News Analysis India

Tag: WHO

  • Centre postpones ‘healthy boy-girl contest’, asks states to observe ‘Poshan Pakhwa

    Express News Service

    The Centre has postponed the earlier scheduled week-long event ‘Healthy boy-girl contest’ to start from March 21 (Monday) and directed the states to instead begin a two-week-long campaign ‘Poshan Pakhwada’ on nutritional challenges, a senior official said.

    Poshan Pakhwada this year will be rolled out from March 21 to April 4 with the key focus on creating awareness on community-based activities, gender sensitisation, prevention of anaemia, encouraging traditional food for securing healthy mothers and children in the scheduled tribe areas.

    To ensure wider people’s participation all the district collectors and the district project officers of the women & child development department have been asked to seek support from the other departments, local organisations and people’s representatives, panchayats, self-help groups, farmers’ groups, youth clubs to achieve the desired goals of ‘Poshan Abhiyan’.

    Ahead of the campaign, the Chhattisgarh government claimed to have achieved remarkably in the fight against malnutrition. “In the year 2019, 4.33 lakh malnourished children were identified and Mukhyamantri Suposhan Abhiyan was launched. So far, 1.72 lakh children are out of the vicious cycle of malnutrition”, CM Bhupesh Baghel said in the Assembly.

    The scheme now is a target-based intervention programme, the children from 6 to 54 months were considered as ‘earmarked’ as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation that the child growth standards can be effectively measured under the age of 5 years.

    According to the state WCD officials, The number of malnourished children has declined by nearly 36 per cent in the state since the launch of the ‘Mukhyamantri Suposhan Yojana’.

    Arrangements were made to provide hot-cooked food for children under Suposhan Abhiyan, the supplementary nutritional food to the identified kids at anganwadi centre, distribute free nutritious food at local-level to the malnourished women and children.

  • ‘Hospitalisation rising, Omicron can overwhelm health systems’: WHO chief scientist issues warning 

    By Online Desk

    WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan on Friday said hospitalisation due to Omicron is rising across the world, mostly in unvaccinated people.

    “Though Omicron may cause less severe disease, a small percentage of a huge number is still very large and can overwhelm health systems,” she warned.

    During an interview with CNBC-TV18, the WHO chief scientist said Indians need to be prepared, but not to panic.

    With 309 new cases of highly transmissible Covid variant Omicron detected in the last 24 hours, India’s Omicron tally on Friday rose to 1,270 cases. Of the total, 374 have been discharged.

    Among the 23 states and Union Territories that have reported the Omicron infection so far, Maharashtra tops the list with 450 cases of this variant. Of them, 125 patients have been discharged as per the Health Ministry data.

    ALSO READ | No science behind night curfews in India, says WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan

    Delhi has the second-highest cases of Omicron infection at 320. However, 57 of them have been discharged from the hospital.

    The Omicron outbreak, which has triggered fresh concerns globally and raised an alarm, will see the burden shift from hospitals to the out-patients department, from ICUs to home-based care, Dr Swaminathan said.

    In a separate tweet on Friday, Swaminathan said: “Hospitalisations are also rising, mostly in unvaccinated people. Though #Omicron may cause less severe disease, a small percent of a huge number is still very large & can overwhelm health systems”.

    “Whatever the #covidvariant, #Omicron or #delta – vaccination protects against hospitalisation and death,” she added.

    Swaminathan called for an urgent ramping up of teleconsultation services to tackle the Omicron-fuelled surge.

    While emphasising that the Omicron variant is infecting both vaccinated and unvaccinated people worldwide, she said that it appears that vaccines are still proving to be effective because even though the numbers are going up exponentially in many countries, the severity of the disease has not surged to a new level.

  • No science behind night curfews in India, says WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan

    By Online Desk

    There is no science behind night curfews when it comes to tackling the spread of Covid variants, WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan has stressed.

