Medically Speaking Team

Today, CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., signed a decision letter recommending that Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccination be utilised as a secondary series option for adolescents aged 12 to 17. This advice follows the FDA’s approval of the vaccine for this age range for emergency use.

Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, which is currently accessible, is an essential instrument in the pandemic and offers teenagers with a more familiar form of COVID-19 vaccine technology. Having a variety of vaccinations provides the public, governments, and vaccine providers with greater alternatives and flexibility.

Also Read: Covid case update: India reports 6,168 new cases

The COVID-19 vaccine from Novavax contains harmless COVID-19 viral proteins as well as an adjuvant, which aids the immune system’s future response to the virus. Vaccines that employ protein subunit technology, such as the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, have been used in the United States for more than 30 years, beginning with the first approved hepatitis B vaccination.

Other protein subunit vaccines used in the United States today include those to protect against influenza and whooping cough (acellular pertussis).

India recorded 6,168 new cases of the novel Covid-19 virus in the past 24 hours. According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry on Friday (September 2), the total recovery rate reached at around 98.68 per cent and total recoveries data reached to 4,38,55,365.

The total active cases of COVID-19 in India have decreased to 59,210, the health ministry data showed today. Yesterday, the registered active cases were 62,748.

A decrease of 3,538 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The active cases comprise 0.13 per cent of the total infections, the ministry said.

The total death toll in the country is now at 5,27,932. In India, the first death due to the COVID pandemic was reported in March 2020.

The daily positivity rate on September 2 was recorded 1.94 per cent.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 88,64,66,255 samples have been tested up to September 1 for COVID-19. Of these 3,18,642 samples were tested on Thursday.

Covid vaccine

Under the nationwide vaccination drive, 22,40,162 doses of COVID vaccines were administered during this period taking the total number of vaccine doses jabbed so far to 212.75 crore.

India’s COVID-19 infection tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5, 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020.

Also Read: US: Pediatric monkeypox rising with 30 children infected, report suggests

According to Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawala, India’s first indigenously produced quadrivalent Human Papilloma Virus (qHPV) vaccine would be accessible at an affordable price.

“The vaccine for cervical cancer will be available in a few months. We will announce the price in a few months. It may be priced between Rs 200-400 but prices are yet to be finalized. We will finalise it after manufacturing and discussion with the Government of India,” said Poonawalla.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, who was present as a Chief guest on the occasion of the announcement of India’s first indigenously developed vaccine, “CERVAVAC” for the prevention of cervical cancer, said, “India has come out with the first indigenously developed vaccine for cervical cancer, prevalent among women of the younger age group. Thanks to Prime Minister we can now afford to look for preventive healthcare. This vaccine will be affordable.”

On the launch of a vaccine, Singh congratulated the team of scientists, Adar Poonawala and said, “The manner in which they have come out with this launch with a very passionate pursuit was for scientists and as Poonawala said it will be launched officially in a few months.”

“As the Minister said today we have launched the scientific and celebrated the science. The vaccine for cervical cancer will be available in a few months. We will give it to our country first and later to the world,” said Poonawala on the launch of the vaccine.

On manufacturing of a vaccine Poonawala said, “We are preparing to make 200 million doses in two years.”

This inexpensive and cost-effective vaccination, according to the Union Minister, represents a significant day for the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), as it brings India one step closer to PM Modi’s goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Also Read: Biological E announces CDSCO’s recommendation of its 14-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate vaccine for infants

“Historic milestone in Preventive Healthcare, under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. India’s first indigenously developed Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV) against Cervical Cancer launched by Department of Biotechnology under Union Ministry of Science and Technology,” Singh tweeted.

Cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy in India, accounting for approximately one-fourth of all cervical cancer fatalities worldwide, despite being mostly avoidable, according to Union Minister Singh.

According to current estimates, over 1.25 lakh women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year in India, and over 75 thousand die from the illness. He also stated that HPVs 16 or 18 are responsible for 83% of invasive cervical cancers in India, and 70% of cases globally.

