Page 115 - Coronavirus

New XBB Covid variant is immune evasive, says WHO's Soumya Swaminathan

With India reporting a highly infectious new COVID-19 variant, WHO scientist Soumya Swaminathan said that there were over 300 sub-variants and XBB being a recombinant virus is a matter of concern

As China holds Congress, people hope for end to zero-Covid limits

As China's ruling Communist Party holds a congress this week, many Beijing residents are focused on an issue not on the formal agenda: Will the end of the meeting bring an easing of China's at times draconian zero-COVID policies that are disrupting lives and the economy? It appears to be wishful thinking. As the world moves to a post-pandemic lifestyle, many across China have resigned themselves to lining up several times a week for COVID-19 tests, restrictions on their travels to other regions, and the ever-present possibility of a community lockdown. There is nothing we can do, Zhang Yiming, 51, said this week at a park in Beijing. If we look at the situation abroad, like the United States where over 1 million people have died, right? In China, although it is true that some aspects of our life are not convenient, such as travel and economy, it seems that there is no good solution. People are looking to the party congress, which ends Saturday, for two reasons. The meeting, which i

Data story: India logs 2,119 new Covid cases; death toll at 528,953

India has so far administered 2,195,097,574 vaccine doses

Some countries may see another wave of Covid due to XBB subvariant: WHO

Chief scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Soumya Swaminathan, on Thursday said some countries may see "another wave of infections" with the XBB subvariant of Omicron, a variant of COVID-19 virus. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN) here, she clarified that as of now, there was no data from any country to suggest that these new variants are clinically more severe. "There are over 300 subvariants of Omicron. I think the one that is concerning right now is XBB, which is a recombinant virus. We had seen some recombinant viruses earlier. It is very immune-evasive, which means it can overcome the antibodies. So slightly that we may see another wave of infections in some countries because of XBB," she said. Swaminathan said they are also tracking derivatives of BA.5 and BA.1, which are also more transmissible and immune-evasive. As the virus evolves, it is going to evolve mor

Global rollout of 12 bn vaccine doses largest-ever but access an issue: WHO

World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday said global roll-out of more than 12 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses is the largest and fastest in human history. Addressing the annual general meeting of the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN) virtually, he flagged the issue of inequities in access to COVID-19 vaccines. The three-day event is being co-hosted by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, said a statement. Global roll-out of more than 12 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses is the largest and fastest in history with an estimated 60 per cent doses produced by manufacturers in developing countries. Despite this achievement, stark inequities in access to COVID-19 vaccines remain," he said. "These inequities are due partly to the fact that globally vaccine production is too concentrated. To address this, the WHO and our partners have established the mRNA Tech

New Covid variants spreading across the globe: what are the risk?

Amid the surge in the new and recombinant variants, scientists across the world are now watching out for variants which could turn into variants of concern soon

Mumbai logs 147 new Covid-19 cases, zero death; active tally at 1,037

Mumbai on Thursday reported 147 new coronavirus cases, but no fresh death linked to the infection was recorded in the metropolis, the local civic body said. With this, the overall tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 11,52,992, while the death toll remained unchanged at 19,738, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in a bulletin. On Wednesday, Mumbai had logged 128 new COVID-19 cases, but zero fatalities. As per the bulletin, the new COVID-19 cases were detected after 5,122 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, taking their cumulative count to 1,84,12,571. A day ago, 6,108 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the city. Mumbai's tally of recuperated cases rose to 11,32,217 after 179 patients recovered from the respiratory illness, said the bulletin. The city has a coronavirus recovery rate of 98.2 per cent and is now left with 1,037 active cases, it said. Of the 147 new COVID-19 cases, only 8 patients were symptomatic, according to the BMC. The growth rate of COVID-19 ..

