Page 2 - Latest Updates on Covid-19

CDC stops recommending Covid-19 shots for all, leaves decision to patients

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has adopted recommendations by a new group of vaccine advisers, and stopped recommending COVID-19 shots for anyone leaving the choice up to patients. The government health agency on Monday announced it has adopted recommendations made last month by advisers picked by US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Before this year, US health officials following recommendations by infectious disease experts recommended annual COVID-19 boosters for all Americans ages 6 months and older. The idea was to update protection against the coronavirus as it continues to evolve. As the COVID-19 pandemic waned, experts increasingly discussed the possibility of focusing vaccination efforts on people 65 and older who are among those most at risk for death and hospitalization. But Kennedy, who has questioned the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, abruptly announced in May that COVID-19 vaccines were no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant wom

Govt circular on Covid-19 cannot limit insurers' obligations, says Delhi HC

The court ordered full reimbursement for a policyholder after observing that the insurer's reliance on Covid-19 circular was unjustified according to Irdai's clarifications

Man with HIV endured 2-year Covid infection, study reveals new record

A Lancet study documents a 41-year-old's persistent Covid infection lasting more than 750 days, raising concerns about viral evolution in immunocompromised patients

How scientists cracked the 1,500-year-old plague that reshaped an empire

For the first time, scientists have found genetic proof of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis in a 1,500-year-old mass grave in Jordan, confirming its role in the deadly Justinian pandemic

Covid-19 masks release microplastics and toxins, researchers warn

New research reveals that single-use face masks can release harmful micro particles and chemicals into air and water, with potential effects on human health and ecosystems

Kennedy Jr grilled in Senate on vaccine policies; Trump says he means well

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, facing pointed bipartisan questioning at a rancorous three-hour Senate committee hearing on Thursday, tried to defend his efforts to pull back Covid-19 vaccine recommendations and explain the turmoil he has created at federal health agencies. Kennedy said the fired CDC director was untrustworthy, stood by his past anti-vaccine rhetoric, and disputed reports of people saying they have had difficulty getting Covid-19 shots. A longtime leader in the anti-vaccine movement, Kennedy has made sweeping changes to agencies tasked with public health policy and scientific research by laying off thousands of workers, firing science advisers and remaking vaccine guidelines. The moves -- some of which contradict assurances he made during his confirmation hearings -- have rattled medical groups and officials in several Democratic-led states, which have responded with their own vaccine advice. Medical groups and several Democrats in Congress have called for

The Wisdom of Plagues: Book traces lessons not learned from pandemics

Covid-19 was the saddest pandemic NYT reporter Donald G McNeil ever covered. Now he shows how outbreaks like AIDS and Ebola foreshadowed the next in patterns, responses, and impact

Could one mRNA therapy stop flu, Covid, and more? Scientists say yes

Inspired by a rare mutation that makes people virus-resistant, researchers have created an experimental mRNA nasal therapy that may offer broad protection against future outbreaks

From Covid-19 to cancer care: What are mRNA vaccines and how do they work?

mRNA vaccines made headlines during Covid-19, now they could redefine cancer treatment. Here's what Nobel Prize-winning technology is and how it works

Respiratory viruses like flu, coronavirus may trigger cancer relapse: Study

A new study reveals that respiratory infections like common flu and coronavirus can awaken dormant breast cancer cells in the lungs, raising concerns for survivors

Qantas fined $59 million for illegally sacking 1,800 staff during Covid

A judge on Monday fined Qantas Airways 90 million Australian dollars (USD 59 million) for illegally firing more than 1,800 ground staff at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The penalty is in addition to the AUD 120 million (USD 78 million) in compensation that Australia's biggest airline had already agreed to pay its former employees. Australian Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said the outsourcing of 1,820 baggage handler and cleaner jobs at Australian airports in late 2020 was the largest and most significant contravention of relevant Australian labour laws in their 120-year history. Qantas agreed in December last year to pay AUD 120 million (USD 78 million) in compensation to former staff after seven High Court judges unanimously rejected the Sydney-based airline's appeal against the judgment that outsourcing their jobs was illegal. The Transport Workers Union, which took the airline to court, had argued the airline should receive the largest fine available AUD 121,212,000 (

