According to the study, both SARS-CoV-2 and H1N1 are the same category of virus, and both infect the respiratory tract. While the lungs of both groups shared some common features, the scientists said there were distinctive features related to blood vessels seen in the lungs of patients who had died due to COVID-19.
'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 scientists assessed the ability of common fabrics, alone or in combination, to filter out aerosols similar in size to respiratory droplets.
Shahid Jameel, recipient of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, also said that the country had already reached community transmission a long time ago.
IIT Delhi is the first academic institute to have obtained the ICMR approval for a real-time PCR- based diagnostic assay. The development also comes against the backdrop of the Indian Council of Medical Research halting the testing for COVID-19 cases through China-made test kits because of massive variation in test results, compounding the challenge to check and contain the pandemic.
"Keeping a close pace with the potential availability of vaccine, a plan of action on which sections are to be given priority has been discussed. Importantly, it would be monitored through a scientific approach," Dr Harsh Vardhan told ANI about the strategy being discussed on vaccine distribution.
Scientists have identified antibodies that neutralise Omicron and other variants of coronavirus by targeting areas that remain essentially unchanged as the virus mutates.
The study, which was conducted on more than 100 healthcare workers at three centres in India including Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, found that the B.1.617.2 Delta variant not only dominates vaccine-breakthrough infections with higher respiratory viral loads compared to non-Delta infections (Ct value of 16.5 versus 19) but also generates greater transmission among the fully vaccinated HCWs.
A study by researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay found that a droplet remains liquid for a much shorter time on a porous surface, making it less favourable to the survival of the virus.
The new report highlights how different parts of the intelligence community have arrived at disparate judgments about the pandemic's origin.
The study also shows that levels of these antibodies that are able to recognise and fight the virus are lower with increasing age, and that levels decline over time, providing additional evidence in support of plans to deliver a booster dose to vulnerable people.
'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.'
Chairperson of the COVID Task Force for All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr Naveet Wig on Thursday said that the COVID-19 crisis is 'a dynamic situation' and to prevent a third wave of the pandemic, there is a need to keep changing strategies.
The sero-surveillance started on June 3 and 6,936 samples out of an estimated 8,870 were collected from slum and non-slum population of three civic wards -- R-North, M-West and F-North -- in the first half of July.
'Seek medical help if after five days of the first symptom the fever has not subsided.'
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 Corosure Kit has received ICMR approval with the highest score and DCGI approved with a very high sensitivity and specificity.
The B.1.617 variant of SARS-CoV2, also being called a 'double mutant' or the 'Indian strain', has been found prevalent largely in Maharashtra and Delhi that have been severely hit by a devastating second wave of the pandemic.
'These number surges will be the outcome of emerging virus variants, loss of vaccine- or infection-acquired protective immunity in people, and environmental factors'
The same testing technique would also be used for monitoring in green zones districts which have reported no cases till now or in the last 21 days, the Union health ministry said while issuing 'Guidelines for RT-PCR based pooled sampling for migrants/returnees from abroad/green zones'.
An immune-escape Covid-19 strain coupled with the natural spike in influenza and pneumonia cases during winters may lead to a rise in hospitalisation.
Early data from its vaccine candidate 'mRNA-1273' showed it produced protective antibodies in a group of eight healthy volunteers, Moderna said. The other closely watched COVID-19 vaccine is the one being developed by scientists at Oxford University.
A combination of robust vaccination programmes and strict physical distancing rules may be enough to prevent recurring peaks of COVID-19 without greatly restricting the mobility of people, according to a modelling study.
The government on Wednesday issued new guidelines for international arrivals amid the spread of mutant variants of coronavirus in many countries.
COVID-19 is on the verge of becoming endemic but Indian scientists are keeping a close watch on each new variant and the government would continue to maintain a high alert, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said, underlining that the virus has managed to survive and is going to stay.
Women who receive the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy pass high levels of antibodies to their babies, according to a study.
The disease could go down several paths. One possibility, the least likely, is that it will just disappear. The most likely is that it will have seasonal impact, says Devangshu Datta.
After breaching the value of 1 in the first week of August, the R number, which reflects how rapidly the coronavirus pandemic is spreading, has been steadily ebbing, according to researchers at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai.
Blood samples taken from a group of UK volunteers given a dose of the vaccine showed that it stimulated the body to produce both antibodies and 'killer T-cells', a senior source from the trial was quoted by The Daily Telegraph as saying.
The most common symptoms were fatigue, post-exertional malaise -- worsening of symptoms after physical or mental exertion -- and cognitive dysfunction, often called brain fog.
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.
Centre has sent an advisory to states on HFMD (Hand Foot and Mouth Disease), commonly known as Tomato Flu, stating that it's a self-limiting illness targeting mostly young children aged 1-10 years and immune-compromised adults and no specific drug exists to treat it.
'At the current time, we should be vaccinating all those who are potentially going to get more severe illness, before we start vaccinating very young individuals.'
"We continue to call on China to be transparent in sharing data and to conduct the necessary investigations and share the results. Understanding how the pandemic began remains both a moral and scientific imperative," Ghebreyesus said.
'All actions for COVID-19 should be the same as for other routine health conditions.' 'There is no need to report the matter in the media all the time; not on front page please.'
With variants cropping up at regular intervals, Jha acknowledged that they are a concern as a very rapid evolution of this virus is being seen over the time.
However, the "good news" is that the US vaccines are effective against the Delta variant, said Fauci, the head of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The Indian vaccine industry largely feels there are two ways in which vaccine innovation can be spurred - one, get a high price for the product and two, have the government buy a few hundred million doses of the product at a certain price.
500 million doses per annum from its two sites in Hyderabad and 200 million doses each from its Ankleshwar and Kolar facilities.
'The more seriously ill you are from heart disease, the more seriously ill you could get from infection with COVID-19.'
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