Tag: COVID-19 vaccine

Antibodies that may lead to next-gen vaccines for all COVID-19 strains found

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Scientists have identified antibodies that are effective against many different SARS-CoV-2 variants, an advance that paves the way for next-generation vaccines which could protect from different COVID-19 strains. The antibodies identified in monkeys by a team at The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, US, are also effective against other SARS viruses like SARS-CoV-1, the highly lethal virus that caused an outbreak in 2003.

The results show that certain animals are more able to make these types of “pan-SARS virus” antibodies than humans, giving scientists clues as to how to make better vaccines. The findings, published on Thursday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, reveal the antibody structures that produce this more comprehensive immune response.

The researchers found these neutralising antibodies recognise a viral region in the spike protein — which the virus uses to enter and infect the cells — that is relatively more conserved. This means that the region is present across many different SARS viruses, and is therefore less likely to mutate over time, they said.

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The finding may help develop next-generation vaccines that can offer additional protection against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and other SARS-related viruses, according to the researchers.

“If we can design vaccines that elicit the similar broad responses that we have seen in this study, these treatments could enable broader protection against the virus and variants of concern,” said study senior author Raiees Andrabi, an investigator at The Scripps Research Institute.

The researchers immunised rhesus macaque monkeys with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Two shots were administered, resembling a similar strategy used with currently available vaccines in humans. However, unlike the vaccines, the macaques were shown to have a broad neutralising antibody response against the virus, including variants such as Omicron.

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The scientists found these antibodies recognise a conserved region on the edge of the site where the spike protein binds to host cells, called the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor binding site.

“This is different than the region where the majority of human antibodies target, which overlaps more with the ACE2 receptor binding site and is more variable to change,” they said.

“The antibody structures reveal an important area common to multiple SARS-related viruses,” said study co-senior author Ian Wilson. “This region to date has rarely been seen to be targeted by human antibodies and suggests additional strategies that can be used to coax our immune system into recognising this particular region of the virus,” Wilson said.

ALSO READ | Study says COVID mRNA vaccines safe during pregnancy — 10 key points

The researchers notes that the macaque’s gene coding for these broad neutralising antibodies — known as IGHV3-73 — is not the same in humans. “The dominant immune response in humans is related to the IGHV3-53 gene, which produces a potent but much narrower neutralising antibody response,” they said.

However, the scientists said this finding paves the way to rationally design and engineer vaccines or vaccine-adjuvant combinations that elicit more broad protection against SARS-CoV-2 and its many variants.

“According to our study, the macaques have an antibody gene that offers them more protection against SARS viruses,” said Dennis Burton, a co-senior author of the study.

“This observation teaches us that studying the effect of a vaccine in monkeys can only take us so far but also reveals a new target for our vaccine efforts that we might be able to exploit by advanced protein design strategies,” Burton added.

ALSO READ | Bharat Biotech expects approval for COVID-19 nasal vaccine this month — here are the benefits

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Study says COVID mRNA vaccines safe during pregnancy — 10 key points

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A new Lancet study has found COVID-19 mRNA vaccines to be safe to be administered during pregnancy. It also revealed that there were “lower rates of significant adverse events following immunisation in pregnant people than non-pregnant vaccine recipients for both mRNA vaccines used in Canada, after dose one and dose two.”

The study also supported the importance of high vaccine coverage for the protection of pregnant persons and infants. The study, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, was conducted between December 2020 and November 2021 among participants across seven Canadian provinces.

It included samples of pregnant, vaccinated women aged 15-49 years. These were compared with samples of non-pregnant vaccinated women and pregnant unvaccinated falling in a similar age group. “For statistical modelling, the analysis was restricted to those who received any mRNA vaccines BNT162b2 (Pfizer) and mRNA-1273 (Moderna)”.

“COVID-19 mRNA vaccines have a good safety profile in pregnancy,” it said in conclusion.

In this study, researchers also focused on the side effects in a group of vaccinated pregnant women simultaneously as both an unvaccinated pregnant group and a vaccinated non-pregnant group. Rates of significant adverse events following immunisation were highest after the second dose for Moderna recipients. However, it said, “both mRNA vaccines are highly immunogenic and effective in pregnancy.”

