News Analysis India

Tag: Coronavirus pandemic

  • Breakthrough infection with Delta, reinfection with Omicron in individual vaccinated with Covishield

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI: The Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV), Pune, has reported a case of three-time Covid infection in an individual who was vaccinated with the Covishield jab against the virus.

    The healthcare professional from Delhi had primary SARS-CoV2 infection, breakthrough infection with Delta and reinfection with Omicron over a period of around 16 months, researchers of Pune NIV said in a study.

    The findings of the study prove the immune evasion potential of the Omicron variant, even after infection and vaccination, said the researchers.

    The researchers in the report have said that the 38-year-old had tested positive with primary Covid infection during the first wave of the pandemic with symptoms like body ache, fever and a dry cough on October 9, 2020.

    ALSO READ: Serum Institute to give free Covishield vials to private vaccination centres to compensate for price difference

    However, there were no complaints of breathlessness, and post recovery, he experienced symptoms of long Covid, including generalised weakness for two to three weeks and insomnia for two to three months.

    The healthcare professional experienced body ache and headache again in November 2021. Subsequently, he tested positive for SARS-COV-2 and the body ache persisted for two to three days.

    However, during the third wave of the pandemic, the individual again developed a headache on January 24, 2022, after being asymptomatic for a period of two months.

    The researchers in the report said that the case represented a breakthrough infection post primary SARS-CoV-2 infection and two doses of Covishield vaccination.

    ALSO READ: Covishield & Covaxin prices cut, hospitals to pay Rs 225 per dose

    The patient received the first dose of Covishield vaccine on January 31, 2021, and the second dose on March 3.

    While vaccination reportedly reduces severity of disease and mortality in Covid-19, it cannot protect individuals from getting a breakthrough infection, said the researchers.

    The NIV scientists concluded the report saying that the fight against Covid-19 is far from over. Although vaccine boosters or third doses have shown an augmentation in the immune response against the Omicron variant, it has been found to wane over time.

    In such a situation, non-pharmacological interventions in the form of mask, hand hygiene and infection control remain the most reliable weapons to curb the direct transmission of SARS-CoV-2, researchers said in the report. The report was published in the Journal of Infection.

  • Scientists allay fears of new COVID wave, say cases rising but focus on hospital admissions

    By PTI

    DELHI: Though Covid cases are rising in Delhi and its satellite towns, the focus should be on hospital admissions that have remained the same or changed just marginally, say several scientists, underscoring that the uptick is not an indication of a fourth wave in the country at this point.

    The removal of COVID-19 restrictions, including schools reopening for offline classes, increased socialising and economic activity may be driving the spike in the national capital and its surrounding areas, and some other pockets, they said.

    “It has been more than two weeks since all COVID-19 restrictions have been removed. It is a holiday period and people are meeting and intermingling. This is also reflected in social mobility and economic activity, which are higher than pre-pandemic periods,” physician-epidemiologist Chandrakant Lahariya told PTI while also advising caution and stressing on continued surveillance.

    “Merely counting cases has no meaning…though cases are rising in Delhi, hospital admission remains unchanged or marginally changed,” he said.

    ALSO READ: Active COVID-19 cases in country rise to 11,860

    Given the epidemiological and scientific evidence, the current rise in cases in Delhi is not the start of the fourth wave.

    “SARS CoV-2 is going to stay with us for a long time and therefore, there is not going to be any period when the new cases would be zero,” he said.

    Delhi’s COVID-19 positivity rate on Monday jumped to 7.72 per cent with 501 fresh cases, according to health department data.

    The last time the positivity rate was above seven per cent in the city was on January 29 (7.4 per cent) and on January 28 (8.6 per cent), officials said.

    This is in sharp contrast to India’s overall positivity rate of 0.31 per cent recorded by the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday when 1,247 coronavirus infections were reported.

    ALSO READ: Not need for alarm as hospitalisations low, says Satyendar Jain on COVID situation in Delhi

    While scientists don’t have exact answers why, US-based Infectious disease expert Amita Gupta noted that the rise in cases in Delhi and some other states may be a result of looser restrictions, pandemic fatigue, and higher transmissibility of the virus.

    “We anticipate this will not result in a major increase in severe cases requiring hospitalisation as this is not what we are seeing elsewhere despite the increased transmissibility,” Gupta, chief of the Division of Infectious Disease and Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, told PTI.

    “It really helps that India has done an incredible job in vaccinating its population and now it is important to continue to do this and to administer the booster shots to those who are eligible,” she added.

    Modeller Manindra Agrawal, who has been tracking India’s COVID-19 trajectory since the beginning of the pandemic, concurred.

    “Increase in social mobility, lowering of guard and removal of mask mandates are the possible reasons behind the increase in Covid cases,” Agrawal, a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, told PTI.

