Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,director-general,WHO "Delta and Omicrom...
Category:
Pandemic
Latest
Economic momentum picking up, Omicron may derail growth: RBI
Admitting that inflation remains a concern as it is by the build-up...
Asia keeps Omicron variant at bay, but a surge may be inevitable
Omicron cases are mounting, and experts say the next few months...
COVID-19: Wealthy nations urged to delay youth vaccines, donate to solidarity scheme
“In a handful of rich countries, which bought up the majority of the vaccine supply, lower risk groups are now being vaccinated”, he said.
“I understand why some countries want to vaccinate their children and adolescents, but right now I urge them to reconsider and to instead donate vaccines to COVAX.”
Tedros reported that vaccine supply in low and lower-middle income countries has not been sufficient to even immunize health and care workers.
Peak will come, virus can again emerge: Govt
NITI Aayog member (health) Dr V K Paul said it is the nature of the disease that it will ultimately go to villages.
This epidemiology is well known, Paul said as he urged people to follow COVID appropriate behaviour and embrace vaccination.
So peak will come, the virus can again emerge, we know. So preparations have to be made at country level in collaboration with states, infrastructure has to be ramped up, containment measures have to be implemented and COVID appropriate behaviour has to be followed, he said.
216 cr vaccine doses to be available in 5 months between Aug-Dec, enough to cover all: Centre
Further, Biological E is expected to produce 30 crore doses, Zydus Cadila 5 crore, Serum Institute of India 20 crore doses of Novavax, and Bharat Biotech 10 crore doses of its nasal vaccine, while Gennova will make available 6 crore doses and Sputnik V 15.6 crore doses, he said. The vaccine candidates of Biological E, Zydus Cadila, Gennova, Bharat Biotech’s nasal vaccine are in various stages of clinical trials.
Mixing AstraZeneca and Pfizer shots triggers more fatigue, headaches: Study
Researchers and public health officials are examining strategies such as blending two different shots as many low- and middle-income nations try to figure out how to cope with vaccine scarcity. Assurance that mismatched shots are still safe and effective would make it easier for governments to manage their stockpiles and provide more insight into a combination that’s already used in some countries.
Gap between two doses of Covishield extended to 12-16 weeks: Govt
the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) has suggested no change for the dosage interval for Covaxin, the ministry said.
“Based on the available real-life evidences, particularly from the UK, the COVID-19 Working Group agreed for increasing the dosing interval to 12-16 weeks between two doses of Covishield vaccine. No change in interval of Covaxin vaccine doses was recommended,” the ministry said.
The present gap between two doses of Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, is 6-8 weeks.
Human catastrophe unfolding in India, Nepal a warning; S Asia must bolster health system: Amnesty
“Governments across South Asia must immediately address healthcare shortages and urgently strengthen their healthcare systems to respond to the rapid surge of COVID-19 cases in the region. Extremely low vaccination rates across South Asia have also left the region highly vulnerable, with pressing action needed at the global level to ensure more equitable access to vaccines,” a statement from the Amnesty said.
It also said that South Asia, home to a quarter of the world”s population, is fast becoming the new global epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When will COVID-19 vaccines be widely available globally?
“The U.S., European and other wealthy nations long ago pre-ordered nearly all the doses available and now other countries, even with the money to buy, are at the back of line waiting,” said Matthew Kavanagh, a global health policy expert at Georgetown University.
COVID-19 kills more than 4,000 Indians amid clamour for vaccines
Two states – Karnataka, which includes tech hub Bengaluru, and Maharashtra, which includes Mumbai – have announced they will temporarily suspend vaccination for people aged 18-44 years as they prioritize those over 45 who need their second dose.
Maharashtra also announced that curbs on movement would be extended until the end of the month in a bid to break the chain of infections. Mostly rural Bihar in the east extended curbs until May 25.
States gear up to tackle Covid-19 in villages with online consultations, surveillance committees
Door-to-door surveillance using pulse oximeter, temperature guns and antigen test kits and setting up of gram yoddha samiti in villages for supporting families of patients have also been set up in Gujarat.
Remote work leads to massive surge in hacking globally: Report
Among Financial and insurance industries, 83 per cent of data compromised in breaches was personal data, while in Professional, Scientific and Technical services industries only 49 per cent was personal.
“As the number of companies switching business-critical functions to the cloud increases, the potential threat to their operations may become more pronounced, as malicious actors look to exploit human vulnerabilities and leverage an increased dependency on digital infrastructures” said Tami Erwin, CEO, Verizon Business, in a statement. .