DUBAI: Oman’s Ministry of Health will start inoculating citizens aged over 65 years with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, daily Times of Oman reported.
The vaccine will be given out at special immunization centers, and the two doses will be administered four weeks apart, the report added.
The Sultanate received on Saturday a total of 100,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from India’s Serum Institute, the world’s largest vaccine factory.
Meanwhile, Oman’s University of Nizwa, in cooperation with the health ministry, detected a rare strain of the COVID-19 virus.
The joint project studied 94 samples of the virus taken from patients in the country and the results have been published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Nizwa University study in Oman detect rare strain of coronavirus
By: Times News Service
Muscat: A rare strain of COVID-19 has been detected in Oman, thanks to efforts taken to map the genetic sequences of variants in the country.
The project, which was jointly undertaken by the University of Nizwa and the Ministry of Health, looked at 94 samples of the virus taken from patients in the country. Its results have now been published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
P323L is the most common mutation of the virus, found in 94.7 per cent of samples studied, followed by the D614G spike protein mutation, present in 92.6 per cent. A unique mutation, I280V, was first reported in Oman and was associated with a rare lineage, B.1.113, found in only 10.6 per cent of samples.
PoultryWorld
Call to tackle Campylobacter in New Zealand
Researchers in New Zealand have called for additional regulatory action to be taken to control Campylobacter.
The researchers say that fresh chicken meat is the largest single source of campylobacteriosis in the country, making it the largest food safety problem. Meanwhile, scientists have proposed a national inquiry to identify an effective response to Campylobacter in chicken meat, reports Food Safety News. According to the accepted manuscript in the journal
Epidemiology and Infection, responsibility for managing food safety also needs to shift to an independent regulator, potentially as part of a revitalised public health agency.
Report highlights delirium, comas in sedated COVID-19 ICU patients
In COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) early in the pandemic, 82% were in a comatose state at some point and 55% experienced delirium, reports a
Lancet study published late last week. Previous studies have connected ICU delirium to higher costs, greater mortality risk, and long-term dementia.
Patient data from 14 countries showed that 54.9% of 2,088 patients admitted to ICUs prior to Apr 28, 2020, developed delirium for a median of 3 days and 81.6% were in a coma for a median of 10 days. This is double what is seen in non-COVID ICU patients, said Brenda Pun, DNP, RN, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, co-first author of the study, in a Vanderbilt news release. It is clear in our findings that many ICUs reverted to sedation practices that are not in line with best practice guidelines, Pun added.