Special vaccination camps to come up in Lucknow

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Special vaccination camps to come up in Lucknow

The Lucknow administration now plans to increase the number of vaccinations form the present 20,000 -25,000 to 40,000 doses a day.

For this, the number of vaccination camps are being increased and special camps will be set up at schools, colleges, universities, government and private offices, banks, religious places and residential societies.

District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash said that in order to achieve the target, the number of vaccination centres will be increased.

Vaccination camps will also be held in various high-rise apartments with the help of resident welfare associations.

Special focus will be in areas where vaccination rate has been found to be low.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Manoj Agrawal said, “The directions issued by the District Magistrate will most likely be implemented from Friday after preparing a comprehensive plan. The camps will be set up in a phased manner for the targeted population of a locality. For instance, the camp at the Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam will be for the staff and families of the electricity department.”

While over 27,000 people were vaccinated in Lucknow on Wednesday, no case of Covid was recorded for the second time this week.

Death toll from Nigeria’s cholera outbreak reaches 1,768

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Death toll from Nigeria’s cholera outbreak reaches 1,768

The ongoing cholera outbreak in Nigeria has killed 1,768 people in the country since its onset in January, a top health official said here.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Chikwe Ihekweazu, head of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), said 47,603 suspected cases of cholera were recorded in 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory as of mid-August, reports Xinhua news agency.

“The cases were reported from the beginning of the year. Persons aged five to 14 were mostly affected, 51 per cent being male and 49 per cent, female,” Ihekweazu said, noting that the national multi-sectoral emergency system continues to coordinate the national response.

The senior disease control official said the lack of potable water in rural communities, inadequate manpower for the cholera outbreak, as well as insufficient vaccine to be deployed to the affected local government areas in the country, are challenges being encountered in the cause of responding to the outbreak.

Cholera is a highly virulent disease characterized in its most severe form by a sudden onset of acute watery diarrhoea that can lead to death by severe dehydration.

The outbreak of cholera in Nigeria has remained persistent, occurring annually mostly during the rainy season and more often in areas with poor sanitation, overcrowding, lack of clean food and water, and areas where open defecation is a common practice.

Covid-19 lab leak theory unlikely: Report

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Covid-19 lab leak theory unlikely: Report

The theory that Covid-19 is the result of the virus jumping from animals to humans is much more likely than the much prevalent lab leak, say researchers.

In a critical review published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell, 21 scientific experts from across the world presented evidence that an infected animal passing the SARS-CoV-2 virus to a human at a live animal market in China’s Wuhan is much more probable than the novel disease originating from a laboratory accident, a theory that has received attention in the media.

“The discussion over the origins of the pandemic have become politicised and heated, and we felt the time was right to take a critical look at all of the available evidence,” said Stephen Goldstein, evolutionary virologist at University of Utah Health.

According to researchers, maps pinpointing geographic locations of the first wave of Covid-19 cases in December 2019, show they initially emerged close to the site of the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, as well as other markets reported to have live animal trading.

In the weeks following, cases radiated outward geographically. Those cases were followed by excessive deaths in January 2020, a second marker of how the virus spread through the population. Similarly, those deaths were initially localised to near the animal markets.

“It tells us where the epidemic began and where intense transmission began,” Goldstein noted. “This suggests that the epidemic began in markets in this district: the Huanan market and possibly other markets as well.”

On the other hand, there is lack of evidence for a laboratory leak. The Wuhan Institute of Virology, often cited as the source of a lab leak, is a distance away from the live animal markets from where the first cases reportedly emerged, said the researchers.

Moreover, there are no signs of man-made changes to the virus, the researchers said.

A recurring argument for the lab leak theory is that the virus, SARS-CoV-2, carries a specific short genetic code that is sometimes engineered into laboratory products, called a furin cleavage site.

To investigate, researchers have previously analysed genetic sequences from multiple coronaviruses and found the code in question to be commonplace among them. The team further determined that the specific code in SARS-CoV-2 is imperfect and therefore would not perform its function well.

