Hong Kong reports that it has documented the world’s first COVID-19 reinfection – and additional reports have poured in. The region announced the news earlier this week, as a man who was infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – or, simply, coronavirus – the virus that causes the disease COVID-19 – four-and-a-half-months […]
COVID-19
Convalescent plasma therapy: U.S. emergency approval fuels hope but caution still advised
The decision by the United States government to approve the use of convalescent plasma therapy for treating cases of COVID-19 has made international headlines and fuels hope that the treatment may be a cause for optimism in the fight against the pandemic. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced earlier this week that emergency […]
Three million and counting: COVID-19 still surging
India surpassed three million cases of COVID-19 over the weekend. However, even as the disease continues to surge across the nation, hope may be on the horizon as recovery figures now exceed those of new cases of the disease. Coverage of the pandemic in India now appears split between two sides of the same story. […]
COVID-19: India set to climb the ranks?
India has witnessed new daily cases of COVID-19 surpass 70,000 for the first time. In the days surrounding this peak, new cases have numbered just short of 70,000. This figure places India as the fastest growing country for COVID-19 cases in the world. It is a figure roughly 25,000 higher than in either Brazil or […]
Antibody tests: One in four Indians infected?
More than a quarter of Indians may already have contracted COVID-19 – the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or, simply, coronavirus. This is on the basis of an analysis of antibody tests conducted by a leading private laboratory. Dr A. Velumani, the chairman, managing Director and chief executive officer of […]
Putting COVID-19 in perspective
India has quickly risen to one of the nations most severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, given the consistently mixed messages from both the media and politicians alike regarding the true scale of the issues India faces, it is worth putting COVID-19 into perspective. Such are the aims of a recent article reported by […]
Russia’s coronavirus vaccine: The controversy, explained
The world has yearned for a vaccine against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 since the pandemic began. However the recent announcement of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine has been met with scepticism – justly or unjustly. COVID-19 – the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), or simply coronavirus – has disrupted virtually […]
COVID-19 tests: How reliable are they?
Tuesday saw Indian conduct nearly nine lakh (900,000) COVID-19 tests, reports indicate – but how reliable is India’s testing infrastructure? The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare claims that India conducted 899,000 COVID-19 tests on August 18th. However, Our World in Data puts the number of tests lower, at 818,212. Sushma Dey reported for […]
Infectious disease
India faces the challenge of a range of infectious diseases. While deaths from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are becoming increasingly prevalent, huge numbers of Indians continue to die annually due to infectious disease. This dual burden of disease has the potential to put a substantial amount of stress on an already underfunded and under resourced health […]
COVID-19: Is cautious optimism warranted?
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, optimism has been in short supply. The pandemic has leapt from one extreme to the other as countries across the globe have faced surging case counts and vast numbers of associated deaths. However, are the tides finally turning against the COVID-19 pandemic? Such a statement may be jumping […]