An expert government panel is in talks regarding the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine, Union Health Minister Mankush Mandaviya told the Lok Sabha on Friday. The Minister said “an expert group of the Indian government is still in talks with Pfizer over COVID vaccine supply.” United States State Department spokesperson Ned Price has announced that the […]
Science and Technology
Medical oxygen shortages: Deaths comments spark firestorm
A minister’s claim that no deaths due to medical oxygen shortages have been reported by the states has sparked a firestorm, with criticism pouring in. Bharati Pravin Pawar, a minister of state in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, told the Rajya Sabha that “health is a state subject. All states / UTs […]
Excess mortality statistics defended by Government
Excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic could be ten times higher than the official numbers, research claims – but the Government has defended its figures. A recent study carried out by the Center for Global Development estimated that excess mortality between January 2020 and June 2021 could be between three million and 4.7 million. This […]
Routine vaccinations took a hit in the pandemic: Jonathan Mosser explains why
The COVID-19 pandemic cost at least seventeen million children routine vaccinations, recent research from The Lancet shows. According to the research, “routine immunisation services faced stark challenges in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic causing the most widespread and largest global disruption in recent history.” Senior author and Assistant Professor from the Institute for Health Metrics […]
Antibodies in more than two-thirds of Indians
The fourth national serosurvey carried out by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) indicates that more than two-thirds of India’s population have developed antibodies against COVID-19. Conducted between June and July of 2021, the survey’s findings found 67.6 percent of the country’s 1.3 billion people presented with antibodies. This marks a substantial increase from […]
COVID-19 vaccines effective against Delta variant: INSACOG co-chair
In an interview, INSACOG co-chair Dr N. K. Arora has said that COVID-19 vaccines are effective against the Delta variant. The Delta variant is a more transmissible strain of the novel coronavirus which emerged in India in October of last year. INSACOG refers to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG). It comprises 28 laboratories under […]
Endangered species: Preserving wildlife a public health need
At first glance, the crises of endangered species and pandemics may seem separate. But they are, in fact, interrelated as a recent Foreign Policy analysis outlines. According to the piece, authored by Lindsey Kennedy and Nathan Paul Southern, “the trade of illegal wildlife products is everywhere, but the pandemic offered a brief opportunity to crack […]
Leper: Is it harmful? Some say yes.
What’s in a name? For some campaigners, the name ‘leper’ does more harm than good in fighting the infectious disease which continues to be saddled for those whom it affects with stigma and prejudice. “Health campaigners are calling for an end to the use of the word leper, saying the language frequently used by politicians […]
WHO unveils guidelines for human genome editing
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released two companion reports regarding the potential application of human genome editing in improving public health. “Human genome editing has the potential to advance our ability to treat and cure disease, but the full impact will only be realised if we deploy it for the benefit of all people, […]
Zika outbreak continues in Kerala
The Zika outbreak in Kerala continues, with more cases reported in the state already embattled by COVID-19. The state detected cases of Zika last week, putting it on alert. As of yesterday, the total case count is nineteen. The state health minister Veena George announced the establishment of testing facilities at the medical colleges in […]