'If your oxygen saturation is okay and is maintained after the six-minute walk test -- which has been described all over the world -- and you do not have an unrelenting fever, then you can even be managed at home.'
The Centre had on Thursday asked all states and union territories to conduct rigorous screening and testing of all international travellers coming from or transiting through South Africa, Hong Kong and Botswana, where the B.1.1.529 variant has been detected.
Coronaviruses, like other RNA viruses, can develop mutations in three different ways: by mistake from copying errors during viral replication, through interactions with other viruses infecting the same cell, or they can be induced by RNA modification systems which are part of host immunity, the researchers explained.
The trial began at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle as the first participant received the investigational vaccine.
A new sub-lineage BA.2.75 of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been detected in countries like India and the World Health Organisation is following this, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Physical distancing of two metres - about six and a half feet - may not be enough to sufficiently prevent transmission of virus-carrying airborne aerosols indoors, says a study.
A recent study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar has established the presence of coronavirus in water samples from the Sabarmati river and two lakes in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat.
Children below five years are exempted from both pre- and post-arrival testing for COVID-19 in India, according to the revised guidelines for international arrivals released on Thursday.
The impact of a 'dengue-COVID-19' season would entail two different diagnostic tests and extract a huge toll on patients too, each disease making the other more complicated to deal with and perhaps more fatal.
According to the NCDC, 415 cases of the UK strain of coronavirus were found in genomes sequenced in Delhi, followed by 23 cases of the South African strain.
The trial is being conducted in three phases by segregating children into categories according to their age. The first trial was started in the age group of 12 to 18 years followed by the age group of 6 to 12. Trials for children between the ages of and 2-6 years are currently undergoing trials.
'In our ICUs, the majority are unvaccinated people.' 'Out of the hospital, in the community, we see that -- whether you are vaccinated or whether you're not vaccinated -- the symptoms are more or less the same.'
If things go according to plan, the vaccine would be available in the market by the end of this year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, invited the global manufacturers of vaccines to come and make vaccines in India, stressing that the country's "faith is to serve people".
The test - called the Truenat Beta CoV test - effectively enables same-day testing, reporting, and patient isolation initiation.
Breakthrough infections of coronavirus cases comprise a very high proportion of the Delta variant, the INSACOG, a genome sequencing government consortium of laboratories, has said.
Addressing a press conference, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said 63.7 per cent vaccine doses have been administered in rural areas and 35.4 per cent in urban areas.
The PM directed officials to evaluate various technology tools to ensure efficient and timely vaccination in due course of time. He also emphasised that detailed planning for such large scale vaccination should be undertaken immediately.
Pfizer and BioNTech SE on Monday said trial results of COVID-19 vaccine showed that it is safe and produced robust neutralising antibody response in children aged five to 11 years, and they plan to seek regulatory approvals as soon as possible.
In the ensemble trial, Johnson & Johnson's vaccine was 85 per cent effective against severe/critical disease and demonstrated protection against hospitalisation and death. The vaccine was consistently effective across all regions studied globally, including in South Africa and Brazil, where there was a high prevalence of rapidly emerging Beta and Zeta variants during the study period.
The research, published in the journal PLOS Pathogens on Thursday, suggests that the first case of COVID-19 arose between early October and mid-November, 2019 in China, with the most likely date of origin being November 17.
Tope's comments came a day after the Centre asked the state to align its order with the SOPs issued by the Union health ministry.
"The compensation for serious adverse event will be paid by sponsor (BBIL) in case if the SAE is proven to be causally related to the vaccine," the consent form said.
The country saw a reduction in the number of swine flu cases due to masks and sanitation practices.
Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech, which is carrying out its phase 3 trial will publish the data in July following that the company will be applying for the full licensure of Covaxin.
The company said the drug will be made available across India through the group's strong distribution chain reaching out to government and private hospitals treating COVID-19 patients.
The Proteas speedster, a star performer for DC in the last edition, had tested positive for COVID-19 while in quarantine. But was retested and came out negative in three RT-PCR results.
'Most vaccines do target the Spike protein, in which there are changes in the variants but vaccines stimulate our immune system to produce a wide range of protective antibodies'
The spike in the country's financial capital has got pronounced since December 20, when just 283 cases were reported. Tuesday had witnessed 1,377 cases in the metropolis, and Wednesday's figure was a jump by over 80 per cent, he pointed out.
Illustrious international thinkers met at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2021 and many discussions addressed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world at large.
When a person gets an infection even after being vaccinated against it, it is called a breakthrough case.
The NTAGI has also stated that those having laboratory test proven SARS-CoV-2 illness should defer COVID-19 vaccination for six months after recovery, the sources said.
If that outcome were to happen, the Modi government would be responsible for presiding over a self-inflicted national catastrophe.
In a setback that could potentially delay the launch of Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin in USA, the Food and Drug Administration there has "recommended" Ocugen Inc, the US partner of the Indian vaccine maker, to go for Biologics Licence Application (BLA) route with additional data, nixing hopes of Emergency Use Authorisation.
'If you want to protect yourself just maintain good hygiene, wash your hands often and try not to touch your face, your mouth or nose without cleaning first'
The New York Times on Tuesday said Covaxin works by teaching the immune system to make antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The antibodies attach to viral proteins, such as the so-called spike proteins that stud its surface.
A group of public health experts, including doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences and members from the national taskforce on COVID-19, have said that mass, indiscriminate and incomplete vaccination can trigger emergence of mutant strains and recommended that there is no need to inoculate those who had documented coronavirus infection.
According to medical practitioners, the treatment is especially useful in controlling disease among those who have not received the vaccine or got only one shot and also the high-risk contacts of a patient.
"Omicron has been detected in all countries where we have good sequencing and it's likely to be in all countries around the world. It is quickly, in terms of its circulation, overtaking Delta. And so Omicron is becoming the dominant variant that is being detected," Kerkhove said during a virtual questions and answers session.
All these persons have been kept in single room isolation at designated health care facilities by respective state governments and their close contacts have also been put under quarantine, the ministry said.
