News Analysis India

Tag: Pandemic

  • Modi calls for ‘repair and prepare’ as India emerges from pandemic

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called for focus on ‘repair and prepare’ as the nation emerges out of a devastating pandemic.

    “Over the past year, we have witnessed a lot of disruption in different sectors. Much of it is still there. Yet, disruption does not have to mean despair,” he said at VivaTech Summit.

    “Instead, we must keep the focus on the twin foundations of repair and prepare,” he said referring to the need to augment healthcare infrastructure in the country as well as prop up the economy.

    Indian economy suffered its worst contraction in decades in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, as the pandemic-induced lockdown impaired economic activity.

    The government, however, continued with the reforms that would help sustain higher growth rates after the world emerges from the pandemic.

    India implemented huge reforms across sectors – from mining to space, from banking to atomic energy, he said.

    “This goes on to show that India as a nation is adaptable and agile, even in the middle of the pandemic.” “India offers what innovators and investors need,” Modi said.

    “I invite the world to invest in India based on the five pillars of talent, market, capital, eco-system and culture of openness.” Stating that India’s strides in the world of tech and start-up are well-known, he said the country is home to one of the world’s largest start-up eco systems and several unicorns have come up in recent years.

  • Over 2 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in Rajasthan: Health minister

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: More than two crore vaccine doses have been administered in Rajasthan so far as part of the inoculation campaign against Covid, Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma said on Wednesday.

    He said that a capacity to administer about seven lakh doses per day has been developed in the state. Vaccine wastage in the state is only 0.8 per cent and continuous efforts are being taken to make it nil, Sharma said.

    He said that according to data till Tuesday evening, 1,62,95,718 persons had been given the first dose and 34,92,989 people the second dose.

    In the age group of 18 to 44 years, 36,60,873 people have been given the first dose and 1,813 their second dose.

  • Mumbai housing society vaccination fraud?: Police begins probe 

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Mumbai Police launched an investigation after a housing society in suburban Kandivali suspected “fraud” by some persons who had organised a COVID-19 vaccination camp for its members by claiming to represent a private hospital and also expressed apprehensions that the vaccine that was administered could be spurious.

    A senior officer said on Wednesday no FIR has been registered so far but the police will probe the case from different angles. “We have not registered an FIR in this case and not arrested anybody. We have also not detained anybody. We are just investigating,” Deputy Commissioner of Police, zone 11, Vishal Thakur told PTI.

    In a complaint submitted to the police, the Hiranandani Heritage Residents Welfare Association (HHRWA) had said that a vaccination camp was arranged by the residential complex on May 30.

    But later it found that the Co-WIN portal did not have any record of the people who participated and they received certificates in the name of different hospitals.

    “If the vaccine is found to be spurious, the people who got vaccinated will have a medical emergency to deal with. Therefore, there is an urgent need to investigate the whole episode so that such fraudulent activities are not repeated at other places,” the complaint said.

    The HHRWA had orgainzed the camp through a person who claimed to be a sales representative of a reputed private hospital in suburban Andheri.

    As many as 390 members received the jabs at the camp at Rs 1,260 per person, it had said in the complaint which stated that some unscrupulous elements have taken the society for a ride.

    They were shocked to receive vaccination certificates in the name of Nanavati Hospital, Lifeline Hospital and NESCO Covid Camp, among others, it said. Nanavati Hospital had said in a statement that it had not conducted any such vaccination camp.

    “We have informed the authorities and are lodging a formal complaint,” said its spokesperson on Tuesday.

    The HHRWA also said that none of the people who got vaccinated had the usual after-effects like fever or body ache.

    According to the complaint, one Sanjay Gupta was the coordinator for the camp, but he did not give receipts for the payment for vaccines. He had asked the association to make payment to one Mahendra Singh. Local BJP MLA Yogesh Sagar had also demanded that police conduct a thorough probe.

    The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has already made signing a Memorandum of Understanding between private vaccination providers and housing societies mandatory if such camps are organized.

