Budget 2018-19

  Research does not estimate vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation, severe disease, and death. Two doses of Covaxin, the India-made vaccine, are 50 per cent effective against symptomatic Covid-19, said an independent study by researchers based on real-world assessment . Results of the interim study, which was published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal, showed that two doses of the vaccine manufactured by  Bharat Biotech Covaxin , also known as BBV152, had 77.8 per cent efficacy against symptomatic disease and present no serious safety concerns.. The study titled ‘Effectiveness of an inactivated virus-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, BBV152, in India: a test-negative, case-control study’ assessed 2714 hospital workers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, from April 15–May 15, who were symptomatic and underwent RT-PCR test for  Covid-19  detection. The researchers, including doctors Manish Soneja, Adil Rashid Khan, Devashish Desai,...

  Officials have confirmed that the new outbreak is caused by the Delta strain The rise of the highly-contagious  Delta variant  is challenging even the most aggressive Covid-19 containment regimes, an ominous sign as economies look to open up and return to pre-pandemic life. An outbreak that started at an airport in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing is testing that country’s zero-tolerance measures, which are some of the most sweeping and comprehensive in the world. New infections are rising by the dozens and seeding subsequent clusters around China despite well-honed systems of mass testing and stringent quarantines. Beijing reported its first locally-transmitted infection in six months Thursday, linked to an outbreak in the southern province of Hunan among people who’d recently been to Nanjing. The variant is scaling some of the toughest virus defenses, with “Covid Zero” places —countries that had snuffed out the virus within their borders — still seeing outbreaks de...

Spain’s top health official has warned the country is at risk of another spike in coronavirus infections that has already struck many parts of Europe Spain’s top health official has warned the country is at risk of another spike in coronavirus infections that has already struck many parts of Europe. We are facing a decisive moment, Health Minister Carolina Darias said after meeting with Spain’s regional health chiefs on Wednesday. We must invert this tendency. We have to intensify our efforts. Darias says the spread of the more contagious variants is pushing up infections across  Spain . A nightly curfew and other restrictions on movement had put a cap on infections until two weeks ago, when the figures started to increase. Darias made her appeal alongside Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who said police will be extra vigilant to enforce bans on travel between regions and unauthorized social gatherings for next week’s Easter holidays. Our goal is to save lives, says Gran...

  The Anglo-Indian women, who returned from the UK to Delhi and later reached Andhra Pradesh by a special train after escaping from an isolation centre in Delhi, have been tested positive for new strain The Anglo-Indian women, who returned from the United Kingdom to Delhi and later reached Andhra Pradesh by a special train after escaping from an isolation centre in Delhi, have been tested positive for UK strain of Coronavirus, said Katamneni Bhaskar, Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare Department, Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday. Bhaskar added that there is no evidence of the spread of UK ‘strain’ in Andhra Pradesh. “There is no spread of UK strain in Andhra Pradesh from her (Anglo-India  COVID positive  woman who belonged to Rajahmundry). Her son who travelled with her tested negative. The commissioner appealed to the public that there is no need to panic and don’t believe in rumours as the situation is being continuously monitored by the government,” he stated. As per o...

  A two-year-old girl who recently returned to Meerut with her parents from the UK has been found to be infected with the new Covid-19 strain. A two-year-old girl who recently returned to Meerut with her parents from the UK has been found to be infected with the new Covid-19 strain. This is the first such case in Uttar Pradesh of the new variant of Covid 19 virus which is said to be 70 per cent more transmissible than its previous form. The parents of the two-year-old, however, have been found to be infected with the old Covid-19 variant, the health officials in Meerut said. The child is in an isolation ward with her parents at Meerut’s Subharti Medical College. “A girl, who recently returned from the UK, has tested positive for the new Covid-19 strain in Meerut as per the reports received on Tuesday evening. Her parents have tested positive for Covid-19 too, but it is not the new strain. She has been kept in isolation,” said Meerut’s Chief Medical Officer Akhilesh Mohan. Four memb...

Italy said it has detected a new coronavirus strain with mutations in a person who recently returned from the United Kingdom Italy on Sunday said it has detected a new coronavirus strain with mutations in a person who recently returned from the United Kingdom. On Saturday, the United Kingdom government locked down parts of the country including London after admitting that more than half of all new Covid-19 cases had been caused by a mutated, more infectious coronavirus strain. “The patient and their partner returned from the United Kingdom several days ago, landing in Rome’s Fiumicino airport. They are now isolated and have observed, together with family and close contacts, all procedures proscribed by the health authorities,” Sputnik quoted the ministry’s statement. According to the communication, the genome of the UK coronavirus strain has been established by experts of the Celio military hospital in Rome. The new strain of Covid-19 is “out of control”, said UK Health Secretary Matt ...

  The US is confident that at least 100 million people would have got coronavirus shots by the end of February 2021 and this operation would have covered the entire “at risk” population The chief advisor of the US Covid-19 vaccine development programme is confident that at least 100 million people would have got coronavirus shots by the end of February 2021 and this operation would have covered the entire “at risk” population comprising the elderly, frontline workers and those with comorbidities. Operation Warp Speed chief adviser Moncef Slaoui said he hopes to have emergency use authorization for at least one vaccine by December 10 or 11.Slaoui pointed to “exceptionally good data” from both the vaccines which have applied for emergency use authorization – Pfizer and Moderna. He is hoping for a “breakthrough” from a Johnson and Johnson vaccine that has now recruited more than 28,000 subjects. “Now the breakthrough that we hope with this vaccine is that it’s a one shot vaccine, with...

  India has reached a recovery rate of 90 per cent and the positivity rate has declined to around 7.61 per cent. The central government on Tuesday asked states not declare any place free of the coronavirus and take a national approach to a future vaccine, reacting after free inoculation politics gathered pace in Bihar and Tamil Nadu. “The statements of the state governments have to be respected. From our end we are trying to fine tune the blueprints for vaccine distribution. Preparations are being made,” said V K Paul, member of  NITI Aayog  and chairman of the government’s committee on vaccines. Paul’s statement came as the number of coronavirus cases in India in a single day dropped below 40,000 on Tuesday after over three months. Paul said resources will not be an issue when it comes to accessing the coronavirus vaccine, reacting to a question on whether the inoculation will be free. “Prioritisation will be done based on availability. Vaccine scenario is very dynamic a...