Here are some key takeaways from the study

Overall, 226 (4·0 percent) of 5,597 mRNA-vaccinated pregnant females reported a significant health event within seven days after dose one of an mRNA vaccine, and 227 (7·3 percent) of 3,108 after dose two.

1. The health event rates were similar after dose one for both mRNA vaccines — 137 of 3,414 for Pfizer BioNTech and 89 of 2183 for Moderna — but higher for Moderna than Pfizer after dose two.
2. The most common significant health events after the second dose of Moderna in pregnant women are feeling unwell or malaise or myalgia (139 of 1,216), headache or migraine (103 of 1,216), and respiratory tract infection (68 of 1,216).
3. Among pregnant and vaccinated participants who reported significant health events, most of them recognised their symptoms within 24 hours following vaccination — 57·5 percent of 226 after dose one and 82·4 percent of 227 after dose two of an mRNA vaccine. The majority — 54·9 percent of 226 after dose one and 74·0 percent of 227 —  resolved within three days.
4. In comparison, 3·2 percent of 339 pregnant unvaccinated (control group) participants reported similar events in the seven days before survey completion. Of these, 18·2 percent reported their symptoms as resolved at least 24 hours before the control survey and 81·8 percent reported their events as ongoing for at least six days.
5. The reported serious health events were rare — reported among eight (0·4 percent) of 1,892 and 11 (0·9 percent) of 1216 across various pregnant groups. This occurred at similar rates in vaccinated pregnant individuals and unvaccinated controls and after doses one and two for all vaccine types.
6. Miscarriage or stillbirth was the most frequently reported adverse pregnancy outcome, and it was reported at similar rates between control (2·1 percent of 339) and vaccinated groups within seven days after dose one of any mRNA vaccine. Almost all pregnancy losses occurred during the first trimester.
7. Other adverse pregnancy outcomes such as vaginal bleeding, abnormal fetal heart rate, and reduced fetal movement were rarely reported within seven days following any mRNA vaccination.
8. The first dose of any mRNA vaccine and either dose of Pfizer were not associated with an increased risk of significant health events. Similarly, the researchers found “no significant association between vaccination status and serious health events in pregnant people”.
9. The increase in significant health events after dose two of any mRNA vaccine was no longer observed when researchers restricted their outcome variable to events requiring medical consultation. “When restricted to events resulting in medical consultation, there was no difference between groups in any of the analyses.”
10. Pregnant people in this study reported high rates of injection site pain (92 percent after dose two), fatigue (72 percent), headache (55 percent), myalgia (54 percent) and fever or chills (35–37 percent), with higher rates of adverse events after dose two than after dose one.

Conclusion

“…We found that significant health events — new or worsening health events following vaccination sufficient to cause work or school absenteeism, medical consultation, or prevent daily activities — were lower in pregnant people than in age-matched non-pregnant vaccine recipients,” the study said.

Researchers said the data could be used to appropriately inform pregnant people regarding the “reactogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines” during pregnancy. The finding should also be considered alongside effectiveness and immunogenicity data to make appropriate recommendations about the “best use of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy”.

What are COVID-19 mRNA vaccines?

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. According to the CDC, many vaccines put a weakened or inactivated germ into our bodies to trigger an immune response.

But this is not the case with mRNA vaccines. These vaccines use “mRNA created in a laboratory to teach our cells how to make a protein — or even just a piece of a protein — that triggers an immune response inside our bodies”.

This immune response, which produces antibodies, is what helps protect people from getting sick from that germ in the future.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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New test can tell how much immunity you have against COVID-19

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Researchers in the US have developed an easy-to-use test that can predict the degree of immune protection people have against COVID-19, either from vaccination, infection, or a combination of the two. Easy access to this kind of test could help people determine what kind of precautions they should take against COVID-19 infection, such as getting an additional booster shot, the researchers said.