“There is no logical reason why an engineered virus would utilise such a suboptimal furin cleavage site, which would entail such an unusual and needlessly complex feat of genetic engineering,” the researchers said.

IIT-K Prof says Covid 3rd wave possibility now negligible

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IIT-K Prof says Covid 3rd wave possibility now negligible

Senior Scientist, IIT Kanpur, Prof Manindra Aggarwal has claimed that the possibility of a third wave of corona infection is now negligible.

Releasing his new study based on his mathematical ‘model formula’, he has said that vaccination has further reduced this risk.

“The vaccination has ensured the reduction in the infection to a great extent. He said that states like UP, Bihar, Delhi are on the way to become almost infection free. However, the active cases in the country will remain close to 15,000 till the month of October as there will be infection in the Northeastern states and also Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala,” he told reporters.

Prof Agarwal claimed that by October, the number of cases in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh will reach unit digit.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, two more patients of Corona in Kanpur became infection free in home isolation.

The number of new infections has been zero.

In Kanpur, 82,906 people had been infected with corona of which 80,991 patients have been cured. Among the cured patients, 69,616 found health benefits at home and only 11,375 patients got treatment in the hospital.

Chief medical officer Dr Nepal Singh said that now only 11 corona active cases are left in the city.

How to curb Covid-19 spread indoors

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How to curb Covid-19 spread indoors

Widespread use of better face masks and good ventilation can help mitigate the spread of Covid-19 indoors, a study has shown.

Engineering researchers at the University of Waterloo performed experiments using a mannequin to simulate a seated person breathing in a large room.

The findings, published in the journal Physics of Fluids, showed a significant buildup over time of aerosol droplets — exhaled droplets so tiny they remain suspended and travel through the air — despite the use of common cloth and blue surgical masks.

“There is no question it is beneficial to wear any face covering, both for protection in close proximity and at a distance in a room,” said Serhiy Yarusevych, Professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering.

“However, there is a very serious difference in the effectiveness of different masks when it comes to controlling aerosols,” he added.

Previous research has found that aerosols dispersed by infected people are a source of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19, even outside the two-metre social distancing zone widely recommended by public health officials.

The study showed that most common masks, primarily due to problems with fit, filter about 10 per cent of exhaled aerosol droplets. The remaining aerosols are redirected, mostly out the top of the mask where it fits over the nose, and escape into the ambient air unfiltered.

By contrast, higher-quality, more expensive N95 and KN95 masks filtered more than 50 per cent of the exhaled aerosols that can accumulate indoors and spread the Covid-19 virus when inhaled by other people.

Yarusevych noted that the much greater effectiveness of N95 and KN95 masks versus cloth and surgical masks makes a compelling case that they should be worn in indoor settings, such as schools and workplaces, as much as possible.

Experiments also quantified the impact of ventilation systems, which circulate and replace air in rooms, on the accumulation of aerosols.

Even modest ventilation rates were found to be as effective as the best masks in reducing the risk of transmission.

Ideally, the evidence shows that high-quality masks and proper ventilation should be used in combination to mitigate the threat posed by indoor aerosol accumulation as much as possible, Yarusevych said.

Delta variant forces Alan Parsons to postpone US tour

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Delta variant forces Alan Parsons to postpone US tour

British musician and songwriter Alan Parsons’ much awaited tour – the Alan Parsons Live Project – has been delayed due to rising coronavirus cases.

In a statement to the Rolling Stone magazine, Parsons says: “It is with huge disappointment that I have postponed our upcoming U.S. tour dates in August and September. Nothing is more important to me than the safety of my band, crew, the concert staff, and most importantly, of course, you — the fans.

“This has been a very difficult and devastating decision — we were so thrilled to be returning to the stage for the first time in over a year and a half. The world could use more music right now, however, it just isn’t safe yet for us to come together indoors for events like concerts.”

