A woman gets vaccinated in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday (Express photo by Amit ChakravartyCoronavirus India Live Updates: Drugs such as ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, favipiravir and antibiotics like doxycycline and azithromycin prescribed for adult Covid patients are not recommended for treating children, stated a government guideline issued on Wednesday. The guidelines by the Union Health Ministry said the decision has been taken since most of these drugs used in adults are have not been tested on children for prevention or treatment of Covid infection among them.
India recorded 62,224 new Covid-19 cases and 2,542 deaths in the last 24 hours. With this, the country’s overall caseload rose to 2.96 crore, while the death toll surged to 3.62 lakh. Kerala is the top contributor, adding 12,246 new cases to the country’s caseload.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the government said that its decision to increase the gap between two shots of Covishield from 4-6 weeks to 12-16 weeks lies in “fundamental scientific reason regarding behaviour of adenovector vaccines”, according to the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI). A fact-check released by the PIB on Tuesday said “pre-registration for vaccination through online registration and prior booking of appointment is not mandatory to avail of vaccination services.”
Clarifying that registering on the CoWIN app is “one of the many modes of registration”, the PIB release said, “Anyone, aged 18 years or more, can directly go to the nearest vaccination Center where vaccinator performs the on-site registration and provides vaccination in the same visit. This is also popularly known as “walk-ins”.
Parents buying textbooks and other study material for their kids at a stationery shop in Appa Balvant Chowk, Pune on June 11, 2021. (Express Photo by Pavan Khengre)
Indian Medical Association (IMA) says 730 doctors have died during second wave of Covid-19 pandemic — most doctors lost their lives in Bihar (115), followed by Delhi (109).
Andhra Pradesh reports 6617 new cases, 57 deaths, and 10,228 recoveries in the last 24 hours.
Speaking at the VivaTech conference, PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday said, “Two Covid vaccines are made in India and more are in development, trial stage.” He also said that Aadhaar helped provide timely support to people during pandemic. (PTI)
Drugs such as ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, favipiravir and antibiotics like doxycycline and azithromycin prescribed for adult COVID-19 patients have not been recommended for treating children, according to a government guideline issued on Wednesday.
In anticipation of likely intermittent surges in the number of COVID-19 cases, the government has come out with guidelines for operationalising Covid-care services for children. The recommendations include augmenting existing Covid care facilities to provide care to children with acute coronavirus infection.
According to it, once vaccines are approved for children, those with comorbid conditions having more severe manifestations of COVID-19 and poorer outcomes should be a priority group for immunisation.
About the treatment of children, the guidelines by the Union Health Ministry said most drugs used in adults such as ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, favipiravir and antibiotics such as doxycycline or azithromycin have not been tested on children for prevention or treatment of Covid infection among them. "Therefore, these are not recommended in children." (PTI)
The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and an experimental protein-based preventive proved to be safe and showed good antibody response against SARS-CoV-2 in a trial on baby rhesus macaques, scientists say.
The research, published on Tuesday in the journal Science Immunology, suggests that vaccines for young children are likely important, safe tools to curtail the pandemic. "Safe and effective vaccines for young children will help limit the spread of COVID-19 because we know children can transmit the virus to others, whether they get sick from SARS-CoV-2 infection or remain asymptomatic," said Sallie Permar from New York-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital, US.
"Moreover, many children have become sick and even died from the infection, with many more negatively impacted by the measures put in place to curb the spread. Thus, young children deserve protection from COVID," Permer said. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hailed a mother of a six-year-old boy for her courage and positive thinking as she isolated herself from her son after contracting COVID-19.
Pooja Verma, who lives in Sector-6 of Ghaziabad, tested positive for the coronavirus along with her husband, Gagan Kaushik. Verma, her husband and their six-year-old son live in a three-bedroom apartment and after contracting COVID-19 in April, the couple made a tough decision and decided that all three would be isolated in separate rooms.
This was not easy for the six-year-old who longed for his parent's love while unable to understand what the coronavirus was or what Covid-related norms meant and what was the need for this isolation, Verma said.
