India Coronavirus Dispatch: Younger workers worst hit by pandemic

Indigenous home-based rapid Covid test launched commercially, Centre bets on new Covid vaccine platform, and more-news relevant to India's fight against the pandemic

Over 132,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 132,364 fresh coronavirus infections on Friday, taking the cumulative caseload to 28.5 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 2,713 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 340,702. The active caseload is at 1.6 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 26.5 million. As many as 224 million shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 2.8 million were given on Thursday. Read more

India’s younger workers worst hit by pandemic: EPFO data

Payroll data from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has revealed that the country's younger workforce was the worst hit by the pandemic in 2020-21, a report in ThePrint said. Those aged 25 years or below were among the most affected. There was a decline in the net payrolls for three age groups — under 18, 18-21 and 22-25, on a year-on-year basis. These three younger age groups saw a contraction in payroll additions by 19 per cent, 15.6 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively. In contrast, the 26-28, 29-35 and over 35 years age groups all saw a growth in payroll additions, the report said. Read more

Simple antibody test can help look for blood clots after getting Covishield: study

Whether rare life-threatening blood clots have formed after getting the Covishield vaccine becomes apparent within 5 to 20 days, and the widely available ELISA tests can be used to check if a person is at risk of such clots, a new study suggests, according to a report in ThePrint. The study was carried out by a team of researchers from the Universitätsmedizin Greifswald (Greifswald University Hospital) and Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines in Germany, along with researchers from the Medical University of Vienna. The findings have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the report said. Read more

India’s first indigenous home-based rapid Covid test launched commercially

The country's first indigenous Covid rapid testing kit meant to be used at home and which detects the virus within 15 minutes has been commercially launched, a report in The Indian Express said. The kit, called CoviSelf and developed by Pune-based Mylab Discovery Solutions, will cost Rs 250. CoviSelf is expected to be available at chemist shops across the country in the next two to three days. “This indigenous test kit will be distributed through to 95% of the PIN codes in the county and will be available over-the-counter at pharmacies and drugstores across India,” the company said in a statement. Read more

Centre bets on new Covid vaccine platform

The move to book 300 million shots of Biological E’s Covid-19 vaccine before it has launched marks a shift in the central government's vaccine policy, a report in The Indian Express said. It is significant that the Modi government has bet on a novel platform that is yet to receive a regulatory nod. Biological E's two-shot vaccine, known as Corbevax, uses a recombinant protein platform—not used by any other vaccine in India currently. Read more