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Pandemic increasing risk factors for suicide, UN health agency warns

Globally, one in 100 deaths is by suicide, making it among the leading causes of death worldwide and the fourth leading cause of death among 15- to 29-year-olds, after road traffic accidents, tuberculosis and interpersonal violence. 
“Suicide is an urgent public health problem and its prevention must be a national priority,” said Renato Oliveira e Souza, head of the Mental Health Unit at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).  

Nerve disorder listed as ‘very rare’ side effect of AstraZeneca jab

Guillain-Barre Syndrome was a “very rare” side effect, occurring in under one in 10,000 people, it added. The disorder is a nerve inflammation that may cause temporary paralysis and difficulty breathing. In the United States, the very rare syndrome affects an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people each year and most go on to recover.
The US Food and Drug Administration also warned in July of an “increased risk” of developing the neurological syndrome with Johnson & Johnson’s dose. Both regulators stressed that the vaccine’s benefits outweighed the potential

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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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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