reinfection with Omicron However more work is needed to determine how many of the results are true reinfections or PCR tests which may have picked up old traces of the virus Risks of infection were found to increase among people living in large compared to singleperson households those in more deprived areas and among people of Asian Black and other ethnicities according to the findings There is good news in our data in that infections had been rapidly dropping during January but they are still extremely high and may have recently stalled at a very high prevalence said Professor Paul Elliott director of the REACT programme from Imperials School of Public Health Of particular concern is that there is rapidly increasing prevalence among children now they are back at school and compared with December prevalence in older people aged 65 has increased seven to 12fold which may lead to increased hospitalisations he added The REACT REaltime Assessment of Community Transmission research team swaptested thousands of volunteers across England Among the 3582 swabpositive individuals reporting whether or not they had had previous infection 2315 reported a confirmed previous infection Further the researchers also looked at existing publicly available data on Covid19 hospitalisations and deaths and compared these with the REACT data on infection rates They found that between February and May and September and December of 2021 there was a reduced risk of hospitalisation and between February and December inclusive there was a consistently lower risk of death This is likely due to the impact of the vaccination programme and improved treatment Vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself from severe disease and hospitalisation from Omicron and I would urge anyone who has not done so to come forward for their first second and third doses as soon as possible said Dr Jenny Harries Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency The impact the vaccination is having on preventing severe disease and hospitalisations is clear to see she said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/two-thirds-of-omicron-cases-are-reinfections-uk-study-190133.html Fri, 28 Jan 2022 11:52:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/omicron-not-result-of-recombination-between-previous-variants-study-190188.html New York Jan 27 The Omicron variant of SARSCoV2 diverged from the previous SARSCoV2 variants as a result of adaptive evolution in which beneficial mutations are passed onto future generations through natural selection rather than through recombination between previous variants according to a study The study published in the journal Nature is the first to describe the genomic profile of Omicron and explore the origins of the variant We have seen SARSCoV2 generate three major variants Alpha Delta and Omicron in about 16 months which is very surprising because other viruses do not make such repeated big evolutionary leaps said lead author Maciej Boni Associate Professor of biology Pennsylvania State University The latest variant Omicron is extraordinary because of the even bigger jump it made in the evolution of its spike protein Boni said Boni noted that compared to previous variants Omicrons spike protein has more than 30 mutations many of which are known to influence host antibody neutralisation The team analysed all 686 Omicron sequences that were available by December 7 2021 They found that Omicron falls within the B11 lineage which also includes the Alpha variant However the team found that Omicron is genetically distinct from Alpha as well as any other known variants of interest Further the team applied a selection analysis to the 686 Omicron sequences and found evidence of positive natural selection in many genes since the variant split from other B11 lineages This finding suggests that Omicron is likely the result of an evolutionary process that created a highly transmissible virus that partially evades our antibody responses Boni said Additionally the finding ruled out recombination of previous variants in the origin of Omicron We found no convincing evidence of Omicron being a recombinant of previous SARSCoV2 variants said Boni The team did find that some samples of Omicron displayed weak evidence of having inherited genetic material from a Delta virus but statistical analyses could not rule out random chance or small sequencing errors as causes of this curious recombination signal Given the recent misinformation suggesting that the Omicron and Delta variants have recombined to create a aDeltacron super variant it is important to note that such recombination is in fact possible but there is currently no evidence that this has occurred said Boni Additionally if it does occur theres no telling what the properties of such a virus would be in terms of its ability to transmit andor cause severe disease among other factors IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/omicron-not-result-of-recombination-between-previous-variants-study-190188.html Fri, 28 Jan 2022 16:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-3618-mn-190007.html Washington Jan 27 Amid an ongoing resurgence across the world the global coronavirus caseload has topped 3618 million while the deaths have surged to more than 562 million and vaccinations to over 987 billion according to Johns Hopkins University In its latest update on Thursday morning the Universitys Center for Systems Science and Engineering CSSE revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 361819327 and 5625717 respectively while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 9873273690 The US continues to be the worsthit country with the worlds highest number of cases and deaths at 72906511 and 876052 according to the CSSE The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India 40085116 infections and 491127 deaths followed by Brazil 24560093 infections and 624717 deaths The other countries with over 5 million cases are France 17848291 the UK 16260768 Turkey 11167927 Russia 11129318 Italy 10383561 Spain 9529320 Germany 9145836 Argentina 8130023 Iran 6279410 and Colombia 5798799 the CSSE figures showed The nations with a death toll of over 100000 are Russia 321484 Mexico 303776 Peru 204587 the UK 155221 Indonesia 144254 Italy 144770 Colombia 133019 Iran 132303 France 130739 Argentina 120019 Germany 117166 Ukraine 106205 and Poland 104373 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-3618-mn-190007.html Thu, 27 Jan 2022 21:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/up-schools-shut-till-feb-15-online-classes-to-continue-190027.html Lucknow Jan 27 Schools in Uttar Pradesh will remain closed till February 15 though online classes will continue This decision has been taken in view of increasing Covid cases According to an order issued by additional chief secretary home Avanish Awasthi the date of school closure has been extended from the earlier January 30 to February 15 He said that online classes will continue in view of the upcoming secondary board examinations Though Covid cases in Uttar Pradesh have shown a declining trend the state reported 10937 new cases on Wednesday taking the total number of active cases to 80342 Lucknow alone has reported 2096 new cases on Wednesday IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/up-schools-shut-till-feb-15-online-classes-to-continue-190027.html Thu, 27 Jan 2022 22:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/study-explores-ways-to-get-super-immunity-against-covid-19-189778.html New York Jan 26 Two forms of immunity breakthrough infections following vaccination or natural infection followed by vaccination provide roughly equal levels of enhanced immune protection finds a study The study published online in the journal Science Immunology found that in both cases the immune response measured in blood serum revealed antibodies that were equally more abundant and more potent at least 10 times more potent than immunity generated by vaccination alone It makes no difference whether you get infected and then vaccinated or if you get vaccinated and then a breakthrough infection said Fikadu Tafesse Assistant Professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the Oregon Health Science Universitys School of Medicine In either case you will get a really really robust immune response amazingly high Tafesse added Although the study was done before the emergence of the highly transmissible omicron variant researchers expect the hybrid immune responses would be similar The likelihood of getting breakthrough infections is high because there is so much virus around us right now Tafesse said But we position ourselves better by getting vaccinated And if the virus comes well get a milder case and end up with this super immunity Researchers recruited a total of 104 people all who were vaccinated by the Pfizer vaccine and then carefully divided them into three groups 42 who were vaccinated with no infection 31 who were vaccinated after an infection and 31 who had breakthrough infections following vaccination Controlling for age sex and time from vaccination and infection the team drew blood samples from each participant and exposed the samples to three variants of the live SARSCoV2 virus They found both of the groups with hybrid immunity generated greater levels of immunity compared with the group that was vaccinated with no infection With the wildly contagious Omicron variant now circulating across the globe the new findings suggest each new breakthrough infection potentially brings the pandemic closer to the end I would expect at this point many vaccinated people are going to wind up with breakthrough infections and hence a form of hybrid immunity said senior coauthor Bill Messer Assistant Professor of molecular microbiology and immunology and medicine infectious diseases in the OHSU School of Medicine Over time the virus will run into an everexpanding pool of human immunity With the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant many unvaccinated people who were previously infected are likely to confront the virus again For that group previous research reveals a much more variable level of immune response than vaccination Messer said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/study-explores-ways-to-get-super-immunity-against-covid-19-189778.html Thu, 27 Jan 2022 01:38:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/s-koreas-covid-cases-surpass-14-000-amid-rapid-omicron-spread-190039.html Seoul Jan 27 South Koreas daily Covid19 cases hit over 14000 on Thursday breaking the record for a third consecutive day as the highly contagious Omicron variant continues to spread across the country at an unprecedented speed The country reported 14518 Covid cases including 14301 local infections bringing the total to 777497 the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency KDCA said South Korea posted the first fivedigit daily tally of 13012 on Wednesday following the previous record high of 8570 on Tuesday The per day counts have nearly quadrupled since early last week when the figure had hovered around 3800 Yonhap news agency reported The death toll came to 6654 up by 34 from Wednesday The fatality rate stood at 086 per cent The number of critically ill Covid patients was 350 down by 35 from the previous day Health authorities introduced a readjusted virus response system this week to better tackle the highly transmissible variant Under the regime rapid antigen selftests replace polymerase chain reaction tests at testing sites except for those aged over 60 or highrisk groups Local hospitals and clinics will administer diagnostic tests and treat patients starting February 3 Vaccinated Covid patients who do not show severe symptoms will need to quarantine and go through treatment at home for seven days An innoculated person who comes in contact with a Covid infected patient would not have to quarantine but will have to take a PCR test about a week after the initial contact The KDCA said the revised regime is designed to minimise critical cases and deaths while preventing an overload and collapse of the medical system The system currently being applied in parts of the country will expand nationwide after the threeday Lunar New Year holiday running till February 2 Of the locally transmitted cases Thursday Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul reported 4738 new Covid cases followed by Seoul with 3385 and the western port city of Incheon at 1010 The number of imported cases was tallied at 217 bringing the total to 24451 As of Thursday 2604 million people or 507 per cent of the countrys 52 million population had received booster shots the KDCA said The number of fully vaccinated people came to 4390 million people accounting for 856 per cent IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/s-koreas-covid-cases-surpass-14-000-amid-rapid-omicron-spread-190039.html Thu, 27 Jan 2022 23:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/malaysia-reports-4-744-new-covid-19-infections-12-more-deaths-190041.html Kuala Lumpur Jan 27 Malaysia reported 4744 new Covid19 infections in the last 24 hours bringing the national total to 2844969 according to the Health Ministry There are 429 new imported cases with 4315 being local transmissions data released on the ministrys website on Wednesday night showed Further 12 deaths have been reported bringing the death toll to 31930 Xinhua news agency reported The ministry reported 3646 new recoveries bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 2766254 There are 46785 active cases out of which 129 are being held in intensive care units and 72 are in need of assisted breathing The country administered a total of 208042 doses of Covid vaccine on Wednesday and 798 per cent of the population have received at least one dose 787 per cent have been fully vaccinated and 347 per cent have received boosters IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/malaysia-reports-4-744-new-covid-19-infections-12-more-deaths-190041.html Thu, 27 Jan 2022 23:43:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/africas-covid-19-cases-pass-106-mn-africa-cdc-189810.html New Delhi Jan 26 The number of confirmed Covid19 cases in Africa reached 10609112 as of Tuesday evening the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Africa CDC said The specialised healthcare agency of the African Union AU said the death toll across the continent stands at 237197 and some 9534559 patients have recovered from the disease so far South Africa Morocco Tunisia and Ethiopia are among the countries with the most cases on the continent said the Africa CDC South Africa has recorded 3582691 cases followed by the northern African country Morocco with 1101 163 as of Tuesday evening it said In terms of caseload Southern Africa is the most affected region followed by the northern and eastern parts of the continent while Central Africa is the least affected region according to Africa CDC IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/africas-covid-19-cases-pass-106-mn-africa-cdc-189810.html