Spain authorises clinical trials of domestic Covid vax

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The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) has authorised the beginning of the first round of clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine developed in the country.

The PHH-1V vaccine against Covid-19 is developed by HIPRA, a company based in the Catalan region and the first round of trials will mainly test the safety and tolerability of the vaccine, as well as its immune response and efficacy, reports Xinhua news agency.

The tests will be carried out on a group of volunteers aged between 18 and 39 years old who will be selected in the coming days, the Agency said on Wednesday.

Spanish TV network RTVE reported that the study will see the volunteers being divided into groups, which will then receive different doses of the vaccine, with each volunteer receiving two injections 21 days apart.

The HIPRA vaccine is based on recombinant proteins, which work together to produce an immune response against one of the proteins in the SARS-CoV-2 virus known as the “spike protein”.

This system is similar to that used in the Novavax and Sanofi COVID-19 vaccines, which are currently being evaluated by the Europeans Medicines Agency (EMA) with a view to their authorisation for use.

The main difference between the Spanish vaccine and the other two is that the Spanish one uses proteins from two different variants of the virus and can also be stored at temperatures of between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius.

If the clinical tests are completed successfully and according to plan, the company hopes to start production in October this year and launch the commercialisation of its vaccine before the end of the year, producing 400 million doses during 2022 and 1.2 billion doses by 2023.

Biden urged to take urgent steps to confront global Covid spread

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More than 175 American public health experts, scientists and activists have urged US President Joe Biden to take urgent steps to confront the global spread of Covid-19, including immediate export of vaccine doses the country has stockpiled.

“We urge you to act now,” they wrote in a joint letter sent to senior White House officials on Tuesday, the full text of which was made public on Wednesday in a report by The Washington Post.

“The emergence of the Delta variant is resulting in a surge in increasing infection rates in Africa, Latin America and Asia, where vaccines are least available.

“The US currently has over 55 million doses of mRNA vaccines in storage, while only vaccinating approximately 900,000 people per day. At this rate, it would take over two months to administer just the vaccine doses currently stored.

“Despite this, mRNA vaccine manufacturers are delivering over 17 million new doses each week to jurisdictions across the US,” they added.

While ensuring that the country’s own vaccine dose stockpile remains in size, the US administration should “begin immediate export of vaccine doses — within one week — to COVAX or through other international distribution mechanisms — of at least 10 million doses per week”, they wrote.

The experts suggested that the White House should also announce a plan within a month for “establishing 8 billion doses per year of mRNA vaccine capacity within six months using existing federal resources”, Xinhua news agency reported

“Simultaneously, the US government should develop and implement training and technology transfer for the development and manufacture of mRNA and other vaccines in hubs around the world,” they wrote.

Besides, it should “compel originators to transfer technology and, in collaboration with other governments, provide financing for vaccine manufacturing around the world”.

The letter’s signatories include Tom Frieden, who led the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during former President Barack Obama’s administration; five deans of leading public health, nursing and medical schools; faculty from 20 universities, including Harvard University, Yale University and University of Washington; and other leaders in global health and infectious disease.

More than 50 organisations also co-signed the letter.

B’desh receives Chinese Covid vaccines through COVAX facility

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Bangladesh has received another batch of Chinese Covid-19 vaccine doses shipped through the COVAX facility.

This is the first consignment among three scheduled to arrive from China this week, a health official said.

Bangladesh’s Health Ministry officials delivered the vaccines after an aircraft arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 7.15 p.m. on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Shahriar Sazzad, a senior Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) official at the airport, told journalists that the next consignment carrying the same amount of Chinese vaccines under the COVAX Facility is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday.

Bangladesh has already received millions of doses from China as purchased vaccines. Besides, China also sent 1.1 million Sinopharm doses as a gift to Bangladesh in two consignments in July.

DCGI okays study on mixing Covaxin & Covishield, trial in Vellore

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The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given the approval to conduct a study on mixing of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines. The step has been taken to boost the mass vaccination drive against the coronavirus across the nation.

The DCGI has said that the study and its clinical trials will be conducted by Christian Medical College in Vellore.

The study aims to find out whether a person can be given two different vaccine shots — one each of Covishield and Covaxin — to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus disease, instead of the existing practice of administering twin shots of the same vaccine.