In a letter to the prime minister, she narrated her ordeal as a mother who had to stay away from her child, through a poem she had penned. The prime minister wrote back to her and while asking about the wellbeing of her family, said, "I am happy that even in difficult circumstances, you and your family have fought this disease by adopting Covid-compliant behaviour with courage." (PTI)
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have sought medical care for post-Covid health problems that they had not been diagnosed with before becoming infected with the coronavirus, according to the largest study to date of long-term symptoms in Covid-19 patients.
The study, tracking the health insurance records of nearly 2 million people in the United States who contracted the coronavirus last year, found that one month or more after their infection, almost one-quarter — 23% — of them sought medical treatment for new conditions. Read more
Delhi reports 212 new Covid-19 cases, 516 recoveries and 25 deaths in the last 24 hours.
THE CAPITAL district of Thiruvananthapuram accounts for 21 per cent of total Covid-19 deaths in Kerala, which officials in the state health department attribute primarily to more transparent reporting of deaths and high prevalence of co-morbidity factors among the district’s aged population.
As on June 14, of the total 11,340 Covid deaths in Kerala, 2,401 deaths were reported from Thiruvananthapuram. The district accounts for 10 per cent of the state’s more than 27.35 lakh positive cases. In contrast, Thrissur, which accounts for 9 per cent of the state’s positive cases, has only 10 per cent of the total Covid deaths.
The decision regarding enhancing interval between two doses of Covishield was based on scientific evidence and taken in a transparent manner, NTAGI Chair N K Arora said on Tuesday.
There was no dissenting voice among the members of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI ), he said, according to a tweet by the Union Health Ministry.
The government had on May 13 said it has accepted the COVID-19 Working Group’s recommendation and extended the gap between the two doses of the Covishield vaccine from 6-8 weeks to 12-16 weeks.
New findings from the UK show that vaccines are effective against Delta variant, a major contributor to the second wave of Covid-19 in India, and which has replaced the Alpha variant as the dominant strain in the UK.
What are the new findings?
A new scientific analysis, published by Public Health England, has found that two doses of Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing hospitalisation due to B.1.617.2, now known as the Delta variant. Importantly, it showed no deaths among those vaccinated.
The analysis gives effectiveness data of two vaccines. Pfizer-BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine was found 96% effective in preventing hospitalisation after two doses. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was found 92% effective after two doses. The Indian version of this vaccine, Covishield from Serum Institute, is among the vaccines being administered in the country. Read more
The US embassy on Tuesday said thousands of Indian students have secured visa appointments for July and August since June 14. According to a senior American diplomat, the US mission in India is “actively working” to accommodate as many student visa applicants as possible in July and August, and facilitating their legitimate travel remained a top priority for it.
“Since June 14, thousands of students have secured visa appointments for July and August. Thousands of appointments remain available and we will open thousands more in coming weeks,” the American embassy said in a tweet. “We appreciate your patience as we diligently work to resolve the technical issues you have encountered,” it said.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday said the Delhi government would train 5,000 youth as “health assistants” in the coming weeks to prepare for a possible third wave of Covid-19 infections in the city.
“In the last few days, preparations are being made to protect Delhi from a possible third wave of Covid. I have visited many hospitals. We are setting up oxygen plants and making arrangements for oxygen concentrators, cylinders and storage tanks as well. But if a third wave comes — as we saw in the first and second waves — we face shortage of medical and paramedical staff,” he said in a press conference.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has asked the deputy commissioners not to slacken the vaccination drive and also conduct vulnerability mapping at the block level in view of the spread of COVID-19 to rural and semi-urban areas of the state.
The number of fresh cases in the state has shown a gradual decline, Sarma said, while virtually reviewing the COVID situation with DCs and Superintendents of Police on Tuesday night.
The chief minister asked the DCs and SPs not to lower their guard and ensure strict adherence to the restrictions imposed to curtail the spread of the disease. (PTI)
Ocugen Inc, Bharat Biotech's US and Canada partner for its COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, said it has chosen Jubilant HollisterStier of Spokane, Washington as its manufacturing partner for the vaccine for the North American countries.
"We are fully committed to bringing Covaxin to the US and Canadian markets because we believe it has the potential to save lives by adding a weapon to the arsenal in the fight against emerging variants, J P Gabriel, Ocugen's Senior Vice President, Manufacturing and Supply Chain said in a release on Tuesday.
