COVID India Updates: How worrying is 'variant' first seen in India

The clinical trials of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin in the age group of 2-18 years will begin in next 10-12 days, the government said Tuesday. The development comes days after India's apex drugs regulator granted permission for conducting the phase II/III clinical trials on children. 

"COVAXIN has been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), for Phase II/III clinical trials in the age group of 2 to 18 years. I have been told that trials will begin in the next 10-12 days," Dr. VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog said at a press conference today. 

Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri Tuesday said the Centre is taking all precautions and keeping an eye on the situation in Singapore after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to it to cancel all flights with the city-state as a "very dangerous" coronavirus strain has been detected there.

"Kejriwal ji, all international flights have been stopped since March 2020. We have no air bubble with Singapore either," Puri said on Twitter.

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Maharashtra recorded as many as 28,438 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking the tally of infections in the state to 54,33,506, the death toll increased to 83,777 with 679 new fatalities. As many as 52,898 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of recovered patients to 49,27,480, The number of active cases stands at 4,19,727. Maharashtra's recovery rate of COVID-19 cases is 90.69 per cent, while the fatality rate is 1.54 per cent.

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij: In all medical colleges, 20-20 bed wards have been prepared for black fungus patients. All civil hospitals have been told that if they have any case of black fungus, they should send it to the medical colleges, where all the facilities of black fungus are being provided

Delhi on Tuesday received over 60,000 Covaxin doses for key workers and those aged above 45, AAP MLA Atishi said. Still, the city has only two days of Covaxin stock left for this category, while Covishield doses for the group can last up to four days, she said.

She also said that 1.13 lakh beneficiaries received jabs on May 17. Around 10.75 lakh people have got both the doses since the inoculation drive began on January 16.

The COVID-19 variant first identified in India has been classified as a “variant of concern” by Britain and the World Health Organisation, meaning there is some evidence that it spreads more easily between people, causes more severe disease, or might be less responsive to treatments and vaccines.

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Closure of all outdoor avenues for physical activity and exercise and an increase in stress levels as people are trying to deal with illness, loss of loved ones and financial losses are having an adverse impact on the overall health and well-being and especially on digestive health.

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Breaking myths!

A supply-based model for India's Covid-19 vaccinations developed by international bank Investec estimates a total spend of Rs 750 billion ($ 8 billion) for calendar year 2021 including Rs 32 billion by April for India as a whole including centre, states and private sector. Based on current supply visibilities (imports / India mfg / new launches), 75% of India's population (above 18 years of age) will get vaccinated by October'21, Investec said.

This assumes all of the manufactured / imported vaccine can be administered by India's existing health care infrastructure setup.

-- IANS

Sputnik V, the Russian COVID-19 vaccine being produced in India by Dr Reddy's Laboratory has made its debut on the CoWIN platform on May 18

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In the battle against this virus, our weapons are local containment zone, aggressive testing and sending correct and complete information to the people. You all are playing a very important role in the battle against Corona. In a way, you are the field commanders of this battle: PM Modi

PM Modi interacted with field officials from States and Districts to converse about their experience in handling the #COVID19 pandemic on Tuesday.

The Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V which is being produced in India by Dr. Reddy's Laboratory has made debut on the CoWIN application on May 18.

With 4,329 deaths in last 24 hours, India on Tuesday recorded highest fatalities from Covid infection, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

However, there was a bright side as well, as 2,63,533 new cases reported i the same duration -- were the lowest in 26 days. On Monday, the number of Covid cases has come down below the three-lakh- mark for the first time since April 21.

"We have strong immunisation networks, however, we need to be extra vigilant in this case, as any adverse situation will have a long impact. The Covid vaccine can save a life, but a falsified vaccine will kill human beings as well erode public confidence in healthcare systems, healthcare professionals, and government agencies," Nakul Pasricha, Chief Executive of Pharma Secure, a company that offers drug verification technology to pharmaceutical companies in India, told IANS.

"Greater risk of harm to consumers will result in greater liability for healthcare providers. Circulation of falsified or fake vaccines will add to the already overwhelming crisis that the country is facing thus hampering the efforts of our governments, healthcare organisations, and our frontline warriors," he added.

CSIR India news claimed that smokers and vegetarians are at less risk of corona after which a tweet was made by the Government of India. In the same, it was said that this is absolutely wrong news. The tweet stated that at present there is no conclusion based on serological studies that people who eat vegetarian food and smoke have a lower risk of getting infected.