In a recently published report in The Lancet stated SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is an airborne pathogen. The paper written by six experts from the US, the UK, and Canada, say that the evidence supporting airborne transmission is .
How pandemic fatigue led India to squander a chance to beat Covid while it was down
Delayed action on shoring up vaccines, and India’s return to pre-pandemic normal with a vengeance have been seen as signs of fatigue as well as a level of complacence.
Abantika Ghosh 18 April, 2021 10:04 am IST Text Size:
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New Delhi: On 13 April, 101 days after the first two Covid-19 vaccines were approved in India, the central government took a decision to waive the requirement of bridging trials in the country for vaccines approved in Europe, Japan, the US etc. What prompted its rigidity in December last year, when it refused to grant the same waiver to the Pfizer mRNA vaccine, is a mystery. Pfizer eventually withdrew its application and now wants its entry to be subject to certain conditions.
‘At least 70% of population need to be vaccinated for herd immunity’
Study shows that at least 70% of the population need to be vaccinated if the ‘herd immunity’ for COVID-19 is to be achieved to break the transmission chain with efficacious vaccines that prevent infection. Given the level of vaccine hesitancy, this is a daunting task for the country. Therefore, at the moment, preventing death and severe COVID by vaccinating the priority groups should be the target, asserts Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad (IIPH), Director G.V.S. Murthy on Sunday.
While the government had permitted Russian ‘Sputnik’ vaccine for emergency use, he expects more permissions in the offing and certainly bats for clearing the path for “effective proven vaccines that have undergone Phase 3 clinical trials in other countries and have validated efficacy”. This has to be considered for India due to the sheer population size, rapid transmission of COVID and the need to stockpile vac
More data is needed to establish if a third anti-COVID-19 booster dose will more effectively help in fighting the surge in infections in the country as currently its requirement has been based more upon conjecture, health experts said. India is battling a massive surge in COVID-19 cases and health ministry data updated on Sunday showed that a record single-day rise of 2,61,500 coronavirus infections has taken the country s total tally to 1,47,88,109, while active cases have surpassed the 18-lakh mark. Pfizer and Moderna recently announced that people who have received both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus vaccines will probably need a booster shot this year and might need an annual shot thereafter.