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India needs to make its air quality norms more stringent, say experts after new WHO guidelines

WHO’s new guidelines recommend new air quality levels to protect the health of populations by reducing levels of key air pollutants, some of which also contribute to climate change.”There is a body of scientific evidence to prove that air pollution is leading to severe health impacts and 90 per cent of the entire global population is breathing polluted air,” IIT-Kanpur professor S N Tripathi, said.

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India may allow smaller gap between Covishield doses sold privately: Report

Earlier this month, the high court in the southern state of Kerala ordered changes in the health ministry’s vaccine-booking platform to give people paying for vaccination this choice, which is already being offered to those flying abroad. 

“Since the high court has given a judgement, it will have to be done,” said one of the sources. “For the government’s programme, the ideal gap remains 12 weeks.”

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India’s first framework for air quality forecast, SAFAR, accepted globally: Project director Beig

“Now that India has its own air quality framework whose credibility is proven beyond doubt, we need to take its advantage to become self-sufficient in replicating in other cities as originally envisaged in the National Clean Air Programme plan document rather than borrowing foreign framework with a cost,” Dr Gufran Beig said.

Using this, all urban local bodies can issue timely health advisories to alert citizens about ‘bad air’ days, which will help save vulnerable groups from severe health impacts of air pollution, the senior scientist added.

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U.S. VP Harris to announce $10 bln global fund to prepare for future pandemics

The new Global Health Security Financial Intermediary Fund will be created at the World Bank to coalesce resources for pandemic preparedness, the White House official said.

The Biden administration will also request an additional $850 million from the U.S. Congress for the fund, to build on the $630 million in such funding that was secured for fiscal year 2021.

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India govt won’t buy Pfizer, Moderna vaccines amid local output -sources

That essentially means the globally popular vaccines, which their makers have pledged not to sell to private parties during the pandemic, will not be available for now in the world’s two most populous countries – China and India. The Indian government has also declined to meet the U.S. companies’ requests for legal protection over any side-effects from the use of their shots, which are currently made only in the United States or Europe, two of the sources said.

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