Developing nations' vaccine manufacturers bat for pandemic treaty

It's time to focus on routine immunisation: Mandaviya

From layoffs to cost-cutting, start-ups brace for long funding winter

Favourite haunts of start-up community in Bengaluru and Gurugram reflect the sombre mood

SII stopped Covishield production in Dec 2021, says CEO Adar Poonawalla

Chief Executive Officer of Serum Institute of India (SII), Adar Poonawalla, on Thursday said the vaccine manufacturer stopped the production of Covishield vaccine starting December 2021, and of the total stock available at that time, around 100 million doses had already got expired. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN), he said booster vaccines have no demand as there is general lethargy among people and also because they are fed up with the pandemic. "Since December 2021, we stopped the production (of Covishield). We had a stock of a few hundred million doses at that time and of that, 100 million doses have already expired," said Poonawalla when asked about the update on the Covishield vaccine. He said the SII's vaccines are allowed to be mixed. "Now, Covovax should be allowed in two weeks. So I think they will and should probably have the policy to mix boosters. If WHO allowed it, then .

Senior citizens must exercise caution due to new Covid variants: Guleria

Scientists, physicians, and senior administrators suggested to ramp up surveillance and genome sequencing

LIVE: Liz Truss resigns as UK PM after 45 days in office

A growing number of lawmakers have been calling for Truss to resign after weeks of turmoil sparked by her economic plan, announced last month

Delhi govt withdraws Rs 500 fine for not wearing masks in public places

The Delhi government on Thursday issued an order withdrawing the Rs 500 fine for not wearing masks in public places in the national capital. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had in a meeting last month decided to stop levying the penalty after September 30 amid a decline in COVID-19 cases in the national capital. However, no official notification had been issued.

Highway construction slows down, one-fourth target achieved till September

The Covid-19 pandemic and an unusually long rainy season have kept the authorities from reaching the annual highway construction target of 12,000 km

Oil prices rise on possible easing of Covid quarantine measure in China

Oil prices gained around $1 as investor sentiment rose on news that China is considering a cut in the duration of quarantine for inbound visitors

Omicron Covid variant may have originated in animals, finds study

The Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus may have been transmitted from an animal species to humans, according to a study. The research, published recently in the journal Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, provides new insights into the evolutionary origins of Omicron. An essential step in coronavirus infection occurs when spike protein, which helps the virus to infect the cells, binds to the host's receptor. After establishing consistent infections in the host, the spike protein becomes adapted to the host's receptor. The resaerchers carried out a detailed structural biology analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. They identified several mutations in the Omicron spike protein that were uniquely adapted to the mouse receptor and incompatible with the human receptor. This suggests the Omicron variant might not have originated from humans directly, and instead may have been transmitted from other animal species to humans, according to the researchers. "These Omicr

Data story: India adds 2,141 new Covid cases; active tally at 25,510

India has added 15,198 cases in the past 7 days

Top headlines: Hikes, bonuses come down for IT firms, GACs in IT rules

The crazy salary hikes and bonuses with attrition hitting the roof is finally tempering down for the Indian IT services sector. Read more in our top headlines

Covid-19 linked to increase in US pregnancy-related deaths, says report

COVID-19 drove a dramatic increase in the number of women who died from pregnancy or childbirth complications in the US last year, a crisis that has disproportionately claimed Black and Hispanic women as victims, according to a report. The report released on Wednesday lays out grim trends across the country for expectant mothers and their newborn babies. It finds that pregnancy-related deaths have spiked nearly 80 per cent since 2018, with COVID-19 being a factor in a quarter of the 1,178 deaths reported last year. The percentage of preterm and low birthweight babies also went up last year, after holding steady for years. And more pregnant or postpartum women are reporting symptoms of depression. We were already in the middle of a crisis with maternal mortality in our country, said Karen Tabb Dina, a maternal health researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This really shows that COVID-19 has exacerbated that crisis to rates that we, as a country, are not able t

Covid-19 still public health emergency of international level: WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that Covid-19 is still a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the WHO's highest alert level.