  • Ladakh records 38 fresh Covid cases, one more death

    By PTI
    LEH: Ladakh’s COVID-19 caseload surged to 19,649 on Wednesday with 38 fresh infections while the death toll climbed to 199 as one more person succumbed to the viral disease, officials said.

    Of the fresh cases, 21 were reported from Leh district and 17 from Kargil district, they said. The latest fatality was reported from Kargil, the officials said. Of the total 199 deaths in the union territory, 143 were reported from Leh and 56 from Kargil, they said.

    According to the officials, the number of active cases in Ladakh came down to 552 — 410 in Leh and 142 in Kargil.

    As many as 57 coronavirus patients were discharged from hospitals the previous day after recovering from the infection.

    With this, the number of cured persons has increased to 18,898, which accounts for 96 per cent of the total cases, the officials said.

  • Most drugs for treating adult Covid patients not recommended for kids: Government guidelines

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: 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.” The guidelines stated it is anticipated that there may be intermittent surges in the number of coronavirus cases.

    “A combined effort from the private and public sector is needed to handle any surge (in cases) in the future after the withdrawal of the lockdown, school reopening or as a third wave over the next three to four months. The basic principles of equity and dignity of care should be followed,” it said.

    The guidelines said estimates for additional bed capacity for pediatric care may be calculated based on peak daily cases in different districts during the second wave of the COVID-19 infections. From this, projections for pediatric cases and the number of admissions required can be derived, it said.

    “It is desirable to augment the existing Covid-care facilities to provide care to children with acute Covid. This will need additional pediatric-specific equipment, infrastructure and pediatric formulations.

    “Also, an adequate number of trained manpower — both doctors and nurses — should be provided. The health authorities should initiate capacity building programmes for appropriate pediatric care. In standalone paediatric hospitals, separate arrangements, for example, separate beds for paediatric Covid care need to be set up,” the guidelines said.

    It is desirable to designate specific areas in the Covid facilities for pediatric care and parents should be allowed to accompany the child there. “For children with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome who test negative for acute Covid, care has to be provided by the existing pediatric facilities. These facilities also need augmentation especially HDU and ICU services,” it said.

    The document provides guidance about additional requirements for infrastructure, equipment and manpower. Noting that a majority of children have asymptomatic or mild illness and can be managed at home by parents, it said treatment for symptomatic patients include paracetamol for fever and monitoring conditions such as measuring respiratory rates, difficulty in respiration, oral intake and oxygen saturation.

    “In a community setting, ASHA and MPW should be involved for management of children at home and also monitor to assess the need for referral and admission,” the guidelines said.

    The document stressed on imparting training to community health workers for picking up the red flag signs.

    Also, all stakeholders, including the community, should be educated by the information education communication.

    For improving the quality of care and for capacity building, the guidelines recommended hand-holding of district hospitals and other facilities by medical colleges.

    “A few centres may be designated as regional centres of excellence for Covid care and research. These centres can provide leadership in clinical management and training. Telemedicine could be harnessed for reaching out to a large number of facilities,” it said.

    To ensure data collection at all levels and transmission from community to higher centres, the document recommended that a national registry be launched for pediatric Covid.

    “There is a need to encourage and facilitate research in the area of pediatric Covid and this could cover various aspects of management. Similarly, issues of optimal treatment for MIS-C need to be addressed by clinical trials, such as comparison of low dose with high doses steroids, comparison of steroids with IVIG and others,” it added.

    The guidelines said that based on sero-surveillance reports, COVID-19 infection in children above 10 years of age occurs in a similar frequency to that of adults, even though among the confirmed cases less than 12 per cent are individuals less than 20 years of age.

    “Children have less severe disease than adults. In the majority, the infection is asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. It is uncommon to have moderate to severe Covid among healthy children,” it noted.

  • COVID-19: Renganar becomes first village in Chhattisgarh to complete first dose vaccination

    By PTI
    RAIPUR: Renganar, a remote village in Chhattisgarh’s tribal-dominated Dantewada district, has become the first village in the state where all eligible people have been administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, officials said on Wednesday.