Described in the journal Cell Reports Methods, the test measures the level of neutralising antibodies — responsible for defending cells from the virus — that target SARS-CoV-2 in a blood sample. “Among the general population, many people probably want to know how well protected they are,” said Hojun Li from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, US.

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“But I think where this test might make the biggest difference is for anybody who is receiving chemotherapy, anybody who’s on immunosuppressive drugs for rheumatologic disorders or autoimmune diseases, and for anybody who’s elderly or doesn’t mount good immune responses in general,” Li said. Such people might need to be boosted sooner or receive more doses to achieve adequate protection, the researchers said.

The test is designed so that different viral spike proteins — that help the virus to enter and infect the cells — can be swapped in. Doing so allows to detect immunity against any existing or future variant of SARS-CoV-2, the researchers said.

The researchers have filed for a patent on the technology and are now hoping to partner with a diagnostic company that could manufacture the devices and seek approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Currently, the gold standard approach to measuring immunity involves mixing a blood sample with live virus and measuring how many cells in the sample are killed by the virus.

That procedure is too hazardous to perform in most labs, so the more commonly used approaches involve non-infectious modified “pseudoviral” particles. However, these approaches still require trained personnel working in a lab with specialised equipment, so they are not practical for getting immediate results. Li drew inspiration from at-home pregnancy tests, which are based on a type of test called a lateral flow assay.

Lateral flow assays generally consist of paper strips embedded with test lines that bind to a particular target molecule if it is present in a sample. This technology is also the basis of most at-home rapid tests for COVID-19.

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Li and his collaborates developed a device that can detect the presence of antibodies that block the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) from binding to ACE2, the human receptor that the virus uses to infect cells. The first step in the test is to mix human blood samples with viral RBD protein that has been labelled with tiny gold particles which can be visualised when bound to a paper strip.

After allowing time for antibodies in the sample to interact with the viral protein, a few drops of the sample are placed on a test strip embedded with two test lines. One of these lines attracts free viral RBD proteins, while the other attracts any RBD that has been captured by neutralising antibodies, the researchers said.

A strong signal from the second line indicates a high level of neutralising antibodies in the sample, they said.

ALSO READ | Bharat Biotech expects approval for COVID-19 nasal vaccine this month — here are the benefits

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Coronavirus: India records 18,738 new COVID-19 cases, 40 deaths in a day

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India reported 18,738 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said early Sunday. The fresh tally was 3.44 percent lower than that recorded the previous day. With new cases, the country’s overall caseload has mounted to 4,41,45,732.

The maximum number of COVID-19 cases were reported in Delhi with 2,311 new cases, followed by Maharashtra with 1,931 cases, Karnataka with 1,694 and Kerala with 1,113 cases.

Of total COVID-19 cases, 1,34,933 are active and account for 0.31 percent of the total cases. Meanwhile, the recovery rate stands at 98.50 percent with 18,558 more recoveries from the infection being reported in the last 24 hours, thereby taking the total recoveries to 4,34,84,110.

Moreover, 40 more people succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours. Of these 40 deaths, Kerala reported nine deaths of which eight were backlog deaths, Maharashtra reported nine, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh reported four deaths each and Manipur reported three deaths.

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The daily positivity rate in India was reported at 5.02 percent. The highest positivity rate was recorded in Mizoram at 33.71 percent, followed by Meghalaya at 30.62 percent and Delhi at 13.84 percent. Also, the weekly positivity rate was at 4.63 percent, the ministry said. As many as 312 districts reported weekly test positivity rate above 5 percent.

On the vaccination front, 29,58,617 COVID-19 vaccines were administered across the country in the last 24 hours, taking the total vaccinations to 2,06,21,79,411.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year. It crossed the four-crore mark on January 25 this year.

ALSO READ | Bharat Biotech expects approval for COVID-19 nasal vaccine this month — here are the benefits

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Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 nasal vaccine to be used as heterologous booster — here are the benefits

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 intranasal vaccine iNCOVACC (BBV154) received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in November 2022, under Restricted Use in Emergency Situation for ages 18 and above in India, for heterologous booster doses. Now, government sources said the nasal vaccine will be included in COVID-19 vaccination program from December 23. It will be available first in private hospitals and will be added as an option on CoWin, sources said.

