Newly-inaugurated president Joseph R. Biden, Jr. has reversed two key policy moves of his predecessor, Donald Trump: namely, the latter’s decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement on climate change and to stop U.S. funding to the World Health Organization (WHO). Biden, who was sworn in on January 20th at the United States Capitol in […]
COVID-19
Historic vaccine rollout hampered by misinformation?
India’s historic vaccine rollout seeking to inoculate its 1.3 billion+ population against the novel coronavirus launched last Saturday. However, there is some reluctance among those prioritised to receive the jab in the first phase. Rollout of India’s vaccination campaign against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 – […]
COVID-19 and smoking: Tobacco not a protector
Research into interplay between COVID-19 and smoking conducted by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been questioned by scientists. The CSIR serosurvey reportedly suggested that smokers are at lower risk of contracting COVID-19 – but experts responded with doubts. The CSIR conducted a seroprevalence survey of 10,427 Indians, consisting of those working […]
Cardiology assessments dropped dramatically during COVID
The pandemic witnessed a steep drop in the number of cardiology assessments, according to the recently-published results of a survey. Of particular concern throughout the COVID-19 has been the disruption to routine health services, ranging from routine immunisation to screening for and treatment of other diseases. In the case of cardiology, the International Atomic Energy […]
PTSD and COVID-19: A conversation we need to have
“This assault on my mind. Please help me.” Many experience ‘long COVID-19’, wherein they struggle with symptoms long after initial infection. While it is important to discuss the physical aftermath of battling COVID-19, it is also of great importance to discuss the mental health effects. An article published recently in The Wire draws attention to […]
Two million COVID-19 fatalities; vaccine rollout in India begins
In what UN Secretary-General António Guterres described as “a heart-wrenching milestone”, the world surpassed two million COVID-19 fatalities in recent days. The “vicious virus”, as Guterres described the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19, has claimed 2,041,232 lives since the pandemic began at the time of writing. “Behind this staggering number are names and faces: the […]
COVID-19 figures higher than any other infectious disease
COVID-19 affected more people in a single year than any other infectious disease over a comparative timeframe in recent years. COVID-19 figures are often compared to other diseases. However, until recently, the figures were simply not available to make these comparison points. According to IndiaSpend, by the end of 2020 India officially had ten million […]
Google launches US$3 million fund to fight misinformation about COVID vaccines
Running in parallel with the COVID-19 pandemic has been an ‘infodemic’. The spread of misinformation related to the novel coronavirus and vaccines, particularly online, has alarmed many commentators. To address this, Google has announced a US$3 million fund to back fact-checking initiatives in order to counter fake news about COVID-19 vaccines. The California-based tech giant […]
2021 will not see herd immunity, WHO says
Despite countries the world over rolling out immunisation programmes, herd immunity is unlikely to be achieved this year according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “We are not going to achieve any levels of population immunity or herd immunity in 2021,” said WHO chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan. This is despite the “incredible progress” made […]
Vaccine shipments to states, cities begin
States are beginning to receive COVID-19 vaccine shipments ahead of the rollout of a mass inoculation campaign officials anticipate to be the world’s biggest. Officials hope that the coming six to eight months will witness 300 million inoculated against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19. The cohort […]