Bharat Biotech has entered into a definitive agreement with OcugenInc, a US-based biopharmaceutical company, to co-develop, supply, and commercialise, its Covaxin for the American and Canadian markets. (PTI)
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday directed the health authorities to start vaccination of teachers, non-teaching staff and students in the 18-45 age group from all schools and colleges from June 21, to enable educational institutions in the state to open safely.
The CM directed the department to ensure that all persons with co-morbidities as well as disabilities, and government employees, are vaccinated on priority. Staff in hospitality industry, parlours, service outlets including shops, restaurants, gyms etc should also be vaccinated at the earliest, he said, at the Covid review meeting.
Judicial officers and Lawyers should also be prioritized so that normal court functioning can safely resume, directed Captain Amarinder, while asking the health department to reach out proactively to nursing mothers, who have been clarified to be eligible for vaccination. Expressing concern over the gender gap in vaccination, he directed the health experts to identified the reasons and rectify the situation.
The Chief Minister also ordered ward wise and village wise campaigns in cities/towns/rural areas that saw higher positivity/ mortality, in order to prioritise them for vaccination. (Express News Service)
Pointing out that Punjab was perhaps the only state in the country to have put in place a vaccination strategy for the 18-45 age group that prioritises the poor and the vulnerable, the Chief Minister expressed satisfaction that almost 1 lakh co-morbid youth and 3.5 lakh young construction and other workers, had been vaccinated free of cost by the state government. Over 70,000 young family members of healthcare workers have been prioritised, while rehriwalas, bus drivers, shop workers and other deserving categories are also receiving vaccination from the state supplies, he noted.
Health Secretary Hussan Lal disclosed that the number of Covishield doses received by the state so far for the 18-45 age group stood at 5.86 lakh of which 5.30 have been used and the state has balance stock of 55,390 doses. Covaxin doses received were 150850 of which 66040 have been utilised.
One of the many stories 37-year-old doctors Dhruv Joshi and Dileep Raman like to recount is how their ‘smart ICU’ technology picked up early signs of oxygen levels plummeting in the ICU of a district hospital in Karnataka.
Cloudphysician, the start-up firm founded by the two doctors in 2017, uses IT to relay visuals and data from the ICU to a manned command centre, where intensivists and other specialists make swift decisions on treatment protocol.
Talking of the oxygen crisis in the hospital ICU in April, during the second wave of Covid-19, Joshi says, “Oxygen pressure at the ICU had fallen to a critical level, which our command centre team picked up by monitoring the ventilators. The oxygen being delivered to the patient was much below the level that had been set.” The sounding of an early alarm by Cloudphysician “averted a possible mass fatality event”. Read the full report here.
India recorded 62,224 new Covid-19 cases and 2,542 deaths in the last 24 hours. With this, the country’s overall caseload rose to 2.96 crore, while the death toll surged to 3.62 lakh. Kerala is the top contributor, adding 12,246 new cases to the country’s caseload.
A fact-check released by the PIB on Tuesday said "pre-registration for vaccination through online registration and prior booking of appointment is not mandatory to avail of vaccination services."
Clarifying that registering on the CoWIN app is "one of the many modes of registration", the PIB release said, "Anyone, aged 18 years or more, can directly go to the nearest vaccination Center where vaccinator performs the on-site registration and provides vaccination in the same visit.This is also popularly known as “walk-ins”. The facilitators such as health workers or ASHAs, also mobilize beneficiaries in rural areas and those residing in urban slums, for on-site registration and vaccination directly at the nearest vaccination centers. The facility for assisted registrations through the 1075 Help Line has also been operationalized."
Union Health Ministry Tuesday said the efficacy data of Novavax vaccine against Covid-19 is promising and encouraging and its clinical trials are in an advanced stage of completion in India.
Addressing a press conference, NITI Aayog Member (Health) V K Paul said the data available in public domain also indicates the vaccine is safe and highly effective. "What we are learning from the available data is that this vaccine is very safe and it is highly effective but what makes this vaccine relevant for today is the fact that this vaccine will be produced in India by Serum Institute," he was quoted as saying by PTI.
There is preparatory work already accomplished by the Serum Institute and they are also conducting a bridging trial which is in advanced stages of completion, he added.
Novavax Inc on Monday annnounced that its vaccine was highly effective with 90.4 per cent efficacy overall and also showed high efficacy against predominantly circulating variants.