The support of the CSR initiatives of corporates included over 200 oxygen plants, setting up more than 75 makeshift hospitals and Covid wards with over 10,000 beds, 3,500 ventilators and 140,000 oxygen concentrators. Importantly, 33 companies contributed more than Rs 150 crore to conduct community awareness activities across 17 states, the report said.
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Insurers can sell 2 short term Carona covers till March 2022:IRDAI
Earlier,many insurance companies have rolled out these standard health insurance policies since July 2020, which orginally were supposed to remain valid until March 31, 2021, but were allowed to issue the policies till September 30, 2021.
The exemptions granted to insurers for issuance of electronic policies as well as dispensing with physical document and wet signature have been extended upto March 2022.
In a new review, scientists and others say boosters aren’t needed for the general population.
Only in people older than 75 do the vaccines show some weakening in protection against hospitalization. Immunity conferred by vaccines relies on protection both from antibodies and from immune cells. Although the levels of antibodies may wane over time — and raise the risk of infection — the body’s memory of the virus is long-lived.
Study uncovers blood vessel damage, inflammation in COVID-19 patients’ brains
The researchers saw no signs of infection in the brain tissue samples even though they used several methods for detecting genetic material or proteins from SARS-CoV-2.
“So far, our results suggest that the damage we saw may not have been not caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus directly infecting the brain,” said Dr. Nath. “In the future, we plan to study how COVID-19 harms the brain’s blood vessels and whether that produces some of the short- and long-term symptoms we see in patients.”
India drug regulator approves AstraZeneca COVID vaccine, country’s first
Cheaper and easier to distribute than rival shots, the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine could be a game-changer for global immunisation.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization is also considering emergency-use authorisation applications for vaccines made by Pfizer Inc with Germany’s BioNTech, and by India’s Bharat Biotech.
India wants to start administering the vaccine soon, most likely by Wednesday, said one of the sources, both of whom declined to be named ahead of an official announcement expected later in the day.
WHO emergency COVID-19 vaccine listing aims to lift access in poor countries
The United Nations health agency said it will work with regional partners to tell national health authorities about the two-dose shot and its anticipated benefits.
The WHO established its emergency use listing (EUL) process to help poorer countries without their own regulatory resources quickly approve medicines new diseases like COVID-19, which otherwise could lead to delays.
Drugmakers to hike prices for 2021 as pandemic, political pressure put revenues at risk
President-elect Biden has also vowed to reduce drug costs and to allow Medicare, a U.S. government health insurance program, to negotiate drug prices. He has support from Congressional Democrats to pass such legislation, which the Congressional Budget Office has said could cost the industry more than $300 billion by 2029.
BioNTech founders warn of vaccine supply gaps – Spiegel
“At the moment it doesn’t look good – a hole is appearing because there’s a lack of other approved vaccines and we have to fill the gap with our own vaccine,” BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin told news weekly Spiegel.
Coronavirus vaccines could have potential allergic reactions, assures new studyBoston
The study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, in response to accounts of potential allergic reactions in some people following COVID-19 vaccination in the United Kingdom, that country’s medical regulatory agency advised that individuals with a history of anaphylaxis to medicine or food should avoid COVID-19 vaccination.
U.S. COVID-19 cases surpass 20 million as deaths mount
A total of 345,000 have died of COVID-19, or one out of every 950 U.S. residents, since the virus first emerged in China late in 2019.
An analysis of Reuters data shows it took 200 days to reach the first 5 million cases, 93 days to go from 5 million cases to 10 million, 31 days from 10 million to 15 million cases and only 25 days to go from 15 million to 20 million cases.
California has the most total cases of any state, with about 2.28 million infections followed by Texas with 1.76 million cases and Florida with 1.32 million cases.
Health ministry releases communication strategy to support Covid-19 vaccine rollout
“The communication strategy that supports the Covid-19 vaccines rollout in India seeks to disseminate timely, accurate and transparent information about the vaccine(s) to alleviate apprehensions about the vaccine, ensure its acceptance and encourage uptake,” it said.
According to the document, the strategy aims at managing and mitigating any potential disappointment expressed by unmet demand for the vaccine or ‘eagerness’ amongst people and addressing vaccine ‘hesitancy’ that could arise because of apprehensions around vaccine safety, efficacy apart from any other myths and misconceptions.
Experts question U.S. Government’s mechanism to handle COVID-19 vaccine injury claims
Unlike the more established federal vaccine court, which decides cases of injury from most childhood vaccines and other common inoculations, the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program was created by a 2005 law specifically to deal with vaccines developed under emergency authorization. The idea was to allow pharmaceutical companies and government entities the freedom to develop and distribute vaccines to meet urgent public health needs without the threat of being overrun with expensive liability lawsuits. Under the program, drug makers can only be sued for “willful misconduct.”
UK rolls out Astra/Oxford COVID vaccine after world-first approval
Crucially for countries with relatively basic health infrastructure, the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine can be stored and transported under normal refrigeration, rather than supercooled to -70 degrees Celsius (-94 Fahrenheit).
India is keen to start administering the new shot next month; Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s biggest producer of vaccines, has already made about 50 million doses. Chile is also interested.