    “The village has set an example in the fight against the pandemic. It became possible due to constant efforts of healthcare personnel and awareness teams,” a public relations department official here said.

    Renganar, located around 420 km away from the state capital, has a population of 310 adults and of them, all 294 eligible persons, in all categories, have been inoculated with the first jab, he said.

    Unlike in urban areas, 100 per cent vaccination was not easy due to the limited availability of smartphones and internet in remote areas that helps in the registration process. But the enthusiasm of villagers and healthcare workers bore fruit, he said.

    Local health workers and awareness teams played an instrumental role in making the villagers aware about the vaccines. They convinced them that vaccine is one of the most effective ways to avoid coronavirus infection, he said.

    Initially, several vaccination sessions were organised by the Dantewada district administration in Kuankonda for the villagers of Renganar and others, but due to misconceptions and lack of awareness, only a few people showed interest in getting vaccinated, he said.

    Sarpanch (village head) of Renganar, Sanmati Telami said awareness teams went door-to-door in the village like a mission and persuaded people to get vaccinated by explaining its benefits.

    Earlier, people were apprehensive about the vaccine, but the counseling helped to make them agree for it, said Santram, a member of the local awareness team.

    “Out of 310 adult population in the village, all 294 persons eligible for vaccination have received the first dose of vaccine. Divyangjan (differently abled) also participated enthusiastically in this campaign”, he added.

    Coronavirus awareness teams have been constituted in every panchayat in Dantewada, which constantly monitors the testing and vaccination activities, the official said.

    Over 72.94 lakh vaccine doses have been administered to people in all categories in Chhattisgarh till June 14.

  • Extra COVID vaccine may help protect transplant patients

    By Associated Press
    A small study offers the first hint that an extra dose of COVID-19 vaccines just might give some organ transplant recipients a needed boost in protection.

    Even as most vaccinated people celebrate a return to near normalcy, millions who take immune-suppressing medicines because of transplants, cancer or other disorders remain in limbo — uncertain how protected they really are. It’s simply harder for vaccines to rev up a weak immune system.

    Monday’s study tracked just 30 transplant patients but it’s an important step toward learning if booster doses could help.

    It didn’t help everybody. But of the 24 patients who appeared to have no protection after the routine two vaccinations, eight of them — a third — developed some virus-fighting antibodies after an extra shot, researchers from Johns Hopkins University reported in Annals of Internal Medicine. And six others who’d had only minimal antibodies all got a big boost from the third dose.

    “It’s very encouraging,” said Dr. Dorry Segev, a Hopkins transplant surgeon who helped lead the research. “Just because you’re fully negative after two doses doesn’t mean that there’s no hope.”

    Next up: Working with the National Institutes of Health, Segev’s team hopes to begin a more rigorous test of a third vaccination in 200 transplant recipients this summer.

    For transplant patients, powerful immune-suppressing drugs prevent rejection of their new organs but also leave them extremely vulnerable to the coronavirus. They were excluded from initial testing of the COVID-19 vaccines, but doctors urge that they get vaccinated in hopes of at least some protection.

    Some do benefit. The Hopkins team recently tested more than 650 transplant recipients and found about 54% harbored virus-fighting antibodies after two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines — although generally less than in otherwise healthy vaccinated people.

    It’s not just a concern after organ transplants. One study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other autoimmune disorders found 85% developed antibodies, said Dr. Alfred Kim of Washington University in St. Louis. But those who used particular kinds of immune-suppressing drugs produced dramatically lower levels that are a cause for concern.

    “We tell our patients to act like the vaccine is not going to work as well as it does for their family and friends,” said Kim, who would like to test a third dose in autoimmune patients, too. “This is very frustrating news to them.”

    Doctors sometimes give extra doses of other vaccines, such as the hepatitis B shot, to people with weak immune systems.

    And guidelines issued in France recommend a third COVID-19 shot for certain severely immune-suppressed people, including transplant recipients, Segev noted.

    The U.S. hasn’t authorized extra COVID-19 vaccinations. But around the country, a growing number of immune-compromised patients are seeking third doses on their own — the people Hopkins sought to test.

