The researchers believe their findings provide a blueprint for a second-generation, universal vaccine that could prevent infection from current and future SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Omicron.
A total of 263 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been detected in the country so far, with about half of them recorded in Kerala, according to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG)'s data updated on Tuesday.
Two Covid-19 related deaths and 20 fresh cases were reported in Karnataka, according to a Health bulletin issued on Wednesday.
COVID-19 patients commonly report symptoms such as brain fog, headaches, and insomnia, complications which are not new after a viral infection, the researchers said.
Researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, US, estimate that globally 63 per cent of those with long Covid during the first two years of the pandemic were female.
The first study used spatial analysis to show that the earliest known COVID-19 cases, diagnosed in December 2019, were centered on the Wuhan market.
The researchers noted that people who are fully vaccinated can still become infected with SARS-CoV-2 and can carry a viral load similar to those who are unvaccinated.
The Union health ministry has advised states to immediately review public health preparedness in view of recent reports indicating a surge in respiratory illness in children in northern China.
However, the severity of illness is likely to be much lower, according to a study.
In a letter to states and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said such an exercise will enable timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country and will facilitate undertaking of requisite public health measures.
Mortality rates were 0.7 per cent for Delta, 0.4 per cent for the original Omicron variant and 0.3 per cent for Omicron BA.2.
One in eight adults who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 experience long term symptoms due to Covid-19, according to one of the most comprehensive studies on the viral disease to date published in The Lancet journal on Friday.
A total of 1,226 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been reported in the country so far with Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh recording the highest number of cases till now, according to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) on Thursday.
According to CoWIN data, only 73 vaccination centres are currently active in India, of which 32 are government-run.
The finding underscores the importance of hand washing or using a sanitiser to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Antibody levels are higher when people receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the afternoon as compared to the morning, according to an observational study.
Researchers from the University of Florida in the US noted that the combination includes diphenhydramine, an antihistamine used for allergy symptoms.
The study, published in Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that the risk to vaccinated people was lower when unvaccinated mixed with unvaccinated.
India's drug regulator has given permission to Bharat Biotech to conduct phase-3 clinical trial for its intranasal Covid vaccine as booster dose on participants who have been previously inoculated with SARS-CoV 2 vaccines.
Scientists have identified and tested an antibody that limits the severity of infections from a variety of coronaviruses, including those that cause COVID-19 as well as the SARS illness.
Easy access to this kind of test could help people determine what kind of precautions they should take against COVID-19 infection, such as getting an additional booster shot, the researchers said.
Researchers said outbreaks of such an illness have the potential to wreak economic havoc in many countries across the globe that rely on the pork industry.
According to the scientists, people infected with SARS-CoV-2 might be spreading the virus without recognizing, or prior to recognizing, symptoms.
Days after clusters of recombinant Delta and Omicron variants of coronavirus were reported from across the world, a leading virologist said there was no need to panic at the moment.
Children who previously had COVID-19 or the inflammatory condition MIS-C are not protected against the Omicron variant of coronavirus, according to a study which found vaccination, however, does afford protection.
'Seek medical help if after five days of the first symptom the fever has not subsided.'
Findings of the Indian Council of Medical Research's fourth national Covid sero survey show there is a ray of hope, but there is no room for complacency and Covid-appropriate behaviour has to be followed, the government said.
"Usually viruses that jump to a new host species take some time to acquire adaptations to be as capable as SARS-CoV-2 at spreading, and most never make it past that stage, resulting in dead-end spillovers or localised outbreaks," said Sergei Pond, another co-author of the study from Temple University in the US.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, also demonstrates that the immunity built up from previous non-SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infections does not prevent individuals from getting COVID-19.
A nine-year-old lioness Neela and a male lion named Pathbanathan, aged 12 years, succumbed to COVID-19 earlier this month.
It has been approved by the European Medicines Agency for conditional marketing authorisation.
As the Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 takes centrestage, vaccine makers in India are of the view that scaling up the existing vaccines to make them more effective is possible.
The WHO has countries to enhance surveillance and sequencing efforts to better understand circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants, submit complete genome sequences and associated metadata to a publicly available database.
The DCGI's approval came following recommendation by the Subject Expert Committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation.
The Centre said that there is no reason to believe presently on the that they are responsible for the surge in cases in some districts in these two states.
Dominic Xavier's take on the ongoing global debate about the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
'SARS-CoV-2 is going to change to avoid/overcome any thing thrown at it.'
"Of the samples of seven animals (four tigers and three lions) from the Tamil Nadu zoo, one lioness tested positive for SARS CoV-2 and distemper virus, one lioness for SARS CoV-2, and one lion tested positive for distemper virus," IVRI Joint Director K P Singh said.
'If SARS-CoV-2 is anything like the first one, we expect antibodies to last at least two years, and it would be unlikely for anything much shorter'
The study also noted that the booster dosage of the company's COVID-19 vaccine Vaxzevria also increased the immune response to Beta, Delta, Alpha and Gamma SARS-CoV-2 variants.
