India Covid Dispatch: Don't let daily cases cross 50k, says empowered group

Common Covid symptoms for people who are vaccinated, study finds older people have fewer antibodies against Covid, and more-news relevant to India's fight against the pandemic

Nearly 40,000 fresh cases reported

 

India reported 39,742 fresh coronavirus infections on Sunday, taking the cumulative caseload to 31.3 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 535 more deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 420,551. The active caseload is at 408,212, while the total recoveries have surged to 30.5 million. As many as 433 million vaccine shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 5.1. million were given on Saturday. Read more

 

https://www.mohfw.gov.in/

 

Do not let daily count go above 50,000: Covid group to govt

 

The empowered group of officers, tasked with formulating the nation’s Covid emergency strategy, has said that all steps should be taken to ensure that the daily count of fresh cases doesn’t cross 50,000, a report in The Indian Express said. The group asked the government to prepare itself for a level of 400,000-500,000 cases a day in the next surge. This is significant as this guidance sets a new benchmark for the overall system to go on alert, the report said citing sources. Read more

 

 

Common Covid symptoms for people who are vaccinated

 

Research underway in the United Kingdom has published findings on the most recent Covid symptoms, Deutsche Welle reported. In the Zoe Covid Symptom Study, people infected with the virus reported their symptoms through an app. According to the findings, Covid symptoms have apparently changed. This could be due to the delta variant, which now accounts for 99% of most of the infections in the UK. The current ranking of Covid symptoms after two vaccinations is in this order: Headache, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, and loss of sense of smell. Read more

 

 

'Troubling rise' in neurological cases among post-Covid patients: Hospital

 

Delhi's Moolchand Hospital said there has been a "troubling rise" rise in neurological issues, including brain haemorrhage, among people who have recovered from Covid, PTI reported. The hospital said in a statement that it has been recording "increasing cases of intracerebral (brain) haemorrhage, and 50 per cent of the neuroscience department is filled with such cases". A senior neurosurgeon at the hospital said "(a) majority of these cases are those who have had Covid-19 infection in the past, with a gap of two to three months". Read more

 

 

Older people have fewer antibodies against Covid: Study

 

New research has found that older people, including those vaccinated against Covid, appear to have fewer antibodies, thus making them potentially more susceptible to various variants, a report in the Hindustan Times said. The study found that the youngest group (all participants in their 20s) had a nearly seven-fold antibody response compared to that in the oldest group (participants between 70 and 82 years of age), prompting the team to conclude that "the younger a participant, the more robust the antibody response." The study was conducted by a team of researchers from the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in the US. Read more