Page 12 - Coronavirus

Astrazeneca row: Only 7 in a million at risk of TTS, says ex-ICMR scientist

Former ICMR scientist Raman Gangakhedkar said the risk is highest after the initial dose, eventually decreasing with subsequent doses

AstraZeneca responds to Covishield vaccine concerns: Here's what they said

Regulatory agencies around the world maintain that the risks from the vaccine outweigh the benefits

Chinese scientist who published Covid-19 virus sequence back in his lab

The first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China said he was allowed back into his lab after he spent days locked outside, sitting in protest. Zhang Yongzhen wrote in an online post early on Wednesday that authorities had tentatively agreed to allow him and his team to return to his laboratory and continue their research for the time being. Zhang had been staging a sit-in protest outside his lab since the weekend after he and his team were suddenly notified they had to leave their lab, a sign of Beijing's continuing pressure on scientists conducting research on the coronavirus. The Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center previously said Zhang's lab was being renovated and was closed for safety reasons. But Zhang said his team wasn't offered an alternative until after the eviction and the new lab didn't meet safety standards for conducting their research. Zhang's latest difficulty reflects how China has sought to control information related to the virus: An ..

AstraZeneca reaffirms Covid vaccine safety amid rare side effect concerns

This comes in the wake of a recent admission by AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company, that its Covid vaccine Covishield and Vaxzevria "can, in very rare cases, cause TTS

AstraZeneca vaccine: From its origin to side effects, all you need to know

Manufactured first in 2021, the AstraZeneca vaccine, known in India as Covishield, has been facing scrutiny over the years, with many countries banning it back in 2021 itself

India global services export to reach $800 billion by 2030: Goldman Sachs

Report says services exports could reach around 11% of GDP by 2030, helping increase demand for top-tier discretionary spending

AstraZeneca admits its Covishield vaccine may lead to rare side effect

AstraZeneca has admitted for the first time in court documents that its Covid vaccine can cause rare side effects, marking an about-turn that may open the door for a multi-million pound legal payout

Baba Ramdev crossed line with false claims of curing Covid: IMA president

Baba Ramdev crossed a red line when he claimed he could cure COVID-19 and at the same time maligned modern medicine by calling it a "stupid and bankrupt science", Indian Medical Association president Dr R V Asokan said on Monday. This is IMA's first comment since the Supreme Court's tongue lashing to Ramdev and his multibillion-dollar consumer goods empire Patanjali Ayurved last month over misleading ads. It comes a day before the top court is scheduled to hear the matter next. The apex court is hearing IMA's 2022 plea alleging a smear campaign against the Covid vaccination drive and modern systems of medicine. The court had asked Ramdev, his aide Acharya Balakrishnan and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd last month to issue a public apology for not following its orders on misleading ads. In an interaction with PTI editors, Asokan also said it was "unfortunate" that the Supreme Court criticised IMA and also the practices of private doctors. The "vague and generalised statements", he added, hav

Channapatna's eroding toy story sees a beacon of hope amid Karnataka polls

Ahead of the general elections in Karnataka, artisans who work at these toy factories are demanding the upcoming govt to create a conducive business environment for them and save their "dying" art

100 scientists spend two years renaming viruses after Covid mistakes

Airborne viruses will be called "pathogens that transmit through the air" under new terminology the World Health Organization hopes will end a scientific rift that hampered early response to Covid 19

Biden govt announces partnership with 50 nations to stifle future pandemics

The announcement comes as countries have struggled to meet a worldwide accord on responses to future pandemics. Four years after the coronavirus pandemic

Compensation for death of Covid-19 warriors is not bounty, says Bombay HC

Compensation for the death of COVID-19 warriors was not a bounty, and cases seeking ex-gratia cannot be dealt with casually, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court said while dismissing a petition filed by the widow of a handpump helper who died during the pandemic. A division bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and R M Joshi said there was nothing "perverse or erroneous" in the order passed by the Maharashtra government rejecting the woman's application seeking compensation of Rs 50 lakh. A copy of the judgment passed on March 28 was made available on Tuesday. The order was passed on the petition filed by Kanchan Hamshette from Nanded district, who sought ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh from the government as her husband, who she claims was deployed by the government, had died after getting infected with the coronavirus. During the pandemic, the state government introduced a comprehensive personal accident cover of Rs 50 lakh to employees who were on active duty relating to survey, ..

Oppn made Modi govt provide for free Covid-19 vaccines, says Congress

The Congress on Friday claimed that the Modi government was "dragged into" providing free COVID-19 vaccinations on the insistence of the opposition and the Supreme Court, and said it is hard to forget the "extent of the mismanagement" that occurred during the pandemic. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the BJP has been touting free COVID-19 vaccinations as a big achievement. "The truth is the Modi Sarkar was dragged into doing so by the insistence of the Opposition and the intervention of the Supreme Court. Aap chronology samajhiye: On April 18, 2021, Dr. Manmohan Singh writes to the Prime Minister, urging him to clarify vaccine policy - which until then was chaotic and not systematized - and giving him well-thought out suggestions on how to maximise vaccinations," Ramesh said on X. On April 19, 2021, the Union government announced the "Liberalised Pricing and Accelerated National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy" which made the vaccination of citizens between 18 and 44 yea

Besides Covid-19, diabetes and renal disease reduce Indian lifespan

Covid-19 was the leading cause of death in India, as per the study. The age-standardised rate of deaths for both males and females was 156.8 per 100,000 population

Over 80 million people worked under MGNREGA in FY24, shows data

It is the lowest number of beneficiaries to have accessed employment under the scheme since the Covid-19 pandemic

How to save the pandemic treaty

As countries cavil over specific clauses in a draft pandemic treaty, there is good reason to fear that the document will be whittled down so much that it becomes useless

Bharat Biotech's TB vaccine MTBVAC begins clinical trials in India

The trials will assess the vaccine's safety, immune response, and efficacy in preventing TB in adults and adolescents. MTBVAC has been developed after research spanning over three decades

No country is fully prepared for future pandemics, says ADB report

India's score on the Global Health Security Index declined from 43.6 in 2019 to 42.8 in 2021. The country's score was lower than others. Japan, Brazil and Russia, meanwhile, recorded an improvement

Probes target Bolsonaro, but his Covid decisions catching up to him first

As Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's term wound down in the final days of December 2022, he had decided to skip the ritual of handing over the presidential sash to his successor, and instead made plans to travel abroad. But there was a problem, according to a Federal Police indictment unveiled on Tuesday: Bolsonaro didn't have the necessary vaccination certificate required by US authorities. So Bolsonaro turned to his aide-de-camp, Mauro Cid, and asked him to insert false data into the public health system to make it appear as though he and his 12-year-old daughter had received the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the indictment. Cid told police he tasked someone with the carrying out the deed, then printed out the certificates inside the presidential palace on December 22 and hand-delivered them to Bolsonaro, according to detective Fabio Alvarez Shor, who signed the indictment. It is Bolsonaro's first indictment since leaving office, and tampering with public records in Brazil is

More Chinese tied knot in 2023, lifting marriage rates 1st time in 9 yrs

The number of newlyweds rose to 7.68 million last year, according to data released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs last week