Latest reports have been coming in from All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD).
As per reports All India Organization of Chemist and Druggists conducted zone wise meeting with all office bearers regarding the availability COVID19 treatment.
This zone wise meeting was held for the availability of covid treatment for the related drugs and injections. As per NAPA, drug manufacturers have enough stock of medicines according to AIOCD.
covid
COVID-19 vaccination deferred by 3 months after recovery, says Health Ministry
The National Expert Group on vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) on Wednesday recommended that the COVID vaccination should be deferred by three months after clinical recovery of the illness, reports ANI.
According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, NEGVAC’s fresh recommendations are based on the evolving situation of the Covid-19 pandemic and emerging global scientific evidence and experience.
The new recommendations made NEGVAC are as follows:
- Also, if an individual is tested COVID positive after the first dose of vaccine, then the second dose to be deferred by three months after clinical recovery from illness, the NEGVAC recommended.
- The panel has also recommended vaccination for all lactating women.
- There will be no screening of vaccine recipients by Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) prior to vaccination.
- Earlier, the time gap between the two doses of the Covishield vaccine was increased from four-six weeks to six-eight weeks. Earlier this month, it was increased to 12-16 weeks based on the recommendation from the expert panel.
The Centre on Tuesday said that at present eight states have more than 100,000 active cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The government also said that the number of tests conducted for Covid-19 in India has witnessed a “consistent increase.”
In a press briefing by the Union ministry of health and family welfare, joint secretary Lav Agarwal said that eight states — Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal — have more than 100,000 active Covid-19 cases.
Karnataka with 603,660 active cases added the maximum. Data from the ministry also showed that there are 10 states that have between 50,000 and 100,000 active cases and there are 18 states where the active caseload is below 50,000.
The ministry also said that the number of tests conducted for Covid-19 has seen a “consistent increase” across the country. Between May 11 and 17, health workers have tested 1,845,672 samples for the disease which has increased from 1,816,139 samples tested between May 4 and 10.
Vaccine candidate from Canada’s Medicago shows strong antibody response to Covid
Canadian drug developer Medicago’s plant-based Covid-19 vaccine candidate, enhanced by a GlaxoSmithKline treatment, was able to create a strong antibody antibody response in a mid-stage study, the two companies said on Tuesday.
The vaccine produced a neutralizing response that was about 10 times higher than in people recovering from Covid-19.
After two doses, the vaccine candidate induced robust immune responses in all the trial participants irrespective of age and no safety concerns or adverse events were reported, the companies said.
Medicago, which has Canada’s most advanced Covid-19 vaccine project under development, had in March started a late-stage study of the refrigerator-stable candidate in 30,000 participants in North America, Latin America and Europe.
Action against Shamsher Hospital after Covid patient’s kin complain of malpractices to deputy commissioner
The Jalandhar district administration on Tuesday has suspended the level-2 Covid care facility at a private hospital after a preliminary report submitted by the health authorities flagged malpractices, including overcharging.
Deputy commissioner Ghanshyam Thori said that family members of a Covid patient, who died at Shamsher Hospital, complained of malpractices following which an inquiry was marked. The health authorities recommended suspension of level-2 facility for new admissions at the hospital as penalty.
Thori said a four-member committee was set up to probe discrepancies in drug procurement and distribution as alleged in the complaint. The committee will submit its report within three days. It comprises the sub divisional magistrate-1, civil surgeon, zonal licensing authority, and senior medical officer, Wadala.
The complainant alleged that the patient was admitted to the hospital’s level-2 Covid care ward without an RT-PCR test. He was given treatment that is only given to level-3 patients and that too after consulting experts.
Delhi HC issues notice to Centre, Delhi govt on plea seeking to ensure proper Covid testing
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Centre and Delhi government on a plea seeking to ensure all Covid-19 tests are conducted by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approved and registered pathological labs as the labs of NCT of Delhi are not conforming to the directions or orders of the Supreme Court.
The plea sought an immediate direction for the appointment of a Nodal Officer who can be accessible to the common citizen in the case of any illegality or foul practices detected in pathological reports while testing for Covid-19 irrespective of reports or testing rates.
The petitioner submitted that the government of NCT of Delhi is willfully not complying with the direction of the Supreme Court that has categorically held that the Covid-19 tests must be conducted in NBAL accredited labs, ICMR and World Health Organization (WHO) approved labs.
IMA says 269 doctors including 78 in Bihar succumbed to Covid in the second wave
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has released a state-wise breakup of the number of doctors who lost their lives in the second wave of the pandemic. According to its registry, a total of 269 doctors succumbed to the coronavirus across the country in the second wave of infections.