Cervavac Vaccine

‘CERVAVAC’ is the result of a collaboration between DBT and BIRAC with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and is funded by Serum Institute of India Private Limited under its partnership initiative ‘Grand Challenges India.’

Dr Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, DBT said, “this is a celebration of collective efforts of all stakeholders and added that partnerships with industries are becoming incredibly important for doing R&D, which requires huge funding. India will take the lead in vaccine development and medicine by breaking all barriers for the betterment of mankind.”

Dr N Kalaiselvi, DG, CSIR in her address said that the cancer vaccine will help Indian women and women across the globe in a major way and we may see in near future the version 1, 2 and 3 of “CERVAVAC”, as technologies are short-lived.

She said, “India Can Do” and added that we will come out with Indian solutions to Indian problems in true spirit of Atmanir Bharat.

Noted film actress Manisha Koirala, who bravely fought and won the battle against ovarian cancer joined virtually to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology and particularly DBT for reaching this milestone.

“This is a great day for women in India and women the world over, as there is life beyond cancer,” said Koirala.
She said cost effective preventive treatment will inspire millions of such patients to say “Yes to Life”.

Biological E Limited, based in Hyderabad, announced on Thursday that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) reviewed and approved the Phase III infants clinical trial data and recommended the manufacture of its 14-valent paediatric vaccine (investigational pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine PCV14) against S pneumoniae infection in single and multi-dose presentations. The PCV14 vaccine may be given to newborns at 6, 10, and 14 weeks of age, according to the firm.

Streptococcus pneumoniae infection is a prominent cause of child death in India and other nations, according to Biological E. Biological E expects that the PCV14 vaccine will help to avoid invasive pneumococcal illness and save millions of lives throughout the world.

Mahima Datla, Managing Director, Biological E Limited, said, “We are delighted with this remarkable development. BE’s PCV14 will protect millions of infants worldwide and contribute to the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease. With this recommendation from SEC and the anticipated formal approval from DCGI thereafter, India will have yet another important lifesaving vaccine for paediatric use. Biological E. would be also working with WHO and other global regulatory agencies to make this vaccine available globally.”

PCV14 contains 14 serotypes, 12 of them same as in Prevnar13 from Pfizer (1, 3, 4, 5, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F and 23F). In addition, PCV14 has 2 more Serotypes 22F and 33F for which there have been increasing cases of infections globally, the company said.

Also Read: ‘More dangerous variants’ in coming days: WHO warns on Covid-19

The primary immunogenicity objective of demonstrating non-inferiority with anti-PnCPS IgG antibody concentrations against each of the 12 common serotypes of BE-PCV14 vaccine in terms of subjects seroconverted and the ratio of geometric mean concentrations against corresponding serotypes in Prevenar 13 was met.

Non-inferiority was also demonstrated with anti-PnCPS IgG antibody concentrations against 22F and 33F unique serotypes specific to BE-PCV14.

The immune response to serotype 6A which is in Prevenar 13 (not there in BE’s PCV14 vaccine) was also achieved through cross protection from BE-PCV14 vaccine serotype 6B.

Biological E’s PCV14 vaccine elicited functional immune responses. One month after third dose of vaccination, an adequate increase in serotype-specific OPA GMTs were observed for all 14 PCV serotypes.

According to the safety study, all of the adverse events were mild to moderate in severity, with no grade 3 or 4 incidents observed. The BE-PCV14 vaccination was well tolerated and judged to be safe, according to the safety comparison.

In terms of serotype coverage for newborns, PCV14 is equivalent to the two presently licenced pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, Prevnar13 and Merck’s VAXNEUVANCE.

Even though COVID infection and mortality rates continue to decline, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the prospect of the introduction of deadlier and more infectious coronavirus variants exists and has advised everyone to exercise care.