Thu, 27 Jan 2022 07:34:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/dutch-govt-further-relaxes-covid-19-measures-189816.html The Hague Jan 26 Despite high infections the Dutch government has announced new relaxations of its Covid19 policy reopening all restaurants cafes cinemas museums and theaters under certain conditions During a press conference in the Hague Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Minister of Health Welfare and Sport Ernst Kuipers emphasised that they are taking a risk with these relaxations and that it remains important to continue to follow the basic rules Xinhua news agency reported With the relaxations we are consciously looking for the limits of what is possible Rutte said We take a risk now We do this because behind all understandable cries for help and actions are such major problems and tensions The measures will in principle apply for a period of six weeks from Wednesday morning There will be a new weighing moment in about three weeks Restaurants cafes museums concert halls and theaters can open their doors again from Wednesday between 5 am and 10 pm local time The reopening is subject to conditions For example visitors must be able to show a valid coronavirus entry pass a Covid certificate with proof of vaccination or proof of recovery or a negative test result At sports events the audience is allowed again with a maximum of onethird of the capacity Until now supermarkets and shops had to close at 8 pm local time but from Wednesday the opening hours will be extended until 10 pm I appeal to everyone to ensure that the Netherlands can remain open Rutte said That starts with compliance with the rules With Omicron being the dominant variant of the coronavirus in the country the number of infections has risen explosively in recent weeks The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment RIVM on Tuesday reported a daily number of 54225 confirmed Covid infections which is less than the previous two days 65351 and 64757 on Sunday and Monday respectively Kuipers emphasised that the large number of infections at the moment makes it more important than ever before to adhere to the basic rules against the coronavirus IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/dutch-govt-further-relaxes-covid-19-measures-189816.html Thu, 27 Jan 2022 08:26:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/explained-how-omicron-is-able-to-evade-antibodies-remain-contagious-189829.html New York Jan 26 An international team of scientists has determined the precise structural changes in the spike protein of the Omicron variant Their observations explain how the virus is able to evade antibodies against previous variants and still remain highly infectious The findings provide a blueprint that researchers can use to design new countermeasures whether they be vaccines or therapeutics against omicron and other coronavirus variants that may emerge said David Veesler Associate Professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine in SeattleA The researchers report their findings in the journal Science The Omicron variant which was first identified in November 2021 in South Africa is causing a surge of infections around the world In addition to being highly infectious the variant can evade antibodies against earlier variants leading to breakthrough infections among those who have been vaccinated and those who have been infected previously The infectiousness of the virus is thought to be at least in part due to the large number of mutations in the amino acid sequences of the viruss spike proteinA The virus uses the spike protein to latch on to and enter the cells it infects The Omicron spike protein has 37 mutations that distinguish it from the first SARSCoV2 isolates in 2020 To understand how Omicron accumulated so many mutations while retaining efficient interactions with the host receptor ACE2 Veesler and his colleagues used cryoelectron microscopic and Xray crystallographic studies to unveil the 3D organisation of the Omicron spike proteinA Using these techniques the scientists reveal how the mutations changed how the protein interacts with antibodies so that the ability of almost all monoclonal antibodies against it is reduced while at the same time the ability of the spike receptorbinding domain to bind ACE2 is enhancedA The overall effect has been to make it possible for the receptor binding domain to evade antibodies targeting it and to bind to ACE2 even more tightly The findings demonstrate what a formidable opponent SARSCoV2 is Veesler said This virus has incredible plasticity It can change a lot and still maintain all the functions it needs to infect and replicate he noted And its almost guaranteed omicron is not the last variant were going to see The goal going forward should be to focus on and identify additional regions on the spike protein that cannot be changed without causing the protein to lose function Veesler saidA Because of their importance these areas tend to remain conserved even as other parts of the protein mutate Such conserved regions of viral proteins are therefore likely to remain unchanged in any new variant that might emergeA These regions would make ideal targets for new vaccines and therapeutics that could be effective not only against new variants but new sarbecoviruses the group of viruses comprising SARSCoV2 and SARSCoV Veesler said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/explained-how-omicron-is-able-to-evade-antibodies-remain-contagious-189829.html Thu, 27 Jan 2022 09:44:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/puducherry-logs-1-504-fresh-covid-19-cases-in-last-24-hrs-189871.html Puducherry Jan 26 The Union Territory of Puducherry recorded 1504 fresh Covid19 cases in the last 24 hours pushing the tally to 156 lakh cases UTs Director of Health Services Dr G Sriramalu said on Wednesday In a statement Sriramalu said that the territory currently houses 16298 active cases of the total 233 patients were being treated in hospitals while the 16065 were under home isolation The Union territory according to the Director of Health Services discharged 1597 patients in the last twentyfour hours The overall recoveries in the UT stand at 138545 The test positivity rate in the Union Territory was 3124 per cent while the fatality and recovery rates were respectively 122 per cent and 8838 per cent respectively A total of 1527024 doses of vaccine were administered so far with 919024 beneficiaries administered with the first dose while 601919 were inoculated with the second dose As many as 6081 persons were given booster doses the statement said Mahe recorded 31 new cases Yanam 149 Karaikal 264 and Puducherry 1060 fresh cases of the total of 1504 fresh cases it added IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/puducherry-logs-1-504-fresh-covid-19-cases-in-last-24-hrs-189871.html Thu, 27 Jan 2022 13:23:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/no-guarantee-that-future-covid-variants-will-be-less-severe-who-189910.html Geneva Jan 26 The next Covid19 variant that will rise will be more contagious than Omicron but theres no guarantee that the future strains will be milder the World Health Organization said According to Maria Van Kerkhove WHOs Covid19 technical lead the real question scientists need to answer is whether or not it will be more deadly CNBC reported Last week about 21 million Covid cases were reported to the WHO setting a new global record for weekly cases from the rapidly spreading Omicron variant Van Kerkhove said on Tuesday While Omicron appears to be less virulent than previous strains of the virus the sheer volume of cases is crushing hospital systems in many countries The next variant of concern will be more fit and what we mean by that is it will be more transmissible because it will have to overtake what is currently circulating Van Kerkhove said The big question is whether or not future variants will be more or less severe She warned against buying into theories that the virus will continue to mutate into milder strains that make people less sick than earlier variants the report said There is no guarantee of that We hope that that is the case but there is no guarantee of that and we cant bank on it she said noting that people should heed public safety measures in the meantime You wont have to wear a mask forever and you wont have to physically distance but for now we need to keep doing this Van Kerkhove said Moreover the next variant of Covid may also evade vaccine protections even more making the existing vaccines even less effective According to Dr Mike Ryan WHOs director of emergency programmes the virus will continue to evolve before it settles into a pattern He said it will hopefully settle into a low level of transmission with potentially occasional epidemics It could become more seasonal or may only affect vulnerable groups the report said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/no-guarantee-that-future-covid-variants-will-be-less-severe-who-189910.html Thu, 27 Jan 2022 15:58:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/philippines-logs-15-789-new-covid-cases-189935.html Manila Jan 26 The Department of Health DOH in the Philippines reported 15789 new Covid infections on Wednesday raising the overall number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3475293 The DOH said the number of active cases dropped to 230410 as the countrys positivity rate dipped further to 358 per cent from 372 per cent the previous day Xinhua news agency reported At least 66 more people died from Covid complications pushing the countrys death toll to 53664 The Philippines is ramping up the vaccination of its citizens amid the fastspreading Omicron variant in communities with over 575 million people fully vaccinated since the rollout in March last year The Philippines which has around 110 million population has tested more than 25 million people since the disease emerged The country reported the highest singleday tally on January 15 with 39004 new cases IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/philippines-logs-15-789-new-covid-cases-189935.html Thu, 27 Jan 2022 16:54:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/bulgaria-sets-new-daily-record-of-12-399-covid-cases-189943.html Sofia Jan 26 Bulgaria reported a record number of 12399 new Covid cases over the past 24 hours taking the national tally to 903676 so far the countrys health ministry said on Wednesday The previous daily record of 11181 new cases was reported on January 19 Xinhua news agency reported Meanwhile 73 more Covid related deaths and 2688 more recoveries were recorded in the last 24 hours bringing the national tally to 32869 and 653678 respectively The number of active Covid cases in Bulgaria surged to 217129 a record high since the onset of the pandemic and more than double since January 2 when the first Omicron cases was confirmed in the country At the same time despite official efforts to persuade people to get vaccinated against Covid only 10667 doses were administered in the last 24 hours taking the total number of administered vaccines to 411 million According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control only 287 per cent of Bulgarias population has been fully vaccinated ranking last in the European Union IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/bulgaria-sets-new-daily-record-of-12-399-covid-cases-189943.html Thu, 27 Jan 2022 17:04:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-launches-brain-health-initiative-to-help-people-beat-covid-stress-189705.html Bengaluru Jan 26 Karnataka has launched Brain Health Initiative a firstofitskind in the country undertaken by NIMHANS in association with NITI Aayog in the state Under this programme the doctors will be trained in screening and treating mental health patients The initiative is being rolled out in Bengaluru Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts on pilot basis Ever since the beginning of the pandemic our government has been helping people to cope with mental health issues in association with NIMHANS We have conducted thousands of mental health counselling sessions with Covid infected persons and their family members Since mental health has a bearing on physical health and overall wellness of the individual we need to ensure that everyone is aware about mental health issues and NIMHANS is doing a very good job in taking mental healthcare to the people Under this Brain Health Initiative even general physicians will be trained on mental healthcare Minister for Health K Sudhakar said There is a need to even screen newborn babies for mental health issues Due to various socioeconomic factors genetic and family issues many people suffer from mental health issues This will have an impact on their day to day lives and quality of life Therefore there is a need of more doctors trained in mental healthcare he said Sudhakar insisted that the programme organisers should focus on implementation and deliver good results so that the programme can get more budgetary allocation in future Other than Bengaluru the Covid positivity rate has been less in other districts It was about 22 per cent last week which has now increased to 32 per cent About 5230 infected persons are hospitalised including 3442 in government and 1788 in private hospitals Only about 2 per cent infected persons out of 362 lakh active cases are hospitalised which indicates that the severity of infection is not as high as it was during the second wave It is generally seen that people are recovering within 56 days so there is no need to panic However the people must not let their guard down cautioned the minister The third wave is expected to recede by February second or third week as per ICMR We have covered 100 per cent in the first dose and 84 per cent in second dose which has contributed a lot in reducing severity and hospitalisation said Sudhakar Our health department is coming up with a vision document The vision document lays down a comprehensive roadmap for overhaul of public health care at all three levels primary secondary and tertiary There are about 30 senior experts from various disciplines who are working on this report and about 750 experts have contributed to this over the last one year CM Basavaraj Bommai will complete six months in office on January 28th and CM will release the vision document on this occasion he stated People naturally have big expectations from their budgets We are in an unprecedented situation where we have to categorise the entire economy into precovid and postcovid periods I am confident that both Union and State Budgets will be peoplefriendly and will provide necessary stimulus for overall development IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-launches-brain-health-initiative-to-help-people-beat-covid-stress-189705.html Wed, 26 Jan 2022 20:18:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/at-285-lakh-india-sees-marginal-rise-in-covid-cases-189759.html New