Benefits of COVID-19 nasal vaccine

Speaking about the benefit of nasal injection, Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of the company, was quoted by news agency PTI as saying that any injectable vaccine only protects the lower level (of the body). That’s why people who were vaccinated with injectable vaccines may still get RT-PCR positive, whereas the nasal jab gives protection to the whole body.

The firm completed clinical trials of the nasal vaccine with about 4,000 volunteers, Ella said. He mentioned that there is no single instance of side effect or adverse reaction reported so far. Bharat Biotech also claims that the “intranasal vaccine stimulates a broad immune response”

Other benefits: As mentioned by Bharat Biotech,  the nasal vaccine is:

• Likely to block both infection and transmission of COVID-19
• Non-invasive and needle-free
• Easy to administer as it does not require trained healthcare workers
• Eliminates needle-associated risks (injuries and infections)
• High compliance — ideally suits children and adults
• Scalable manufacturing — able to meet global demand

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) had earlier given its nod to conduct clinical trials for BBIL’s (Bharat Biotech International Limited) intranasal vaccine as a booster dose. The drug regulator had also granted permission to the firm to conduct a phase-3 clinical trial to compare the immunogenicity and safety of BBV-154 (intranasal) with Covaxin.

‘COVID hospitalisation to increase’

Replying to a query, Ella predicted that the country may face higher hospitalisations with the emerging coronavirus variant BA.5 as the new form may evade the vaccine.

“It is totally different from Delta variant. It is totally different from omicron also. They call “deltaomicron”, a combination of both. I think if that attacks then it is going to be an issue. But we keep watching. We are working on that also. Risk mitigation we are trying to do. We are well prepared now… I think hospitalisation will increase if there are BA.5 attacks,” Ella said.’

ALSO READ | Covaxin highly effective in children and adolescents aged 2-18 years: Bharat Biotech

On monkeypox vaccine

In the wake of emerging monkeypox cases in India, Ella said the BBIL’s Gujarat plant is one of the two plants in the world capable of producing a vaccine for monkeypox disease. The other one is in Bavarian Nordic, Germany.

India has so far reported at least seven confirmed cases of monkeypox — two in Delhi and five in Kerala.

(Inputs from PTI)

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Exclusive | CoWIN to be used to book Polio, Hepatitis, other routine vaccines for kids: RS Sharma

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Narendra Modi government is planning to use CoWIN — the tech backbone of India’s COVID vaccination drive — for booking polio, hepatitis, and other routine vaccines for children under the country’s universal immunisation programme.

In an exclusive interview with News18.com, Dr RS Sharma, chief executive officer of the National Health Authority, said that the work to repurpose CoWIN has already begun and it’s “a matter of just a few months” when the tech platform will finally be rolled out for booking slots of routine vaccines.

Sharma – who is known for his stints dealing with information technology-related programmes, the most important being the creation of Aadhaar as the director general and mission director of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) – is also credited for making CoWIN.

“The platform is now being repurposed for the universal immunisation programme. While CoWIN will retain its own features, it will be highly beneficial for the country to track the coverage of the immunisation programme,” he said.

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CoWIN will continue to send reminders, as it does in the case of COVID vaccines, to parents. “For instance: if your child’s polio vaccine is pending or upcoming, the system will send reminder messages to parents,” Sharma said. “The platform will help in monitoring the coverage of the national immunisation programme and recapture the entire data. It will also highlight the drop-outs, if any, and send reminders which will help in tracking and improving the coverage of immunisation programme further.”

The basic functioning of CoWIN remains the same, he said.

“The platform will show all hospitals providing vaccination shots in your vicinity. One needs to book an appointment by submitting the mobile number,” added Sharma.

The users will also be able to download the digital vaccination certificate after the completion of the immunisation schedule.

‘MANY COUNTRIES TOOK INSPIRATION FROM COWIN’

CoWIN, which is claimed to be the fastest-growing tech platform across the world, has recorded the administration of 25 million vaccine doses in a day, one of the highest, which resulted in billions of hits on the website.

