44% millennials skipped breakfast during pandemic: Study

TB Team
-
0
44% millennials skipped breakfast during pandemic: Study

A special study, conducted in the age group of 18-50 years, across four cities, has shown that 44 per cent of the urban millennials skipped breakfast during Covid times.

The study was done between March 2020 and February 2021 by London-based market research major Euromonitor International and PepsiCo India through its brand Quaker.

According to an official release, the study highlighted that 44 per cent of urban millennials skipped breakfast and delayed meals due to increased household chores and late start to the day.

Further, 64 per cent of urban millennial respondents were driven towards a healthy immune system.

The study further pointed out that increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, including oats, emerged as the key trend during the pandemic.

Titled “Changing lifestyles and dietary habits of Urban Indian consumers post COVID-19”, the study was conducted involving 1,000 respondents in the age group of 18-50 years, focusing on urban millennials in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kolkata.

The study analysed the changing lifestyle and dietary patterns of people post-Covid to understand consumer behaviour.

It tracked a changing pattern, particularly amongst urban millennials towards dietary habits for a healthy immune system and maintaining weight.

The study also mapped if changed behaviours would sustain in the future and outlined the fact that weight watchers must understand the significance of having meals on time and consuming nutrient-rich breakfast.

Further, it found that 71 per cent of urban millennials leaned towards the popularity of fad diets, including keto, intermittent fasting, and weekly detox plan, among others to maintain weight.

Vidhi Sharma, consultant, Euromonitor International said, “While millennials acknowledge the importance of breakfast and believe that it should have wholesome nutrition, they often tend to skip breakfast due to their work schedules or tend to just grab a quick snack in the morning. Popular fad diets are supporting this behaviour of skipping breakfast.”

Talking about the study findings, Sonam Vij, Associate Director and Category Lead – Quaker Portfolio, PepsiCo India said, “Urban millennials are now increasingly focusing on improving their physical and mental health that constitutes an active lifestyle. We also see that they are shifting to food choices for a healthy immune system as shown by the study.”

How white blood cells aid in predicting Covid-19 severity

TB Team
-
0
How white blood cells aid in predicting Covid-19 severity

Covid-19 disease severity seems to be affected by the characteristics of white blood cells called granulocytes, which are part of the innate immune system.

Combined measurements of granulocytes and well-known biomarkers in the blood can predict the severity of the disease, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

Granulocytes are a family of white blood cells that include neutrophils, eosinophils and basophils.

They are part of the so-called innate immune system, which is the body’s first line of defence against pathogens.

There are many studies on how SARS-CoV-2 affects various components of the immune system, but there is still a lack of knowledge about the role of granulocytes in Covid-19.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet have now investigated the characteristics of granulocytes in the blood during the early phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a total of 26 hospitalised patients with Covid-19 at the Karolinska University Hospital.

They also performed follow-up analyses four months after hospital discharge and compared these with analyses of healthy uninfected individuals.

Their results, published in the journal PNAS, may eventually contribute to more tailored treatments for Covid-19 patients.

“Our study shows significantly altered characteristics of all granulocyte subsets in Covid-19A patients and this can be linked to the severity of the disease”, said lead author Magda Lourda, who is a researcher at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge, at Karolinska Institutet.

Combined measurements of granulocyte characteristics and widely used biomarkers in the blood called C-reactive protein (CRP) and creatinine, could predict key clinical features such as respiratory function and multiorgan failure.

“The finding needs to be taken with caution considering the limited size of our study cohort, but our hope is that these combined measurements can be used to predict the severity of the disease, resulting in more tailored treatments for Covid-19 patients,” Lourda said.

Covid virus to get weaker, become a cold: Oxford-AstraZeneca vax creator

TB Team
-
0
Covid virus to get weaker, become a cold: Oxford-AstraZeneca vax creator

Covid is unlikely to mutate into a deadlier variant and will eventually end up as a common cold, said Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, who created the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Cutting down fears of a more deadly new variant, she said that viruses tend to “become less virulent as they circulate” through the population, Daily Mail reported.