The data pegs Bihar as the state with the highest number of deaths among doctors in India, with 78. This was followed by Uttar Pradesh, with 37 deaths of doctors. The national capital stood at the third place with 28 doctors in Delhi having lost their lives in the second wave. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana followed in the list with 22 and 19 doctors having lost their lives respectively. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and West Bengal were the other states where the figures of doctors having lost their lives were in double digits. While Goa and Puducherry reported one death each, Haryana, Kerala, Tripura and Uttarakhand reported two deaths each.
In February, the IMA had expressed shock over the underreporting of the total death of doctors due to the coronavirus infection by the Union government in the first wave. While Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey had announced at the time that 162 doctors, 107 nurses and 44 ASHA workers had lost their lives to the coronavirus in the country, the IMA’s figures were starkly different. IMA President Dr JA Jayalal conveyed in a letter to Choubey that, according to the association, 744 doctors had lost their lives to the coronavirus as on February 3.
India witnesses a sharp dip in Covid cases, jab inoculation crosses 18 cr
India witnesses a sharp dip in the number of daily Covid cases with a total of 2,63,533 cases being reported in the last 24 hours. 4,329 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours as per Union Health Ministry.
Total cases: 2,52,28,996
Total discharges: 2,15,96,512
Death Toll: 2,78,719
Active Cases: 33,53,765
Total vaccination: 18,44,53,149
India on Monday dropped convalescent plasma therapy from the list of treatments prescribed for the management of adult coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients, a move that triggered growing evidence against the therapy benefiting Covid-19 patients in any way.
The revised guidelines jointly issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-Covid-19 National Task Force, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, and Union ministry of health and family welfare, do not mention the use of convalescent plasma therapy.
Convalescent plasma therapy uses a blood component called plasma rich in virus-fighting antibodies from recovered Covid-19 patients to aid the immune system in fighting off the infection.
The data from the PLACID trial by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) that was conducted at 39 centres across India, was released in September last year, found that the therapy did not prevent progression to severe disease or reduce the number of deaths at 28-days of enrolment of the patient.
“ICMR has made it public in the past also that the therapy isn’t of much use based on the evidence that we have, and the earlier revised guidelines were also drastically modified for reference of those wanting to administer it, with clear cut dos and don’ts mentioned under which it can be given. But now it has been deleted from the list of therapies altogether,” said one of the members of the National Task Force, who is aware of the matter, requesting anonymity.
“The decision was arrived at after members underwent a detailed deliberation on the matter, going through all the evidence at their disposal from India and abroad. It was a well-thought-out decision, especially with reports of indiscriminate use of plasma therapy having come to light at some places,” the member added.
The earlier guidelines allowed its off-label use which means there was limited available evidence, and only in specific circumstances.
It was allowed to be used among patients having an early moderate disease (preferably within 7 days of symptom onset), with the availability of high titre donor plasma. It was clearly mentioned that the therapy had no use after 7 days.
2DG: How effective is it?
How 2DG works against Covid?
- 2DG is actually an altered form of the 2DG molecule that treats tumors, cancer cells. It was found in the trial that not only is 2DG Covid effective in treating patients, the admission in the hospital also reduces the dependence of patients on oxygen.
- Currently, permission has been given to use this medicine like a secondary medicine. That is, it will be used in support of primary medicine. This drug is largely like glucose, but not actually glucose. The virus starts making its copies as soon as it reaches the body, for this it needs strength which is provided by glucose.
- When given this medicine, the virus will take this glucose analog and get trapped in it. The result will be that the virus will not be able to make its copies, that is, its growth will stop.
Is it effective against Covid variants?
According to Dr. Anil Mishra, director of INMAS, 2DG captures the virus that makes up its copy. That is, if there is any variant of the virus, it will search for food and as soon as it moves to satisfy his hunger, this medicine will trap it.
According to Dr. Mishra, after taking this medicine, the demand for oxygen increases as the virus rapidly multiplies. Once that process is stopped, the crisis of oxygen will also end.
2DG: Doses and Price range
According to INMAS scientist Dr. Sudhir Chandna, this drug will be available as a sachet. Just as you dissolve and drink ORS in water, you will also be able to take it by mixing it with water. He said that this medicine would have to be taken twice a day. Covid-19 patients may need to be given this medicine for 5 to 7 days for complete recovery.
Nothing has been said about the price yet. According to Dr. Chandana, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratory will take a decision in this regard. Although he said that the drug should be affordable, it would be taken care of. According to sources, the price of a sachet can be between Rs. 500 and Rs. 600.
When will it arrive? Are there any side-effects?
The drug will be available to the general public after its launch on 17 May. Its production is being increased rapidly so that it can reach more and more patients.
When asked about the side effects, Dr. Chandana said that during the trial, the normal and serious patients were given this medicine. All patients benefited from this drug, no adverse effects were seen on any. According to him, it can be said that this drug has no side effects.