The COVID-19 experimental vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford, also triggers lower adverse responses among the elderly as well as young adults, British drug maker AstraZeneca Plc, which is helping manufacture the vaccine, said on Monday.
“It is encouraging to see immunogenicity responses were similar between older and younger adults and that reactogenicity was lower in older adults, where the COVID-19 disease severity is higher,” an AstraZeneca spokesman said.
The news that older people get an immune response from the vaccine is positive because the immune system weakens with age and older people are those most at risk of dying from the virus.
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Here are the latest updates:
Air pollution may hinder India’s fight against COVID-19, say scientists
The causal link between air pollution and COVID-19 cases is yet to be established conclusively but long-term exposure will certainly make people more vulnerable to lung infections, warn scientists as the skies over large parts of north India, including Delhi, turn smoky and the air quality deteriorates rapidly.
Their concerns come amid several global studies pointing to the possible connection between higher air pollution levels and increased COVID-19 cases and deaths.
A study by researchers at Harvard University in the US in September showed that an increase of only one microgram per cubic metre in PM 2.5 is associated with an 8 per cent increase in the COVID-19 death rate.
“Given the current limited literature, the surge of PM2.5 level in Delhi may be associated with increased COVID-19 cases... Although the literature is relatively sparse at this stage,” Xiao Wu, corresponding author of the Harvard study, told PTI.
- PTI
Post-COVID, loss of income acute among trafficking survivors: study
In an attempt to understand the distress among survivors of trafficking and other vulnerable women, several non-government organisations associated with Tafteesh and Survivors Leadership Programme conducted a vulnerability analysis of 236 survivors of human trafficking, survivors of commercial sex work and women in sex work from West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
The women were identified by organisations such as Goranbose Gram Bikas Kendra, HELP, Partners for Anti Trafficking and Sanjog. The vulnerability assessment was carried among 120 women from West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas district and 116 women from Prakasam, Guntur and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh.
“Out of the 236 survivors assessed, 79 [or 33%] had no income of themselves before the lockdown, the number increased to 183 [or 77.5%] after the lockdown. Similarly, the number of no income for their family heads before lockdown was 65 [27.5%], which got increased to 206 [87%] following the lockdown,” the study revealed.
Rajasthan to make wearing face masks mandatory
In a bid to check coronavirus, the Rajasthan government will bring a bill in the upcoming assembly session to make wearing face masks mandatory, a release said.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the State government is considering making wearing face masks mandatory and a bill will be brought in this regard in the assembly session. Interacting with district collectors, college principals and other officials through a video conference held to review the outcome of a movement against coronavirus, Mr. Gehlot said every section of society should join the government to make this campaign successful.
He said the campaign will not be completely successful until people realise the need of wearing face masks.
Maharashtra cuts COVID-19 test charges
The Maharashtra government on Monday slashed the rate charged for the clinical testing for COVID-19 by ₹200, to bring it down to ₹980. This is the fourth cut announced by the State as the original cost of the test was ₹4,500.
“While ₹980 will be levied by pathological laboratories, for tests conducted through laboratories at COVID-19 centres, hospitals, and quarantine centres, where a large number of samples are collected daily, ₹1,400 would be charged. Similarly, for testing samples collected from residences of suspected patients, ₹1,800 has been fixed,” Health Minister Rajesh Tope said.
The minister said that the repeated cost rationalisations were a direct consequence of keeping with the State government’s focus to ease the burden of the COVID-19 exposure upon the common man.
Jamboo Savari confined to palace for third time in 25 years
Elephant Abhimanyu flanked by Kaveri and Vijaya carrying the golden howdah during the Jamboo Savari on Monday.
Elephant Abhimanyu flanked by Kaveri and Vijaya carrying the golden howdah during the Jamboo Savari on Monday.
This year, the challenge faced by all those associated with the Dasara festivities was keeping the key staff at the venue COVID-19 free as the pandemic was posing a serious health risk even as Mysuru was reporting second highest cases in the State after Bengaluru and was also a COVID-19 hotspot. Keeping the elephants, mahouts and the staff safe from COVID-19 was a test which the forest officials successfully handled, taking all precautions like not allowing the key staff venture out of the palace fort, providing them with all essentials, and screening them periodically along with COVID-19 tests so that they remained fit and healthy for the occasion.
The pneumonic plague had struck parts of Surat in Gujarat in 1994 and the Government of Karnataka led by then Chief Minister M. Veerappa Moily decided to scale down the procession, confining the grand spectacle to the palace premises. In 2002, eight years later, the Jamboo Savari was again restricted to the palace in the wake of severe drought besides former Minister H. Nagappa’s kidnap by forest brigand Veerappan.
Polio networks to play crucial role in COVID-19 vaccine rollout: WHO
Uttar Pradesh, the most populous State in the country, used polio micro-plans twice in the last three months to help identify over two lakh people with COVID-19 symptoms. These persons were then followed-up and tested for COVID-19, said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director WHO South-East Asia, while citing U.P. as an example of applying strategies from polio eradication programmes, to help contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a release issued by the WHO, South East Asia Region, Dr. Singh also indicated that in the coming months “polio networks, with their vast knowledge on vaccination and tools and strategies tailored to reach the unreached and the most vulnerable, could play a critical role for COVID-19 vaccination roll out.”
She added that in U.P., the surveillance medical officers’ team coordinated with the State government and a massive initiative of house-to-house surveillance to identify people with symptoms of influenza-like illness and co-morbidities was conducted. This covered 208 million people across all 75 districts.
AI to operate 260 Vande Bharat flights to 12 countries
Air India has announced its flight schedule for the seventh round of Vande Bharat Mission, which will provide connectivity to nearly 12 countries. It will be in effect from October 28 to December 31.
The seventh round will include more than 260 flights. Air India will provide services to China, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Adelaide and Sydney in Australia, Kuwait, Oman, Kenya, Ethopia, Myanmar, Egypt, Italy, Saudi Arabia. The Air India Group (Air India and Air India Express) has so far operated 7,600 Vande Bharat flights and ferried 9,80,000 passengers to and from India.
These flights exclude those that Air India will operate under the “air bubble” agreement or a special bilateral tie-up, India has entered into with nearly 18 countries.