The Indian government is set to launch a nationwide HPV vaccination program targeting 14-year-old girls to prevent cervical cancer, utilizing a single-dose vaccine and aiming for equitable access across socio-economic groups.
Experts warn that air pollution in India is a major public health crisis, leading to a surge in undiagnosed airway diseases and cardiovascular issues. They urge for urgent action, early detection, and treatment.
The UK's National Health Service was already lining up thousands of medics and volunteers to be ready to deliver jabs up and down the country.
The government on Monday issued an advisory for rational use of Remdesivir in COVID-19 treatment, underlining that the anti-viral drug must be advised by senior faculty members directly involved in the patient's care.
The Serum Institute of India is the first Indian company to seek approval for the COVID-19 booster dose.
"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.
According to officials, an additional dose of vaccine is different from a booster dose.
The Standing Technical Sub-Committee (STSC) of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) on Thursday recommended reducing the gap between the second and precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the current nine to six months, official sources said.
'There is no emergency of a third wave that we are rushing for booster doses.'
This decision of revised time interval between two doses is applicable only to Covishield and not to Covaxin vaccine, the ministry said.
Downing Street also said that the Winter Plan will set out how people will be able to see their loved ones at Christmas, adding that ministers will be warning that this will not be a normal festive period.
The reduced severity of the Omicron variant is good news for now, but it is the result of an 'evolutionary mistake' and does not indicate that the virus which causes COVID-19 is becoming less virulent, a leading Indian-origin scientist from the University of Cambridge warned on Thursday.
Mandaviya reviewed the pandemic situation, status of vaccination drive and the global scenario of new variants of Covid.
The Subject Expert Committee on COVID-19 of the CDSCO on October 12 after deliberating Bharat Biotech's EUA application had recommended granting emergency use approval to Covaxin for use in the 12-18 years age group with certain conditions.
These decisions were taken by the ministry based on the fresh recommendations by The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) and have also been communicated to the states and union territories, an official statement said.
The reduced severity of Omicron is good news for now, but it is the result of an "evolutionary mistake" as Covid-19 is transmitting very efficiently and there is no reason for it to become milder, indicating that the next variant could be more virulent, a leading Indian-origin scientist from the University of Cambridge has warned.
The UK's lockdown, which involves strict stay at home measures with movement allowed for limited urgent purposes only if "absolutely necessary" and for one form of daily exercise, came into force on March 23 after a televised address by Boris Johnson.
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
Not enough data has been generated locally to decide on the need for a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine for those fully inoculated, say experts amid the possibility of a third wave of the viral disease hitting the country between September and October.
It will be unfair to put a date for any COVID wave as the behaviour of coronavirus is unpredictable and a disciplined and effective pandemic response can help the country get away from any significant outbreak, COVID Task Force chief V K Paul said.
The decision to increase the gap between two doses of Covishield from 4-6 weeks to 12-16 weeks was based on scientific decision and there was no dissenting voice among the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation members.
Amid a gradual rise in daily Covid-19 cases, the Union health ministry said on Thursday that the XBB.1.16 subvariant of Omicron might be the dominant virus strain in the country but there has been no reported increase in the rate of hospitalisation or death so far.
Stressing on the need to protect both lives and livelihoods, he said public health action in India and across the world must be continually guided by evidence from four key questions -- how transmissible is the variant, severity of the disease it causes, how well vaccines and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection protect and how common people perceive risk and follow control measures.
"In addition to spreading more quickly, it also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant - the variant that was first identified in London and the south east (of England) -- may be associated with a higher degree of mortality," Johnson said on Friday in his address at a virtual briefing from 10 Downing Street.
Cautioning that the country is passing through a phase when there are festivals and potential gatherings, he said this is a critical phase as the virus can spread again.
Slack in following COVID appropriate behaviour, a susceptible population and spread of variants could be among the main reasons for the second wave of coronavirus
The government on Friday warned about the declining compliance to mask usage in the country amid concerns over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and urged people to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour and get vaccinated to prevent surge in cases.
The latest variant is the most heavily mutated version discovered so far.
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.
Announcing her appointment, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde hailed the Mysore-born Gopinath as "one of the world's outstanding economists with impeccable academic credentials, a proven track record of intellectual leadership and extensive international experience".
The endemic stage is when a population learns to live with a virus.
Japan's Asahi Shimbun, an official partner of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, called for the Summer Games to be cancelled in an editorial
Away from parents and in-laws, many couples find themselves unprepared for parenthood in a digital age. Nikita Puri explores apps that can ease the way.
'They don't always agree with our governments, their teachers or their parents, but it is the conviction of their ideas, and their determination to share them with the world that, I believe, is one of the greatest sources of hope for our planet.' 'The colonisation of space, understanding the very building blocks of matter and the universe, utilising our understanding of the human genome to conquer disease -- these are the tasks waiting for a fellowship of minds to realise new triumphs in our collective destiny.'
'We have a common way of looking at the world, a common way of thinking, and a common set of values that predispose us to be partners. And our interests overlap greatly,' Dr Ashton B Carter, America's next defence secretary, told Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com in an exclusive interview.
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