Page 28 - Coronavirus

SARS-CoV-2 infection linked with high blood pressure in adults: Study

This is the first study to compare the development and risk factors associated with persistent high blood pressure in people with Covid-19 infection to influenza, a similar respiratory virus

Centre holds meeting on Covid, asks states to ramp up genome sequencing

Amid detection of newer variants of coronavirus globally, the Centre on Monday held a high-level meeting and asked states to ramp up whole genome sequencing of positive samples and keep close watch on the global variants. Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Dr P K Mishra, after the deliberations highlighted that while the Covid situation in the country remains stable and public health systems remain geared up, there is need for states to monitor trends of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) cases, an official statement said. He also emphasised on sending sufficient samples for testing of COVID-19 while ramping up whole genome sequencing and maintaining close watch on the new global variants. An overview of the global COVID-19 situation was given by Health Secretary Sudhansh Pant, including certain newer variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus like BA.2.86 (Pirola) and EG.5 (Eris), which have been reported globally. He underlined that as per the World

Two years after catching Covid, patients still risk getting sick: Research

People who were never sick enough to be hospitalized for acute Covid still had a higher risk than uninfected people of developing long Covid-related disorders

Those vaccinated before getting Covid at lower risk of post-discharge death

A one-year follow-up of COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals found that participants who received at least one dose of anti-Covid vaccination before contracting the coronavirus infection had a lower risk of post-discharge mortality, according to a study by ICMR. Of the 14,419 participants who were followed up at least once between four weeks and one-year post-discharge, 942 (6.5 per cent) had died and the remaining (93.5 per cent) were reported alive at any contact during one year of follow-up. They were from 31 hospitals across the country. "Participants who had received at least one dose of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine before their COVID-19 infection had a lower risk of post-discharge mortality," the study said. Vaccination prior to the COVID-19 infection (at least a single dose) provided 60 per cent protection against post-discharge mortality. People older than 40 years, men with co-morbidities and those who had moderate to severe COVID-19 to begin with had a higher chanc

Painful that some raised concerns when India was battling Covid: Dhankhar

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said when India was battling the COVID-19 pandemic and helping other nations simultaneously, it was painful to find some "irritating" voices raising concerns and not believing in the country's abilities. Addressing the 48th convocation of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, he said, "As a nation, we need to 'escape' that. That does not help anyone." Dhankhar further said that he comes from the legal profession and understands what professionalism means. "A slight dilution, slight commercialisation, slight ethical deviation can be bad for those we seek to serve," he said. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and his junior minister S P Singh Baghel were present on the occasion. Observing that the convocation was taking place after an interval of three years, the vice president said the gap reminds him of the Covid pandemic. Health workers brought the country out of the crisis with their hard work and sincere effo

Employment in India registered V-shaped recovery post-pandemic: Former CEA

Krishnamurthy V Subramanian also called to cease the use of CMIE data on employment in India till the flaws in its survey methodology are fixed

Scientists rush to understand, contain highly mutated Covid-19 strain

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization designated BA.2.86 a "variant under monitoring" on Thursday, a designation that encourages countries to track and report the sequences they find"

Pandemic emergency ended but Covid-19 virus still around, says WHO

ore data are needed to understand this COVID-19 variant and the extent of its spread, but the number of mutations warrants attention. WHO will update countries and public as we learn more," WHO said

Top headlines: Hero Moto targets enhanced mkt share, market wrap and more

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

With margins back to pre-Covid level, Hero Moto targets enhanced mkt share

With its margins back to pre-Covid levels, Hero MotoCorp is now looking at sustainable growth, enhancing market share across segments on the back of new product launches over the next few quarters, according to a top company executive. The country's largest two-wheeler maker is also looking at enhancing production capacity to roll out Harley-Davidson X440 which has already received over 25,000 bookings. The company is also on track to introduce its electric vehicle range in 100 cities by this year-end with a focus on attaining clear leadership in the vertical. "The ICE (internal combustion engine) business margins are now 14.5 per cent. Effectively, it means that we are back to pre-Covid levels which were around 14 per cent," Hero MotoCorp CEO Niranjan Gupta said in an analyst call. Therefore, moving forward, having covered the margins back to pre-Covid levels, the company's singular focus is going to be growth and market share on the back of lots of launches that have been done an

Covid-19 still global health threat, new variant under scanner: WHO chief

Director-General of WHO Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus on Friday said though COVID-19 is no longer a health emergency for the world, it is still a global health threat' and a new variant of coronavirus is already under the scanner. The chief of the World Health Organisation (WHO) was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the G20 Health Ministers' Meeting at Mahatma Mandir Convention centre in Gujarat's capital Gandhinagar. Although COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, it remains a global health threat. WHO has recently classified a new variant with a large number of mutations. BA.2.86 variant is under monitoring at present, highlighting once again the need for all countries to maintain surveillance, he said. On the occasion, he urged all the countries to speed up the process of finalising the Pandemic Accord' so that it can be adopted in the World Health Assembly scheduled to be held next year. COVID-19 has taught us all an important lesson that when health is at risk everything

Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine protects against new variants, finds early study

Covid vaccine partners Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE are also developing updated shots, as is Novavax Inc. The drugmakers have been testing and making new updates as the virus has evolved

Rich or poor, there's a caste element in financial recovery after Covid-19

Religion and region have shaped how families are doing, data shows

Pandemic taught us nobody is safe until everyone is safe: MoS Pawar

Union minister Dr Bharati Pawar said here on Thursday that the COVID-19 pandemic taught people that no one is safe until everyone is safe. The Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare also said that India's G20 Presidency has revolved around the philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' - the world is one family. She was addressing the G20 Deputies' Meeting that commenced here on Thursday ahead of the G20 Health Ministers' Meeting starting Friday. "India's G20 Presidency has revolved around the philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' - the world is one family. Nowhere is this more important than in the field of global health as the pandemic taught us that no one is safe until everyone is safe," an official release quoted her saying in her inaugural address. Dr V K Paul, Member (Health) of NITI Aayog, was also present at the meeting that is underway at the Mahatma Mandir convention centre in Gandhinagar as part of India's G20 presidency. Union minister Pawar underlined the crucial

Indian banks' operating environment strengthens as Covid risks ebb: Fitch

With banks shoring up their capital buffers and cleaning up their balance sheets following the pandemic, their gross non-performing asset ratio has fallen to a 10-year low of 3.9% as of March 2023

Vivek Agnihotri confirms 'The Vaccine War' release date, shares teaser on X

Vivek Agnihotri released the teaser of his much-awaited movie 'The Vaccine War.' The movie will hit theatres on September 28, 2023. The movie pays tribute to the medical fraternity and scientists

Entire world was amazed at scale of India's Covid vaccination programme: PM

The administration of 200 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines was possible only because of anganwadi, ASHA and health workers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday. Addressing the nation on the 77th Independence Day from the ramparts of the Red Fort, he said the entire world was amazed at the scale of India's vaccination programme. The world saw India's potential in the way it dealt with the coronavirus crisis, Modi said, adding, "When the supply chains of other countries were disrupted, we had advocated a human centric approach to ensure world's progress." Holistic healthcare was the demand of the hour after the pandemic, he said, adding his government had established a separate Ayush department and now the world is taking note of Ayush and yoga. "The world is now watching us because of our commitment," he said. Modi said that India has emerged as "vishwa mitra" (friend of the world) in the post-COVID-19 period, Modi said. "After Covid, India advocated for 'One Earth, One .

Rajini fever, Gadar-2 magic lead to record weekend box-office collections

Combined collections stand at Rs 390 crore during the weekend, the most in 100 years; footfall reaches a 10-year high of 21 million

Indian enterprises increase AI adoption in post-Covid era: PwC report

Indian enterprises have increased AI adoption and industrial products and the manufacturing sector seeing maximum adoption rates following the Covid-19 pandemic, a report said. According to a PwC report titled 'Towards a smarter tomorrow: Impact of AI in the post-COVID era' the industrial products and manufacturing sector has seen the maximum adoption of AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning) over the last two years. Almost 64 per cent of the organisations surveyed in the industrial products and manufacturing sector say they are currently at an early stage of their AI-based transformation journey reflecting the opportunities for further investments and growth led by AI/ML solutions in this sector, it said. PwC said it conducted surveys with 220-plus CXOs and decision-makers across the Indian market in 202223. This was a follow-up to the survey conducted in 2020. "While there has been a significant increase in AI adoption with scalable impact in terms of returns, trends .

New Zealand removes last of its closely watched Covid-19 restrictions

New Zealand on Monday removed the last of its remaining COVID-19 restrictions, marking the end of a government response to the pandemic that was watched closely around the world. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the requirement to wear masks in hospitals and other healthcare facilities would end at midnight, as would a requirement for people who caught the virus to isolate themselves for seven days. New Zealand was initially praised internationally for eliminating the virus entirely after imposing nationwide lockdowns and strict border controls. But as the pandemic wore on and more infectious variants took hold, the nation's zero-tolerance approach became untenable. It eventually abandoned its elimination strategy. Reflecting on the government's response to the virus over more than three years, Hipkins said that during the height of the pandemic he had longed for the day he could end all restrictions, but now it felt anticlimactic. He said about 3,250 New Zealanders from a popula