    In San Francisco, Gillian Ladd agreed to blood tests before and after an extra dose. The recipient of a kidney and pancreas transplant, Ladd, 48, was terrified to leave her house after learning she had no measurable antibodies despite two Pfizer shots.

    With the additional dose, “I had gotten what I needed in order to survive,” Ladd said, but she’s still is sticking with masks and other precautions.

    “I am being as careful as I possibly can while acknowledging that I’m coming back into the world of the living,” she said.

    Further research is needed to tell if a third dose really helps, who’s the best candidate and if there are brand differences — plus whether the extra immune stimulation could increase the risk of organ rejection.

    But Segev cautions boosters aren’t the only possibility. In addition to antibodies, vaccinations normally spur other protections such as T cells that can fend off severe illness. He and several other research groups are testing whether immune-compromised patients get that benefit.

    For now, “the best way to protect these people is for others to get vaccinated” so they’re less likely to get exposed to the coronavirus, stressed Washington University’s Kim.

  • Vaccines don’t prevent COVID but will help in keeping symptoms mild: Sangita Reddy

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Vaccines don’t prevent coronavirus infections but will help in keeping the symptoms mild, Apollo Hospitals Joint MD Sangita Reddy said on Monday. In a series of tweets, Reddy also said she was going home today after being hospitalised for a coronavirus infection.

    “After 500 days of dodging #COVID19 I tested +VE on June 10th My initial reaction was of shock & dismay – Why me? I was careful & #vaccinated. Hospitalized with high fever I took the cocktail #Regeneron therapy within the early window period & it has made a dramatic difference,” she said.

    Highlighting the role of vaccines and timely diagnosis and treatment, she said, “The imp point 2 remember- vaccine doesn’t prevent #COVID BUT help keep symptoms Mild. Timely diagnosis & treatment r key 2 quick recoveries”.

    “As I go home 2day & continue # self-isolation under Med sup via #telemedicine My heartfelt gratitude 2 R #Nursing, Doc & #scientific com,” she noted.

    Reddy has been emphasising that the government should move quickly to ramp up the availability of the COVID vaccine in the country by enhancing domestic production as well as increasing procurement from abroad.

    In a tweet on May 17, Reddy said, “The challenge of India#vaccinationstrategy is not admin as much as supply. I urge R #govt to move quickly on ramping up domestic prod, enhance intl procure, seek Intl aid in the form of vaccine & establish a dist network of all Pub & Pvt hospitals 2 accelerate the pace of inoculation.”

  • No such epidemic is coming that affects children, Minister TS Singhdev gave a statement on the possibility of third wave

    There is a possibility of a third wave of corona in the country. In the third wave, there is a lot of talk of children getting infected more. State Health Minister TS Singhdev has rejected all these things.
    Regarding the children being affected in the third wave, Minister TS Singhdeo said that no such epidemic is coming which affects the children. It is just a discussion, at present there is no scientific confirmation. In which there is talk of children getting infected more.
    Children have not been vaccinated. So there is a possibility that there will be more affected children.

  • FedEx Express operated third charter flight carrying COVID-19 supplies

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Transportation company FedEx Express has operated its third dedicated chartered service, carrying COVID-19 supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) to India.

    The third FedEx Boeing 777 Freighter charter flight carrying over 2,50,000 face shields, 1,00,000 goggles, more than 80,000 coveralls and gowns and over 1,34,000 KN95 and N95 masks landed in Mumbai on June 13 from Memphis, Tennessee (US), a release said.

    Items arriving on the charter flight were donated by Dignity Health, coordinated by TMC Navya. Will be distributed by Direct Relief to medical facilities in India through Tata Memorial Centre, it added.

    FedEx has transported thousands of oxygen concentrators, and hundreds of tonnes of medical supplies and aid to India to help the country fight the second wave of the pandemic.

    The company has earlier undertaken two charter Boeing 777F flights from the US to India — one each on May 9 and May 16 — transporting thousands of oxygen concentrators and other medical aid for Direct Relief.