    ALSO READ: ‘COVID spread’ increased by 500 per cent in last 15 days among Delhi-NCR residents, claims survey

    “There is also no indication of a fourth wave for now. For that to happen, a new mutant will have to arise,” Agrawal added.

    As testing rates have dropped, it is not known if the cases being reported are a true indication of the situation, epidemiologist Ramanan Laxminarayan said.

    “Testing has gone down and we are likely missing cases but I would focus on hospitalisations rather than caseloads given where we are in the pandemic,” Laxminarayan, director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy in Washington and New Delhi, told PTI.

    There is a global resurgence in cases and we should expect to see greater synchronicity in Covid cases globally given that travel barriers between countries have dropped.

    “The BA.2 subvariant of Omicron appears to be more able to evade immunity to cause infections but is also less lethal possibly because of existing immunity from prior infection and vaccination,” he said.

    Scientists also cautioned against complacency.

    ALSO READ: India stopping WHO to make global COVID deaths public, claims New York Times

    Lahariya, for instance, said the world is still not over the pandemic and it is hard to predict when new variants will emerge and how they will behave.

    “We should continue close surveillance for early detection of Covid cases through existing surveillance networks in the country and be prepared to trigger recommendations to resume masking, social distancing if and when surges occur,” he added.

    The use of masks by people in Delhi has considerably reduced after a fine of Rs 500 was withdrawn by the officials earlier this month.

    Experts are divided over whether this was ideal in view of the rising number of infections.

    Agrawal noted that bringing back mask mandates would be a good step, but the data right now is insufficient to make any predictions about the future trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

    As with any respiratory virus and illness, Lahariya added, we can always expect some spike on regular intervals.

    “The BA.2 and XE sublineages are now global and we are likely to see greater global convergence in Covid patterns since transmission will be easier between countries,” Laxminarayan explained.

    In recent weeks there has been a rise in Covid cases in many countries, including the US, driven by the BA.2 subvariant of coronavirus, but the hospitalisation rate has been low.

    ALSO READ: Delhi-NCR schools take preventive measures to avoid closure amid spike in COVID cases

    According to Lahariya, a comparison with any other country or making inferences from the global trend is not logical.

    “What is happening in any other country has no implication for India and carries no learning. The focus has to be using the local evidence for decision making. Every country’s context is different. BA.2 or XE which is a recombinant of BA.1 and BA.2 sub lineage is unlikely to cause major increase in cases in India.”

    “BA.2 was responsible for the recent Omicron surge in India in January-February 2022. Scientifically, we know that the same variant (and XE is just a sub-type) cannot cause a fresh wave at least for six to nine months. The caveat is that Yes, if a new variant which is more transmissible than Omicron and has immune escape, then only there is risk of a fresh wave,” he added.

    Besides Delhi, other places have also seen their Covid graph rise.

    On April 18, Kerala reported a five day rise of 940 new cases.

    The number of COVID positive cases in Haryana rose from 514 between April 5-11 to 1,119 between April 12-18, with the highest number of cases being reported from Gurugram and Faridabad, both towns adjacent to Delhi.

    Noida and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh witnessed an increase in the number of infections, from around 45 daily cases across the state at the beginning of the month to 135 cases on Monday.

  • Centre writes to Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, Mizoram on spiking COVID cases

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The center has written to five states, including Kerala and Delhi, on the rise in Covid cases and has advised them to continue monitoring the spread of the infection and undertake required steps for prompt and effective management of Covid-19.

    In the letter, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that “a sustained and significant decline in the number of Covid-19 cases had been observed in India over the past two months, with the country reporting less than 1000 daily new cases for the past few days. Weekly positivity rate has remained below 1 percent.”

    However, he said a few states are reporting a higher contribution to India’s daily new cases.

    He said that as the states are taking various measures to reopen economic and social activities, there is a need for continuous follow-up of a risk assessment-based approach for Covid-19.

    In separate letters to these five states, Bhushan told them to continue the five-fold strategy of test-track-treat-vaccination, and adherence to Covid appropriate behavior needs to be followed.

    The ministry also listed steps to follow, including monitoring new clusters, adequate testing, monitoring influenza-like illness, conducting genomic sequencing for prescribed samples of international passengers, and vaccinating all eligible people.

    “It is essential that the state maintain a strict watch and take pre-emptive action if required in any areas of concern to control any emerging spread of infection. Testing and surveillance remain important to treat the virus, its spread and evolution.” 

    The ministry said laxity would nullify the gains in pandemic management so far.

    The ministry said Kerala is reporting 31.8 percent of India’s new cases, and the state also has seen an increase in positivity in the last week from 13.45 percent to 15.53 percent. Mizoram accounted for 11.16 percent of all new cases, and the state also saw an increase in positivity in the last week from 14.38 percent to 16.48 percent.