According to Sharma, India has shared the platform with Guyana so far and talks are going on with several other nations on the use of technology.

“We are educating several countries on how to use this technology as per their country’s requirements,” he said. “They first need to understand the technology and then go for it. As Prime Minister Modi has rightly said that we should use CoWIN as a public good, we have offered the technology to everyone. Countries have used the basic philosophy of the platform as its an open source and have taken inspiration from it to create the products for their own populations.”

‘STATES CAN ADD AB-PMJAY BENEFICIARIES’

On asking if the beneficiary base of PM Narendra Modi’s flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) will be expanded further, Sharma said, “This is for the central government to decide what will be the beneficiary base of the scheme. Till now, Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 is used as the base.”

The scheme provides an annual health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family to more than 10 crore poor and vulnerable people (around 50 crore beneficiaries) for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.

“States have done additions to the beneficiary base. Some states were not able to locate SECC-based beneficiaries and have added their own beneficiary lists. Uttar Pradesh, for instance, has added the Antyodaya scheme,” Sharma said. “We have told the states that it’s not a problem until the total number of families in the beneficiary base as per SECC data does not exceed the total number of families in their list.”

For instance, UP has got 1.18 crore SECC families but they have located just 50 lakh SECC family members. “We told them to include any other beneficiaries either from the Antyodaya scheme or other families so that we will start funding them under the scheme,” Sharma said. “We have changed the strategy. If we were not able to locate them in the past three to four years, we may not be able to locate them now. Therefore, we have no problem if the states give us their own lists of families.”

‘DIGITAL HEALTH MISSION TRANSFORMATIONAL, NEEDS TIME TO GROW’

Under the scheme, building blocks and other components are ready such as health facility registry, drug registry, and consent manager engine.

“We have already demonstrated the format of video consultation,” Sharma said, adding that “the Universal Health Interface (UHI) that we have created is something similar to UPI. It’s like a pipe where on one side, we have all seekers such as people requiring ambulances, hospitals, and drugs, and on the other side, the provider of all those services such as labs, doctors, and pharmacies. UHI is a very powerful search platform similar to Google.”

He explained that “with the use of UPI, today, wallet to bank, bank to bank, bank to wallet and all such kinds of digital transactions are possible… Because of UPI, payment has become an unbundled service…”

Similarly, with UHI compliance, “the search, booking and fulfilment of health services are possible”.

Blood banks, organ donation, ambulances, and a variety of services can be brought on this platform. The service provider, if complying with UHI protocol, will be able to harness this network and connect.

“It’s a very transformational project which requires the collaboration of all ecosystem stakeholders,” said Sharma.

However, the project will take time to kickstart as it primarily requires the production of digitisation of healthcare and digital health records.

“If you continued using cash, would UPI have grown? Not at all. Here also, all ecosystem partners have to collaborate, first,” Sharma said. “We cannot nudge people to use digital platforms for seeking health services. Until we start producing digital health records, this will not begin in a full-fledged manner. I can create a house and create rules for the house but cannot provide people to live in the house… I’m hopeful that people will realise as it’s a win-win for everyone… and soon they will get attracted…A few companies such as Paytm and Eka Care are helping patients in the creation of health records but the process is time-consuming and we need more people to participate in digital health.”

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), in the long term, aims to achieve an affordable, quality-based healthcare system, which can be accessed by anyone and everyone across India, he said.

So far, India has created more than 23 crore health IDs.

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India records 14,830 new COVID-19 cases, Tamil Nadu reports maximum infections

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India reported 14,830 new Covid-19 cases and 36 deaths due to the infection in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said early Tuesday. The new infections tally was 12.07 percent lower than that recorded yesterday. With a fresh tally, the country’s overall cases have mounted to 4,39,20,451. The new

The maximum number of COVID-19 cases were reported in Tamil Nadu with 1903 infections. This was followed by Kerala with 1700 cases, West Bengal with 1094 cases, Maharashtra with 785 cases and Delhi with 463 cases.