“Subvariants of Omicron are more transmissible than their predecessors, & the risk of even more transmissible & more dangerous variants remains,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during the weekly media briefing regarding COVID on Wednesday.

He further alerted that the cases are likely to rise again in the coming months. “We are now seeing a welcome decline in reported COVID deaths globally. However, with colder weather approaching in the northern hemisphere, it’s reasonable to expect an increase in hospitalizations and deaths in the coming months.”

WHO had earlier pointed out that in the coming years, we would have to live with COVID. And explaining what it is, he said, “Living with COVID19 doesn’t mean pretending the pandemic is over. If you go walking in the rain without an umbrella, pretending it’s not raining won’t help you. You’ll still get wet. Likewise, pretending a deadly virus is not circulating is a huge risk.”

Also Read: Monkeypox: 50,000 cases reported worldwide as per WHO data

“Living with COVID19 means taking the simple precautions to avoid getting infected, or if you’re infected, from getting seriously sick/dying. I’m asking all governments to update their policies to make best use of the life-saving tools to manage COVID-19 responsibly,” the WHO chief pointed out.

Regarding COVID vaccination, Tedros said, the rates, even in rich countries, were still too low, noting that 30% of health workers and 20% of older people remain unimmunized.

Covid vaccination necessary

“These vaccination gaps pose a risk to all of us,” he said. “Please get vaccinated if you are not and a booster if it’s recommended that you have one.”

According to WHO, 4.5 million new COVID-19 cases were recorded last week, a 16% decrease from the previous week. Deaths were also down 13%, with around 13,500 people dying. COVID-19 infections fell everywhere in the world, while mortality fell everywhere except in Southeast Asia, where they increased by 15%, and the Western Pacific, where they increased by 3%.

A newborn who was reportedly taken earlier this week from the Meerut Medical College was found among two people who Meerut Police nabbed on Thursday, according to police.

The baby’s father, a resident of Mahalwala village in the Kithore district, filed a complaint on Tuesday at the Meerut Medical College police station alleging that his kid had been taken from the Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Hospital, where his wife had given birth the day before. The guy, Neenu, said that the same hospital had also delivered his older kid, who is now 3 years old.

The newborn was taken by police from the wife of a priest in Phulbagh Colony around three in the morning this morning. Keshav alias Deepak, the priest’s son, is accused of kidnapping the infant.

Also Read: Monkeypox: 50,000 cases reported worldwide as per WHO data

Police carefully examined the infant before handing it over to its father Neenu at the Medical College.

The lady who was detained by police said that she had taken the child in order to sell it.

Police said that a lookout has been issued for the accused Deepak and that they are searching many locations.

The police have taken the priest and his wife into custody.

Approximately 50,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported worldwide, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to the WHO, transmission of monkeypox is slowing down in Europe and the US, which are viral hotspots.

50,496 cases and 16 fatalities were recorded to the World Health Organization this year, and the epidemic was deemed a worldwide public health emergency in July.

Also Read: Researchers shed light on OCD cycle for better understanding of mental behaviour

Monkeypox outbreak can be stopped

The decrease in new monkeypox cases, according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, demonstrated that the monkeypox outbreak might be stopped.

The countries which have reported more than a thousand cases to the WHO in total are the United States (17,994), Spain (6,543), Brazil (4,693), France (3,547), Germany (3,467), Britain (3,413), Peru (1,463), Canada (1,228) and the Netherlands (1,160).

In order to better understand the causes of obsessive-compulsive disorder, researchers constructed a model of behaviour. They demonstrated how the cycle between obsession and compulsion may be intensified when learning parameters for reinforcement and punishment are severely unbalanced. This research may enhance therapies for mental illness.

Researchers from Tamagawa University, the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) have shown that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can be understood as the result of unequal learning between reinforcement and punishment.