Delhi Jan 26 India on Wednesday witnessed a marginal rise in Covid19 cases with 285914 Covid19 infections reported in the past 24 hours as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare In the same time span 665 fatalities pushed the death toll in the country to 491127 Meanwhile the active caseload has jumped to 2223018 which constitute 555 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 299073 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 37370971 Consequently the recovery rate stands at 9323 per cent Also in the same period a total of 1769745 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7205 crore cumulative tests The weekly positivity rate has climbed to 1733 per cent along with daily positivity rate which stands at 1616 per cent With the administration of over 59 lakhs vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 16358 crore as of this morning More than 1360 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs according to the ministry IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/at-285-lakh-india-sees-marginal-rise-in-covid-cases-189759.html Wed, 26 Jan 2022 23:59:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/gujarat-reports-28-covid-deaths-16-608-new-cases-189587.html Gandhinagar Jan 26 Gujarat on Tuesday reported 28 Covid19 related deaths The number of deaths are constantly on the rise in the state and within a week the coronavirus has claimed 128 lives Meanwhile the state also reported 16608 new Covid19 cases taking total number of cases to 1062546 Ahmedabad reported maximum 10 deaths on Tuesday followed by Surat 5 Jamnagar 4 Vadodara 2 and one death each reported in Mehsana Navsari Kheda Panchmahals Bhavnagar Devbhoomi Dwarka and Botad In terms of cases Ahmedabad remained on top with 5386 followed by Vadodara 3802 Rajkot 1649 Surat 1476 Gandhinagar 480 Jamnagar 446 Bhavnagar 315 Mehsana 277 Bharuch 273 Morbi 254 Kutch 244 Valsad 238 Patan 196 Banaskantha 172 Sabarkantha 159 Anand 156 Navsari 154 Amreli 151 Junagadh 149 Kheda 136 Surendranagar 124 While districts with new cases in double digits includes Panchmahal 98 Tapi 77 Dahod 41 Gir Somnath 38 Porbandar 27 Devbhumi Dwarka 22 Mahisagar 16 Narmada 13 Dangs 10 Aravalli reported nine new positive cases A total of 17467 patients were discharged on Tuesday taking the total recovered till now to 948405 There are 134261 active cases out of which the condition of 134006 is stable whereas 255 critical patients are still on ventilator Over 243 lakh doses of Covid vaccines were administered on Tuesday taking the states vaccination tally to 967 crore IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/gujarat-reports-28-covid-deaths-16-608-new-cases-189587.html Wed, 26 Jan 2022 09:23:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-3579-mn-189673.html Washington Jan 26 Amid an ongoing resurgence across the world the global coronavirus caseload has topped 3579 million while the deaths have surged to more than 561 million and vaccinations to over 985 billion according to Johns Hopkins University In its latest update on Wednesday morning the Universitys Center for Systems Science and Engineering CSSE revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 357963895 and 5614043 respectively while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 9850294423 The US continues to be the worsthit country with the worlds highest number of cases and deaths at 72171208 and 871937 according to the CSSE The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India 39799202 infections and 490462 deaths followed by Brazil 24342322 infections and 624129 deaths The other countries with over 5 million cases are France 17420531 the UK 16158212 Turkey 11090493 Russia 11055246 Italy 10212621 Spain 9395767 Germany 8956528 Argentina 8041520 Iran 6267559 and Colombia 5780910 the CSSE figures showed The nations with a death toll of over 100000 are Russia 320844 Mexico 303301 Peru 204404 the UK 154873 Indonesia 144247 Italy 144343 Colombia 132737 Iran 132274 France 130483 Argentina 119703 Germany 117006 Ukraine 106047 and Poland 104097 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/global-covid-caseload-tops-3579-mn-189673.html Wed, 26 Jan 2022 16:58:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/skoreas-daily-covid-cases-hit-record-high-at-13-012-189679.html Seoul Jan 26 South Koreas daily number of new Covid19 cases has hit a new record high due to the spread of the Omicron variant of the virus the health authorities said Wednesday According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency KDCA the country reported 13012 more Covid cases for the past 24 hours raising the total number of infections to 762983 The daily caseload was up from 8571 in the previous day topping 10000 for the first time here since the countrys first case was found in January 2020 Xinhua news agency reported The recent resurgence was attributable to cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area amid the spread of the Omicron variant which the health authorities said has become a dominant strain here Of the new cases 3110 were Seoul residents The number of newly infected people living in Gyeonggi province and the western port city of Incheon was 4184 and 860 respectively The virus also raged in the nonmetropolitan region The number of new infections in the noncapital areas was 4589 or 360 per cent of the total local transmissions Among the newly reported Covid cases 269 were imported from overseas lifting the total number for this category to 24234 The number of infected people who were in a serious condition was 385 down by seven from the previous day As many as 32 more deaths were confirmed from the pandemic bringing the total death toll to 6620 The total fatality rate was 087 per cent The Asian country has administered Covid vaccines to 44594919 people or 869 per cent of the total population and the number of fully vaccinated people was 43878415 or 855 per cent of the population The number of those who received booster jabs was 25787293 or 503 per cent of the population IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/skoreas-daily-covid-cases-hit-record-high-at-13-012-189679.html Wed, 26 Jan 2022 17:42:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/malaysia-reports-4-066-new-covid-cases-16-more-deaths-189689.html Kuala Lumpur Jan 26 Malaysia reported 4066 new Covid19 infections in the last 24 hours bringing the national total to 2840225 according to the health ministry There are 442 new imported cases with 3624 being local transmissions data released on the ministrys website showed A further 16 deaths have been reported bringing the death toll to 31918 Xinhua news agency reported The ministry reported 3559 more recoveries bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 2762608 There are 45699 active cases 131 are being held in intensive care units and 65 of those are in need of assisted breathing The country administered a total of 213226 doses of the Covid vaccine on Tuesday and 798 per cent of the population have received at least one dose while 787 per cent are fully vaccinated and 34 per cent have received boosters IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/malaysia-reports-4-066-new-covid-cases-16-more-deaths-189689.html Wed, 26 Jan 2022 18:41:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/indias-covid-cases-fall-to-255l-positivity-rate-dips-to-155-189441.html New Delhi Jan 25 After reporting over three lakh new cases for five days in a row India reported 255874 fresh Covid infections in a span of 24 hours and the daily positivity rate came down to 1552 per cent said the Union health ministry on Tuesday morning A total of 614 new deaths were also recorded in the span of 24 hours taking the toll to 490462 The active caseload has jumped to 2236842 which constitute 562 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 267753 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 37071898 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9315 per cent Also in the same period a total of 1649108 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7188 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate has climbed to 1717 per cent while daily positivity rate has come down to 1552 per cent With the administration of over 62 lakhs vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 16292 crore as of Tuesday morning More than 1342 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs to be administered according to the health ministry as of Tuesday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/indias-covid-cases-fall-to-255l-positivity-rate-dips-to-155-189441.html Tue, 25 Jan 2022 18:16:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pfizer-cornoavac-vax-linked-to-heart-inflammation-risk-in-adolescents-189521.html Hong Kong Jan 25 Despite low absolute risk there is an increased relative risk of carditis a type of heart inflammation associated with Covid vaccine developed by US drugmaker Pfizer and Chinas CoronaVac researchers have found The findings published in Annals of Internal Medicine show a significant increased risk in adolescents after the second dose Patients who received Pfizer were three times more likely to experience carditis than unvaccinated patients On the other hand patients who received CoronaVac had a similar chance as unvaccinated patients to experience carditis Researchers from the University of Hong Kong also observed that risk increase associated with Pfizers Covid vaccine was predominant in males and was more likely to be seen after the second dose The vaccination strategies may need to continuously consider the risks and benefits for different subpopulations rather than taking a aonesizefitsall approach they suggested Carditis is a rare inflammation of the heart often caused by bacterial viral and parasitic infections Common subtypes of carditis include myocarditis an inflammation of the heart muscle and pericarditis an inflammation of the outer lining of the heart Case reports of carditis after PfizerA vaccine vaccination have accrued globally The team studied 160 case patients with carditis and 1533 control patients without carditis to examine the potential risk of carditis associated with vaccination with Pfizer vaccine or CoronaVac After conducting analyses the team found 20 cases of carditis associated with Pfizer and seven associated with CoronaVac vaccination Cumulative incidence of carditis after vaccination was 057 per 100000 doses of Pfizer and 031 per 100000 doses of CoronaVac demonstrating a very low absolute risk of carditis after vaccination However none of the 20 case patients with carditis after Pfizer vaccination were admitted to the ICU or died within the observation period compared with 14 of 133 unvaccinated patients admitted to the ICU and 12 deaths the researchers said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/pfizer-cornoavac-vax-linked-to-heart-inflammation-risk-in-adolescents-189521.html Tue, 25 Jan 2022 23:57:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/coimbatore-turns-tns-covid-hotspot-189427.html Chennai Jan 25 The industrial and commercial city of Tamil Nadu Coimbatore is turning into the states Covid hotspot as the positivity rate has increased to 266 per cent In a statement on Monday Coimbatore District Collector GS Sameeran called upon the people to strictly follow Covid appropriate behaviour to prevent the spread of the infection Sameeran also urged those who have not taken the vaccination and irected those who are eligible for the second dose of vaccine to take the jab at the earliest He said that vaccination facilities are available round the clock at the ESI Hospital Coimbatore Medical College Hospital and other taluk level hospitals The District Collector also said that Greater Chennai Corporation GCC had witnessed a surge much before Coimbatore and now the Covid cases are coming down in GCC The industrial areas of Coimbatore including Sullur and Pollachi have been temporarily closed down due to the surge in Covid19 cases as well as the formation of clusters Coimbatore is the business town of Tamil Nadu with several industries including machine tools spare parts textiles and other industries and business establishments thrive in the city People from Tamil Nadu and Kerala throng the city for purchase purposes and hence the government has called for a strict vigil to prevent further spread of the disease IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/coimbatore-turns-tns-covid-hotspot-189427.html Tue, 25 Jan 2022 17:38:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/amid-rising-covid-cases-anti-vaccine-protesters-rally-in-meghalaya-188936.html Shillong Jan 23 Amid the surge of Covid19 cases in Meghalaya antivaccination protesters organised a rally in the capital city Shillong against the alleged mandatory inoculation drive by the state government Organised by the NGO Awaken India Movement AIM the antivaccination protesters took out a protest march from Motphran to Khyndailad strongly opposing the compulsory vaccination by the health department AIM Chairman Banshai Marbaniang who led the protest march said that people are protesting the mandatory vaccination by the state government against their fundamental rights of taking the vaccine jab of their choice The protesters are also against the compulsory wearing of face mask and testing of their samples The authorities are forcing and harassing the nonvaccinated people to test their samples every 10 days The AIM would hold protest marches on the matter in other parts of the state Marbaniang told the media According to reports of the National Health Mission Meghalaya the state on Saturday recorded the highest ever singleday spike of 406 new Covid positive cases pushing the number of active cases to 2002 with one death due to the infection raising the total number of casualties to 1496 Aman War Meghalaya Director of Health Services said that East Khasi Hills in which the state capital Shillong falls the most coronavirushit district registered 304 fresh cases on Saturday with the district currently having 1377 active cases with 1018 people succumbed to the contagious disease Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong while talking to the media said that the state government is not considering imposing lockdown in the state following the sudden rise of new Covid19 cases The state government would review the situation arising out of sudden spurts of Covid cases and in view of the positive cases of Omicron variant found in the hill state and in the neighbouring states Tynsong added IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/amid-rising-covid-cases-anti-vaccine-protesters-rally-in-meghalaya-188936.html Sun, 23 Jan 2022 14:14:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/west-bengal-govt-disburses-covid-relief-in-record-time-188984.html By Saibal Gupta Kolkata Jan 23 Few days before the Supreme Court pulled up several states for discrepancies in Covid death record and low disbursement of compensation West