ALSO READ | 4 crore eligible people haven’t taken a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine so far: Govt

As many as 36 fresh deaths were reported across the country in the last 24 hours. Of these 36 deaths, one each was reported in Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Tripura and Uttarakhand; two each was reported in Punjab and Delhi; three in Gujarat, Seven in Bengal, six in Maharashtra and seven backlog deaths in Kerala. The COVID-19 toll in India mounted to 5,26,110, while the death rate stood at 1.20 percent.

As of Tuesday, the active caseload decreased by 3365 cases in the last 24 hours and comprised 0.34 percent of total infections. Meanwhile, the recovery rate stood at 98/47 percent with 18159 more people recovering from the infections in a day.

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The daily positivity rate touched 3.48 percent, while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 4.53 percent, the ministry said on Tuesday. The highest test positivity rate was recorded in Mizoram at 25.29 percent, followed by Sikkim at 21.28 percent and Nagaland at 17.20 percent.

Meanwhile, a total of 30,42,47 vaccines were administered across the country in the last 24 hours, pushing total vaccinations to 2,02,50,57,717.

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4 crore eligible people haven’t taken a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine so far: Govt

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar on Friday told the Lok Sabha four crore poeple have still not taken a single shot of the COVID-19 vaccine in India so far.

“As on 18th July, an estimated 4 crore eligible beneficiaries have not taken even a single dose of Covid vaccine,” she said in a reply to a question on the number and percentage of people who have not taken even a single dose.

So far 1,78,38,52,566 vaccine doses (97.34 per cent) have been administered free of cost in government Covid Vaccination Centres (CVCs) till July 18, she said in a written reply.

ALSO READ: COVID-19 Highlights: Govt awaiting NTAGI’s approval on vaccine for kids aged 5-12 yrs, says Mandaviya

Precaution doses were available free of cost to healthcare workers (HCWs), frontline workers (FLWs) and all beneficiaries above 60 years of age, from March 16 this year in government CVCs and for 18-59 years age group from April 10 in private CVCs, NDTV reported.

A special 75-day drive to administer precaution doses to all aged 18 years and above at government vaccination centres began from July 15.

As many as 98 percent of India’s adult population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 90 per cent have been fully vaccinated, the health ministry said.

Meanwhile, India has been witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases for a few weeks now.  The country reported 21,411 fresh Covid-19 cases, and 67 deaths on Saturday. Total active cases have now reached 1,50,100 and the daily positivity rate is 4.46 percent.

Maharashtra continues to report the maximum number of COVID-19 cases. Mumbai on Friday logged 299 Covid-19 cases and one death, which took the tally to 11,22,408 and the toll to 16,637, a civic official said.

While Maharashtra reported 2,515 fresh Covid-19 cases, six deaths and 2,449 recoveries on Friday.

The country had crossed the 7,000-mark on June 9, the 8,000 mark on June 11, and the 12,000 mark on June 16.

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National task force chief says fear of COVID has dropped — only 3.8% Indians have taken booster

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The number of COVID-19 cases is increasing — around 20,000 have been reported in the past 24 hours, a four-month high, while the daily death toll remains below 50.

According to official data, only 3.8 percent of Indians have taken the precautionary vaccine dose. Dr NK Arora, chairman of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), put this down to decreasing fear of COVID-19 among people.

“Overall, it appears that the fear factor or the concern that COVID can be dangerous, probably is minimum,” Arora told CNBC-TV18.

Another reason for the low update of the booster shot, Arora said, was that people were unwilling wait to pay. “But there are several states where precaution dose was made free, about eight weeks ago, but even there it has not picked up … so the whole concern is that I think the people are less (worried0 and we need to really push it hard,” he said.

Arora said people should not let their guard down especially now with several sub-variants of Omicron emerging. “Just in the past eight or 10 weeks, 8-10 new sub lineages of Omicron have been discovered, but it has not made any difference to people (as far as vaccine is concerned),” he said.

So far, nearly 199 crore doses have been administered — 71 percent of the country’s population has received both doses. Starting July 15, all adults in the 18-59 age group will be eligible for free precautionary shots at government-run centres. This decision comes as millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses will expire in the next two months.