They demonstrated that disparities in brain computations that relate present outcomes to prior actions might result in disordered behaviour based on actual testing of their theoretical model. This can occur specifically when the memory trace signal for previous acts degrades differentially for successful and unsuccessful results. In this instance, “good” indicates the outcome was better than anticipated, whereas “poor” means the outcome was subpar. The development of OCD is explained in this study. OCD is a mental condition that causes anxiety and is defined by intrusive, repetitive thoughts called obsessions and specific repetitive behaviours called compulsions.

How OCD affects mental health

Even though OCD patients are aware that their obsessions or compulsions are unreasonable, they frequently feel powerless to alter their behaviour. In extreme circumstances, this may prevent the person from being able to lead a regular life. Compulsive actions are attempts to momentarily relieve tension brought on by obsessions. Examples include obsessive hand washing or continually verifying that doors are closed before leaving the house. But until recently, it was unclear how the cycle of obsessions and compulsions came to be intensified.

Also Read: Covid case update: India records 7,946 new cases

Now, a team led by researchers at NAIST has used reinforcement learning theory to model the disordered cycle associated with OCD. In this framework, an outcome that is better than predicted becomes more likely (positive prediction error), while a result that is worse than expected is suppressed (negative prediction error). In implementation of reinforcement learning, it is also important to consider delays, as well as positive/negative prediction errors. In general, the outcome of a certain choice is available after a certain delay.

Therefore, reinforcement and punishment should be assigned to recent choices within a certain time frame. This is called credit assignment, which is implemented as a memory trace in reinforcement learning theory. Ideally, memory trace signals for past actions decay at equal speed for both positive and negative prediction errors. However, this cannot be completely realized in discrete neural systems. Using simulations, NAIST scientists found that agents implicitly learn obsessive-compulsive behavior when the trace decay factor for memory traces of past actions related to negative prediction errors (n-) is much smaller than that related to positive prediction errors (n+).

This means that, from the opposite perspective, the view of past actions is much narrower for negative prediction errors than for positive prediction errors. “Our model, with imbalanced trace decay factors (n+ > n-) successfully represents the vicious circle of obsession and compulsion characteristic of OCD,” say co-first authors Yuki Sakai and Yutaka Sakai.

To test this prediction, the researchers had 45 patients with OCD and 168 healthy control subjects play a computer-based game with monetary rewards and penalties. Patients with OCD showed much smaller n- compared with n+, as predicted by computational characteristics of OCD. In addition, this imbalanced setting of trace decay factors (n+ > n-) was normalized by serotonin enhancers, which are first-line medications for treatment of OCD. “Although we think that we always make rational decisions, our computational model proves that we sometimes implicitly reinforce maladaptive behaviors,” says corresponding author, Saori C. Tanaka.

This computational model implies that patients with severely unbalanced trace decay factors may not respond to behavioural therapy alone, even if it is currently challenging to identify treatment-resistant individuals solely on their clinical symptoms. One day, it may be possible to utilise these data to identify which patients are most likely to reject behavioural therapy before starting treatment.

India reported 7,946 COVID cases in the last 24 hours, an increase of 715 infections since yesterday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.

The country had logged 7,231 cases yesterday at a case positivity rate of 2.05 per cent. The case positivity rate reported today increased to 2.98 per cent.

The active cases in the country fell from 64,667 yesterday to 62,748 today.

Also Read: Stressed mitochondria help cells to withstand lung infections, study suggests

According to the Ministry, 9,828 Covid patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours taking the total number of recoveries in the country to 4,38,45,680. The recovery rate currently stands at 98.67 per cent.

As many as 2,66,477 Coronavirus samples were tested in the last 24 hours. The weekly case positivity rate came out to be 2.57 per cent. A total of 88.61 crore samples have been tested in the country so far.

Covid vaccines

Under the nationwide vaccination drive, 12,90,443 doses of COVID vaccines were administered during this period taking the total number of vaccine doses jabbed so far to 2,12,52,83,259.