Bengal recorded more than 80 per cent disbursement of compensation of the 91 per cent claims received by the state According to available data the state has received as many as 18554 Covid death compensation claims or 91 per cent of the total recorded deaths of 20231 and honoured nearly 80 per cent of those spending nearly Rs 75 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund even as claims from Kolkata which has had the highest share of Covid deaths hovered around the 40 per centmark The data also shows that two other districts that recorded the highest deaths after Kolkata South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas made more than 90 per cent claims of which most have been disbursed According to senior officials of the state disaster management department North 24 Parganas recorded 5130 Covid deaths of which 4600 families made the claims and 4560 families received the compensation On the other hand in South 24 Parganas 1340 families made their claims of the total 1435 recorded deaths and all of them have received the compensation Instructions had been given to clear all claims as early as possible We have got a fund of Rs 100 crore from the state disaster management authority for paying compensations and if needed we will ask for more Till Tuesday we released Rs 744 crore as compensation a senior official of the state disaster management department said On Wednesday the Supreme Court came down heavily on some states for their insensitivity over not taking proactive steps to compensate the Covid victims and asked the authorities to reach out to the families without waiting for them to file claims The division bench of Justices MR Shah and Sanjeev Khanna expressed extreme displeasure at the relatively low disbursal numbers in most states The top court also directed the state governments not to reject any claims for exgratia payment for Covid19 deaths on technical grounds The court had in June last year asked the National Disaster Management Authority NDMA to consider fixing the exgratia amount The NDMA recommended payment of Rs 50000 compensation to be paid from the State Disaster Relief Fund to the next of kin of the deceased The data available with the states is shocking After Maharashtra recorded 141737 deaths there were as many as 213890 claims of which 92275 were disbursed The situation in Gujarat Telangana and Tamil Nadu is even more disturbing When in Gujarat the recorded number of deaths was 10094 there were 89633 claims of which compensation was given to 58840 families Similarly in Telangana when the number of deaths was 3993 there were 28969 claims of which compensation was given to 12148 families In Tamil Nadu 36825 deaths were recorded but claims came from 57141 families of which 41131 were disbursed The court had also pointed out discrepancies in the data submitted by some states like Andhra Pradesh and Bihar In Andhra Pradesh of the 36205 applications for claims the state paid only 11464 The official death count was 14471 According to data submitted by Bihar the state recorded 12090 deaths received 11095 claims and paid compensation to 9821 people We are not ready to believe that only 12000 persons died in Bihar What is the actual figure the bench asked IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/west-bengal-govt-disburses-covid-relief-in-record-time-188984.html Sun, 23 Jan 2022 17:30:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/1429l-people-inoculated-in-tns-19th-mega-vax-drive-189053.html Chennai Jan 23 The Tamil Nadu public health department has inoculated 1429736 people as part of the 19th mega vaccine drive conducted across the state The drive was conducted on Saturday The health department officials said that a majority of those who were inoculated had come for their second doses The health and family welfare department in a statement on Saturday said that 1027810 people took the second dose of vaccine 368797 took their first dose and 33129 took the booster dose The state health minister Ma Subramanian while speaking to IANS said The state health department has vaccinated more than 14 lakh people and I appeal to the people of the state who are yet to be vaccinated to do it immediately The state minister said that 896 per cent of the eligible population have taken their first dose of the vaccine while 668 per cent have taken their second dose of the vaccine Ma Subramanian said that out of the 556 lakh people eligible for the booster dose of vaccine only 184 lakh have taken them till Friday He also said that while the Covid19 cases were increasing in large numbers in the state it was less compared to the figures in Kerala Karnataka and Maharashtra The minister also said that the case fatality rate was less in Tamil Nadu and added that those who were dying due to Covid19 were those who were not vaccinated He urged the people of the state to take vaccination with immediate effect IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/1429l-people-inoculated-in-tns-19th-mega-vax-drive-189053.html Sun, 23 Jan 2022 22:33:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-records-333-lakh-fresh-covid-cases-525-deaths-189062.html New Delhi Jan 23 India reported 333533 fresh Covid cases and 525 deaths in the last 24 hours said the Union ministry of health and family welfare on Sunday With the addition of new deaths the toll has reached 489409 The active caseload has jumped at 2187205 which constitute 557 per cent of the countrys total positive cases The recovery of 259168 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 36560650 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9318 per cent Also in the same period a total of 1875533 tests were conducted across the country India has so far conducted over 7155 crore cumulative tests Meanwhile the weekly positivity rate has climbed to 1687 per cent while daily positivity rate stands at 1778 per cent With the administration of over 71 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid inoculation coverage has reached 16192 crore as of Sunday morning More than 1332 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs to be administered according to the health ministry as of Sunday morning IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/india-records-333-lakh-fresh-covid-cases-525-deaths-189062.html Sun, 23 Jan 2022 23:41:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/why-are-people-with-covid-symptoms-not-going-for-tests-188838.html London Jan 21 Mild symptoms poor knowledge of nearby testing sites and certain demographic factors have been identified as barriers to Covid19 testing claims a new study According to a new study of more than 4 million adults in the UK published in the journal PLOS Global Public Health these findings have international public health implications too Knowing when and where to get a test is crucial to curbing Covid19 transmission yet one in four people with the UK testqualifying symptoms of fever cough or loss of smell did not get tested said the authors including Christina M Astley of Boston Childrens Hospital US and colleagues from Kings College London Over a third of these individuals did not recognise the three symptoms that would qualify them for a test and about a third of those who wanted testing did not know where to go indicating that more effective education is needed to close the testing gap they added Testing is a crucial component of the Covid19 public health response even as countries roll out vaccination campaigns In the UK free PCR Covid19 tests are offered to people with any of three symptoms a high temperature a new continuous cough or a change in their sense of smell or taste However more than a quarter of people in the UK reporting these symptoms dont get tested In the new study the team analysed data on 43 million people enrolled in the UK Zoe Covid Symptom Study who use a smartphone app to selfreport Covid symptoms and test results They sent followup surveys at the end of 2020 to nearly 5000 people who reported Covid19 symptoms but no test The researchers also studied more than 700000 responses received between April 2020 and February 2021 from UK participants of the University of Maryland Global Covid19 Trends and Impact Survey UMDCTIS an ongoing survey partially carried out on Facebook The proportion of Zoe participants reporting Covid19 testing among those reporting symptoms has increased over time the study found from less than 20 per cent in April 2020 to more than 70 per cent in January 2021 The odds of a symptomatic person not testing were higher for those with just one symptom compared to more symptoms 271 per cent versus 146 per cent and for those with symptoms lasting two or fewer days compared to those with longerlasting symptoms 301 per cent vs 146 per cent IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/why-are-people-with-covid-symptoms-not-going-for-tests-188838.html Sun, 23 Jan 2022 04:03:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-tpr-in-kerala-crosses-43-per-cent-with-41-668-new-cases-188842.html Thiruvananthapuram Jan 21 For the second day in succession the daily new Covid cases in Kerala crossed the 40000 mark and the test positivity rate reached an alltime high of 4376 per cent Health Minister Veena George said in a statement However while on Thursday 46387 people turned positive on Friday it was 41668 The state capital district and Ernakulum had over 7000 new cases At present there are 223548 active cases but of this only 3 per cent are in hospitals The day saw 33 Covid deaths taking the total death toll to 51607 There were 17053 recoveries On the vaccination front 100 per cent 267 crore have had one dose of which 83 per cent 221 crore have taken both the doses Among those aged 15 to 18 years 63 per cent 960 lakh have been given one dose IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-tpr-in-kerala-crosses-43-per-cent-with-41-668-new-cases-188842.html Sun, 23 Jan 2022 04:38:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/telangana-logs-4-416-covid-cases-188857.html Hyderabad Jan 21 Telangana logged 4416 new Covid cases on Friday an increase of about five per cent over the previous day For a fourth consecutive day health authorities tested over one lakh samples According to the Director of Public Health and Family Welfare 120243 samples were tested during the 24hour period The states positivity rate remained low at 367 per cent The 24hour period ending 530 pm Friday saw two deaths taking the cumulative toll to 4069 The state capital and surrounding districts continued to account for the majority of the cases Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation GHMC reported 1670 new infections The daily count also spiked to 417 in Medchal Malkajgiri but dropped to 301 in Rangareddy from 336 on Thursday Hanamkonda reported 178 and Khammam 117 new cases The tally remained in double digits in the remaining 28 districts The number of active cases in the state rose to 29127 Officials said 1920 people recovered in the 24hour period The recovery rate has now dropped to 9543 per cent In view of the increasing number of Covid cases the health authorities on Friday launched a fever survey across the state Healthcare workers are going door to door to identify those who have symptoms of Covid Those who tested positive for Covid and are symptomatic are being given home isolation kits The government has prepared one crore such kits which will be distributed free of cost Each kit contains seven medicines Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar visited Hilltop colony in Khairatabad and took stock of the door to door fever survey He said a multi disciplinary team comprising AshaANMmunicipalpanchayat staff is visiting every colony and conducting the survey with a primary objective of identifying individuals with Covid19 symptomsA All the symptomatic persons are being supplied medicine kits and also being isolated immediately so as to break the transmission chains As part of the fever survey the officials are also vaccinating all those left over persons including those who are immobile These people are being vaccinated at their door step The Chief Secretary stated that the government had earlier done fever surveys twice and the success of door to door survey in the earlier phases has encouraged them to launch a similar drive this time as well He informed that daily more than one lakh tests are being conducted and one crore medical kits are readily available with the government Referring to availability of beds he said that more than 56000 beds both in public and private hospitals are equipped with oxygen facilities He appealed to the public to participate in the door to door survey and cooperate with the government IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/telangana-logs-4-416-covid-cases-188857.html Sun, 23 Jan 2022 06:37:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-reports-marginal-decline-in-covid-cases-positivity-rate-1804-188875.html New Delhi Jan 21 Delhi on Friday reported a marginal decline in fresh Covid infection with 10756 cases in last 24 hours while there were 38 deaths against 43 the previous day Meanwhile the positivity rate has come down to 1804 per cent with active cases declining to 61954 as per the Health Department The fresh cases and deaths have taken the tally to 1771028 and the death toll to 25541 With a 9405 per cent Covid recovery rate the active Covid cases rate in Delhi stands at 349 per cent while the death rate is at 144 per cent With 17494 patients recovering in the last 24 hours the total number of recoveries has gone to 1683533 A total of 48357 Covid patients are being treated in home isolation at present However the number of Covid containment zones has risen to 42239 in the city Meanwhile a total of 59629 new tests 44966 RTPCR and 14633 Rapid Antigen were conducted in the last 24 hours taking the total to 34331522 Out of 91869 vaccines administered in the last 24 hours 45386 were first doses and 32638 second doses Meanwhile 13845 precautionary doses were also administered in last 24 hrs The total number of cumulative beneficiaries vaccinated so far stands at 29026901 according to the health bulletin IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-reports-marginal-decline-in-covid-cases-positivity-rate-1804-188875.html Sun, 23 Jan 2022 09:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/andhras-covid-positivity-rate-climbs-to-30-188876.html Amaravati Jan 21 The daily Covid19 positivity rate in Andhra Pradesh climbed to nearly 30 per cent on Friday Thursday while active cases surged to over 64000 The state reported 13212 cases and five deaths during 24hour period ending on 10 am Friday Visakhapatnam district accounted for three deaths while Chittoor and Nellore reported a death each The cumulative death toll mounted to 14532 Authorities conducted 44516 Covid tests during the 24hour period The daily positivity rate jumped to 2967 per cent from 2660 per cent the previous day According to the state command control room the number of active cases