A Subject Expert Committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on July 29, recommended for conducting this study on mixing of the two shots.

The expert committee recommended granting permission to CMC, Vellore, for conducting the Phase-4 clinical trial which may conduct the study on 300 healthy volunteers by administered a dose of each of Covaxin and Covishield.

However, the DCGI’s approval for the study on mixing the vaccines is different from the recent study of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) which concluded that combining two different shots is “safe and effective”.

The ICMR had analysed an “accidental” mixing of Covishield and Covaxin.

Brazil reports 1,211 more Covid deaths

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Brazil has registered 1,211 more Covid-19 deaths, raising the national death toll to 564,773, the health ministry said.

Meanwhile, the total caseload rose to 20,212,642 after 34,885 new cases were detected, the ministry said on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Brazil currently has the world’s second-highest pandemic death toll after the US, and the third-largest caseload after the US and India.

The South American country is experiencing a new wave of infections, which has overwhelmed hospitals, said the ministry.

So far, more than 154 million people in Brazil have received at least one dose of vaccine, with over 46.1 million people fully vaccinated.

Cuban scientists to write to Biden condemning US embargo

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Cuban scientists will send a letter to US President Joe Biden condemning the US embargo against the country.

The letter is intended to raise awareness about the necessity to put an end to the US embargo, Agustin Lage, senior advisor at the presidency of Cuban biotech-company Biocubafarma, told Xinhua on Tuesday.

“What makes Cuba unique is the need to manage the epidemic under a crippling financial, trade and economic embargo enforced by the US government for the last six decades,” the letter mentions.

The move came weeks after Biden’s statements “discrediting” Cuba’s efforts in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.

The letter says that if the US government really wants to help Cubans, it could roll back the 243 (former US President) Donald Trump-era measures.

“The (US) Congress could also lift sanctions altogether, as demanded each year by overwhelming votes at the United Nations General Assembly by the nations of the world,” Cuban scientists wrote.

First imposed in 1962, the US embargo has been intensified during the pandemic, restricting the country’s access to medical supplies and row materials to support local production of the coronavirus vaccines.

The letter is expected to be signed by scientists, doctors and citizens from Cuba.

Chinese mainland reports 83 locally transmitted Covid cases

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The Chinese mainland on Tuesday reported 83 new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases, including 54 in Jiangsu Province, 14 in Hubei, seven in Henan, five in Hunan, two in Yunnan and one in Beijing, the National Health Commission said in its daily report on Wednesday.

Also reported were 28 new imported cases, including 12 in Zhejiang, five in Yunnan, four in Shanghai, three in Sichuan, two in Guangdong and one each in Tianjin and Shandong, Xinhua news agency reported citing the health commission.

No new deaths or suspected cases related to Covid-19 were reported on Tuesday.

Covid doubled depression, anxiety symptoms in children, youth: Study

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Depression and anxiety symptoms have doubled in children and adolescents when compared to pre-pandemic times, according to an alarming study.

Researchers at the University of Calgary conducted a meta-analysis, pooling together data from 29 separate studies from around the world, including 80,879 youth globally.

The findings, published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics, showed that an alarming percentage of children and adolescents are experiencing a global-wide mental crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Estimates show that one in four youth globally are experiencing clinically elevated depression symptoms while one in five have clinically elevated anxiety symptoms,” said lead author Dr Nicole Racine, a postdoctoral associate, and clinical psychologist at the varsity. More alarmingly, these symptoms are compounding over time.

The study — which incorporates 16 studies from East Asia, four from Europe, six from North America, two from Central and South America and one from the Middle East — also shows that older adolescents and girls are experiencing the highest levels of depression and anxiety.

“We know from other studies that rates of depression and anxiety in youth tend to ebb and flow with restrictions. When more restrictions are imposed, rates go up. Being socially isolated, kept away from their friends, their school routines, and social interactions has proven to be really hard on kids,” said Dr Sheri Madigan, a Calgary varsity clinical psychologist.

Older teens in particular have missed out on significant life events such as graduations, sporting events, and various coming of age activities.

“These kids didn’t imagine that when they graduated, they’d never get to say goodbye to their school, their teachers or their friends, and now they’re moving on to something new, with zero closure,” Racine said. “There’s a grieving process associated with that.”

