Page 10 - Coronavirus Vaccine

Amid rising Covid-19 cases, govt not planning mask mandate or vaccine shots

On Thursday, India reported 358 new cases of Covid-19, of which 300 cases were from Kerala; Insacog said no traces of widespread infection were found yet

JN.1 outbreak: As new cases rise, 10 things you must know about new variant

JN.1 Covid variant: On Friday, a new Covid-19 case was reported in Noida, the first in many months. The patient, a 54-year-old male who lives in Noida, works at a multinational firm in Gurugram

Bengal to continue Covid surveillance activity, no cases so far: Official

The West Bengal Health Department will continue its surveillance of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) cases, in accordance with central guidelines, amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the country, a senior official said on Wednesday. Representatives of the department participated in a high-level review meeting with states chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya earlier in the day. "We will continue our surveillance activity as per the guidelines of the health ministry. At present, there is not a single COVID-19 case in our state. However, we are ready with the infrastructure," the official told PTI. In the meeting, Mandaviya reiterated that Covid was not over yet and urged the states to monitor emerging cases, symptoms and case severity to plan appropriate public health response. Mandaviya asked all the states to remain alert, increase surveillance and ensure adequate stock of medicines, oxygen cylinders and concentrators, ...

India records 614 new coronavirus infections, active cases at 2,311

India recorded 614 new coronavirus infections, the highest since May 21, while the active cases have increased to 2,311, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. The death toll was recorded at 5,33,321 with three deaths reported from Kerala in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed. The country's Covid case tally is 4.50 crore (4,50,05,978). The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has increased to 4,44,70,346, and the national recovery rate stands at 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry's website. The case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.67 crore doses of Covid vaccines have been administered in the country so far.

JN.1 Covid variant: States issue advisories, Mandaviya holds review meet

On December 19, WHO classified the JN.1 variant as a 'variant of interest' but maintained that it does not pose much threat to the public

Be alert but don't panic: Mandaviya after reviewing Covid-19 situation

Amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the country, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday reviewed the preparedness of health facilities and impressed upon the states to be alert and increase surveillance. Assuring the states of receiving all support from the Centre, he said, "We need to be on the alert but there is no need to panic." It is important to be prepared with mock drills of hospital preparedness, increased surveillance and effective communication with people, the minister said. The health minister stressed on holding mock drills in all hospitals once every three months and urged states to ensure preventive measures are taken during the winter season ahead of festivities. "There should be no laxity in our preparedness. Health is not an area for any politics. The Union Health Ministry is available for every support," Mandaviya said, adding that it was time to work together in a "whole-of-government" approach. Mandaviya held the review meeting virtually with he

Covid infections down in Singapore but experts call for precaution

The number of COVID-19 infections in Singapore appear to have plateaued over the past week, but experts have urged people to be cautious and mask up in crowded enclosed places as a precaution. Last week, Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a 75 per cent jump with 56,043 cases, compared with 32,035 cases in the previous week. The seven-day moving average of the infection was 7,870 on December 12 and decreased slightly to 7,730 on December 17, The Straits Times newspaper reported. Experts have urged people to be socially responsible and mask up in crowded, enclosed places, even if they feel well, since the transmission of the virus occurs a day or two before symptoms appear. "It'll be a bell curve confounded by Christmas parties," Professor Dale Fisher, a senior infectious diseases consultant at the National University Hospital (NUH), said. "You don't know if it's peaked until after it's peaked," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper on Tuesday. While the numbers remai

Uttarakhand govt issues advisory to follow Covid prevention guidelines

With an uptick in COVID-19 cases in some states and detection of the first case of its sub variant JN.1 in the country, the Uttarakhand government has issued an advisory to all districts to keep a tab on the situation and strictly adhere to prevention guidelines. However, no case of JN.1 sub variant of the coronavirus has been detected in the state so far, Health Secretary R Rajesh Kumar said. Still, all districts have been asked to strictly follow the operational guidelines for revised surveillance strategy in context of COVID-19, he said. The advisory issued on Tuesday asked district medical authorities to monitor influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI). Influenza and Covid tests of ILI and SARI patients should be conducted and their detalis entered into the Integrated Health Information Platform portal, it said. All hospitals should be readied in terms of arrangements for Covid management, the advisory said. Awareness should also be created amo