surged to 64136 from 53871 on Thursday Visakhapatnam district has highest number of active cases at 13020 followed by Chittoor 10446 and Guntur 5284 Visakhapatnam district reported the highest number of cases at 2244 followed by Chittoor 1585 Anantapur 1235 Srikakulam 1230 Guntur 1054 Nellore 1051 and Kurnool 961 The 24hour period also saw 2942 people recovering from the virus taking the total recoveries to 2074600 The number of daily Covid tests has been rising sharply for the last four days after the Sankranti festival Health authorities had already warned that Covid cases may increase sharply after Sankranti as the festival season sees huge movement of people The night curfew imposed as part of the measures taken by the state government to curb the spread came into force across the state from Tuesday Meanwhile the state Cabinet on Friday reviewed the Covid situation in the wake of the third wave The meeting discussed measures taken for containing the spread and vaccinations to ensure zero deaths IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/andhras-covid-positivity-rate-climbs-to-30-188876.html Sun, 23 Jan 2022 09:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-cases-spiral-continues-in-jk-weekend-lockdown-ordered-188883.html Jammu Jan 21 The Covid infections upward spiral continued in JK on Friday with 5720 new cases and five deaths were reported during the last 24 hours Keeping the alarming rise in new cases in mind the administration has announced weekend lockdown in JK beginning at 2 pm on Friday and ending at 9 am on Monday An official bulletin said there were 1890 new cases in the Jammu division and 3830 in Kashmir division while 1877 recovered 819 in the Jammu division and 1058 in the Kashmir division So far 384381 people have been infected with coronavirus out of which 344908 have recovered while 4591 have succumbed The total number of active cases is 34882 out of which 11602 are from the Jammu division and 23280 from the Kashmir division Meanwhile 39460 doses of vaccine were administered during the last 24 hours while 82903 tests were conducted IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/covid-cases-spiral-continues-in-jk-weekend-lockdown-ordered-188883.html Sun, 23 Jan 2022 09:50:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/no-data-leaked-from-co-win-portal-clarifies-health-ministry-188908.html New Delhi Jan 21 The Union Health Ministry on Friday clarified that no data has leaked from its CoWIN portal soon after reports emerged that personal data of thousands of Indians got leaked from a government server It is clarified that no data has leaked from the CoWIN portal and the entire data of residents is safe and secure on this digital platform the Health Ministry said in a statement The ministry said that it will look into the substance of the reports as prima facia it doesnt seem correct It is also clarified that while the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will enquire into the substance of the news prima facie the assertion is not correct as CoWIN collects neither the address of the person nor the RTPCR test results for Covid19 vaccination said the ministry It also tweeted We are getting the matter examined However prima facie it appears that the alleged leak is not related to CoWIN as we neither collect any information on address or the Covid19 status of beneficiaries Earlier in the day cyber security researcher Rajshekhar Rajaharia Rajaharia had said in a tweet PII including Name MOB PAN Address etc of Covid19 RTPCR results Cowin data getting public through a Govt CDN Google indexed almost 9 Lac publicprivate GovtDocuments in search engines Patients data is now listed on DarkWeb Need fast deindex In another tweet he said I am not reporting any Vulnerability here I am asking people to Beware for any Fraud callsofferstreatment etc related to prepost Covid19 The data is already up for sale on a DarkWeb Forum IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/no-data-leaked-from-co-win-portal-clarifies-health-ministry-188908.html Sun, 23 Jan 2022 11:40:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/meghalaya-cm-test-positive-for-covid-19-188926.html Shillong Jan 21 Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma tested positive for Covid19 on Friday a day after he and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on the interstate border disputes Sangma who has tested positive for the second time urged people who have come in contact with him to isolate themselves and get tested if necessary I have tested positive for Covid19 I am isolating myself for the required time I have mild symptoms All those who came into contact with me in the last few days are requested to observe their symptoms and test if necessary he tweeted The Chief Minister also did not attend the 50th Statehood function at Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex on Friday as he kept in isolation after he started developing symptoms of a cold Sangma who is also the President of the ruling National Peoples Party NPP also earlier took part in various meetings and campaigns in pollbound Manipur IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/meghalaya-cm-test-positive-for-covid-19-188926.html Sun, 23 Jan 2022 12:44:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/omicron-may-cut-future-severity-protect-against-delta-safrican-study-188681.html New Delhi Jan 21 A new research on Omicroninfected patients suggests that the current Covid wave driven by the new strain appears to cause less severe illness and even provide protection against the deadlier Delta variant South Africabased researchers found that those who previously caught the Delta variant could contract Omicron while those who get the Omicron strain couldnt be infected with Delta particularly if they have been vaccinated Hopefully all this means Delta is on its way out as Omicron may shut the door on Delta reinfections provided enough people vaccinate The unvaccinated lose out on the extra Omicron protection and dont gain a boost to Delta said Alex Sigal of the Africa Health Research Institute We have an update to our study which found enhancement of Delta immunity with Omicron infection he posted in a tweet Yet to be peerreviewed the updated study used samples from 23 people who were infected with Omicron strain in November and December in South Africa The researchers led by Sigal investigated whether neutralising immunity elicited by Omicron infection would also neutralise the Delta variant and the role of prior vaccination Some participants were unvaccinated while others were breakthrough cases vaccinated with Pfizer or Johnson and Johnson vaccines In vaccinated participants neutralisation of Omicron increased 137fold over baseline This compared to a 44fold increase in unvaccinated individuals Over the same period Delta virus neutralisation was enhanced 66fold in vaccinated but only 25fold in unvaccinated participants Moreover vaccinated participants were able to mount a stronger neutralisation response against Delta relative to Omicron virus This was not the case in unvaccinated individuals some of whom continued to show low Delta neutralisation the researchers wrote According to the study higher Omicron neutralisation in vaccinated individuals may enable a more effective immune response to Omicron while enhancement of Delta neutralisation should lead to lower Delta reinfections Given emerging data indicating Omicron is less pathogenic than Delta such an outcome may have implications in terms of decreasing Covid19 severe disease the researchers noted Citing this study World Health Organization WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said Omicron gave protection against Delta in people who were vaccinated Omicron infection after vaccination increases immunity against Delta also But in unvaccinated people it doesnt generate immunity against other variants So infection is not a substitute for vaccination as some are suggesting she tweeted These results are consistent with Omicron displacing the Delta variant since Omicron can elicit immunity which neutralises Delta In contrast we have observed in this study and others haveApreviously shown that Omicron escapes neutralising immunity elicited by Delta infection This indicates that Omicron can reinfect Delta infected individuals but not viceversa giving Omicron an advantage over Delta the researchers argued The implications of such displacement would depend on whether Omicron is indeed less pathogenic than Delta If so then the incidence of Covid19 severe disease would be reduced and the infection may shift to become less disruptive to individuals and society they noted IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/omicron-may-cut-future-severity-protect-against-delta-safrican-study-188681.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 14:47:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/moderna-vax-may-lead-to-fewer-breakthrough-covid-infections-than-pfizer-188696.html New York Jan 21 Those who have received the Moderna Covid19 mRNA vaccine are less likely to experience breakthrough Covid19 cases compared to recipients of the PfizerBioNTech mRNA vaccine finds a new study The research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association also found those who received the Moderna vaccine were less likely to be hospitalised compared to recipients of the PfizerBioNTech vaccine Breakthrough Covid infections hospitalisation and mortality associated with the Delta variant were compared between recipients of Moderna mRNA vaccine and recipients of Pfizer mRNA vaccine while considering patient characteristics and the varying time since vaccination said researcher Rong Xu from Case Western Reserve University A vaccine breakthrough infection occurs when a person becomes infected after being fully vaccinated receiving two doses of the mRNA vaccine according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US For the study which examined breakthrough SARSCoV2 infections hospitalisations and death rates when the Delta variant was predominant the team analysed electronic health records of more than 637000 fully vaccinated patients Incidents of breakthrough infections were included if the person had not been previously infected with Covid19 or had received a booster vaccination The findings showed that the monthly incidence rate of breakthrough cases was higher in those who received the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine compared to the Moderna vaccine No significant difference was observed in mortality rates between those who received the Moderna vaccine and Pfizer BioNTech vaccine IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/moderna-vax-may-lead-to-fewer-breakthrough-covid-infections-than-pfizer-188696.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 15:36:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/maintain-status-quo-lt-gov-rejects-move-to-lift-delhi-curbs-188698.html New Delhi Jan 21 Delhi Lit Governor Anil Baijal on Friday rejected Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals proposal to lift the weekend curfew and curbs on operations of markets amidst the dip in Covid19 positivity rate As per sources Baijal has asked the government to maintain status quo until the Covid19 situation is completely under control Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday wrote to Baijal seeking withdrawal of the weekend curfew and an oddeven system of opening of shops as the positivity rate registered a dip in the national capital The weekend curfew in the national capital came into force from January 7 onwards as 17335 fresh Covid cases were reported in the city the highest in the last eight months with the positivity rate increasing to a sharp 1773 per cent The curfew announced by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA depend on the severity of the infection rate which is decided under the Graded Action Response Plan GARP under which it is decided as to which activities would be allowed under what circumstances in case of a surge in Covid ases There are four levels of alerts yellow amber orange and red Delhi has been under level 1 restrictions under the yellow alert since December 28 2021 Delhis singleday cases of coronavirus disease Covid19 witnessed a dip on Thursday after 12306 people tested positive according to the health bulletin The case positivity rate of the national capital also reduced to 2148 per cent from 2386 per cent on the preceding day IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/maintain-status-quo-lt-gov-rejects-move-to-lift-delhi-curbs-188698.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 15:47:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/congress-bjp-slam-cpi-m-for-massive-spurt-in-covid-cases-in-kerala-health-min-denies-188699.html Thiruvananthapuram Jan 21 The Congress and the BJP on Friday held the ruling CPIM responsible for the alarming spike in the Covid19 cases in the state a charge denied by state Health Minister Veena George With the test positivity rate breaching the 40 per centmark and the state recording the highest ever daily new cases in excess of 46000 on Thursday the two parties said that the CPIMs marathon district party meetings had turned into a superspreader Leader of Opposition VDSatheesan said the since the health department has been taken over by the CPIM leadership they decide everything according to their convenience While it is the test positivity rate which determines the clamping of Covid protocols but unfortunately it has been discarded to hold the the threeday district party meetings at Thrissur and Kasargod which began on Friday For that they have come with a new benchmark of number of hospitalisation due to Covid in hospitals Kasargod has a TPR of 36 while in Thrissur it is 34 said Satheesan He said the recently held Thiruvananthapuram district CPIM meeting turned into a super spreader with around 100 people turning Covid positive Not long ago the Vijayan government had criticised the Congress lawmakers for receiving Keralites at the Palakkad border when the state borders was opened he said Now the same leaders are travelling from one district party meeting to another in violation of all protocols he added On Thursday we saw how the Kasargod district collector withdrew an order she brought out on Covid protocols in a few hours and it was done to ensure the Kasargod district CPIM meeting could continue There is one set of rules for the CPIM and another set for all others said Satheesan It was in the Covid review meeting held on Thursday which decided to redraw guidelines and regroup districts based on the number of hospitalisation on account of Covid into Category AB and C Helth Minister George who met the media here denied all the allegations levelled by the Congress leadership Kerala is passing through the third wave and we adopted different strategies in the first and second wave and this time the experts decided to go on the hospitalisation of patients in hospitals as the yard stick We only apply scientific methods of control and I will not reply to political criticism asserted George and questioned whether the opposition wants the state to come under total lockdown and end all economic activity George further said of the 199 lakh active Covid cases in the state only 3 per cent are at hospitals Likewise just 07 per cent of the total beds with Oxygen support 06 per cent of the ICU beds and 2 per cent of the ventilators at various Medical Colleges are being used by Covid patients now Meanwhile CPIM state secretary who inaugurated the Trissur district party meeting said the party does not decide on Covid protocols as thats done by the government Does it mean that we want our people to turn Covid positive and does it mean that only CPIM people are now turning positive Wish to know which party meeting did film actor Mammootty attend for him to have turned Covid positive Satheesan should simply not level allegations said Balakrishnan Meanwhile around 180 CPIM leaders each are participating in party meetings at Trissur and Kasargod Union Minister of State for External Affairs VMuraleedharan said the CPIM is challenging the people of Kerala by violating all guidelines in Covid rules They should ideally have postponed the remaining district party meetings if they really have any concern for the health and safety of the people It appears through their defiance they have taken the onus to become super spreaders of the virus This is not acceptable at all said Muraleedharan The revised Covid guidelines which came out on Thursday has decided to keep January 23 and 30 both Sundays as a near lockdown with only essential activities IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/congress-bjp-slam-cpi-m-for-massive-spurt-in-covid-cases-in-kerala-health-min-denies-188699.