    In a TV media interview, she said that countries like India must formulate science-based policies for curbing the spread of the virus.

    “Things like night curfew, there is no science behind it. One has to take evidence-based measures. There is a whole list of public health measures,” she told CNBC-TV18.

    “Entertainment venues are places where these viruses spread the most. It’s natural to bring in some restrictions there,” Swaminathan added. She said that Indians need to be prepared, but not panic.

    “What we can expect to see in India is a surge of Omicron cases, I think it is just beginning now in some of the cities and is going to infect a lot of people,” the WHO scientist said.

    ALSO READ | 141 Mumbai residents without travel history test positive for Omicron

    With 309 new cases of highly transmissible Covid variant Omicron detected in the last 24 hours, India’s Omicron tally on Friday rose to 1,270 cases. Of total, 374 have been discharged.

    Among the 23 states and Union Territories that have reported the Omicron infection so far, Maharashtra tops the list with 450 cases of this variant. Of them, 125 patients have been discharged as per the Health Ministry data.

    Delhi has the second-highest cases of Omicron infection at 320. However, 57 of them have been discharged from the hospital.

    In a separate tweet on Friday, Swaminathan said: “Hospitalisations are also rising, mostly in unvaccinated people. Though #Omicron may cause less severe disease, a small percent of a huge number is still very large & can overwhelm health systems”.

    “Whatever the #covidvariant, #Omicron or #delta – vaccination protects against hospitalisation and death,” she added.

    (With agency inputs)

  • India may see ‘short-lived’ Covid third wave soon: Cambridge tracker

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI: A Covid-19 tracker, developed by UK’s University of Cambridge, has predicted that India may soon see an intense but short-lived virus wave “within days”, even as the highly transmissible Omicron variant of Covid is spreading like wildfire in the country with over 780 cases reported on Wednesday.

    The tracker had aptly predicted the devastating second wave in May and had also forecast in August that India would see a slow burn in its Covid infections.

    “It is likely that India will see a period of explosive growth in daily cases and that the intense growth phase will be relatively short,” Paul Kattuman, Professor at the Judge Business School at the varsity was quoted as saying to Bloomberg.

    “New infections will begin to rise in a few days, possibly within this week,” he said. However, he added that it was hard to predict how high the daily cases could go.

    The tracker showed a sharp rise in infection rates in six states as a “significant concern” in a December 24 note, and this expanded to 11 Indian states by December 26, the report said.

    The rapid spread of Omicron infection has contributed to the total tally of Covid infection in India. The country’s overall Covid cases tally crossed the 9,000-mark on Wednesday and currently stands at 9,195 cases. However, the overall tally has been around 7,000 in the last week.

    According to the Union Health Ministry update, the Omicron infection has so far spread into 21 states and Union Territories.

    Out of the 238 Omicron cases detected in Delhi, 57 of them have been discharged. Gujarat, Kerala, Telangana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, West Bengal have reported Omicron cases in two-digit figures, the data showed.

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) in its weekly epidemiological update has warned that the risk posed by the Omicron variant is still “very high”. Omicron is behind rapid virus spikes in several countries, including those where it has already overtaken the previous dominant Delta variant, said the global health body in its weekly bulletin.

  • Serum Institute’s Covovax vaccine gets WHO emergency use nod, Poonawalla hails decision

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Friday hailed WHO’s approval for emergency use of Covovax vaccine for children “as yet another milestone” in the fight against COVID-19.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday listed the Covovax as the ninth COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use with an aim to increase the access to vaccination in lower-income countries.

    It is produced by the Serum Institute of India under the licence from Novavax.

    Reacting to the development, Poonawalla tweeted, “This is yet another milestone in our fight against COVID-19, Covovax is now WHO approved for emergency use, showing excellent safety and efficacy. Thank you all for a great collaboration…..”

    He tagged Novavax, WHO, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, its CEO Seth Berkley and the Gates Foundation.