“There is no reason to think we will have a more virulent version of SARS-CoV-2”, as “there aren’t very many places for the virus to go to have something that will evade immunity but still be a really infectious virus”, Gilbert was quoted as saying.

The 59-year-old led the team at Oxford University’s Jenner institute which created the lifesaving Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, the most widely distributed jab in the world.

SARS-CoV-2 will eventually become like the coronaviruses which circulate widely and cause the common cold, Gilbert said.

“We already live with four different human coronaviruses that we don’t really ever think about very much and eventually SARS-CoV-2 will become one of those,” said Gilbert, while speaking at a seminar of the Royal Society of Medicine.

“It’s just a question of how long it’s going to take to get there and what measures we’re going to have to take to manage it in the meantime.”

Gilbert, who specialises in the development of jabs against emerging viruses, also called for funding to help prevent future pandemics, the report said.

“We’re still trying to raise funds to develop other vaccines that we were working on before the pandemic, against diseases that have caused outbreaks in the past and will cause outbreaks in the future.

“We are being financially supported for our ongoing work against Covid… but when we try to return to projects we were working on before coronavirus we’re still trying to get funding,” she noted.

Further, she also said the very rare blood clots linked to the AstraZeneca jab have not been seen at the same rates in other parts of the world.

Gilbert also suggested that primary work on a tweaked vaccine to combat the Beta variant of the virus only gave a “slightly better” immune response than the original vaccine, when given as a third dose to people who had already had two jabs of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but data is still being collected, the report said.

90k patients use ‘eSanjeevani’ telemedicine service daily

TB Team
-
0
90k patients use ‘eSanjeevani’ telemedicine service daily

The government’s national telemedicine service ‘eSanjeevani’ serves nearly 90,000 patients daily across the country and has completed 1.2 crore consultations, rapidly shaping into the country’s most popular and largest telemedicine service.

The use of eSanjeevani signals wide adoption by patients as well as doctors, and specialists across the country.

Considering the usefulness of telemedicine and in planning for the expected third wave of Covid-19, the initiative by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is being augmented further to enable 5,00,000 consultations per day.

Andhra Pradesh tops among the leading 10 states in terms of using eSanjeevani service. It was the first state to roll out eSanjeevaniAB-HWC services. The other states include Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Kerala.

‘eSanjeevaniOPD’ is a telemedicine variant for citizens to seek non-Covid and Covid-related outpatient health services. It was rolled out on April 13, 2020, during the first lockdown imposed in the country when all OPDs were closed.

Till now more than 51,00,000 patients have been served through the eSanjeevaniOPD which hosts more than 430 online OPDs which include general OPDs and specialty OPDs.

Premier tertiary level medical institutions such as AIIMS in Bathinda (Punjab), Bibinagar (Telangana), Kalyani (West Bengal), Rishikesh (Uttarakhand), King George Medical College, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) provide outpatient health services through eSanjeevaniOPD.

In line with the National Digital Health Mission, this digital initiative will boost the digital health ecosystem in the country. It is an indigenous telemedicine technology developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in Mohali, Punjab.

eSanjeevani is operational through two modes — eSanjeevani AB-HWC (doctor-to-doctor telemedicine platform) and eSanjeevaniOPD (patient-to-doctor telemedicine platform) — which provides outpatient services to citizens while sitting in their homes.

eSanjeevani AB-HWC has completed nearly 67,00,000 consultations and is being implemented at health and wellness centres under the ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme.

India reports 26,964 new Covid cases, spike in fatalities

TB Team
-
0
India reports 26,964 new Covid cases, spike in fatalities

India reported 26,964 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours which remained below the 30,000 mark for the second consecutive day, Union Health Ministry’s data showed on Wednesday.

However, the country witnessed a spike in daily Covid related deaths as 383 fatalities were registered in the last 24 hours. The total Covid fatality in the country has risen to 4,45,768. The fatality rate remained at 1.33 per cent.

There were 26,115 cases and 252 deaths on Tuesday.

