Over 401,000 fresh cases reported
India reported 401,078 fresh coronavirus infections on Saturday, taking the cumulative caseload to 21.9 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 4,187 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to just under 240,000. The active caseload is at 3.7 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 17.9 million. As many as 167 million shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 2.2 million were given on Friday. Read more here
59% US voters support IP waiver: survey
As many as 59 per cent of US voters support a waiver of intellectual property protections on life-saving medicines and vaccines for diseases such as Covid-19 which could lead to cheaper drugs, a report in ThePrint said citing a new survey. The poll was carried out by Data for Progress, a US think tank, and Progressive International, an international organisation. The poll was conducted between 30 April and 2 May. It included a sample size of 1,402 likely voters in the US. Only 28 per cent of the respondents disagreed with an IP waiver. Read more here
Lockdowns see cash with public hit record high
Cash in the hands of the public continues to rise as more states impose strict lockdowns to contain the spread of Covid-19, a report in The Indian Express said. Cash with the public hit an all-time high of Rs 28.03 trillion in the fortnight ended April 23, 2021. Since February 1, cash with the public is up by Rs 96,776 crore, according to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India. Read more here
Non-steroidal inflammatory drugs are safe for patients with Covid: study
According to a new study of more than 72,000 people in the UK published in the medical journal Lancet Rheumatology, the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, does not lead to higher mortality rates or severe disease in patients who are hospitalised with Covid, a report in The Indian Express said. NSAIDs are common treatments for severe pain and rheumatological diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthrosis. There has been debate on whether such drugs increase the severity of Covid, leading to calls for investigations. Read more here
Rural India: Cases and deaths quadruple in the second wave
In the second wave of the pandemic, the Covid caseload in India's hinterland or backward regions has quadrupled and so has the fatalities compared to the first wave, a report in The Indian Express said. The districts covered by the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) — 243 of the 272 for which data are available — had more than 3.9 million infections as of May 5. This is more than four times the 950,000 infections at the peak of the first wave on September 16, last year. Read more here
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