Page 3 - Latest Updates on Covid-19

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

Siddaramaiah flags possible Covid vaccine link in heart attack deaths

"In this regard, the process of examining and analysing heart patients is also underway," Siddaramaiah said

Frequent shocks to economy make inflation more unpredictable: ECB chief

The head of the European Central Bank said inflation has become more unpredictable due to shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine and that policymakers need to take the possibility of such extreme scenarios into account and communicate them to the public as well. The world ahead is more uncertain, and that uncertainty is likely to make inflation more volatile, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said Monday in a speech opening the central bank's annual conference in Sintra, Portugal. It's pretty basic but that's the reality. One reason, she said, was that increasingly regular supply disruptions were leading companies to change their prices more frequently, a habit that goes beyond the recent burst of inflation in the US and Europe and reflects a structural shift in how firms operate under conditions of permanently higher uncertainty. The bank's assessment of the economy needs to rely on taking extreme possible scenarios into account as

Maharashtra logs 13 new Covid-19 cases, one fatality; tally hits 2,462

Maharashtra on Friday recorded 13 new cases of COVID-19, which took the tally of infections to 2,462, and one death, the health department said. A 65-year-old woman suffering from comorbidities, including rheumatoid arthritis, died in Kolhapur, an official said. Since January 1, the state has recorded 2,462 COVID-19 cases and 37 deaths, the department said. Of the fresh cases, five were reported from Pimpri Chinchwad, three from Nagpur, two from Pune and one each from Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Satara, an official statement said. The health department has conducted 28,486 COVID-19 tests across the state since January 1, and 2,277 patients have recovered from the infection till date, it said. Mumbai has reported 980 cases, including 539 in June alone, so far this year. At least 37 patients have succumbed to the virus in the state since January 1, of whom 36 had comorbidities (pre-existing health conditions that can increase the risk of severe illness), the statement said.

Flu shot must as winter viruses may trigger heart attack or stroke: Study

People who are particularly vulnerable to a heart attack or stroke triggered by a respiratory virus are those with more than one of those traditional risk factors, especially older people