The Indian Panorama

Tag: ICMR

  • Covid vaccines didn’t cause sudden deaths, says new ICMR study

    A recent peer-reviewed study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has dispelled concerns about an increased risk of sudden death among young adults in India due to Covid-19 vaccination.
    Instead, the study suggests that factors such as post-Covid hospitalisation, family history of sudden death, and certain lifestyle behaviours may be the underlying causes.
    The research, involving 47 tertiary care hospitals across the country, focused on apparently healthy individuals aged 18-45 without known health issues who unexpectedly died between October 2021 and March 2023.
    Data collection involved interviews to gather information on Covid-19 vaccination, infection, post-Covid conditions, family history, smoking, recreational drug use, alcohol consumption, binge drinking, and intense physical activity in the 48 hours preceding death. The study emphasised the positive associations between lifestyle factors like smoking, alcohol use frequency, binge drinking, recreational drug use, and vigorous physical activity with unexplained sudden death.
    The frequency of alcohol use was highlighted as a contributing factor.
    Contrary to concerns, the study found that two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine lowered the odds of unexplained sudden death, whereas a single dose did not.
    Overall, the study affirmed the documented benefits of COVID-19 vaccination in preventing all-cause mortality across various age groups and settings.
    The research was prompted by anecdotal reports of sudden unexplained deaths among seemingly healthy young adults in India during the pandemic.
    It highlighted the need to investigate such cases more thoroughly, considering the potential links to COVID-19 or vaccination.
    While acknowledging that COVID-19 may increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, the study noted a lack of understanding regarding the pathways through which the virus could lead to sudden deaths.
    It also highlighted the scarcity of evidence for sudden deaths among COVID-19-recovered individuals or those with breakthrough infections.
    The study contributes valuable insights into the factors influencing sudden deaths among young adults in India and emphasises the importance of a comprehensive approach to understanding and addressing these occurrences.

     

  • India’s single-day Covid tally at 2,64,202, positivity rate touches 14.78%

    India’s single-day Covid tally at 2,64,202, positivity rate touches 14.78%

    New Delhi (TIP)- India on Friday, Jan 14,  recorded 2,64,202 fresh cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pushing the active caseload to 12,72,073. The latest figures, as available from the Union ministry of health and family welfare, are 6.7 per cent higher than Thursday’s single-day count of 2,47,417. The daily positivity rate now stood at 14.78 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate was at 11.83 per cent. The number of confirmed cases of the Omicron variant that is driving the latest surge of the pandemic currently stood at 5,753. As many as 1,09,345 patients recovered from the viral disease in the last 24 hours taking the total number of recoveries to 3,48,24,706.

    The country recorded 315 deaths due to related complications pushing the cumulative toll to 4,85,350.

    India has so far administered 155.39 crore doses of vaccines against the viral disease under the nationwide programme, the ministry said. A total of 69.90 crore samples have so far been tested for the viral, of which 17,87,457 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a virtual meeting with chief ministers wherein he urged them to be alert and careful, but also stressed the need to not panic. The meeting is the first time Modi met the chief ministers to discuss Covid-19 since the third wave began.

    Restrict use of Molnupiravir pill, ICMR warns again

    In its second warning against the use of Molnupiravir, the world’s first anti-Covid oral pill developed by Merck, the Indian Council of Medical Research today said the harms of the anti-viral pill far outweigh its benefits.

    The ICMR noted irrational use of the pill which the Drug Controller General of India approved on December 28 last year and said while the pill had been approved in the UK and Denmark, it has not made to the Covid treatment guidelines there also. In India, national task force experts have for the third time unanimously rejected the inclusion of the drug in Covid-19 treatment guidelines.

    Balram Bhargava, ICMR chief, said currently available synthesised evidence was reviewed and members unanimously agreed that the medicine did not merit inclusion in the national Covid treatment guidelines. The emerging evidence would be constantly reviewed, he added.

    He added that the current window of application appeared extremely narrow for Molnupiravir with relevance only to the elderly and the unvaccinated with other co-morbidities except diabetes. The Health Ministry said the medicine was to be administered conditionally and was not to be given to people under 18 years.

  • India reports 41,383 new Covid-19 cases, 507 more deaths

    India reports 41,383 new Covid-19 cases, 507 more deaths

    New Delhi (TIP): India on Thursday, July 21,  recorded 41,383 new cases and 507 more deaths due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), taking the caseload and death toll to 31,257,720 and 418,987 respectively, according to the Union health ministry’s update at 8am. As many as 38,652 people recovered in the 24-hour time span, taking the cumulative count of recoveries to 30,429,339, the data showed. The active cases stand at 409,394, an increase from 407,170 cases on Wednesday.

    Thursday’s case count is 632 less than that of Wednesday’s when 42,015 people were detected Covid-19 positive. Meanwhile, the toll on Thursday is 3,491 less than that of Wednesday’s when 3,998 deaths were recorded as Maharashtra reconciled its death count with 3,509 previously unreported fatalities.

    A total of 450,911,712 samples have been tested for the Covid-19 disease till now, of which 1718,439 were tested in the last 24 hours, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Thursday.