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India which manufactures Covishield, told CNBC-TV18 that they will have to destroy at least 200 million vaccine doses by August-September.

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COVID-19: What is ‘Centaurus’ that rules Twitter chatter? Is WHO listening?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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‘Centaurus’ has been doing rounds on Twitter recently. Well, it’s not a cinematic dinosaur species, though it may sound like one. Instead, it’s a nickname given to a COVID-19 sub-variant by users of the social media platform.

Since the last few weeks, we’ve been hearing a lot about the newly-discovered Omicron sub-lineage BA.2.75. As researchers and scientists raised concerns over this lineage of novel coronavirus, Twitter jumped in to name it ‘Centaurus.’ However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not officially named it yet.

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COVID-19 cases have been exploding again in some parts of the world, including in the US and the UK. “First, sub-variants of Omicron, like BA.4 and BA.5, continue to drive waves of cases, hospitalisation and death around the world,” the WHO said earlier. Now the focus has slightly shifted to the BA.2.75 lineage which was first reported in India in early May and has now spread to around 10 countries.

Reminder that the *entire* point of Greek letter is precisely *because* anyone _can_ name a variant. That’s how we end up with potentially inaccurate & discriminatory names.

If we/@WHO don’t provide useful names for use, alternative names will start to appear.#CentaurusStrain https://t.co/WI9JiiSTPw

— Dr Emma Hodcroft (@firefoxx66) July 14, 2022

Still on track….”ugly peak” is here..

Now we are in the R-phase (BA.5*/BA.4* – Spike L452″R” driven wave)

hope #centaurus doesn’t prop it up..#MaskUp (and get #Boosted.. if you haven’t already) https://t.co/C7lN7K5FmS pic.twitter.com/iIavpX96EF

— Raj Rajnarayanan (@RajlabN) July 11, 2022

While the debate over sub-variant’s transmissibility is still on the table, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said last week that global body is closely tracking the strain, but there were “limited sequences to analyse.” She said, “It is still too early to know if this sub variant has properties of additional immune invasion.”

.@doctorsoumya explains what we know about the emergence of a potential Omicron sub-variant [referred as BA.2.75] ⬇️#COVID19 pic.twitter.com/Eoinq7hEux

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 5, 2022

Meanwhile, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is probing the variant as a ‘Variants under monitoring’ — meaning that “there is some indication that they could have properties similar to those of a VoC (variant of concern). However, it said the evidence “is weak or has not yet been assessed by ECDC.”

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In contrast to the view of WHO and ECDC, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, which is a Dutch research institute, suspected that this BA.2.75 might be able to “evade immunity built against” COVID-19. It said, “Like other Omicron sub-variants, BA.2.75 does seem to have minor specific mutations that enable it to more easily evade the immunity built up against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.” However, it also noted that “not much is known about BA.2.75 at this point.”

Amid this, Andy Slavitt, a former Biden White House senior advisor, voiced concerns over the mutation of the virus. He said in tweet: “Even as BA.5 makes its mark in the US, Centaurus has 11 unique mutations from BA.5. This gives a strong clue for what the future holds. (sic)” Major virus mutations are likely to have impact on “how fast a virus spreads or potentially how severe a viral infection might be” or if it evaded immunity.

COVID Update: a new highly mutated variant nicknamed Centaurus (BA2.75) is emerging around the world.

Even as BA.5 makes its mark in the US, Centatus has 11 unique mutations from BA.5. This gives a strong clue for what the future holds. 1/

— Andy Slavitt 💙💛 (@ASlavitt) July 13, 2022

The word, ‘Centaurus,’ comes from the word, centaur, a mythical creature with a man’s head, arms and upper body on a horse’s body and legs. There is a real Centaurus — a bright constellation appearing in the southern sky. “The constellation has a large, four-sided shape representing the human head and torso, attached to two legs. Rigel Kentaurus, the triple star system that contains Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Sun, forms one of the Centaur’s feet,” Chandra X-ray Center, Operated for NASA by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, said on its website.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow