Covid India Updates: How to measure the respiration rate without any equipment?

Denying any inequity in the distribution of Covid vaccines, the Centre said on Saturday that private hospitals received over 1.20 crore vaccine doses in the month of May. The Union Health Ministry emphasised that the government of India, in close partnership with all the states and Union Territories (UTs), is running one of the largest Covid-19 vaccination drives in the world since January 16.

"Some media reports have alleged inequity in India's vaccination drive. These reports are inaccurate and speculative in nature," the Health Ministry said.

The Kerala health authorities on Saturday said that since the first dose of the corona vaccine was given in the third week of January, till now one crore doses have been administered. The health officials in a statement said the vaccination numbers include 78,75,797 first dose and 21,37,389 second dose. This was done without wasting even a single dose of vaccine.

As many as 4,74,676 people in the age group of 18 to 44 years received their first vaccine dose.

In the age group of 45 to 60 years, 27,96,267 people received their first vaccine dose while 1,97,052 people received their second dose as well.

Likewise 35,48,887 people above 60 years received their first jab and 11,38,062 received their second jab, too.

-- IANS

As India continues to be ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, a team of researchers is investigating how green tea could give rise to a drug capable of tackling Covid-19. The initial findings suggested that one of the compounds in green tea could combat the coronavirus behind Covid-19, said lead author Suresh Mohankumar, who researched during his time at JSS College of Pharmacy in Ooty before taking up his current role at Swansea University Medical School.

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1,784 cases of black fungus have been reported in the state & 62 have recovered. So far, we've received 18,650 vials of Amphotericin B. Govt is considering to include Black Fungus treatment under Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka scheme: Dr K Sudhakar, Karnataka Health Minister

-- ANI

"3 new COVID19 infections every minute in South Asia," informed Fayaz King, United Nations' Assistant Secretary-General serving as Deputy Executive Director, Field Results and Innovation at @UNICEF.

In his tweet he writes, "The pandemic is not over for much of the world. Powerful statement from @UNICEFROSA 's Regional Director, George Laryea-Adjei."

Vajra Kavach has eased the work of front line warriors as it disinfects PPE Kits, N95 masks, coats, gloves and gowns and makes it reusable for the COVID Warriors within minutes. It is environmental friendly too, as it reduces biomedical waste generation.

The study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, found that negative mental health outcomes were disproportionately reported by girls and older adolescents (13-18-year-olds), compared to same-age peers before the pandemic.

At the same time, it revealed a decline in cigarette smoking, e-cigarette usage and alcohol intoxication among 15-18-year-old adolescents during the pandemic.

"The decrease observed in substance use during the pandemic may be an unintended benefit of the isolation that so many adolescents have endured during quarantine," said researcher John Allegrante from the Columbia University in the US.

Previous studies of adolescents during Covid-19 found evidence of increased mental health problems and certain types of substance use that had been rising before the pandemic.

This study, however, compares current data with several pre-pandemic time points, which enabled the researchers to separate the effect of Covid-19 from other recent, downward trends in adolescent mental health.

According to the researchers, prior studies have not been designed to determine whether clinically relevant levels of depression -- as opposed to self-reported depressive symptoms -- and substance use have increased during the pandemic.

The study "differs in methodology from previous studies in that it tracked the population-based prevalence of mental health outcomes and substance use over several years to better understand the potential effects of Covid-19 from recent upward trends in adolescent mental health problems, the team said.

(IANS)

A team of doctors, students and researchers from disciplines including psychiatry, psychology and neurology joined forces to analyse all the available research on the effects of COVID-19 on the brain. It found that some important mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety, were each occurring in as many as 25 per cent of people with COVID-19. People with COVID-19 very often experience a range of neurological and psychiatric problems, so healthcare providers need to prepare not only for the immediate care of these patients, but also the intensive and often lengthy rehabilitation needs that follow.

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(PTI)

India reported 1,20,529 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day rise in infections in around two months, taking the infection tally to 2,86,94,879, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday. The death toll from COVID-19 climbed to 3,44,082 with 3,380 new fatalities, while the number of active cases was recorded below 20 lakh for the fifth consecutive day, the data updated at 8 am showed. 

The daily new cases are the lowest in 58 days, the ministry said.

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Even after getting vaccinated, it is important to follow COVID Appropriate Behaviour. It includes-

• Wearing a mask
• Greet without physical contact
• Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
• Regularly clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces
• Maintain physical distance
• Maintain respiratory hygiene
• Do not spit in the open
• Discourage crowd - Encourage Safety
• Wash hands frequently and thoroughly
• Avoid unnecessary travel
• Do not circulate social media posts which carry unverified or negative information
• Seek information on COVID-19 from credible sources 
• Seek psychosocial support for any stress or anxiety

Department of Health shares a video showing a simple method to measure oxygen level yourself, without any equipment. Place your hand on your chest. Measure your respiratory rate for one minute. If the breathing is less than 24 per minute, your respiratory rate is normal. However, if a person has more than 30 breathing per minute, it means that the oxygen level is low.

Also Read: VIDEO: Here's a test by Malaika Arora to check if your lungs are healthy while sitting at home