India Coronavirus Dispatch: Short dose gap retained despite contrarian data

How concerned should the nation be about Covid variants, study shows high fatality risk after surgery done within 6 weeks of testing positive, and more-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

Covishield: Govt retains short dose gap despite research to the contrary

Despite results from a new analysis that indicate a longer gap between Covid-19 vaccine doses yields better clinical results, administrators in India reportedly prefer a shorter gap, a report in The Wire said. The analysis—published in the peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet last month—found that Covishield’s efficacy is 55.1% when its two doses are given less than six weeks apart but 81.3% when administered 12 weeks apart. India is administering Covishield’s doses 28 days apart. The analysis concludes that increasing the gap also increases the vaccine’s immunogenicity—the ability of a vaccine to trigger an immune response in an individual. Read more here

Does India have plans for a vaccine passport?

India currently does not have plans for a robust vaccine passport system such as the one Israel does, but many are viewing the vaccine certificates as a document that can ease travel restrictions, a report in The Quint said. Several states in the country have also made Covid-19 negative certificates mandatory for those travelling within India. Many states whose economies rely on tourism are hoping the vaccine certificates will be a shot in the arm for the industry that was dealt a blow by the pandemic and the nationwide lockdown. Read more here

EXPLAINED: How concerned should India be about Covid variants?

The central health ministry has said that there is no scientific evidence to show that the recent spike in coronavirus cases can be linked to the three most notable variants of the virus (UK, South Africa, and Brazil), a report in The Indian Express said. “Reporting only the detection does not lead to any attribution for any phenomenon on the ground. Because to relate an occurrence of a virus to change and disease pattern, other epidemiological and clinical information has to be linked to these mutations,” Dr V K Paul, the head of India’s Covid-19 task force, has said.

Read more here

High fatality risk after surgery done within 6 weeks of testing positive: Study

A new global study has found that patients are two and a half times more likely to die after surgery within six weeks of testing positive for Covid-19, a report in Hindustan Times said. The study recommended that surgery should be delayed for at least seven weeks following a positive diagnosis.

The study took into account 140,231 patients who underwent elective or emergency surgery in 116 countries during October 2020. The findings were published in the journal Anaesthesia. Read more here 

The return of live music 

Live music performances are slowing returning in some parts of the country as Covid restrictions are relaxed, a report in The Indian Express said. The return to normalcy started in September last year with home concerts and small gatherings of about 30-40 people attending "baithaks". While such baithaks are still going on, many hybrid alternatives have emerged which are socially distanced or telecast synchronously virtually, the report said. Read more here