    More than 415 million vaccine doses have been administered across the country of which 328,716,212 have received the first dose and the remaining 86,756,243 have received both doses.

    The Centre and opposition leaders have engaged in a squabble after the former claimed that no deaths due to lack of oxygen were reported by states and Union Territories during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Leaders of opposition parties such as the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) former ally Shiv Sena have strongly criticised the above statement of a Union minister in the Rajya Sabha.

    However, several states including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have claimed that no Covid-19 deaths were reported due to the shortage of the life saving gas.

    Countering the allegations made by opposition parties, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said on?Wednesday that health is a state subject, adding no state or UT sent any data regarding deaths specifically due to a shortage of oxygen. “None of them said that a death occurred in their state and Union territory due to shortage of oxygen, there is no data for that. Did the Centre generate this data? No,” Patra added.    Source: HT

  • Two-thirds of Indians have Covid antibodies, 40 crore still at risk: ICMR

    New Delhi (TIP): Up to two-thirds of the Indian population above the age of six have already been infected with the coronavirus, the latest nationwide serological survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has found. That still leaves about 40 crore people who are susceptible to the virus.

    The serosurvey, the fourth such exercise, was conducted in June and July, after the second wave had began to subside. A total of 28,975 people were tested for the presence of antibodies specific to SARS-CoV2 virus, and 67.6% were found to have them. For the first time, minors in the age group of 6 to 17 years were also included in the serosurvey, with antibodies interestingly discovered in nearly half of them.

    The results of the latest serosurvey mark a huge jump in the prevalence of infection among the population from the previous such exercises, carried out in the same districts. In the third serosurvey, carried out in December 2020-January this year, less than 25% of the surveyed population was found to have the antibodies. In the first survey, carried out between May and June last year, only about 0.7% people were found with antibodies. A subsequent exercise in August and September had found antibodies in 7.1% people.

    The fact that two-thirds of the population has already been infected — with the sero-prevalence found to be the same in rural and urban areas — reduces the possibility of a fresh round of infections as severe as the second wave was. More so, because at least 32 crore people have received at least one dose of the vaccine. There would be a considerable overlap between those who have been infected, and those who have got the vaccine, but the two figures together mean that over 70% of the population over the age of six can be expected to have developed some sort of immunity against the disease.

    The findings of the fourth sero-survey, are significant. Apart from dissipating some worries regarding the ferocity of a third wave, it will also help the government go ahead with its gradual opening up.

    Unless the virus mutates in a manner that enables it to escape this immunity, and begins to re-infect people in a big way, the chances of a repeat of a second wave are slim.

    But that does not rule out small, localised surges in districts or states. Even at the national level, a vulnerable population of 40 crore leaves a fair possibility for surges like the first wave, or smaller. As ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava also warned, the epidemic was far from over.

    “Two-thirds of the general population that is above the age of six years had SARS-CoV-2 infection. More importantly, a third of the population did not have any antibodies… 40 crore population of this country is still vulnerable,” Bhargava said, addressing a press conference.“The implications of this large serosurvey clearly show that there is a ray of hope. But there is no room for complacency. We must maintain Covid-appropriate behaviour,” he said.

    Asked if the government was going to plan opening of schools in a staggered way, as is being suggested by many experts, Bhargava said primary schools can be opened first, then secondary schools. “The antibody exposure in children is very similar to adults,” he noted.

    Among minors, the sero-prevalence was 57.2% in the age group 6-9 years and 61.6% among 10-17-year-olds.

  • India’s daily Covid cases, deaths fall to 132,364 and 2713; tally tops 28.5 mn

    India’s daily Covid cases, deaths fall to 132,364 and 2713; tally tops 28.5 mn

    New Delhi (TIP): India recorded 132,364 cases of the coronavirus disease in the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide infection tally to 28,574,350, according to the data from the Union ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW), updated at 8am on Friday, June 4. Also, in the same period, 2713 people succumbed to Covid-19, taking the related death toll to 340,702, the data showed. This is for the first time after two days that India saw a marginal fall in its daily new cases of the viral disease. Since logging 127,510 fresh infections in the 24-hour period leading to June 1 — the lowest single-day rise in more than two months — the country reported 132,788 and 134,154 cases, respectively, in the next two days.

    The number of tests conducted on June 3 stood at 2,075,428, the government-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) tweeted on Friday morning. While this is a decline from 2,159,873 tests on June, total 357,433,846 tests have been conducted till now, ICMR’s figures showed.

    The decline in daily cases has coincided with containing measures taken by governments at the state and the Union Territory (UT) level. While this decline has prompted several state governments, like Delhi and Maharashtra, to announce measures to “unlock” or exit from lockdown or lockdown-like curbs, others have announced an extension in restrictions to further break the chain of transmission of the virus.

    However, as daily cases are still well above the 100,000-mark, the central government, on June 1, announced the cancellation of class 12th board exams of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Within hours, the Council of Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (CISCE) announced the cancellation of its class 12th exams as well. Class 10th exams were scrapped in April when the second wave was at its peak.

    SII applies to manufacture Covid vaccine Sputnik V

    The Serum Institute of India (SII) has applied to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking permission to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V in the country, sources said on Thursday.

    The Pune-based firm has also sought approval for test analysis and examination. Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is currently being manufactured in India by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.

    “The Serum Institute of India (SII) put up an application to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Wednesday seeking permission to manufacture the COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, in India,” a source said.

  • India sees record 3.79 lakh new Covid cases, 3,645 more deaths

    India sees record 3.79 lakh new Covid cases, 3,645 more deaths

    • Registering a steady increase, the active cases have increased to 30,84,814
    • Caught unawares, India accepts aid from the world for the first time in 17 years

    NEW DELHI (TIP): India saw a record single-day rise of 3,79,257 new coronavirus infections pushing the total tally of Covid cases to 1,83,76,524, while active cases crossed the 30-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday, April 29.

    The death toll increased to 2,04,832 with a record 3,645 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    Registering a steady increase, the active cases have increased to 30,84,814, comprising 16.79 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid recovery rate has further dropped to 82.1 per cent.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1, 50, 86,878. The case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.11 per cent, the data stated.

    According to the ICMR, 28,44,71,979 samples have been tested up to April 28 with 17,68,190 samples being tested on Wednesday, April 28. The new fatalities include 1,035 from Maharashtra, 368 from Delhi, 279 from Chhattisgarh, 265 from Uttar Pradesh, 229 from Karnataka, 174 from Gujarat, 149 from Jharkhand, 142 from Punjab, 120 from Rajasthan, 108 from Uttarakhand and 105 from Madhya Pradesh.

    A total of 2,04,832 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 67,214 from Maharashtra, 15,377 from Delhi, 15,036 from Karnataka, 13,826 from Tamil Nadu, 11,943 from Uttar Pradesh, 11,159 from West Bengal, 8,772 from Punjab and 8,061 from Chhattisgarh.

    As the pandemic is growing in proportions, the world is worried, and sending in all help to India to overcome the dire situation. It is for the first time in 17 years that India has accepted aid from the world.

     

     

  • India records highest single-day rise so far with over 1.68 lakh new Covid cases

    India records highest single-day rise so far with over 1.68 lakh new Covid cases

    New Delhi (TIP): India hit a new coronavirus infection record with 1,68,912 new cases, the highest single-day rise so far, taking the total tally of cases to 1,35,27,717, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday, April 11. The national Covid recovery rate has fallen below 90 percent. The active cases have surpassed the 12-lakh mark, while the death toll increased to 1,70,179 with 904 new fatalities, the highest since October 18, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    Registering a steady increase for the 33rd day in row, the active cases have increased to 12,01,009 comprising 8.88 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 89.86 per cent. The active caseload was at its lowest at 1,35,926 on February 12 and it was at its highest at 10,17,754 on September 18, 2020.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,21,56,529, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.26 per cent, the data stated.

    According to the ICMR, 25,78,06,986 samples have been tested up to April 11 with 11,80,136 samples being tested on Sunday.

    The 904 new fatalities include 349 from Maharashtra, 122 from Chhattisgarh, 67 from Uttar Pradesh, 59 from Punjab, 54 from Gujarat, 48 from Delhi, 40 from Karnataka, 24 from Madhya Pradesh, 22 from Tamil Nadu, 21 from Jharkhand, 16 each  from Kerala and Haryana and 10 each from Rajasthan and West Bengal.

    A total of 1,70,179 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 57,987 from Maharashtra, 12,908 from Tamil Nadu, 12,889 from Karnataka, 11,283 from Delhi, 10,400 from West Bengal, 9,152 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,507 from Punjab and 7,300 from Andhra Pradesh.

  • Covaxin neutralizes UK strain: Bharat Biotech

    NEW DELHI/NEW YORK (TIP): India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, effectively neutralizes the more infectious UK variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus, reducing the possibility of the mutant virus escaping the body’s defense system. This was stated by Covaxin developer Bharat Biotech on Wednesday, Jan 20 following a research conducted by the company along with experts from National Institute of Virology (NIV) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The study, yet to be peer reviewed, concluded that the vaccine generated enough antibody capability in recipients (given two doses) to neutralize the mutated variant, also known as lineage B117 or 20B/501Y.V1. The joint research paper, ‘Neutralization of UK-variant VUI-202012/01 with Covaxin vaccinated human serum’, has also been uploaded on bioRxiv, a server which carries pre-prints of research work before it is peer reviewed. The paper said the researchers performed the plaque reduction neutralization test, which is used to quantify the titer or concentration of the neutralizing antibody for a virus, using the sera collected from 26 volunteers who received Covaxin to test against the UK variant and the heterologous strain of the virus. The researchers said that the neutralization activity of the sera on both the UK-variant and the heterologous strain showed a similar efficiency. The research team was led by ICMR director general Balram Bhargava and Raches Ella, project lead: SARSCoV-2 vaccine and head of business development & advocacy, Bharat Biotech. India has so far detected over 100 Covid-19 cases with the UK variant of the virus.