India Coronavirus Dispatch: Daily infections spike by 26% to 43,733

WHO says anti-inflammatory drugs reduce Covid hospitalisation and mortality, platform shown to perform mass testing for coronavirus, and more-news relevant to India's fight against the pandemic

Over 43,500 fresh cases reported

India reported 43,733 fresh coronavirus infections on Wednesday, taking the cumulative caseload to 30.6 million, according to central health ministry data. The daily cases were 26% higher than Tuesday's count. The country saw 930 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 404,211. The active caseload is at 459,920, while the total recoveries have surged to 29.7 million. As many as 361 million vaccine shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 3.6 million were given on Tuesday. Read more

Mothers who received mRNA vaccine shots need not stop breastfeeding: Study

According to findings of a new study, lactating mothers who have been administered the Moderna or Pfizer mRNA Covid vaccines can safely breastfeed their children, a report in ThePrint said. The study found no detectable levels of the mRNA vaccine in the breastmilk of vaccinated mothers. The findings provide key early evidence to support the recommendations that individuals who receive the Covid-19 mRNA-based vaccine should not stop breastfeeding. The study was carried out by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, and was published in the journal JAMA Paediatrics, the report said. Read more

Anti-inflammatory drugs reduce Covid hospitalisation, mortality: WHO

According to the World Health Organization, hospitalization and death from Covid-19 can be reduced by combining two inflammation-blocking drugs compared with standard therapy, a report in ThePrint said. The health agency said adding drugs that block an immune protein called interleukin-6 to an already widely used treatment, corticosteroids, reduces the risk of death and the need for breathing assistance. The recommendation was based on 27 trials involving almost 11,000 people, the report said. Read more

Vaccines effective in preventing deaths among frontline personnel: ICMR study

A study carried out by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Tamil Nadu policemen who have been inoculated has shown that the jabs have proven effective in preventing deaths in frontline personnel, a report in The Indian Express said. “(The) study reveals that COVID-19 vaccine is effective in preventing deaths among front line workers,” showing 82 per cent effectiveness on state police personnel who had received a single dose and 95 per cent on those administered with two, ICMR said. The study was done by the state police department, ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology and Christian Medical College, Vellore. Read more

Platform shown to perform mass testing for coronavirus

A team of US researchers have reported real-world results on SwabSeq, a testing platform that uses sequencing to test thousands of samples at a time to detect Covid-19, a report in The Indian Express said. The scientists were able to perform more than 80,000 tests in less than two months, with the test showing extremely high sensitivity and specificity. SwabSeq uses sample-specific molecular barcodes to simultaneously analyse thousands of samples for the presence or absence of the novel coronavirus, the report said. Read more