Category:

Policy

No data shows need for booster vaccines presently: Dr Gagandeep Kang

According to Dr Kang, whether people will have more antibodies or be better protected with the booster dose is still not known.

“It sounds obvious that more antibodies (abs) are better but we really don’t know whether people who push up abs with additional doses will be better protected than with the level they initially made. Or that when abs wane, we need to boost to maintain above some level,” she said.

Further, she explained how people with a poor immune response should get a third dose,

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U.S. employers get religion with vaccine mandates ​​​​​​​

Google’s parent Alphabet Inc, Walmart Inc, and Tyson Foods Inc are among the growing list of employers requiring some or all staff to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

But with each mandate comes exceptions. Employers have to make reasonable accommodations for staff who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons or refuse vaccination because of “sincerely held religious beliefs,” according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

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India’s vehicle scrappage policy provides opportunities for new biz models: Experts

Deloitte India Partner & Leader, Government & Public Services Arindam Guha said in addition to reducing vehicular pollution and improving road safety, the vehicle scrapping policy is also likely to attract additional investments and generate employment through registered vehicle scrapping facilities (RVSFs), with around 50-60 such centers likely to be set up across the country.

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New York’s pension fund to review oil holdings, axes more coal investments

The move by the New York state pension fund comes days after the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported global warming was nearly out of control, and calling its findings “a death knell for coal and fossil fuels.”

Major investors, including BlackRock have re-evaluated holdings in fossil fuel producers and prodded energy executives to reduce emissions and prepare for a lower carbon world. After completing its shale review, the New York fund plans to turn next to oil and gas pipeline and processing investments, it said.

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PM announces Hydrogen Mission, self-reliance in energy by 2047

Hydrogen is produced predominantly through Steam Methane Reforming, or SMR, which utilizes fossils fuels, such as natural gas or coal, and through Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using a current of electricity.

Currently, all hydrogen consumed in India comes from fossil fuels. By 2050, three-fourth of all hydrogen is projected to be green — produced by renewable electricity and electrolysis.

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Odisha CM announces smart health cards for 3.5 crore people

Beneficiaries of national and state food security schemes, and Annapurna and Antyodaya initiatives will get the cards under which women can avail treatment up to Rs 10 lakh per year, and other family members will get the benefit up to Rs 5 lakh each.

Noting that the initiative will cover 3.5 crore people in 96 lakh families in a phased manner, Patnaik claimed that Odisha is the first state in the country to provide such smart health cards.
He said that the beneficiaries can avail health services in more than 200 hospital chains across the country including Odisha and it will strengthen the health security of the people of the state.

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FM to meet CEOs of public sector banks on Aug 25 to review financial performance

Interestingly, this would be the first physical review meeting since the outbreak of the pandemic in March last year. The meeting is expected to take stock of the banking sector, progress on restructuring the 2.0 scheme announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), sources said, adding that banks may be nudged to push loan growth in productive sectors.

The revamped Rs 4.5 lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) would also be reviewed during the meeting likely to be held in Mumbai, sources said.

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