Surge may be due to variations in strains of virus, says expert
While Kerala has seen a recent rise in COVID-19 cases even as other States appear to have dodged a second surge so far, experts say that genome sequencing could help figure out the reasons for the growing figures.
Kerala has contributed to 43% of the new cases reported in India in the past one week, said Dr. Rijo John, health economist, who has been analysing the numbers. Testing stands at a seven-day average of around 55,000 per day, which is lower than the average figure of around 60,000 to 62,000 during the peak the State witnessed in October, he said.
1 in 15 Lost Pregnancies in South Asia Is Due To Air Pollution, Study Finds 24/01/2021
A hazy morning in Taipei, Taiwan. Photo: markus winkler/Unsplash.
That ‘air pollution is killing the next generation’ is no longer just a figure of speech. According to a recent study published in The Lancet Planetary Health, nearly 3.5 lakh lost pregnancies every year in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh can be attributed to poor air quality.
The researchers who conducted the study analysed how the concentration of PM2.5 particles, which are not visible to our eyes, might contribute to pregnancy loss. The WHO air quality guideline recommends a standard PM2.5 concentration of less than 10 micrograms per cubic meter (10 µg/m3). However, different countries have their own ambient standards. The US, for example, draws the line at 35 µg/m3, and India, at 40 µg/m3.
Overcoming vaccine hesitancy the key to a successful Covid-19 inoculation drive
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Synopsis
A week into its Covid-19 vaccination drive, India needs to overcome its vaccine hesitancy that is hobbling efforts.
Agencies
The bigger challenge to tackle hesitancy, though, might well be when the vaccine drive is opened to those beyond frontline workers.
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Please do come. There is no queue, it won’t take long,” Akash Kumar Jha says persuasively, as he speaks on the phone to a doctor at New Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. It’s one of the many calls the hospital’s first officer for vaccination is making on Thursday morning to coax colleagues into coming in and rolling up their sleeves for a shot of Covaxin, one of the two vaccines India has approved to immunise the country against Covid-19. Jha has good reason to be as convincing as possible it had been five days since India launched its vaccine drive but the numbers at RML Hospital were not encourag
BT Mindrush 2021: Future of healthcare post-COVID
Discussing the future of healthcare post-COVID at the Business Today MindRush event on Friday, January 22 , a panel of distinguished experts shared their views on how the present crisis will shape the basics of healthcare in times to come
Manali | January 22, 2021 | Updated 17:25 IST
(From Left to Right): Dr. K Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India, Dr. Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director, Bharat Biotech, Dr. A Velumani, Managing Director, Thyrocare
Health has become a focus for people around the world at a time when everyone is taking precautions in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. The ongoing outbreak of the novel coronavirus has created an unprecedented global crisis with many wondering what its short-term and long-term impact on humans will be. However, a change in the priorities of the policymakers, and the way healthcare systems work and will evolve in the years to come are the big lessons learn