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 15:55:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/over-4-crore-teens-aged-15-18-get-first-vaccine-dose-188702.html New Delhi Jan 21 More than 4 crore adolescents between the 15 to 18 age group have received their first dose of Covid vaccine since the beginning of inoculation drive for them According to the CoWIN portal a total of 40067315 adolescents of this age group have been vaccinated against Covid19 so far However a total 41391852 have registered themselves for the first dose of vaccines on the portal Over 4 crore youngsters between 1518 age group vaccinated against COVID19 in just 19 days Young India is contributing significantly towards further strengthening the nations fight against the pandemic said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in a tweet on Friday As Covid19 cases began to surge in India the nationwide drive to vaccinate teenagers in the age group of 1518 years began on January 3 According to an estimation around 750 crore teens of this age group have to be vaccinated Out of total over 4 crores have been vaccinated so far As of now only Bharat Biotechs indigenouslymade Covaxin is available for vaccinating this age bracket Meanwhile a total of 6948753 precaution doses have also been administered nationwide so far As per the health ministry data by Friday morning the Healthcare Workers have received 2443673 precaution doses while 2278810 precaution doses have been administered among the frontline workers Among the 60plus population 2139443 precaution doses have been administered by Friday morning said the health ministry With the administration of more than 70 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours Indias Covid vaccination coverage has exceeded 16043 crore as per the health ministry report IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/over-4-crore-teens-aged-15-18-get-first-vaccine-dose-188702.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 16:14:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/karnataka-lifts-weekend-curfew-night-curfew-to-continue-188799.html Bengaluru Jan 21 The Karnataka government on Friday announced that it has lifted the weekend curfew in the state but restrictions on night movement will remain The decision was the highlevel committee meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday Briefing reporters Revenue Minister R Ashok stated that the weekend curfew has been lifted in the state as per the recommendation of experts and the relaxation is conditional However the night curfew between 10 pm and 7 am will continue he underlined The hospitalisation rate is five per cent in the state though the number of Covid cases are increasing The Covid numbers are likely to go upwards in the coming days If the rate of hospitalisation is more then the imposition of weekend curfew will be considered he said I appeal to the people not to give any room for that situation The decision has been made considering the demands of organisations opposition parties and mainly on the report of the experts he added Apart from this the 50 per cent rule in pubs theaters malls and commercial establishments would continue as the same and the public will have to cooperate he said The meeting was conducted for more than two hours and experts from NIMHANS WHO and representatives from Home Police Health Education and Irrigation Departments were present and gave their inputs Ashok said The decisions taken by neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Kerala were also discussed in detail he added As many as 293231 Covid active cases are there in the state as per statistics till January 20 Among them 286 lakh people are being treated in home isolation and 5344 persons have been hospitalised 340 are in ICU and 127 are on ventilators The positive rate in the state is 1994 per cent The positivity rate among kids is 8 per cent and among elders is 1657 per cent Chief Minister Bommai has directed to take more care about children who are admitted the minister said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/karnataka-lifts-weekend-curfew-night-curfew-to-continue-188799.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 23:01:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-to-take-call-on-reopening-schools-in-bluru-on-jan-29-188800.html Bengaluru Jan 21 The Karnataka government will take a call on reopening of schools in Bengaluru on January 29 Education Minister BC Nagesh said on Friday after attending a highlevel committee meeting in the city Talking to reporters he said that barring Bengaluru schools will continue to operate across the state We are considering one school as a unit Assistant commissioners district health officers and the tehsildars will take a call on closure of schools in other parts of the state If fewer Covid cases are reported that particular school will be closed for three days if the numbers are more the school will be closed for seven days he explained As far as Bengaluru is concerned since the positivity rate is higher the decision on reopening of schools will be made on January 29 However the positivity rate among children in the age group of 6 to 15 years is less in the state he said Among the 533104 students in the age group of 6 to 15 years tested for Covid19 the positivity rate is 594 per cent Six districts have 9 per cent or more positivity rate and in 13 districts it is less than 5 per cent Bengaluru Urban has a positivity rate of 1412 per cent while it is 884 per cent for Bengaluru Rural he stated IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-to-take-call-on-reopening-schools-in-bluru-on-jan-29-188800.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 23:09:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/cdri-research-on-new-drug-for-covid-188604.html Lucknow Jan 21 Scientists in the Central Drug Research Institute CDRI in Lucknow are trying to develop another drug for Covid treatment without any sideeffects A team led by chief scientist Ravi Shankar is working on two combinations to provide the safest medication to coronavirus patients Experts say that a combination of antivirals with different mechanisms can be more effective to counter the viral pandemic We are working on two combinations Umifenovir with Molnupiravir an antiviral and Umifenovir with Niclosamide antiparasitic he said Molnupiravur drug has received only Emergency Use Authorisation in India and abroad Though its usage showed reduced hospitalisation during clinical trials its biggest drawback are the sideeffects he added Now we are trying to keep a low dosage of Molnupiravir in its combination with Umifenovir which may weed out the sideeffects such as the risk of cartilage and muscle damage If successful it will make Umifenovir more effective in Covid19 treatment said the chief scientist The other combination is Umifenovir with Niclosamide Niclosamide is known for its efficacy for Covid treatment but the biggest challenge is that its high dosage is required for treatment and that leads to sideeffects A safe and efficacious combination of Umifenovir with Niclosamide is being researched on for the exact dosage in the combination that can give positive results he added CDRI director Prof Tapas Kundu said CDRI is working roundtheclock to develop drugs that can help in treating all variants of Covid19 besides being economical and safe for people We have achieved a major breakthrough with Umifenovir and are hopeful of developing a new drug to win the pandemic battle IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/cdri-research-on-new-drug-for-covid-188604.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 08:50:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/up-crosses-24-crore-vaccination-mark-188605.html Lucknow Jan 21 Uttar Pradesh has crossed the 24crore vaccinationmark with 2427 crore doses having been administered till Thursday January 20 The health officials said more than four crore doses have been administered in the 20 days of this year This means that an average of 20 lakh doses were administered every day On the national scale the nearest contender to Uttar Pradesh is Maharashtra where 1452 crore doses have been administered followed by West Bengal 1166 crore Bihar 1087 crore and Madhya Pradesh 1083 crore Among all districts Lucknow tops with 6817 lakh doses while Prayagraj Azamgarh Jaunpur Bareilly Gorakhpur Kanpur Nagar Agra Varanasi and Ghaziabad have also administered over 50 lakh doses Health officials said that 1492 crore people in the state have taken the first dose of the vaccine This includes over 70 lakh adolescents in addition to the 18 plus population The total administered doses also include 650 lakh precaution doses given to health and frontline workers and elderly persons with comorbid conditions The number of fully vaccinated persons is 928 crore Considering the adult population of 1474 crore in mind health officials said that 96 per cent of eligible persons have taken the first dose while 641 per cent are fully vaccinated Terming the achievement as a symbol of solidarity and strength of the most populous state against the pandemic Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has thanked the health workers frontline workers people associated with the administration and every citizen who took the vaccine voluntarily It is noteworthy that over one crore doses were administered in the state in just four days Expressing satisfaction over the successful implementation of rapid vaccination drive in Uttar Pradesh the chief minister has also set a target of ensuring 100 per cent first dose coverage of the adult population in the state by the end of January IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/up-crosses-24-crore-vaccination-mark-188605.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 08:53:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-cm-to-chair-high-level-meeting-to-decide-on-easing-covid-curbs-188614.html Bengaluru Jan 21 Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will chair a highlevel meeting on Friday to take crucial decisions on easing the weekend and night curfews as well as reopening of schools In the last 24 hours 47754 new Covid cases were reported in Karnataka of which Bengaluru logged the highest of 30540 infections However the discharge of 22143 patients in the state 13195 in Bengaluru and the lack of severity of the disease has influenced the decision makers to announce lifting of curbs On January 18 and 19 8353 and 23209 patients were discharged respectively Bommai and state Health Minister Sudhakar K said that propeople decisions would be taken in the meeting and avoiding deaths is their only concern as pressure is mounting on the government from the business community private school managements to ease restrictions The private school managements are demanding reopening of schools in Bengaluru In the rest of the state schools are running and discretion is given to the concerned district commissioners to take calls It has also been advised not to take blanket decisions for the entire district The business community film exhibitors bar pub and hotel owners are also demanding lifting of weekend and night curfew in the state and especially Bengaluru The film exhibitors in Mysuru have taken to protest by cancelling exhibitions demanding 100 per cent seat occupancy along with weekend and night curbs Opposition Congress leaders have also heavily criticised the ruling BJP for clamping restrictions State Congress President DK Shivakumar and Opposition leader Siddaramaiah held the BJP responsible for disrupting the livelihood of people However Revenue Minister R Ashok has maintained that rules cannot be eased for ones convenience and a decision which will serve the whole society has to be made Meanwhile a study by experts suggest that the peak period is nearing while the state government is planning to announce an easing of weekend and night curfews A sources in the government also confirmed that a favorable decision would be made in connection to reopening of schools in Bengaluru IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-cm-to-chair-high-level-meeting-to-decide-on-easing-covid-curbs-188614.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 09:52:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-likely-to-withdraw-few-curbs-as-covid-positivity-rate-dips-188621.html New Delhi Jan 21 The Delhi government is likely to withdraw the weekend curfew and an oddeven system of opening shops as the Covid19 positivity rate in the national capital has registered a dip according to an official However private offices will continue to operate with 50 per cent capacity until further orders the Delhi government official said The weekend curfew in the national capital came into force on January 7 as 17335 fresh Covid cases were reported in the city which was the highest in the last eight months with the positivity rate increasing to a sharp 1773 per cent The curfew announced by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA depend on the severity of the infection rate which is decided under the Graded Action Response Plan GRAP Under GRAP it is decided as to which activities would be allowed under what circumstances in case of a surge in Covid19 cases There are four levels of colourcoded alerts namely yellow amber orange and red Delhi has been under level 1 or yellow alert restrictions since December 28 2021 On Thursday Delhis witnessed a dip in the number of singleday cases after as many as 12306 people tested positive for Covid19 according to the health bulletin data On Wednesday a total of 13785 Covid19 cases were logged in the national capital The cumulative caseload of Delhi currently stands at 1760272 The case positivity rate of the national capital reduced to 2148 per cent on Thursday from 2386 per cent on the preceding day IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-likely-to-withdraw-few-curbs-as-covid-positivity-rate-dips-188621.