    Maharashtra also saw a spike in new cases as it accounted for 10.9 percent of India’s recent issues. The State has also seen an increase in positivity in the last week from 0.39 percent to 0.43 percent. Delhi accounted for 11.33 percent of India’s new cases, with the state seeing an increase in positivity in the last week from 0.51 percent to 1.25 percent.

    Haryana also accounted for 5.70 percent of all new cases in the country, with the positivity rate increasing in the last week from 0.51 percent to 1.060 percent.

  • WHO’s supply suspension of Covaxin not to impact travel of people: MEA

    Arindam Bagchi said the issue was something to do with certain processes and manufacturer of Covaxin and the WHO are looking into the matter.

  • Link children orphaned due to COVID, their family members to various schemes: SC to states

    Supreme Court directed state governments and UTs to take steps to complete the process of preparation of social investigation reports in respect of such children.

  • Doctors, cancer victims urge Centre to remove designated smoking rooms from hotels, restaurants, airports

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: On No Smoking Day, doctors, cancer victims and hotel associations urged the Centre to remove the designated smoking rooms from hotels, restaurants and airports to protect people from second-hand smoke.

    The second Wednesday of March is observed as No Smoking Day.

    Lauding the Centre for initiating the process to amend the COTPA 2003, the doctors, cancer victims and hotel associations appealed for an immediate removal of a current provision that permits smoking areas to make India 100 per cent smoke-free and check the spread of COVID-19.

    Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, head-and-neck cancer surgeon, Tata Memorial Hospital, said there is growing evidence that smoking increases the risk of attracting Covid.

    It worsens lung function and reduces immunity.

    Smokers who contract Covid develop more complications and have a greater risk of fatality.

    “All designated smoking areas in hotels and restaurants and even at airports should be abolished to ensure a 100 per cent smoke-free environment. Most of these smoking areas are rarely compliant of the COTPA requirements and are actually putting our public at great health risk from exposure to second-hand smoke,” Chaturvedi said.

    In India, smoking is banned in public places according to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA), 2003.

    Section 4 of the Act prohibits smoking in any place to which the public has access.

    However, the Act allows smoking at designated areas in certain public places such as restaurants, hotels and airports.

    “Exposure to passive smoking happens in eateries, hotels, restaurants, bars, pubs and clubs, risking the lives of thousands of non-smokers by exposing them to the smoke of cigarettes. As cigarette smoke seeps from the smoking areas to the common areas, the COTPA needs to be amended to not permit smoking on any premises.

    “All places should be completely smoke-free in the best interest of public health,” said Nalini Satyanarayan, a victim of passive smoking and a health activist.

    Second-hand smoking is as harmful as smoking.

    Exposure to second-hand smoke causes many diseases, including lung cancer and heart diseases in adults and lung function impairment and respiratory infections in children.

    People with compromised respiratory and cardiovascular systems are at a higher risk of COVID-19 severity and death.

    Designated smoking areas facilitate the spread of Covid as the smokers find it difficult to follow social distancing and cannot wear masks and are trapped in close proximity in a smoke-filled environment, Chaturvedi said.

    “We are finding that families prefer to stay in hotels that do not allow smoking. We are happy that the government is strengthening the COTPA provisions to make the hospitality sector completely smoke-free. We support the government in its initiative for safeguarding people’s health,” said GP Sharma, president, Hospitality Association of Uttar Pradesh.

    The Centre has introduced the COTPA (Amendment) Bill, 2020 in Parliament.

    In a recent survey conducted in India, 72 per cent of the respondents said they believe that second-hand smoke is a serious health hazard and 88 per cent strongly supported the strengthening of the current tobacco-control law to address the menace.

    India has the second largest number of tobacco users (26.8 crore or 28.6 per cent of all adults in the country) in the world.

    Of them, at least 12 lakh die every year from tobacco-related diseases.

    As many as 10 lakh deaths are reported due to smoking, more than two lakh due to second-hand smoke exposure and over 35,000 due to smokeless tobacco use.

    Nearly 27 per cent of all cancer cases in India are due to tobacco usage.

    The total direct and indirect cost of the diseases attributable to tobacco use is a staggering Rs 1.82 lakh crore, which is nearly 1.8 per cent of the country’s GDP.

    Tobacco use in all forms, whether smoking or chewing, is associated with severe COVID-19 casualties, according to advisories issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

  • Government panel recommends permission for phase 3 trial of Sputnik Light vaccine as booster dose

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: An expert panel of India’s central drug authority has recommended the permission for conducting phase-3 clinical trial of single-dose COVID-19 vaccine ‘Sputnik Light’ as a booster dose, official sources said on Saturday.

    The recommendations have been sent to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for final approval.

    The DCGI had on February 4 granted emergency use permission to Sputnik Light vaccine in India, subject to certain regulatory provisions.

    Hyderabad-based Dr.Reddy’s Laboratories had presented its proposal to DCGI for conducting the phase-3 trial of Sputnik Light vaccine as booster dose.

