'We must not compromise with the standard, the quality. We don't need to be the first to launch a drug but what we need is a Made in India vaccine that the entire world can rely on'
Speaking on the National Technology Day, Swaminathan said, "I would like to commend and congratulate the minister and colleagues for having contained so far the COVID pandemic in India and having kept both the number of cases and the number of deaths very low compared to other countries."
He further said that only a marginally high proportion of COVID-19 patients are of younger age and that the average of patients in the first wave was 50 years and in this wave, it is 49 years. He also said that the older population continues to be more vulnerable to be admitted in the hospital in the current wave.
'We have to ensure the European situation does not occur in India and we don't see a spread like theirs.'
States should ensure a weekly positivity rate of less than 5 per cent, vaccination coverage of at least 70 per cent among the vulnerable section, and community ownership of Covid-appropriate behaviour, reports Ruchika Chitravanshi.
Dr Arun Jamkar, former vice chancellor, Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, makes a strong case for reforming Indian medical education and believes that the National Medical Commission Bill is historic.
Addressing a press briefing, Union Health Ministry Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on the basis of a seven-day rolling average the positivity rate of COVID-19, which was 11 per cent during the first week of August, has come down to 8 per cent now.
Since India is one of the largest vaccine producers in the world, it is the country's 'moral responsibility' to fast-track vaccine development process to break the chain of coronavirus transmission, ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said referring to the two vaccine candidates developed indigenously.
The Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Pfizer have applied to the DCGI seeking emergency use authorisation for their COVID-19 vaccine candidates and are awaiting approval.
The govt said there are 18 states and UTs in the country where the total number of active cases are between 5,000 and 50,000, while there are only four states with more than 50,000 active cases.
Uttar Pradesh, last year, recorded the most 2,60,028 deaths attributable to air pollution, followed by Maharashtra at 1,08,038 and Bihar 96,967, it said.
As the global debate on booster shots gathers momentum, several scientists in New Delhi said the priority must be to ensure that more people are inoculated with at least their first jab.
After some Governors, it was the turn of Vice-Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority M Shashidhar Reddy and five of its members to resign after the new government asked them to quit their posts.
In phase I, the vaccine would be tested on 375 volunteers and the maximum of 100 of them would be from AIIMS.
'There is no data to show this virus is more deadlier.'
Three new categories -- all asymptomatic healthcare workers working in non-COVID hospitals/areas of COVID hospitals/blocks, asymptomatic frontline workers such as surveillance workers deployed in containment zones and paramilitary/police personnel involved in COVID-19 related activities -- have now been included.
'Unless we see four weeks of low and stable numbers with only minor fluctuations, we cannot call the valley as endemic just as yet'
As India holds its breath for the Covid vaccination to be begin, Sudhir Bisht provides a quick checklist of what you must know about the vaccines that will be administered to citizens.
Vaccines Covishield and Covaxin work against SARS-CoV-2 variants Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta, while effectiveness tests against the Delta Plus variant is ongoing, the government said.
Groundbreaking HIV researcher Dr Suniti Solomon, the first to bring to the world the prevalence of the infection in India in 1986 and one who successfully led research into the treatment of the deadly virus, passed away at her residence in Chennai on Tuesday.
These 51 cases were detected from over 45,000 samples sequenced so far in the country.
According to these experts, a monkeypox outbreak can effectively be tackled by strong surveillance.
Experts said the strain has not propelled a surge in cases like Omicron, but advised strict adherence to COVID-19-appropriate behaviour.
The country saw a reduction in the number of swine flu cases due to masks and sanitation practices.
The first nationwide mock drill was held on January 2 which, the health ministry said, helped to iron out any glitches in the final execution and further refinement of the operational procedures.
The first part of the study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) revealed that 0.73 per cent of the population surveyed showed evidence of past exposure to SARS-CoV-2, and that urban slum population was the most vulnerable to the infection, ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said at a press conference.
A 40-year-old man who was a volunteer in the third phase of the ''Covidshield'' vaccine trial in Chennai has alleged serious side effects, including a virtual neurological breakdown and impairment of cognitive functions.
Easing restrictions, all private hospitals were on Tuesday allowed to give the vaccines if they adhere to the laid down norms, while the 9 am to 5 pm timing was also done away with.
These kinds of assumptions to be used for a nation of India's size and "to put us in poor light is not desirable"
The Centre said the upsurge of COVID-19 cases is happening in cities and the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating strain.
People must also avoid mass gatherings, and new year celebrations need to be at low intensity, the government said.
"Lockdown and containment (measures) have been successful in keeping it low and preventing rapid spread," ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said, citing the sero-survey on COVID-19 spread.
Roadblocks ahead as these medicines could face new clinical tests, more scrutiny
The vaccine candidate, ZyCoV-D, showed a "strong immune response" in animal studies, and the antibodies produced were able to completely neutralise the wild type virus, Zydus said. The 12 institutes have been asked by the ICMR to fast track clinical trials of the vaccine as it is being considered as one of the top priority projects which are being monitored at the topmost level of the government.
During the webinar, 'COVID-19: Vaccination and Potential Return to Normalcy - If and When', Dr Hotez, an internationally-recognised physician-scientist in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development, said that the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is "India's gift' to the world in combating the virus.
AIIMS-Delhi is among the 12 sites selected by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) for conducting Phase I and II randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical trials of Covaxin.
India on Tuesday temporarily licensed the export of paracetamol and anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine in appropriate quantities to some countries, which have been particularly badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
E-cigarettes pose a huge health risk to users, who more often than not are adolescents and young adults
The Pune-based vaccine major has entered into a collaboration with the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca to manufacture the vaccine.
The aim of the mission is to accelerate the development of at least six vaccine candidates and ensure that they are licenced and introduced in market for emergency use at the earliest.
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