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 10:24:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/decision-to-be-taken-on-scientific-basis-ktaka-cm-on-lifting-of-weekend-night-curfew-188623.html Bengaluru Jan 21 Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said that the decision on lifting of weekend and night curfew will be taken on a scientific basis A meeting with expert committee members later in the afternoon would decide on the continuation of weekend curfew he said Many legislators MPs and organisations are set to convey their opinion on the issue A suitable decision would be taken based on the views of the experts and the trend of the prevailing third wave of Covid Bommai said We will take into consideration how the third wave has unfolded and its future consequences Its impact on health infrastructure in the coming days to arrive at a decision We will also discuss the action taken so far and the existing situation and decision would be taken on a scientific basis he said The state government is doing its duty in the form of Thrividha Dasoha of providing Anna food Ashraya shelter and Akshara education for the deprived Chief Minister Bommai said Speaking to mediapersons before heading to participate in the Dasoha Dina at Tumakuru Siddaganga Mutt he said Siddaganga Mutt has heralded a culture of Dasoha charity in Karnataka Sri Shivakumara Swamiji has followed the ideals of Basaveshwara in letter and spirit State government has decided to celebrate Dasoha Day in Siddaganga Mutt Our government is treading the path shown by the great seer The rice quota per head has been raised from 4kg to 5kg Ragi and Jowar are also being distributed according to the food habits of the region he said The state government has undertaken Vidya Dasoha educational charity by providing scholarships for children of construction workers and farmers A massive housing project is being implemented About 5 lakh houses are being constructed Bommai said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/decision-to-be-taken-on-scientific-basis-ktaka-cm-on-lifting-of-weekend-night-curfew-188623.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 10:43:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/four-keralites-held-for-providing-fake-rt-pcr-reports-188625.html Chamarajanagar Karnataka Jan 21 Karnataka police have booked four persons from Kerala for providing fake RTPCR reports while entering the state thorough Chamarajanagar district police said on Friday According to police the accused had produced fake Covid reports in Moolehole Checkpost which comes in the jurisdiction Bandipur Tiger Sanctuary bordering Kerala Gundlupet police have filed an FIR against the accused The FIR has been booked against Vijay Jayaprakash Santhosh and Vijayan all residents of Kozhikode in Kerala They have been booked under IPC Sections 465 forgery 468 forgery for the purpose of cheating 471 whoever fraudulently or dishonestly uses any document as genuine which he knows or has a reason to believe it to be forged document 420 cheating 34 criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention According to police the accused had used single SRFID and created negative Covid reports at home They took out the printouts at home and submitted to the same with the Karnataka police at the check post on Tuesday Later the fraud came to light when the documents were verified on Friday following which the FIR has been lodged The government has made negative RTPCR report mandatory for the persons who enter state from Kerala Further investigation is on and police have launched hunt for the accused IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/four-keralites-held-for-providing-fake-rt-pcr-reports-188625.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 10:54:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/who-warns-covid-pandemic-not-over-amid-europe-case-records-188633.html Geneva Jan 21 DirectorGeneral of the World Health Organization WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has issued a warning to world leaders that the Covid19 pandemic is nowhere near over The WHO chief cautioned against the assumption that the newly dominant Omicron variant is significantly milder and has eliminated the threat posed by the virus the BBC reported The intervention comes as some European nations saw record new case numbers Speaking during a news conference at the WHO headquarters in Geneva Tedros told reporters that the Omicron variant had led to 18 million new infections across the world over the past week While the variant may prove to be less severe on average the narrative that it is a mild disease is misleading he said Make no mistake Omicron is causing hospitalisations and deaths and even the less severe cases are inundating health facilities He warned global leaders that with the incredible growth of Omicron globally new variants are likely to emerge which is why tracking and assessment remain critical I remain particularly concerned about many countries that have low vaccination rates as people are many times more at risk of severe illness and death if they are unvaccinated he added The WHOs emergencies director Mike Ryan also warned that Omicrons increased transmissibility is likely to drive a rise in hospitalisations and deaths especially in nations where fewer people are vaccinated An exponential rise in cases regardless of the severity of the individual variants leads to inevitable increase in hospitalisations and deaths he said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/who-warns-covid-pandemic-not-over-amid-europe-case-records-188633.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 11:21:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/vaccination-status-to-be-pasted-in-all-offices-shops-from-feb-1-in-rajasthan-188636.html Jaipur Jan 21 The Rajasthan government has revised its Covid19 guidelines making pasting of vaccination details of staff mandatory in all offfices and shops from February 1 Also it says that in view of the increasing infection of Covid if a person wants to change the booking made earlier for the coming days then the hotel concerned will have to refund or adjust the payment made earlier A maximum 100 people will be allowed to attend the marriage ceremony to be held across the state This number will exclude bandbaaja players in marriages Earlier 50 people were allowed to attend weddings however now the government has given some relief in this matter The Rajasthan government announced this guideline on Thursday night As per the new guideline weekend curfew will be applicable only in urban areas from 1130 pm on Saturday to 5 am on Monday During this all activities other than essential activities will continue to be banned Night curfew will be applicable in the entire state from 11 pm to 5 am By February 1 both doses of the vaccine are mandatory Meanwhile the new guideline will be applicable from January 24 In Rajasthan a new guideline COVID19 Restrictions was issued by the Home Department regarding Corona on Thursday night A total of 14079 cases were registered on Thursday while 13 deaths were registered A total of 80 deaths have been registered in the state since January 4 this year IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/vaccination-status-to-be-pasted-in-all-offices-shops-from-feb-1-in-rajasthan-188636.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 11:29:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-expected-to-record-10-500-covid-19-cases-health-minister-188640.html New Delhi Jan 21 Delhi is expected to record 10500 Covid19 cases with a positivity rate between 17 and 18 per cent on Friday state Health Minister Satyendar Jain said Meanwhile Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal over easing some of the Covid19 related restrictions like the weekend curfew and oddeven system of opening shops as the Covid19 positivity rate in the national capital has registered a dip according to an official However private offices will continue to operate with 50 per cent capacity until further orders the Delhi government official said The weekend curfew in the national capital came into force on January 7 after 17335 fresh Covid cases were reported in the city which was the highest in the last eight months with the positivity rate increasing to a sharp 1773 per cent The curfew announced by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA depends on the severity of the infection rate which is decided under the Graded Action Response Plan GRAP Under the GRAP it is decided as to which activities would be allowed under what circumstances in case of a surge in Covid19 cases There are four levels of colourcoded alerts namely yellow amber orange and red Delhi has been under level 1 or yellow alert restrictions since December 28 2021 On Thursday Delhi witnessed a dip in the number of singleday cases after as many as 12306 people tested positive for Covid19 according to the health bulletin data On Wednesday a total of 13785 Covid19 cases were logged in the national capital The cumulative caseload of Delhi currently stands at 1760272 The case positivity rate of the national capital was reduced to 2148 per cent on Thursday from 2386 per cent on the preceding day IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhi-expected-to-record-10-500-covid-19-cases-health-minister-188640.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 11:57:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/telangana-begins-fever-survey-to-distribute-1-cr-home-isolation-kits-188649.html Hyderabad Jan 21 Authorities in Telangana began a fever survey across the state on Friday to identify people with Covid19 symptoms and distribute home isolation kits free of cost The state government said it has a crore home isolation kits ready for distribution among those who either tested positive for Covid or are having symptoms With the number of Covid cases rising in the state for the last three weeks the medical and health department in coordination with municipal administration panchayat raj and other departments launched the doortodoor survey Healthcare workers were going door to door in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation GHMC other municipal corporations municipalities and gram panchayats to check out if any inmate is having symptoms like fever cold and cough With GHMC and surrounding urban districts of Rangareddy and Medchal Malkajgiri accounting for majority of the daily Covid cases authorities were specially focusing here Meanwhile hundreds of workers are working roundtheclock to prepare home isolation kits for distribution across the state Authorities were using playgrounds or other spacious premises in Hyderabad to prepare the kits At Victory Playground more than 200 workers including women were busy preparing the kits Each kit contains seven medicines and an advisory on how to use them The medicines include Azithromycin antibioticsantiviral Paracetamol fever Levocetirizine cold Ranitidine acidity Vitamin C Multivitamin and Vitamin D for improving immunity A health official said the medicines provided in the kit have to be taken for five days The kits are meant for individuals who tested positive and started developing symptoms As per the leaflet provided in the kit Covid positive patients have been advised to monitor their temperature on a daily basis do a six minute walk at normal pace and contact a doctor immediately if the temperature continues to persist or patients feel breathless after walking for six minutes Health minister T Harish Rao said that the fever survey which was done during the Covid second wave last year had given excellent results saving the lives of many He pointed out that it was appreciated by the NITI Aayog and the report of the economic survey which had considered it as a best practice prompting the Centre to direct other states to follow it The minister said the need for another round of fever survey was felt as in the ongoing third wave some of those infected by Covid are not showing symptoms while some others are not coming forward to undergo the tests Hence we are going to the doorsteps of such people he said Telangana on Wednesday reported 4207 new cases an increase of 1827 per cent over the previous day Health officials said 56 per cent of the cases were reported from GHMC Medchal Malkajgiri and Rangareddy The authorities conducted 120215 tests during the 24hour period For a third consecutive day over one lakh samples were tested across the state According to health officials the positivity rate remained low at around 35 per cent The number of active cases in the state rose to 26633 IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/telangana-begins-fever-survey-to-distribute-1-cr-home-isolation-kits-188649.