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Studies find having Covid-19 may protect against reinfection

Researchers found that people with antibodies from natural infections were “at much lower risk … on the order of the same kind of protection you’d get from an effective vaccine,” of getting the virus again, said Dr. Ned Sharpless, director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
“We don’t know how long-lasting this immunity is,”said Joshua Wolf, an infectious disease specialist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis added. Cases of people getting Covid-19 more than once have been confirmed, so “people still need to protect themselves and others by preventing reinfection.” he said.

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Another new coronavirus variant found in Nigeria, says Africa CDC

The news comes after Britain and South Africa both reported new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that appear to be more contagious, leading to new travel restrictions and turmoil in markets.

“It’s a separate lineage from the UK and the South African lineages,” John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told an online news conference from Addis Ababa.

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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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