    Earlier this week, Poonawalla had said that SII planned to launch Covovax, a COVID-19 vaccine for children in the next six months.

    He had stated that Covovax which is under trial would offer protection to children all the way down to three years as it had shown excellent data during the trials.

    Currently, Covishield and other COVID -19 vaccines are approved for people above the age of 18.

    Poonawalla had asserted that there was enough data to show that the vaccine would work and protect children against the infectious disease.

    According to WHO, Covovax was assessed under its emergency use listing (EUL) procedure based on the review of data on quality, safety and efficacy, a risk management plan, programmatic suitability, and manufacturing site inspections carried out by the Drugs Controller General of India.

    “The Technical Advisory Group for Emergency Use Listing (TAG-EUL), convened by WHO and made up of experts from around the world, has determined that the vaccine meets WHO standards for protection against COVID-19, that the benefit of the vaccine far outweighs any risks, and that the vaccine can be used globally,” it said.

  • ‘Avoid unnecessary travel, gathering’: Omicron spreading rapidly, 101 cases in India so far, says govt

    By Online Desk

    The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly and there are 101 cases in India so far, the Union Health Ministry said Friday.

    Nineteen districts in the country were at high risk of a surge in Covid cases, the ministry warned and urged the people to remain vigilant in view of the rising cases of Omicron variants other countries.

    Avoid non-essential travel, mass gatherings and observe low-intensity festivities, the ministry advised.

    The ministry urged the people not to lower their guard and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour such as the use of face masks and maintaining social distance. The ministry also urged people to stay away from large crowds and gatherings.

    So far, Maharashtra has recorded 32 omicron cases, the maximum in the country and Delhi has reported 10 cases. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala and West Bengal have also reported cases of the new variant.

    “Omicron variant reported in 91 countries in the world. WHO has said that Omicron is spreading faster than the Delta variant in South Africa where Delta circulation was low. It’s likely Omicron will outpace Delta variant where community transmission occurs, WHO added,” said Lav Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry.

    Agarwal said India is administering Covid vaccine doses at the highest rate in the world and the daily rate of doses administered is 4.8 times the rate of doses administered in the USA and 12.5 times the rate of doses administered in the UK.

    India’s active caseload currently stands at 86,415. The number of daily new cases in the past 20 days remains below 10,000. The weekly positivity rate reduced to 0.65%, the official added.

  • Prioritize investments in primary health care for universal health coverage: WHO

    At the meeting, ministers emphasized the importance of the PHC approach to achieve UHC and health system resilience.

  • Omicron scare: WHO against blanket travel bans; asks countries to apply a multi-layered risk mitigation approach 

    By Online Desk

    NEW DELHI: The World Health Organization (WHO) has made it clear that blanket travel bans, in the wake of the Omicron scare, will not prevent the spread of variant of concern (VOC), and they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods. 

    Essential international travel –including travel for emergency and humanitarian missions, travel of essential personnel, repatriations and cargo transport of essential supplies–should continue to be prioritized at all times during the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO noted in a travel advisory.

    In addition, all travellers should be reminded to remain vigilant for signs and symptoms of COVID-19, to get vaccinated when it is their turn and to adhere to public health and social measures at all times and regardless of vaccination status, including by using masks appropriately, respecting physical distancing, following good respiratory etiquette and avoiding crowded and poorly ventilated spaces.

    Persons who are unwell, or who have not been fully vaccinated or do not have proof of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and are at increased risk of developing severe disease and dying, including people 60 years of age or older or those with comorbidities that present an increased risk of severe COVID-19 (e.g. heart disease, cancer and diabetes) should be advised to postpone travel to areas with community transmission.

    While scientific research is underway to understand how the variant behaves, WHO advised countries to continue to apply an evidence-informed and risk-based approach, in accordance with the guidelines, when implementing travel measures.