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 12:41:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/former-kerala-cm-achuthanandan-tests-covid-positive-188419.html Thiruvananthapuram Jan 21 Veteran CPIM leader and former Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan tested positive for Covid19 The 98yearold leader has been admitted to a private hospital here his son VS Arunkumar posted on social media Even though his father was confined to the house due to his age the nurse attending on the veteran the other day turned Covid positive and after he went for testing he also was found positive Arunkumar added Following the advice from doctors he was shifted to a hospital on Thursday and is presently convalescing at the hospital bed wrote Arunkumar He bowed out from electoral politics and did not contest the April 6 Assembly elections while he was a member of the outgoing Assembly He served as the Chief Minister from 20062011 and was the Leader of Opposition from 20112016 He had to make way for Pinarayi Vijayan as the new Chief Minister in 2016 Achuthanandan then had to be content with being a legislator and later he was made the chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission which came with cabinet status But just before the Assembly polls he quit from the post IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/former-kerala-cm-achuthanandan-tests-covid-positive-188419.html Fri, 21 Jan 2022 11:48:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/in-steep-hike-india-logs-347-lakh-new-covid-cases-703-deaths-188420.html New Delhi Jan 21 In a steep hike India reported 347 lakh Covid19 cases and 703 fatalities in the past 24 hours the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday The daily cases registered a rise of around 9 per cent from the previous day With the fresh fatalities the death toll climbed to 488396 Meanwhile the active caseload has jumped to 2018825 which constitute 523 per cent of the countrys total cases The Omicron infection tally has risen to 9692 across the nation an increase of 436 per cent from the previous day The recovery of 251777 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 36058806 Consequently Indias recovery rate stands at 9350 per cent Also in the same period a total of 1935912 tests were conducted across the country taking the cumulative number to over 7115 crore Though the weekly positivity rate has climbed to 1656 per cent amid sudden spike in the cases the daily positivity rate has declined to 1794 per cent With the administration of over 70 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours the countrys Covid inoculation coverage has reached 16043 crore as of Friday morning More than 1273 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs the Ministry added IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/in-steep-hike-india-logs-347-lakh-new-covid-cases-703-deaths-188420.html Fri, 21 Jan 2022 11:51:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/odisha-registers-9-833-covid-cases-six-deaths-188437.html Bhubaneswar Jan 21 Odisha on Friday recorded 9833 Covid19 cases taking the active caseload in the state to 89702 The state reported 10368 Covid cases on Thursday After a gap of nine days the daily cases went below the 10000mark in the state On January 12 the state had reported 8778 cases Since then the cases were harbouring in between 10000 to 12000 According to the State Information and Public Relations department out of the 9833 fresh cases 972 infections were detected from 0 to 18 years of population Similarly 5699 were detected in quarantine while 4134 are local contact cases said the department The highest 2946 cases were reported from Khurda district followed by Sundargarh 1134 Cuttack 774 Mayurbhanj 295 Nayagarh 292 and Balasore 286 and Bolangir 288 Meanwhile the state reported six death cases taking the toll to 8507 Two death cases were reported from Cuttack district while Angul Dhenkanal Jagatsinghpur and Puri districts reported one Covid death each The daily test positivity rate TPR of Odisha also slightly came down to 132 per cent from 1397 per cent recorded on Thursday IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/odisha-registers-9-833-covid-cases-six-deaths-188437.html Fri, 21 Jan 2022 13:12:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-minister-hints-at-lifting-curbs-says-its-going-to-be-a-good-friday-188461.html Bengaluru Jan 21 Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Friday gave clear hints of lifting of weekend and night curfews in the state It is going to be a Good Friday he told reporters There are no admissions in ICUs and ventilators due to Covid It is clinically a good sign The fatality rate has remained at five per cent only The death rate is very low he said Though the number of Covid cases are rising along with it one has to consider the recoveries and discharge rate in the last two days In another twothree days there will be the same number of recoveries as positive cases he said The restrictions are imposed and strict decisions are taken to check the load on hospitals The impact of weekend curfew will be analyzed in the meeting he said Earlier the Covid patients took a minimum two weeks to monthlong duration to recover In this third wave the patients are recovering in five days Some are getting better in three days The patients are not getting admitted to ICU he explained The infection is found in the upper respiratory tract and there are no complications The third wave peak will come by the end of January and in the midweek of February Our government will take a decision which will protect both life and livelihood he underlined IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/ktaka-minister-hints-at-lifting-curbs-says-its-going-to-be-a-good-friday-188461.html Fri, 21 Jan 2022 15:05:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/mild-cases-of-covid-can-lead-to-brain-fog-for-nine-months-188361.html New Delhi Jan 19 Mild Covid infection can cause attention and memory problems for months after recovery new research suggests the Daily Mail reported The findings reported by researchers from the Oxford University showed that people who had mild Covid infection but did not report long Covid symptoms still had worse attention and memory for up to six to nine months the report said Previous studies have shown that longCovid sufferers experience difficulties maintaining attention which is known as brain fog However it was not known if similar effects were felt by those who had experienced no other issues after recovery from Covid19 Sijia Zhao from Oxfords Department of Experimental Psychology said What is surprising is that although our Covid19 survivors did not feel any more symptomatic at the time of testing they showed degraded attention and memory the report added Our findings reveal that people can experience some chronic cognitive consequences for months Zhao said Participants in the study were asked to complete a number of cognitive tests with a focus on sustaining attention memory planning and semantic reasoning While they performed well in shortterm working memory and planning compared with the control group the participants scored significantly worse in their memory of past events and in their ability to sustain attention over time All the participants had previously suffered from Covid19 and were similar to the control group in factors such as fatigue forgetfulness sleep patterns or anxiety at the time of testing the report said Luckily most peoples memory and attention returned to normal after six to nine months The research was conducted by psychologists at Oxfords Department of Experimental Psychology and Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/mild-cases-of-covid-can-lead-to-brain-fog-for-nine-months-188361.html Fri, 21 Jan 2022 00:24:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/andhras-daily-covid-count-surpasses-10k-mark-188363.html Amaravati Jan 19 The Covid19 surge in Andhra Pradesh continued with the state on Wednesday reporting over 10000 cases and eight deaths The daily count of cases rose sharply from 6996 on Tuesday to 10057 an increase of 4375 per cent in the last 24 hours The positivity rate also surged to 2410 per cent from 1836 per cent the previous day According to the state command control room 41713 samples were tested during the last 24 hours ending 10 am on Wednesday Visakhapatnam district accounted for three deaths while Chittoor Nellore Guntur Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts reported a death each The cumulative death toll mounted to 14522 Visakhapatnam district reported the highest number of cases at 1827 followed by Chittoor 1822 Guntur 943 and East Godavari 919 Anantapur logged 861 Prakasam 716 Nellore 698 and YSR Kadapa 482 Meanwhile the active cases in the state surged to 44935 from 36108 on Tuesday The 24hour period also saw 1222 people recovering from the virus taking the total recoveries to 2067984 The number of daily Covid tests has been rising sharply for the last three days after decline during the last few days due to Sankranti festival and weekend Health authorities had already warned that Covid cases may increase sharply after Sankranti as the festival season sees huge movement of people The night curfew imposed as part of the measures taken by the state government to curb the spread came into force across the state from Tuesday Authorities are strictly enforcing the night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/andhras-daily-covid-count-surpasses-10k-mark-188363.html Fri, 21 Jan 2022 00:38:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/kids-with-kawasaki-like-disease-post-covid-recover-within-3-months-study-188381.html New York Jan 19 Children who develop a rare Kawasakilike inflammatory syndrome after catching Covid recover within three months a study has found While Covid19 poses less risk of death or serious illness in children some experienced multisystem inflammatory syndrome MISC MISC also known as paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome PIMS causes swelling throughout the body including around vital organs such as the heart Some children also developed Kawasakilike multisystem inflammatory conditions including a high temperature a rash tiredness and stomach pain In rare cases some children may require intensive care Researchers from University of Pennsylvania conducted a study of 120 children half of whom were hospitalised with MISC and found they all had normal heart function within a week Daily Mail reported The study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association showed that recovery among these children was excellent These results have important implications for our health care teams managing care for children with MISC said Dr Anirban Banerjee a paediatrician and senior author Our findings may also provide guidance for a gradual return to playing sports after cardiac clearance three to four months later he added Kawasakialike condition is triggered by an overreaction in the immune system to fight off a Covid infection and sees the body attack healthy cells The researchers looked at 60 children with MISC who were admitted to two hospitals in Philadelphia between April 2020 and January 2021 The children who were mostly boys and aged 10 on average were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin an antibody treatment that helps fight off infection or corticosteroids which calm down the immune system Then they compared the findings to a control group of 60 children who did not have Covid or heart problems While all the MISC patients heart function improved quickly within the first week even patients with significant cardiac abnormalities saw their changes resolved within three months Seven per cent of the hospitalised children had some heart malfunction when first admitted but this had disappeared three months later Eight in 10 patients lost some contractile function the ability of the heart to contract and pump blood when they were most unwell but three to four months later this had also returned to normal the report said And the condition did not cause any longlasting problems in the coronary arteries which are responsible for supplying blood to the heart But the researchers warned MISC and Covid are still new illnesses so it is yet to be determined if sufferers hearts have any problems beyond four months after they were diagnosed with heart problems the report said IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/kids-with-kawasaki-like-disease-post-covid-recover-within-3-months-study-188381.html Fri, 21 Jan 2022 03:04:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/jk-sees-new-high-in-daily-covid-tally-at-5-818-188394.html Jammu Jan 19 Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday reported the highestever single day jump of 5818 new Covid cases and four deaths An official bulletin said 1752 cases and four deaths were reported from the Jammu division and 4066 in the Kashmir division while 1255 patients recovered 592 in the Jammu division and 663 in the Kashmir division So far 372669 people have been infected with coronavirus out of which 341854 have recovered while 4579 have succumbed The total number of active cases is 26236 out of which 9336 are from the Jammu division and 16900 from the Kashmir division Meanwhile 41266 doses of vaccine were administered during the last 24 hours while 83019 tests were conducted IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/jk-sees-new-high-in-daily-covid-tally-at-5-818-188394.html Fri, 21 Jan 2022 05:01:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/andhra-man-ends-life-after-testing-positive-for-covid-188184.html Amaravati Jan 19 A youth committed suicide after testing positive for Covid19 in Andhra Pradeshs Chittoor district police said The man jumped to death from the fourth floor of a building on Tuesday night The incident occurred in Kuppam town According to police Vijay Achari 30 had consumed pesticides in an alleged suicide bid on Tuesday night due to some family problems Family members rushed him to a private hospital where he was tested for Covid19 After the test result showed him to be infected the man jumped from the fourth floor of the building after smashing window panes He died on the spot Police quoted Acharis family members as saying that he was upset after testing positive A police officer said they registered a case and took up the investigation Police were also probing the reason for the mans earlier suicide bid Telugu states Andhra Pradesh and Telangana witnessed several incidents of suicide due to fear of Covid during last two years IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/andhra-man-ends-life-after-testing-positive-for-covid-188184.html Thu, 20 Jan 2022 11:02:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhis-positivity-rate-not-low-enough-to-relax-curbs-minister-188188.html New Delhi Jan 19 Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday said that Delhis positivity rate has come down from 30 per cent to 225 per cent but it is not low enough to ease the restrictions in the national capital We will observe the positivity rate for three to four more days as it has started coming down to take any decision on the restrictions Jain said About the Covid beds occupancy in the city Jain said that there is not much occupancy in hospitals and beds are lying vacant He said that around 13000 beds are still unoccupied in the city We have released around 15600 Covid beds in the city out of the total 37000 prepared beds But only 17 per cent of total released beds are occupied in Delhis hospitals Jain said He added that the hospital admissions are also stable from the last one week which is a clear sign that the positivity rate is declining in the city Delhi is likely to report around 13000 Covid cases on Wednesday We are doing more testing in Delhi Today around 24 per cent test positivity rate will be registered with around 13000 Covid cases Jain added Delhi on Tuesday recorded 11684 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hrs The fresh Covid infections have pushed the tally to 1734181 In the same time 38 deaths were reported pushing the death toll to 25425 Delhis positivity rate stood at 2247 per cent on Tuesday The active caseload in the city stands at 78112 as per the Delhi health department IANS https://dailyworld.in/vaccine-hunt/delhis-positivity-rate-not-low-enough-to-relax-curbs-minister-188188.html Thu, 20 Jan 2022 11:42:00 +0530