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India on track to becoming third-largest economy by FY31: S&P report
The country has emerged as the fastest-growing large economy at an...
Stroke cases increasing globally, air pollution, high temperatures driving numbers: Lancet Study
Further, for the first time, particulate matter or PM air pollution...
India’s daily COVID-19 deaths near record, calls for nationwide lockdown mount
The Indian Medical Association (IMA), the umbrella body for all conventional doctors and surgeons, called for a “complete, well-planned, pre-announced” lockdown across the country instead of “sporadic” night curfews and restrictions imposed by states for a few days at a time.
“IMA is astonished to see the extreme lethargy and inappropriate actions from the ministry of health in combating the agonizing crisis born out of the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic,” it said in a statement on Saturday.
India’s COVID-19 cases dip from peak, calls for shutdown mount
The health ministry reported 366,161 new infections and 3,754 deaths, off a little from recent peaks. India’s tally of infections now stands at 22.66 million, with 246,116 deaths. (Graphic on global cases and deaths)
As many hospitals grapple with an acute shortage of oxygen and beds while morgues and crematoriums overflow, experts have said India’s actual figures could be far higher than reported.
Variant accelerating India’s Covid-19 explosion: WHO top scientist
The surge in India is frightening not only due to the horrifying number of people who are sick and dying there, but also because the exploding infection numbers dramatically increase the chances of new and more dangerous variants emerging.
“The more the virus is replicating and spreading and transmitting, the more chances are that… mutations will develop and adapt,” Swaminathan said.
Britain free of coronavirus by August, outgoing vaccine task force chief says: Report
Dix told the Telegraph that he expects everybody in the UK to have been vaccinated at least once by the end of July, by which time “we’ll have probably protected the population from all the variants that are known.”
The UK has administered over 51 million vaccines and has been the second quickest country to give a first dose to at least half its adult population.
Pharma has limited legal options if vaccine patents waived
Still, some vaccine producers, like Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc., might sue the U.S. to recoup some of their losses, said Matthew Howell, an intellectual property attorney at Alston & Bird in Atlanta. If the manufacture of the vaccine is done in the U.S., under the government’s authorization, there are avenues for compensation in American courts.
EU top court upholds ban on Bayer pesticides linked to harming bees
The Commission in 2013 restricted the use of the neonicotinoids, meaning they could not be used on maize, rapeseed and some spring cereals. They could still be used for other crops, such as sugar beet.
The Commission had reviewed the approvals because of the loss of bee colonies due to the misuse of pesticides.
Tokyo Games need 500 nurses; nurses say needs are elsewhere
Olympic officials have said they will need 10,000 medical workers to staff the games, and the request for more nurses comes amid a new spike in the virus with Tokyo and Osaka under a state of emergency.
French banks told to speed up response to climate change
Other financial watchdogs around the world will also be conducting similar tests on the finance industry to help to reduce the impact of climate change on economies. Banks and other finance companies will have to disclose to investors the impact of climate change on their balance sheets under proposed European Union rules.
Insurers warn government Canada’s flood mapping must not take a decade
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged sweeping climate action during his re-election campaign last year, including C$150 million ($112.2 million) for flood mapping. The federal budget is expected at the end of March.
“Flooding is by far the single greatest peril facing Canadians as a result of climate change,” Craig Stewart, vice president of federal affairs for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, told Reuters.
WHO experts voice “very low confidence” in some Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine data
The document includes summaries of data from clinical trials in China, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
The “evidence assessment” document was prepared by the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) for its evaluation of the Sinopharm shot, authorised by 45 countries and jurisdictions for use in adults, with 65 million doses administered. The experts review evidence and give recommendations on policy and dosages associated with a vaccine.