    National authorities, the advisory noted, in countries of departure, transit and arrival may apply a multi-layered risk mitigation approach to potentially delay or reduce the exportation or importation of the new variant. Such measures may include the screening of passengers prior to travelling and/or upon arrival, including via the use of SARS-CoV-2 testing or the application of quarantine to international travellers.

    These measures, nonetheless, need to be defined following a thorough risk assessment process informed by the local epidemiology in departure and destination countries and by the health system and public health capacities in the countries of departure, transit and arrival. All measures should be commensurate with the risk, time-limited and applied with respect to travellers’ dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms, 

    The advisory urged all countries to ensure that the measures are regularly reviewed and updated when new evidence becomes available on the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of Omicron or any other variant of concern.

  • Five lakh people die waiting for organ transplant in India: Experts

    By Express News Service

    BHUBANESWAR: An estimated five lakh people die while waiting for organ transplant and only four per cent of the required 1.5 lakh kidney transplant surgeries are performed every year across the country, said experts at an event here.  

    Quoting a WHO report which states that India’s organ donation rate is a meagre 0.01 per cent, senior gastroenterologist Prof Manoj Kumar Sahu said around two lakh people die of liver diseases in the country because they never get a donor. At a programme organised to mark National Organ Donation Day at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, Prof Sahu said 17 people die every day due to lack of donors.

    “Only around 39,000 organ transplants were conducted in 2020 against the requirement of at least 15 times,” he said. Citing that there is no age bar for organ donation, Prof Sahu urged people to come forward for the noble cause.

    “A newborn baby who dies within 100 minutes of birth can donate both kidneys while the cornea of a 107-year-old woman could be harvested for use,” he said. Medical Superintendent Prof Pusparaj Samantasinhar said the recent government order allowing conduct of postmortems at night would go a long way in increasing harvest of organs. 

  • 110 nations have agreed to mutual recognition of Covid vaccine certificates with India: Sources

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: So far 110 countries have agreed to mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination certificates with India, official sources said on Thursday.

    The Union government continues to be in communication with the rest of the world so that beneficiaries of the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccination program are accepted and recognised, thereby easing travel for education, business and tourism purposes.

    At present, 110 countries have agreed to mutual recognition of vaccination certificates and also those who recognise Indian vaccination certificates of travellers fully vaccinated with Covishield/WHO approved/nationally approved Covid vaccines, the official sources said.

    ​ALSO READ | 96 countries have agreed to mutual accept Indian COVID vaccine certificates: Mansukh Mandaviya

    There are countries which have agreement with India on mutual recognition of vaccination certificates of nationally recognised or WHO recognised vaccines.

    Similarly, there are countries which presently do not have such an agreement with India, but they exempt Indian citizens fully vaccinated with nationally recognised or WHO recognised vaccines, according to the Health Ministry guidelines.

    On the basis of reciprocity, the travellers from all such countries which provide quarantine-free entry to Indians are allowed certain relaxations on arrival (Category A countries), the guidelines read.

    If a traveller is fully vaccinated and coming from a country with which India has reciprocal arrangements for mutual acceptance of WHO approved COVID-19 vaccines, they shall be allowed to leave the airport and need not undergo home quarantine.

    They shall self monitor their health for 14 days’ post arrival.

    ​ALSO READ | Over 115 crore vaccine doses administered in India till now, says Health Ministry

    If partially or not vaccinated, the travellers need to undertake measures which include submission of sample for post-arrival COVID-19 test at the point of arrival after which they will be allowed to leave the airport, home quarantine for seven days, re-test on the eighth day of arrival in India and if negative, further self-monitor of their health for next 7 days.

    “Fifteen days must have elapsed since completion of COVID-19 vaccination schedule,” the guidelines said.

    Travellers from countries excluding those countries at risk, will be allowed to leave the airport and shall self-monitor their health for 14 days’ post arrival.

    This is applicable to travellers from all countries including Countries with which reciprocal arrangements for mutual acceptance of WHO approved COVID-19 vaccines also exist.