AWARE and AWAKE

  India’s drug regulatory authority will seek data from US-based Gilead Sciences on the latest finding on the effectiveness of its antiviral drug remdesivir in Covid-19 patients, after the US drug regulator approved it as treatment for the disease. Remdesivir is the first drug to be cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration for treating Covid-19. The formal approval came on Thursday. While the move indicates that the drug is safe and effective for people hospitalised with Covid-19,  India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) wants to assess the data before making a decision. “We will be writing to Gilead Sciences to understand the latest evidence on the effectiveness of the drug. We will then review and assess and take any further decision in this regard,” said a senior official of CDSCO. The antiviral drug, administered intravenously, is already under assessment in India, officials said, in the wake of new evidence by the World Health Organisation (WHO) ...

  The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has issued an advisory for the use of indigenously developed Feluda paper strip test, which is based on CRISPR-Cas9 technology for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, by laboratories. The paper-strip uses cutting-edge CRISPR gene-editing technology to identify and target the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in less than an hour. As claimed by the manufacturer, no further RT-PCR based confirmation is required for samples that are confirmed as positive or negative by the CRISPR SARS-CoV-2 test, the advisory issued on Thursday stated. The test has been developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research's (CSIRs) Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi, and has been validated by the National Centre for Biological Sciences and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. The test has been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for use in the country. "The test works b...

  Swine flu shows spike during winter. Likely that COVID would also do the same. There's data that shows air pollution may also lead to higher prevalence of COVID-19. It's based on a study done in last few months in Italy & China: Delhi AIIMS Director, Dr Randeep Guleria

  The government has adequate resources to ensure delivery of Covid-19 vaccines to everyone as and when they become available. “We have our estimates… I can say very clearly, unequivocally, that the budget will not be a constraint on the rollout of the vaccine,” expenditure secretary TV Somanathan .  “The Ministry of Finance has the capability to make resources available to ensure that vaccination is not held up on the grounds of availability of resources.” The assurance comes amid reports that vaccinating 1.3 billion Indians will be a challenge financially and logistically. Asked whether the vaccine would be free, he said the health ministry will take a call on matters such as who gets it on priority and the costs.

  Recent studies have suggested that people with mild or no symptoms of coronavirus may be infectious for not more than about 10 days. The review published in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

Amazon on Tuesday told employees whose work can be done from home that they can do so until June, extending the timeline on a return to office due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Employees who work in a role that can effectively be done from home are welcome to do so until June 30, 2021”, an Amazon spokeswoman said in an emailed statement on Tuesday, adding the guidance is applicable globally.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon meet 15 leading global fund houses amid heightened interest from foreign investors seeking stable returns in India, according to Tarun Bajaj, economic affairs secretary. The government is also working with the central bank to get India included in the global bond indices, which would lift flows into the bond market.

  Delhi airport operator DIAL on Wednesday said it has been certified as the second safest aerodrome globally for effective implementation of coronavirus-related health and safety protocols. The safe travel score is an initiative by Safe Travel Barometer, which assessed more than 200 airports on their implementation of health and safety protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic. Safe Travel Barometer is among the world's largest and most comprehensive tools to monitor traveller  health and safety protocols, a release issued by DIAL said. "Close on the heels of Singapore Changi Airport, which scored 4.7 out of 5, Delhi's IGI Airport has bagged the second position in the Safe Travel Barometer's list by scoring 4.6. "Besides, Frankfurt Airport and Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport have also secured the second position, each tied at 4.6 out of 5," the release said.

  Re-infection possible if antibodies in recovered person reduce within 5 months, says ICMR Chief That is why it is important to wear mask and take precautions even if one was infected earlier, says ICMR

The Centre is considering to remove convalescent plasma therapy from the national clinical management protocol for COVID-19, a top ICMR official said on Tuesday. Presently, the use of off-label convalescent plasma for treating COVID-19 patients in the moderate stage of the illness is allowed under "investigational therapies". However, a randomised controlled trial, led by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), on 464 patients in 39 hospitals in 25 districts across 14 states and  UTs has shown that plasma therapy does not reduce mortality or prevent progression of COVID-19 from moderate to severe. At a press conference, ICR Director General Balaram Bhargava said, "We have had discussions in the national taskforce and we are in discussion with the joint monitoring group that this (convalescent plasma therapy) may be deleted from the national guidelines. The discussion is ongoing and more or less we are reaching towards that."

  The New Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has reported its first coronavirus disease (Covid-19)-induced brain nerve damage in a girl (11), which has led to her blurred vision. The doctors in the child neurology division are preparing a report on her health condition that they plan to publish soon. “We have found Covid-19 infection-induced Acute Demyelinating Syndrome (ADS) in an 11-year-old girl. This is the first case that has been reported in the paediatric age group,” said the draft of the report. The nerves are covered with a protective layer called myelin that helps messages from the brain move quickly and smoothly through the body. ADS include health conditions that damage myelin, brain signals and affect a gamut of neurological functions such as vision, muscle movement, senses, bladder and bowel movement etc. “This girl had come to us with a loss of vision. The MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) showed ADS, which is a new manifestation. However, we ...

  Banks sanction Rs 1.35 lakh cr concessional loans to 1.5 cr KCC card holder farmers: The Finance Ministry on Thursday said banks have covered 1.5 crore farmers under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme to sanction credit limit of Rs 1.35 lakh crore to help them meet financial requirements during the COVID-19 crisis. As part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package, the government has announced to cover 2.5 crore farmers under the KCC scheme with a credit boost of Rs 2 lakh crore through a special saturation drive. As a result of concerted and sustained efforts by the banks and other stakeholders in the direction of providing access to concessional credit by the farmers, including fishermen and dairy farmers, a major milestone target of covering more than 1.5 crore farmers under KCC, with sanctioned credit limit of Rs.1.35 lakh crore has been achieved," an official statement said.

  Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech are expected to pursue late-stage clinical trials of intranasal COVID-19 vaccines in the coming months once they receive regulatory approval, Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday. Vardhan said the late-stage trial generally involves thousands of participants, sometimes 30,000 to 40,000.