Parl stresses on need to evolve strategies to develop next-gen vaccines

A parliamentary committee has stressed on the urgent need to evolve strategies for development of next-generation vaccines and recommended that the Union Health Ministry encourage vaccine development on newer and more efficient platforms, besides evaluating the efficacy of the existing COVID-19 jabs. More efforts are required in collaboration with other international agencies for development of various neutral vaccines as constant mutation of a virus requires following the mutants and being ready for pandemics-in-waiting, the department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare said in its 150th action taken report. Responding to a recommendation to the ministry to take initiatives to develop a universal Covid vaccine effective against all variants, the committee -- in its report submitted in the Rajya Sabha -- said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has already transferred all the strains of variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) to Bhara

Only 18% tested, India risks undetected community spread of JN.1: Study

JN.1 cases have been detected in the US, China, and India. Official figures from India show just over 1700 active cases nationwide

Covid-19: Karnataka asks people over 60 years of age to mask up

Covid-19 cases: Authorities in Karnataka have been on a state of vigil as reports suggested that the number of active coronavirus cases in Kerala rose to around 1,144 on Sunday

Masks return as Singapore sees Covid-19 uptick, rise in hospitalisations

Covid-19 cases: The Singapore government stated that the dominant strain causing these infections has been identified as JN.1, a sublineage of BA.2.86

JN.1 detected in Kerala: All you need to know about the Covid variant

The JN.1 sub-variant of Covid-19, first identified in Luxembourg and since spreading to several countries, is a descendant of the Pirola variant (BA.2.86)

Covid-19 variant JN.1 in Kerala: 4 deaths reported, Karnataka on alert

Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao ruled out the need to restrict movement on the border at present amid the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in neighbouring Kerala

Another COVID-19 variant JN.1 found in Kerala; check symptoms, treatment

The new COVID-19 variant has been found in Kerala district recently. The variants' symptoms are relatively mild and the cases of hospitalisation are less, check details here

Delivering Covid vax to respiratory tract may give better protection: Study

Delivering the COVID-19 vaccine directly to the respiratory tract -- the primary site of entry inS-CoV-2 infection -- may lead to improved protection against the disease, a study in monkeys has found. The global COVID-19 vaccination campaign saved an estimated 20 million lives, researchers said. However, while current COVID-19 vaccines provide protection against developing severe disease, they do little to prevent infection and transmission, they said. "The failure of the current generation ofS-CoV-2 vaccines delivered by the intramuscular (IM) route to block infection likely relates to their inability to induce robust mucosal immune responses at the portal of entry," said study corresponding author Dan H. Barouch, from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), US. "In this study, we demonstrated that novel immunisation strategies can markedly increase mucosal immunity in non-human primates and improve protective efficacy against a mucosal virus challenge," Barouch said. The .

Link between Covid-19 vaccines and heart attacks? Here's what govt said

A study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has observed that COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death among young adults in India, the government informed Parliament on Friday. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said post hospitalisation due to COVID-19, the family history of sudden death and certain lifestyle behaviours increased the likelihood of unexplained sudden deaths. The minister was responding to a question on whether there has been any reported instance of a linkage between Covid vaccination and incidents of heart attacks in the country. Sudden deaths have been reported in some people after they contracted Covid, but sufficient evidence is not available to confirm the cause of such deaths, Mandaviya said. To ascertain the facts regarding the apprehension of a rising number of cardiac arrest cases after Covid, the ICMR's National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE) ...

India seeks 5 yr patent waiver for Covid diagnostics, therapeutics from WTO

India is among eight other developing nations pushing for a patent waiver that has already been authorised for the use of the Covid-19 vaccine

Mystery pneumonia in China has some Indian states in alert mode already

The Centre has also issued an advisory asking for 'active and passive surveillance' of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) cases

India records 36 new Covid-19 cases in one day; active cases stands at 215

India saw a single-day rise of 36 fresh COVID-19 infections while the active cases have been recorded at 215, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. The country's COVID-19 case tally stands at 4.50 crore (4,50,01,691) and the death toll at 5,33,295, the data updated at 8 am stated. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has increased to 4,44,68,179 and the national recovery rate stands at 98.81 per cent, it stated. The case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.67 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the country so far.