The tour was scheduled to begin on August 27 in Burbank, California, and end on September 22 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The tour was to cover states like Texas, Florida, and Tennessee, which are currently Delta variant hot spots.

Parsons added in the statement: “All shows should be rescheduled. If you already have tickets, please hang on to them — they will be honoured at the rescheduled dates, which will be announced shortly. Until we can safely join together again, please take care of yourselves and each other. ‘I wanted you to know — you’ve always shared my deepest thoughts – you follow where I go.'”

Active caseload lowest in 150 days as India logs 36K new Covid cases

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Active caseload lowest in 150 days as India logs 36K new Covid cases

India on Friday reported 36,571 new Covid cases and 540 deaths in the last 24 hours, while the active caseload has declined to the lowest in the past 150 days, said the Covid bulletin released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The sustained and collaborative efforts by the Centre and the States/UTs continue the trend as less than 50,000 daily caseloads are being reported for the past 54 consecutive days now.

India’s recovery rate from Covid infection currently stands at 97.54 per cent, the highest since March 2020.

The active caseload also registered a decline of 524 in the past 24 hours, and cumulatively stands at 3,63,605, the lowest in the last 150 days. The active caseloads constitute 1.12 per cent of total cases, the lowest since March 2020, as per the bulletin released by the health ministry.

As per the health ministry data, total 36, 555 patients were discharged from the hospitals and health centers in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cured to 3,15,61,635 to the date in India.

The death toll due to Covid in the country stands at 4,33,589 currently.

The weekly positivity rate remained below 3 per cent for the last 56 days and currently stands at 1.93 per cent. The daily positivity rate continued to remain below 3 per cent for the last 25 continuous days and currently stands at 1.94 per cent.

With the administration of 54,71,282 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has surpassed the cumulative figure of 57.22 crore (57,22,81,488) as per provisional reports. This has been achieved through 63,56,785 sessions.

The testing capacity across the country continues to be expanded. The last 24 hours saw a total of 18,86,271 tests being conducted. India has so far conducted over 50,26,99,702 cumulative tests.

India, Brazil, Russia, S Africa to study intersection of Covid, TB

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India, Brazil, Russia, S Africa to study intersection of Covid, TB

A consortium of doctors and researchers from India, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa have partnered to conduct a study on the epidemiological impact and intersection of the Covid-19 and Tuberculosis (TB) pandemics in these countries.

In a statement, India’s Science and Technology Ministry said that under this joint research, the teams from these countries will explore the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the epidemiological characteristics of TB infection and search for mechanisms responsible for the interaction of these two processes.

“They will also search for strategies to mitigate the negative consequences of the pandemic and develop individual recommendations for each participating country, which can help overcome the impact of epidemics of respiratory viral diseases on the epidemic of tuberculosis,” it said.

The four countries currently rank second to fifth in the number of cases of Covid-19 and belong to 24 countries recognised by the WHO with the highest burden of tuberculosis in the world.

Moreover, BRICS countries have the largest number of cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis.

“Hence the research will be conducted in these 4 BRICS countries where one of the highest-burden rates of both Covid-19 and tuberculosis has been recorded simultaneously,” the statement said.

This research supported by the Department of Science and Technology is being led by Prof Urvashi B. Singh from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

The teams will assess the impact of Covid-19 on trends in the structure of the tuberculosis population, primarily through the interaction between scientists from Russia and India.

The teams from Brazil and South Africa will evaluate the impact of tuberculosis on the clinical course and treatment outcomes for Covid-19 at the individual level.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictive measures on morbidity and tuberculosis-related mortality will be assessed using mathematical modelling.

This collaborative research will provide a differentiated country-based assessment of the negative consequences of Covid-19 on the provision of anti-tuberculosis care, its continuity, consistency, and adequacy through a comparative analysis of the inter-country similarities and differences in the interaction of the two epidemics at the population and individual level.