Out of total fresh Covid cases reported in the last 24 hours across the country, 15,768 were reported from Kerala alone while Maharashtra witnessed a slight surge in new cases as there were 3,131 new cases against 2,583 cases on Tuesday, according to the Union Health Ministry’s report.

As per the Health Ministry’s data, a total of 34,167 people infected with Covid have recovered, pushing the cumulative recoveries so far to 3,27,83,741. The Covid recovery rate was reported at 97.77 per cent on Wednesday.

At present, India has 3,01,989 active cases, which is 0.90 per cent of the total positive cases registered since 2020.

The daily positivity rate declined to 1.69 per cent, which remained below 3 per cent for the last 23 days, while the weekly positivity rate remained at 2.08 per cent, remaining below 3 per cent for the last 89 days, according to the health ministry.

A total of 55.67 crore (55,67,54,282) Covid samples have been tested so far in the country, out of which 15,92,395 were tested in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry data said.

Till date, the country has administered 82.65 crore (82,65,15,754) doses of Covid vaccines, out of which 75,57,529 jabs were given in the last 24 hours, health ministry’s data said.

India’s agri, processed food exports rise over 21% YoY

TB Team
-
0
India’s agri, processed food exports rise over 21% YoY

India’s agricultural and processed food products exports rose 21.8 per cent in April-August FY22, on a year-on-year basis.

According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S) data, the overall export of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority increased from $6,485 million in April-August 2020 to $7,902 million in April-August 2021.

This rise in exports has been achieved notwithstanding Covid-19 restrictions, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement.

“The significant spike in agri-exports is seen as a testimony of the government’s commitment to increase farmers’ income through giving thrust on boosting exports of agricultural and processed food products of the country.”

The huge jump in exports of agricultural and processed food products during the first five months of current fiscal is in continuation of growth in exports witnessed in the financial year 2020-21.

As per the WTO’s trade map, with the total agri-exports of $37 billion in the year 2019, India is ranked at ninth position in the world.

Kerala sees Covid TPR falls below 15%

TB Team
-
0
Kerala sees Covid TPR falls below 15%

Kerala on Tuesday saw its Covid situation better than what it was in the past many weeks, with the daily Covid test positivity rate falling below the 15 per cent mark.

A statement issued here by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 15,768 people turned positive after 1,05,513 samples were tested in the past 24 hours.

In the past few days, the state is witnessing every more recoveries than new cases and on Tuesday, 21,367 people turned negative, leaving 1,61,195 active cases, of which 13.7 per cent were in hospitals.

There were 214 more Covid deaths taking the total death toll to 23,897.

Meanwhile the vaccination strategy in the state saw 2.4 crore people in the above 18 age category getting their first dose while those who received both the doses crossed the one crore mark.

US to ease travel curbs for fully vaccinated foreign visitors

TB Team
-
0
US to ease travel curbs for fully vaccinated foreign visitors

The US will no longer prohibit foreign visitors from entering the country starting from November if they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the White House said when announcing a set of policy changes that will ease the international travel bans put in place to curb the transmission of the virus.

People who are not US citizens and who plan to travel to the the country will have to provide proof that they are fully vaccinated and a negative test result taken within three days of departure as they board a US-bound flight, Jeff Zients, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator, said during a press briefing on Monday.

Fully vaccinated international travellers entering the US will no longer need to quarantine for 14 days after arrival, according to Zients, who also said the new rules will take effect in early November so as to give government agencies and airliners “time to prepare”, reports Xinhua news agency.

For unvaccinated Americans returning to the US, the coordinator said they will be “subject to stricter testing requirements”, including a test within one day of departure and proof that they have bought a test to take after arriving in the US.

The specific vaccines that qualify a traveller as “fully vaccinated” will be determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said Zients.

Exceptions to the vaccination requirements include children not yet eligible for the shots, according to US media reports citing people familiar.

Meanwhile, the CDC will roll out more stringent contact tracing requirements in the coming weeks, according to Zients, including information on US-bound international travellers’ phone number and email address.

Zients also said existing rules governing land border crossings with Canada and Mexico remained unchanged.

