India Coronavirus Dispatch: 'Blended learning' key in post-Covid world

Countries that are signing up for India's vaccines, vaccine hesitancy down by 7% since December, 13 Co-Win glitches spotted during dry runs-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

‘Blended learning’ is the future in a post-Covid world: Experts

According to experts, schools and colleges will have to adapt to the latest learning reforms implemented in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and follow a blended approach, and teachers will not be the only source of knowledge in the future, a report in ThePrint said.

Human teachers and social robots will create a co-bot type of situation together, and co-learning will take place. Virtual assistants such as Siri, Alexa and chatbots already exist, making artificial intelligence a part of our lives. The stuff people used to think of as science fiction will become our new normal in the near-term, said Bhushan Patwardhan, Vice Chairman, University Grants Commission, at an event organised by ThePrint. Education around the world was disrupted by the Covid outbreak. In India, most educational institutions were forced to close down and, since March 2020, classes have moved online. With nearly a year of digital learning, experts suggest the only way forward is to adapt to digital or online education. Read more here

Countries that are signing up for India's vaccines

As the world looks to India to supply vaccines, a report in the BBC provides a look into the countries that are signing up for made-in-India vaccines. 

Bhutan, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles have already received some of the first doses. So far, only Serum Institute of India's (SII) Covishield has been exported - some in the form of "gifts" and the rest in line with commercial contracts signed between the vaccine maker and these countries. AstraZeneca signed a licencing agreement with SII in June last year to supply one billion doses to low-and middle-income countries, promising to deliver 400 million doses by the end of 2020. India is also preparing to send doses to Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius after regulatory approvals from these countries. Commercial exports of Covishield vaccine to Brazil have also been authorised. Read more here

'No cardiac involvement' post-Covid: Study finds

While there are concerns of Covid-19 patients developing heart problems, a study of 280 recovered healthcare workers showed no cardiac problem, a report in The Hindu said. 

Two hundred and eighty health workers were evaluated through ECG, Echo, X-Ray Chest and Cardiac MRI at Bengaluru's state-run Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research. The results showed "no cardiac involvement". The ages of the workers varied from 23 years to 60 years. 15% of them had hypertension and diabetes. None had pre-existing cardiac issues. Read more here

13 Co-Win glitches were identified during dry-runs, 12 'resolved'

India's flagship digital platform to manage the vaccination rollout, Co-Win, had at least 13 kinds of glitches that were identified during the dry-runs, according to a report in The Hindu.

These glitches include the lack of a system for recording reasons if the patient was not vaccinated, delays in the distribution of the SMS to recipients, the weblink that allowed adverse effects to be recorded not working and the software module not being able to account for the vials returned after the completion of the session. Of the 13 snags identified, 12 have been 'resolved', the report said citing a government official. Read more here

Covid vaccine hesitancy in India down by 7% since December

A survey of 17,000 people showed that Covid-related vaccine hesitancy in India has reduced from 69 per cent in December to 62 per cent in January, according to a report ThePrint.

LocalCircles, a community social media platform, conducted the survey from 16 to 18 January in 230 districts across India. Earlier surveys by the platform showed vaccine hesitancy had dropped to 59 per cent in November last year after efficacy results of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were announced—both vaccines are yet to come to India. Vaccine hesitancy, however, rose to 69 per cent in December after an adverse reaction was reported for Covishield and trial process-related concerns with one of the Bharat Biotech partners. Read more here