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WHO calls meeting on new virus variant, European head says

“Limiting travel to contain spread is prudent until we have better info. Supply chains for essential goods & essential travel should remain possible,” WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge said on Twitter, urging increased preventive measures.
South Africa has announced that a new variant of the COVID-19 virus is driving the country’s current resurgence of the disease, which is seeing higher numbers of confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

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Scientists say UK strain unlikely to affect efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, warn against more mutations

According to Jeremy Farrar, director of the London-based research charity Wellcome Trust UK, there is no indication at the moment that the new strain would evade treatments and vaccines.

However, the mutation is a reminder of the power of the virus to adapt, and that cannot be ruled out in the future. Acting urgently to reduce transmission is critical, Farrar said in a statement.

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Nine in 10 India Employees Feel Prepared to Work Remotely for the Long-Term

However, employees shared concerns about not having access to the right technologies and the blurring of boundaries between work and personal lives in a long-term remote work arrangement. 

The research also found that the most in-demand technology resources that employees want are productivity equipment or tools, remote access to internal company resources and cloud technology.

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44% rural Indians willing to pay for COVID-19 vaccine; 51% consider coronavirus ‘Chinese conspiracy’: Survey

The survey, conducted by Gaon Connection among 6,040 rural respondents across 60 districts in 16 states and one union territory, found that 36 per cent said they would not want to pay for it. The remaining 20 per cent said they are yet to decide on paying for the vaccine.

Of those who were willing to pay, two-third said they can pay up to Rs 500 for two doses of the vaccine, whenever it is available.

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Industry bodies to press for holding back new wage definition in meeting with govt on Dec 24

The source also said that lobbyists want the government to hold back the new definition and fear that this would result in major cut in take-home salaries and also put additional burden on employers.
The industry bodies want that the implementation should be put on hold till the economy rebounds again and buoyancy returns.

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Drugmakers rush to test whether vaccines stop coronavirus variant

The mutation known as the B.1.1.7 lineage may be up to 70% more infectious and more of a concern for children. It has sown chaos in Britain, prompting a wave of travel bans that are disrupting trade with Europe and threatening to further isolate the island country.
Moderna expects immunity from its vaccine to protect against the variant and is performing more tests in coming weeks to confirm, the company said in a statement to CNN.

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GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo gears up for distribution of Covid-19 vaccines

“An infrastructure to handle the Covid-19 vaccine has been developed to enhance the capacity for handling the vaccine supply from and to Hyderabad. The dedicated work station has been set up at the terminals to handle this sensitive shipment of the vaccine. Temperature zone has been developed for maintaining the vaccine. The staff has been given special training to handle the shipment of vaccine right from the acceptance till the shipment reaches the destination,” said T. Purushottam Singh, General Manager, Head operations

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Delhi airport has a storage capacity of 2.7 million Covid-19 vaccine vials:CEO, Delhi International Airport

The Delhi airport has two cargo terminals with cool chambers where temperature can be set anywhere between -20 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius.
“We have a storage capacity of around 2.7 million vaccine vials at any moment of time. If we are able to conduct two rounds of distribution during a day, we can distribute 5.4 million vials daily,” . Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, the CEO of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), said.
“These vaccines can come in an envirotainer which can be plugged in to keep the vaccines cool. We have made about 60 plug points where they can be plugged in and they can stay there at the same temperature,” Jaipuriar noted.

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