While mental health symptoms in youth are rising, more mental health support should be put in place to help children and adolescents in this time of need.

“If we want to mitigate the sustained mental health effects of Covid-19, because of the chronic stressors our youth experienced, we have to prioritise recovery planning now. Not when the pandemic is over, but immediately. Because kids are in crisis right now,” Madigan said.

Young, healthy US woman develops brain inflammation after mild Covid

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A team of US physicians has presented the first known case of a young, healthy adult who after being infected with Covid-19 developed brain inflammation, offering new insights into potential neurological effects post the infectious disease.

Although Covid-19 is primarily treated as a respiratory disease, patients often experience neurological problems, such as headaches, anxiety, depression and cognitive issues, which can persist long after other symptoms have resolved.

Some research has shown blood vessel damage and inflammation referred to as vasculitis in Covid-19 patients’ brains and central nervous system (CNS). Most cases of CNS vasculitis have been associated with elderly patients with severe Covid-19.

In the journal Neurology: Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation, a multidisciplinary team of physicians at University of California San Diego School of Medicine reported the case of a 26-year-old woman who was diagnosed with Covid-19 four days after an airplane flight in mid-March 2020.

Her symptoms were mild, but progressed two to three weeks later to difficulty moving her left foot and weakness on the left side of her body. She had no headaches and had experienced no change in her mental status or cognition.

Magnetic resonance imaging, however, revealed multiple lesions in the right frontoparietal region of the brain, which is involved in motor control and sensation of the left side of the body. A biopsy revealed CNS lymphocytic vasculitis — inflammation or swelling of blood vessels in the brain and spine.

“This patient was the first confirmed case of Covid-19 CNS vasculitis, confirmed by biopsy, in a young healthy patient with otherwise mild Covid-19 infection,” said Jennifer Graves, a neurologist at UC San Diego Health.

“Her case tells researchers and clinicians to consider these serious potential brain complications even in young patients and those with minor initial Covid-19 infections,” she added.

The woman underwent a series of corticosteroid-based treatments, began a long-term immunosuppressive medication, and, after six months, the lesions had substantially decreased and no new lesions had formed. She is still under treatment with immunosuppressive medications, the researchers said.

Support your happiness with positive psychology

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To achieve a well-balanced and a meaningful life one needs to have a positive psyche and do away with all the negativity within. It is a known fact that humans respond well to positive emotions and stay motivated under its influence.

However, there various motivations affect the happiness of an individual differently. By enabling yourself to work with positive thoughts, you’ll improve your your efficiency in life and be content with all you do. You can achieve this by making little changes in your lifestyle like:

Don’t judge yourself- All of us are bound to have unhappy and — negative thoughts — throughout the day. As you become more aware of them you may feel embarrassed or ashamed about how many you have. However, you don’t need to overthink as it is perfectly normal to have all sorts of strange thoughts. We can overcome it by thinking about the happy moments in life.

Always focus on smiling- Force a smile on your face as you bring your happy thought to your mind. This will help erase the effects of the negative thoughts.

Make most of the little moments- On adopting the positive psychology in life one can begin to find happiness all around. In fact, this is the very reason why we say that a way a mind thinks can change the world. Most of us big occasions rarely and occasionally in life, but its the little things like bringing home a new television or going out for a meal or just a little drive to the super mart with the family which should be enjoyed and cherished.

Don’t expect changes overnight- If you are one who has a negative outlook, don’t anticipate overturning into an optimist overnight. However, with regular practice, eventually you will contain less self-criticism and more self-acceptance. You may also become less critical of the world around you. The moment you begin feeling optimistic about yourself, you will feel the transformation about being able to handle everyday stress in a creative manner. The ability of positive thinking will eventually contribute towards health benefits, better handling of hardships and lower rates of depression.

Repeat the process- Try and work towards positive thoughts and additionally engage in substituting your negative mindset with a positive one. The process will help do away with any stress or anxiety you are facing

The optimistic will always see an opportunity in every difficulty however the pessimistic will always find a difficulty in every opportunity. Once you do away with the self-limiting beliefs you will observe a significant growth, one you could never experience without clinging to positive psychology. The optimism within you enables you to appreciate the little joys in life, aids you to grasp each day with a smile, be courteous to others and finding joy in others happiness as well.