“The analysis will provide insights into the most important points of application for epidemiological, medico-social, clinical, and socio-economic interventions that are expected to reduce morbidity and mortality from the interaction of Covid-19 and TB in both the short and long term,” the ministry said.

It said that the approach used will allow the development of a unique platform for mathematical modelling of the epidemic tuberculosis process, which will also support and enhance epidemic modelling capabilities in BRICS countries and thus provide a solid foundation for future collaborative modelling research.

Vaccine stockpiling by nations may bring new Covid variants

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Vaccine stockpiling by nations may bring new Covid variants

Vaccine nationalism may strongly impact global trajectories of Covid-19 case numbers and increase the potential emergence of novel variants, warn researchers.

A team of researchers from the US and Canada projected forward the incidence of Covid-19 cases under a range of vaccine dosing regimes, vaccination rates, and assumptions related to immune responses.

They did so in two model regions: One with high access to vaccines (HAR) and a low-access region (LAR). The models also allowed for the regions to be coupled either through case importation, or the evolution of a novel variant in one of the regions. The study is published in the journal Science.

“Certain countries such as Peru and South Africa that have had severe Covid-19 outbreaks have received few vaccines, while many doses have gone to countries experiencing comparatively milder pandemic impacts, either in terms of mortality or economic dislocation,” said Caroline Wagner, Assistant professor of bioengineering at McGill University.

Overall, the study found that increased vaccine-sharing resulted in reduced case numbers in LARs.

“Because it appears that vaccines are highly effective at reducing the clinical severity of infections, the public health implications of these reductions are very significant,” said Michael Mina, Assistant Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

On the other hand, the models predicted that sustained elevated case numbers in LARs with limited vaccine availability will result in a high potential for viral evolution, underlying the importance of rapid, equitable global vaccine distribution.

As the pandemic progresses, viral evolution may play an increasingly large role in sustaining transmission, the researchers said.

Further, they noted that there are additional considerations for vaccine equity beyond epidemiological and evolutionary ones.

“Ethics also argues against countries stockpiling vaccines or allocating doses for boosters. This study strongly supports that ethical position showing that stockpiling will undermine global health,” said Ezekiel Emanuel, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

India logs 40,120 new Covid cases, 585 deaths in 24 hrs

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India logs 40,120 new Covid cases, 585 deaths in 24 hrs

India on Friday registered a marginal decline in daily Covid caseload and recorded 40,120 fresh cases in the last 24 hours.

The country had logged 41,195 new infections over the last 24 hours on Thursday, which was the first time in the past seven days that the daily cases again crossed the 40,000-mark.

A total of 585 deaths were also reported in 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 19 to 4,30,254, said the Covid bulletin released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday.

India has achieved the highest recovery rate ever and currently stands at 97.46 per cent.

The active caseload has seen a dip of 2,760 and currently stands at 3,85,227. The active caseloads constitute 1.20 per cent of total cases that is the lowest since March 2020, as per the bulletin released by the health ministry.

As per the data, total 42,295 patients were discharged from the hospitals and health centres in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cured to 3,13,02,345 to the date in India.

The weekly positivity rate remains below 5 per cent and is currently at 2.13 per cent. The daily positivity rate continues to remain below 3 per cent for 19 continuous days and currently stands at 2.04 per cent.

Meanwhile, India’s Cumulative Covid vaccination coverage has exceeded 52.89 crore (52,89,27,844), as per the 7 p.m. provisional report on Thursday. A total of 57,31,574 doses of vaccines were administered in the last 24 hours, pushing the total vaccination so far at 52,95,82,956, said the bulletin released by the ministry.

27,83,649 vaccine doses were administered as first dose and 4,85,193 vaccine doses given as second dose in the age group 18-44 years. Cumulatively, 18,76,63,555 persons in the age group 18-44 years across 37 states/UTs have received their first dose and a total 1,39,23,085 have received their second dose since the start of Phase-3 of the vaccination drive.

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