Covid India Updates: How to lower the risk of coronavirus infection?

Delhiites in the 18-44 age group waiting to get an anti-Covid jab can now book their slot through 'CoWIN' app as the free vaccination for youth will start again after suspension for the last two weeks. After the two week-long break with no vaccination, Delhi has received 1.25 lakh doses of Covishield and 20,000 doses of Covaxin, said Kalkaji MLA Atishi on Wednesday while presenting the daily vaccine bulletin of the Delhi government.

"Free-of-cost vaccination for youth will kick start again after two weeks. We have also received 30,000 doses of Covaxin for 45 and above age groups which are being distributed to different centres."

"Covaxin's stock for 18-44 age groups is available for the second dose. For 45+, we have two days of Covaxin and 27 days of Covishield available," Atishi added.

(IANS)

The government has come out with comprehensive guidelines for the management of COVID-19 among children in which Remdesivir has not been recommended and rational use of HRCT imaging has been suggested. The guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) under the health ministry also said that steroids are harmful in asymptomatic and mild cases of infection.

The DGHS recommended steroids only in hospitalised moderately severe and critically ill COVID-19 cases under strict supervision.

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Amid the rising cases of coronavirus pandemic, Maharashtra recorded as many as 13,659 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the total tally of infections in the state to 58,63,880. As many as 261 deaths were reported in the state today, taking the total tally of fatalities to 1,01,833 in Maharashtra.

As many as 16,379 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of recovered patients to 55,97,304.

The number of active cases stands at 1,61,864.

Transmission of the virus behind Covid-19 varies seasonally, but warmer conditions are not enough to prevent its spread, shows a new research. 

Read the full story: Warmer temperatures not enough to prevent Covid spread: Study

While the positivity rate- the proportion of samples tested that return positive for COVID-19 continued its sharp decline to 0.46 per cent today.

Read the full story here: Delhi reports 337 new COVID cases, positivity rate dips to 0.46%

Speaking without masks in confined spaces poses the greatest risk of spreading SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, to others, according to a study. The study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine describes how different sized respiratory droplets emitted while speaking span a continuum of sizes and can carry different amounts of virus. Most concerning are intermediate-sized droplets that remain suspended in air for minutes and can be transported over considerable distances by convective air currents.

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All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Dr Randeep Guleria has said that there is no scientific evidence available, either from India or internationally, to believe that children will be badly affected during the third wave of Covid-19. He said that it is a piece of misinformation that subsequent waves are going to cause severe illness in children, adding that children have been only mildly affected in both the first and second waves.

“In the second wave, 60-70% of the children admitted to hospital had comorbidities. Healthy children did not need hospitalisation and recovered at home. There is no data or evidence, be it Indian or global, to show that children are at risk of serious infection. This is misinformation that children would be adversely affected,” Guleria said on Tuesday.

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Critically ill Covid-19 patients treated with non-altered stem cells from umbilical cord connective tissue were more than twice as likely to survive as those who did not have the treatment, according to a small study. The clinical trial, carried out at four hospitals in Jakarta, Indonesia, also showed that administering the treatment to Covid-19 patients with an added chronic health condition such as diabetes, hypertension or kidney disease increased their survival more than fourfold.

The findings were published in the STEM CELLS Translational Medicine. All 40 patients who took part in the double-blind, controlled, randomised study were adults in intensive care who had been intubated due to Covid-19-induced pneumonia.

Half were given intravenous infusions containing umbilical mesenchymal stromal cells, or stem cells derived from the connective tissue of a human birth cord, and half were given infusions without them.

"The survival rate of those receiving the stem cells was 2.5 times higher and climbed even more -- 4.5 times -- in the Covid-19 patients who had other chronic health conditions," said Ismail Hadisoebroto Dilogo, Professor at Cipto Mangunkusumo Central Hospital-Universitas in Indonesia.

The stem cell infusion also was found to be safe and well-tolerated with no life-threatening complications or acute allergic reactions in seven days of post-infusion monitoring, he said.

-- IANS

Bharat Biotech's Covaxin offers protection against the Delta (B.1.617.2) as well as Beta (B.1.351) variants of SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, a joint study by researchers from Pune's National Institute of Virology, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Bharat Biotech has found.

The study, ‘Neutralisation against B.1.351 and B.1.617.2 with sera of Covid-19 recovered cases and vaccinees of BBV152’, however, is yet to be peer-reviewed and was posted on bioRxiv preprint server on Monday.

While the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) was first found in India and is the dominant strain in the country, the Beta variant  (B.1.351) was first discovered in South Africa.

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Several studies have suggested that diet might have an important role in symptom severity and illness duration of COVID-19 infection. Plant-based diets are rich in nutrients, especially phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals, all of which are important for a healthy immune system, the researchers said. Also, fish is an important source of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, both of which have anti-inflammatory properties, they said. So, Vegetarian and fish based diets may be associated with lower odds of developing moderate to severe COVID-19 infection.

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The findings published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry is the first to investigate and document age- and gender-specific changes in adolescent mental health problems and substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic, while accounting for upward trends that were appearing before the pandemic.

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India on Wednesday logged 92,596 new Covid infections in 24 hours, less than one lakh cases for the second straight day and 6,098 cases more than Tuesday, the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry said. On June 8, India recorded 86,498 cases, lowest since April 2 when the country logged 89,129 new cases.

In the past 24 hours, 2,219 more people succumbed to the pandemic. India's overall tally of Covid-19 cases now stands at 2,90,89,069 with 12,31,415 active cases and 3,53,528 deaths so far. After battling a brutal second wave for weeks, fresh Covid cases came down below the three lakh-mark for the first time on May 17 after touching record high of 4,14,188 on May 7.

The process of vaccination is being carried out rapidly across the country so that coronavirus infection can be defeated. The government is constantly appealing that it is safe to get the covid vaccine and you should definitely take the jab when it is your turn.

World Health Organistaion (WHO) shared five precaustions you should take to lower the risk of the covid infection. They are-

• Wear a mask Face with medical mask
• Clean your handsOpen hands
• Keep physical distance Straight ruler
• Cough/sneeze away into your elbow Flexed biceps
• Open windows as much as possible