    Sputnik Light is the same as component-1 of Sputnik V.

    “The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the CDSCO, which reviewed the application on Friday after detailed deliberation, recommended granting permission for the phase-3 clinical trial with condition to initiate the trial with Sputnik Light vaccine for which the firm is holding emergency use authorisation permission in the country subject to certain regulatory provisions,” an official source said.

    Sputnik Light vaccine is approved in 29 countries, including Argentina and Russia.

  • Active COVID-19 cases in country dip to 69,897

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: With 6,396 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,29,51,556, while the active cases dipped to 69,897, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

    The death toll climbed to 5,14,589 with 201 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

    The daily COVID-19 cases have remained less than one lakh for 26 consecutive days.

    The active cases comprise 0.16 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has further improved to 98.64 per cent, the ministry said.

    Active #Covid19 cases stand at 69,897. pic.twitter.com/KSgkh7ox3q
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) March 4, 2022
    A reduction of 7,255 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    The daily positivity rate was recorded as 0.69 per cent and the weekly positivity rate as 0.90 per cent, according to the ministry.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,23,67,070 while the case fatality rate was recorded as 1.20 per cent.

    The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 178.29 crore.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year.

    The 201 new fatalities include 161 from Kerala and 12 from Maharashtra.

    A total of 5,14,589 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,43,718 from Maharashtra, 65,758 from Kerala, 39,979 from Karnataka, 38,010 from Tamil Nadu, 26,130 from Delhi, 23,470 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,178 from West Bengal.

    The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

    “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

  • Maharashtra: Cinema halls, restaurants allowed to function at full capacity in 14 districts including Mumbai

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Easing pandemic-related restrictions, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday allowed shopping complexes, restaurants, cinema halls and theaters to operate at 100 per cent capacity in 14 out of 36 districts in the state, including Mumbai.

    These 14 districts are: Mumbai city, Mumbai suburban district, Pune, Bhandara, Sindhudurg, Nagpur, Raigad, Wardha, Ratnagiri, Satara, Sangli, Gondia, Chandrapur and Kolhapur.

    A government notification said that in these districts 90 per cent of the eligible population has taken at least one dose of anti-coronavirus vaccines, and over 70 per cent people are fully vaccinated.

    The positivity rate in these areas is less than 10 per cent and occupancy of oxygen-supported or ICU beds is less than 40 per cent.

    Social, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious, political and festival-linked events including those related to marriages and funerals and other gatherings and congregations are now permitted in these districts with attendance at 50 per cent of the capacity of the venue, the notification said.

    But if a gathering is expected to be of more than 1,000 persons, the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will have to be informed and it may impose reasonable restrictions.

    For other districts, attendance at such events will be capped at 50 per cent of capacity or 200, whichever is less.

    “All shopping complexes, cinema halls, restaurants and bars, sports complexes, gyms, spas, swimming pools, religious places, drama theatres (`natyagrihas’), tourist places, entertainment parks etc are allowed to operate with 100 per cent capacity in these (14) districts,” the notification said.

    “For other administrative units (remaining 22 districts of the state) excluded from this list, these shall operate at 50 per cent of the capacity,” the notification added.

    Based on inputs of the state health department as well as the government’s COVID Task Force and considering the present pandemic sitution, the State Executive Committee (SEC) has decided to ease the norms, it added.

    There has been steady decline in new daily coronavirus cases in Maharashtra.

    On January 31, the state government had eased some restrictions.

    The January 31 guidelines had said that swimming pools, water-parks, theatres and restaurants can operate with 50 per cent capacity, subject to permission of the competent authority, in the districts of Mumbai, Pune, Bhandara, Sindhudurg, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Satara, Sangli, Gondia, Kolhapur and Chandrapur.

  • Madhya Pradesh government orders opening of schools, hostels with full attendance

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh government on Saturday ordered the opening of schools and hostels across the state with full capacity with immediate effect, in view of the decline in COVID-19 cases, an official said.

    The school education department’s order was issued in compliance of the directives issued by the state home department, the official said.

    All schools, residential schools and hostels will be started for Classes 1 to 12 with full attendance with immediate effect, he said.

    As per the order, COVID-19 appropriate behaviour such as wearing of masks and social distancing should be ensured during classes.

    Earlier on Friday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced the lifting of all COVID-19 curbs, barring the night curfew, considering the drop in infections.

    “Keeping in view the continuous decline in the positivity rate and active cases of COVID-19, all curbs have been eased. All social, commercial, cultural, political, religious, entertainment, sports activities and fairs in the state will be held with full capacity,” Chouhan said in a tweet.

    Madhya Pradesh had on Friday reported 2,612 new COVID-19 cases and three casualties that raised the tally of infections to 10,21,361 and toll to 10,682.