A large number of American companies like Google, Uber and IBM are offering their resources to help India successfully fight the battle against the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
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.
If things go according to plan, the vaccine would be available in the market by the end of this year.
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.
A new analysis of genetic samples collected from a seafood market in central China's Wuhan city shows the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in raccoon dogs sold at the venue, strengthening the case for the natural origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a team of international experts.
'The prioritisation of groups for COVID-19 vaccine shall be based on two key considerations -- occupational hazard and risk of exposure to infection, and the risk of developing severe disease and increased mortality'
Many companies globally are working on plasma research to develop and manufacture hyperimmune globulin therapies from plasma donations.
'We believe that India is capable of producing the Gamaleya vaccine and it is very important to say that those partnerships to produce the vaccine will enable us to cover the demand that we have'
An expert panel of India's Central Drug Authority on Tuesday recommended granting permission to Serum Institute of India (SII) for conducting phase 2/3 trials of Covid vaccine Covovax on children aged 2 to 17 years with certain conditions, official sources said.
The study also indicated that the risk seems to increase with each infection.
It was on January 30, 2020 when a third-year medical student from Wuhan university tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the country's first COVID-19 patient, days after she had returned home following semester holidays.
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.
'Forcing the development of an indigenous vaccine as a cure for COVID-19, bypassing all health & safety norms, to be announced by PM Modi on Independence Day is fraught with horrendous human costs'
Only 30 flights per week will operate between India and the UK when services resume from January 8 and this arrangement will continue till January 23, Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said on Friday.
Many in the social media have questioned his motive, while others have said he was doing it just for publicity and some said it was just superstition.
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.
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".
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.
About 3.2 million people could have died from Covid in India by September last year, six-seven times higher than reported officially, according to a study based on one independent and two government data sources.
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.
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.
Over time, as more mutations occur, the vaccine may need to be altered.
Why a new study suggests you wear a face mask when you speak to anyone.
If booster shots are given on priority, the pace of vaccination may slow further. In the worst case scenario, the country will take till mid-March to vaccinate its entire adult population partially.
The Centre and the states need to continue working in collaborative spirit as was done during the previous surges for COVID-19 prevention and management, Mandaviya said.
The study estimates that the risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant is 5.4 times greater than that of the Delta variant.
'There will be ups and downs, and we have to plan how we live with it now.'
The ministry of civil aviation on Wednesday said only two per cent of the passengers coming from countries that are not in the 'at-risk' list will be subject to random sampling for coronavirus and such passengers will be permitted to leave the airport after giving the samples.
A 'very large' number of Indians are likely to remain protected from Omicron or any other variant of COVID-19 and there is no need to panic, eminent virologist Dr Shahid Jameel has said.
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.
Cases with the Omicron variant have already been detected in Karnataka and 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.
Neutralising antibodies are important in potentially protecting a person from re-infection of the same virus.
Kids mostly have mild illnesses and recover with just symptomatic treatment.
"The intelligence community and the rest of the government are still looking at this. There's not been a definitive conclusion, so it's difficult for me to say, nor should I feel like I should have to defend press reporting about a possible preliminary indication here," National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters at a daily White House news conference.
The highly virulent 'Delta plus' variant of the novel coronavirus could stoke a third wave in Maharashtra, according to a presentation made at a meeting attended by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Of the 230 samples from Mumbai, 228 samples are of Omicron variant, while one was found to be Kappa variant and another XE variant. The condition of the patients infected with the new strains of the virus was not serious, a BMC official said.
"The Indian Medical Association has requested all its 3.5 lakh members in 1,800 local branches to voluntarily come out to get vaccinated first to show the world that these vaccines are safe and efficacious," it said.
Once the UK drug regulator gives its approval to the Oxford vaccine, the expert committee on COVID-19 at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) will hold its meeting and thoroughly review the safety and immunogenicity data from the clinical evaluations conducted abroad and in India before granting any emergency authorisation for the vaccine here, official sources said.
When a person gets an infection even after being vaccinated against it, it is called a breakthrough case.
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