India Coronavirus Dispatch: 70-day low in new cases, but deaths a worry

A new study on coronavirus on surfaces of patient rooms in hospitals, efficacy data from phase 3 trials of Covaxin to be published in 7-8 days, and more-news relevant to India's fight against the pand

Over 84,000 fresh cases reported

 

India reported 84,332 fresh coronavirus infections on Saturday, taking the cumulative caseload to 29.3 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 4,002 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 367,081. The active caseload is at 1.08 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 27.9 million. As many as 249.6 million vaccine shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 3.4 million were given on Friday. Read more
 

 

Madhya Pradesh saw nearly three times more deaths than normal after second wave of Covid struck

 

Madhya Pradesh has witnessed a sharp jump in deaths in April and May of this year, nearly three times more than normal compared to the same period in previous years, and far more than the official Covid toll, a report in the Scroll said that cited government data. Moreover, the deaths are not restricted to big cities like Indore and Bhopal—Chhindwara was among the predominantly rural districts that reported a massive spike in registered deaths in May 2021, the report said. Read more

 

 

Survey finds 70% of respondents knew someone who couldn't get a vaccine in May due to shortage

 

As many as 7 in ten Indians polled in a survey said they knew someone in their social circle who went to a vaccination centre to get a Covid shot in May only to find out the vaccine was out of stock, a report in ThePrint said. When the survey, carried out by LocalCircles, asked respondents if they knew someone in their social circle who went to get vaccinated but the centre was out of stock, 32 per cent of respondents said “happened with 4 or more individuals in my social network”, 27 per cent said “happened with 2-3 individuals in my social network”, and 11 per cent said “happened with 1 individual in my social network”. Meanwhile, 21 per cent respondents said it “did not happen with anyone” they know, while 9 per cent couldn’t say. This question in the survey got 9,290 responses. Read more

 

 

New study on coronavirus on surfaces of patient rooms in hospitals

 

A new study describes how the novel coronavirus persists on surfaces in hospitals, a report in The Indian Express said. The researchers found that the virus, or at least its genetic signature, is prevalent on hospital surfaces. It was detected on the floors next to the beds of patients with Covid-19 (39% of samples tested), floors outside patient rooms (29%) and surfaces inside the rooms (16%). Coronavirus detection tended to be highest in the first five days after a patient’s onset of symptoms, the report said. Read more

 

 

Efficacy data from phase 3 trials of Covaxin to be published in 7-8 days

 

Dr V K Paul, who heads India's Covid task force has said the phase three trial data of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin will be done in the next "7-8 days", according to a report in The Indian Express. Paul said the data, which will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, will “go beyond” information submitted so far to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), and reveal findings from “follow-ups” of the clinical trial, the report said. Read more