Monday’s announcement will halt a patchwork of bans imposed by the former Donald Trump administration since the onset of the pandemic on travel from 33 countries across the globe.

It will also finally give people overseas who have been separated from family in the US the chance to reunite with their loved ones.

In addition to the expected easing of a major source of tension between the US and Europe — which complained about Washington’s hesitancy in removing the measures amid an uptick in vaccination rates — the new rules were also cheered by the travel industry in America, which has been lobbying the federal government to make the changes.

“US airlines have been strong advocates for a stringent, consistent policy and are eager to safely reunite the countless families, friends and colleagues who have not seen each other in nearly two years, if not longer,” Nicholas Calio, president of Airlines for America, the lobbying group for the country’s largest carriers, said in a statement.

Pfizer’s Covid vax safe, generates immune responses in kids aged 5-11

TB Team
-
0
Pfizer’s Covid vax safe, generates immune responses in kids aged 5-11

The mRNA Covid vaccine developed by Pfizer has been found to be safe, well-tolerated, and has shown robust neutralising antibody responses in children aged 5 to 11 years, the US drug maker said on Monday.

The results are based on the first-ever trial of any Covid-19 jabs in kids under 12 years of age, Pfizer said in a statement.

The Phase 2/3 study enrolled 2,268 children who were 5 to 11 years of age and were given a two-dose regimen of 10 micrograms 21 days apart. A smaller dose than the 30 microgram dose is used for people 12 and older.

The antibody responses in the participants given 10 microgram doses were comparable to those recorded in a previous Pfizer-BioNTech study in people 16 to 25 years of age immunised with 30 microgram doses.

“Over the past nine months, hundreds of millions of people ages 12 and older from around the world have received our Covid-19 vaccine. We are eager to extend the protection afforded by the vaccine to this younger population, subject to regulatory authorisation, especially as we track the spread of the Delta variant and the substantial threat it poses to children,” Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Albert Bourla, said in the statement.

Further, the Covid-19 vaccine was found to be well tolerated, with side effects generally comparable to those observed in participants 16 to 25 years of age.

The data will be submitted “as soon as possible” to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and other regulators, Pfizer said.

The company is also expected to soon share the result of the trial on children aged 2-5 years of age and children 6 months to 2 years of age.

The new data comes as children made up an increased portion of cases in many US states and parents are anxious to get their children vaccinated, especially as schools reopen.

“Since July, pediatric cases of Covid-19 have risen by about 240 per cent in the US — underscoring the public health need for vaccination. These trial results provide a strong foundation for seeking authorisation of our vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old, and we plan to submit them to the FDA and other regulators with urgency,” Bourla said.

So far, of the vaccines available in the US, only the Pfizer-BioNTech shots have been cleared by the FDA for people as young as 12, while Moderna’s and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines have been authorised for adults.

India to resume Vaccine Maitri, to export jabs from October

TB Team
-
0
India to resume Vaccine Maitri, to export jabs from October

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said that India will be resuming export of vaccines under ‘Vaccine Maitri’ in the fourth quarter starting from October. He said that vaccine export will resume to fulfill the commitment towards COVAX in line with the motto ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the world is one family).

The decision to restart the vaccine export has come ahead of PM Modi’s visit to Washington starting Tuesday where vaccines are likely to be discussed at a summit of the leaders of the Quad countries.

Mandaviya said that the surplus supply of vaccines will be used to fulfill the commitment towards the world for the collective fight against Covid-19. COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO.

He added that it is due to the relentless efforts and guidance of PM Modi that India was simultaneously undertaking Research and production of Covid vaccines in line with the global developments.

The minister said that India’s vaccination drive has been a role model for the world and it is marching ahead with great speed. More than 4 times we have crossed one crore mark since the drive commenced on January 16.

While talking about the vaccine production in coming months, Mandaviya said that more than 30 crore doses will be produced in October and more than 100 crore doses in the coming quarter.

India stopped vaccine exports in April amid second Covid surge to jab its own population.

1...515253...222Page 52 of 222