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Health

COVID-19 immunity lasts at least 8 months hope for longevity of vaccinations Study

While earlier studies have shown that antibodies against the coronavirus wane after the first few months of infection, raising concerns that people may lose immunity quickly, the new research, published in the journal Science Immunology, puts these concerns to rest.

The scientists believe the findings give hope to the efficacy of any vaccine against the virus, and also explains why there have been very few examples of genuine reinfection across the millions of those who have tested positive for the virus globally.

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Gas leak in AP unit operational negligence, says NGT; directs safety audit of pharma units

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel held that the cause of Benzimidazole gas leakage at Sainor Life Sciences factory at Parwada industrial area was operational negligence of the management and its employees,

There were serious lapses in not following standard safety norms under the said rules requiring onsite and offsite emergency plans, conducting mock drills every six months and undertaking manufacture of Benzimidazole without consent.

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AstraZeneca says its vaccine should be effective against new coronavirus variant

“AZD1222 (AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate) contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein, and the changes to the genetic code seen in this new viral strain do not appear to change the structure of the spike protein,” an AstraZeneca representative said in an email.
India is likely to approve Oxford/AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use by next week after its local manufacturer submitted additional data sought by authorities, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

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Rules to stop coronavirus variant stoke chaos at Indian airports

India’s hardest-hit state of Maharashtra, home to financial capital Mumbai, has taken additional measures, quarantining most passengers arriving from Europe and the Middle East for a week. Many European and Middle Eastern countries have also suspended flights from Britain, but act as transit hubs for the big airlines flying into India.
India’s plan to track down and screen all arrivals from Britain since Nov. 25 is also getting stretched.

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People who are infected should also take vaccine: Bharat Biotech Chairman

Talking about the company’s efficacy trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, Bharat BiotechChairman & MD Krishna Ella said on Wednesday. said that for the efficacy trials the company has taken 24 centres all over the country so that it has tier I ,tierIIand tier III cities to capture the efficacy in a better way.

On the distribution of vaccines in India, he said India is well prepared for that and Indian immunisation system is very robust, Ella said.

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UK identifies new South African coronavirus variant tightens lockdown

Like the UK variant identified earlier, the new variant of the novel coronavirus is also driving a massive resurgence of the disease in South Africa, with experts warning the country is probably facing a much larger second wave.

“Both cases of the new variant are contacts of cases who have travelled from South Africa over the past few weeks,” Hancock said, addressing a briefing from 10 Downing Street.

“This new variant is highly concerning because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant that has been discovered in the UK,” he said.

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Families of Italian Covid-19 victims seek $122 million from government

The lawsuit is being brought by members of a committee called “Noi Denunceremo” (we will go to court), set up in April to represent the relatives of people who died in Bergamo, one of Lombardy’s worst-affected cities.

The civil lawsuit, which the plaintiffs presented to a Rome court, is against Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Health Minister Roberto Speranza and the governor of the northerly Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana.

Italy, the first Western country hit by the coronavirus, has reported seen more than 70,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the outbreak emerged in February, the highest toll in Europe and the fifth-highest in the world. The hardest-hit region is Lombardy, where the first COVID-19 patient was detected on Feb. 20.

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