New Covid variant on the rise in US: What you need to know about XFG

WHO says the fast-spreading XFG 'Stratus' variant, now rising in US and Europe, poses low public health risk and shows no signs of greater severity than Omicron

WHO updates recommendations on use of antibiotics for Covid-19 patients

The WHO has recommended against the use of antibiotics even in patients with severe Covid when a concurrent bacterial infection is not suspected. The global health body has released updated recommendations for the clinical management of people with Covid which, it said, are based on evidence generated from recent meta-analysis of outcomes of patients treated with antibiotics for Covid. "For patients with non-severe COVID-19 and a low clinical suspicion of a concurrent bacterial infection, we recommend no empirical antibiotics. For patients with severe COVID-19 and a low clinical suspicion of a concurrent bacterial infection, we suggest no empirical antibiotics," the WHO said. The WHO said that as COVID-19 epidemiology and severity have changed, and as emergency measures have subsided, the evidence behind a number of recommendations has changed. In parallel, evolution of health systems and the global environment have meant that the recommendations are implemented in a very different

Your brain might have aged faster during the pandemic, even without Covid-19

A new study finds the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated brain ageing in healthy adults by over five months, raising fresh alarms about stress, inequality, and mental health

Piyush Goyal seeks apology from CM Siddaramaiah over remarks on vaccine

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday demanded that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah apologise to the country's scientists and pharmaceutical sector for his recent remarks linking COVID-19 vaccines to a spate of heart attack deaths in the state and questioned whether he was "running the agenda of foreign forces". Accusing the Chief Minister of "insulting" India's scientists, startups, and its pharmaceutical strength, Goyal said his comments undermine the people who worked tirelessly during the pandemic. According to Goyal, it is "unfortunate" that such remarks are coming from the CM of a country that is known as the 'pharmacy of the world', a country where our startups are expanding and forming an ecosystem, a country where our vaccines were exported on a large scale to other nations. This was possible only because our pharmaceutical companies had the strength and innovation to produce vaccines at a cost of less than Rs 100, he told reporters here. Lauding the pharmaceutical

Pharma industry rebuts Siddaramaiah's claims on Covid vax, heart attacks

The chief minister said the government was probing if Covid vaccines -- which were "hastily approved" during the pandemic -- could be among the reasons behind these incidents

'Our vaccines are safe': Covishield makers support ICMR-Aiims findings

ICMR-Aiims studies found no link between Covid-19 vaccines and sudden deaths in adults; heart issues, genetics, and lifestyle factors were identified as primary causes, not vaccination

Karnataka CM's remark on Covid vaccines 'factually incorrect': Biocon chief

Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Thursday opposed Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's remarks linking covid-19 vaccines with a spate of heart attack deaths in the state's Hassan district, saying such claims are "'factually incorrect" and "misleading". Siddaramaiah has suggested that the recent heart attack deaths in Hassan district may be linked to the vaccination drive. He had also claimed the vaccines were 'hastily' approved. In a social media post, Shaw said "covid-19 vaccines developed in India were approved under the Emergency Use Authorisation framework, following rigorous protocols aligned with global standards for safety and efficacy. To suggest that these vaccines were 'hastily' approved is factually incorrect and contributes to public misinformation." "These vaccines have saved millions of lives and, like all vaccines, may cause side effects in a very small number of individuals. It is important to acknowledge the science and data-driven processes behind their ...

Datanomics: Half the manufacturing segments still far from pre-Covid level

Wood and its products recorded a higher production level by 3.7 per cent in the first two months of FY 26 over the corresponding period of 2011-12 but it was below the 2019-20 level

No link between Covid-19 vaccines and sudden deaths, says health ministry

ICMR and Aiims studies find that genetics, lifestyle and post-Covid factors-not vaccines-are responsible for sudden deaths in young adults