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icmr

Covid-19 will subsequently become an endemic like influenza: ICMR

by Medically Speaking Team July 9, 2021

Experts from Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) said that the Covid-19 will subsequently reach its endemic stage, just like influenza, that is, it will always be present in a certain population or region. Mutations are normal, and there is nothing to panic about, they said.

Dr Samiran Panda, head of Division of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases, ICMR, said, “The Covid-19 virus will reach its endemic stage like influenza after a while and then vulnerable population may have to take the vaccine shot annually.”

July 9, 2021 0 comment

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Covaxin offers significant protection against Beta, Delta variants: ICMR study

by Medically Speaking Team July 8, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

Bharat Biotech and Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) Covid vaccine Covaxin offers significant protection against both Beta and Delta variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a new study has found.

Delta (B.1.617.2) and Beta (B.1.351) variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been a global health concern due to their impact on existing vaccines. Several scientists have reported that both variants are associated with higher transmissibility and potential immune escape properties.

In a study published in the Journal of Travel Medicine, researchers from ICMR and Bharat Biotech assessed blood samples from people who had recovered from Covid-19 as well as those who had received Covaxin.

The team looked at the ability of these blood samples to neutralise the Beta and Delta variants. The study found that the vaccine conferred significant protection against both variants.

According to the team, the immune escape of Beta and Delta variants has been a serious concern for the Covid-19 vaccination programme, since it has shown reduced neutralisation to several approved vaccines such as Moderna’s mRNA1273, Pfizer’s BNT162b2, and Covishield (ChAdOx1).

July 8, 2021 0 comment

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Medical Body ICMR-NICED Proposes Research On Oral Covid Vaccine

by Medically Speaking Team July 6, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

Kolkata-based medical research body ICMR-NICED has submitted a proposal to the Department of Biotechnology under the Union Ministry of Science and Technology for research on an oral Covid vaccine, a senior official of the institute said today.

The proposed research project will be done in collaboration with a German firm and it has been shortlisted for presentation, she said.

“We have submitted a proposal for research on an oral vaccine. It will be carried out in collaboration with a German firm. Work can be started once it gets selected and funded,” ICMR-NICED Director Shanta Dutta said.

She said it will take around five-six years to develop the oral vaccine in a laboratory.

Once the oral vaccine is developed, it will first be tested on animals as is done for all vaccines, Ms Dutta said.

“All stages of developing a vaccine, and phases of clinical trials for safety and immunogenicity will be followed in this case too and the vaccine will be first tested on animals.

“The entire process will take at least five to six years and we can expect the oral vaccine in the market only after that,” she added.

July 6, 2021 0 comment

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Third wave to arrive late in the country: Dr NK Arora

by Medically Speaking Team June 28, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

Dr NK Arora, the chief of the Centre’s Covid-19 working group, on Sunday said that the third wave of coronavirus could be delayed until December this year. “ICMR has come up with a study, which says the third wave will come late in the country,” he said.

The chairman of the central panel said that the country has a window period of 6-8 months to vaccinate everyone.

He also said that in the coming days, the government’s target is to administer one crore Covid-19 vaccine doses every day in India.

The Delta Plus new variant of Covid-19, which has created fresh concerns across the country, cannot be yet linked to a third wave of the pandemic, Dr Arora has said.

“Waves are linked to new variants or new mutations so there is a possibility as this is a new variant, but whether it will lead to a third wave it is difficult to answer as it will depend upon two or three things,” Dr Arora told news agency PTI.

June 28, 2021 0 comment

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ICMR experts say, “Too early to predict if Delta Plus will contribute to third wave”

by Medically Speaking Team June 25, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

It is too early to say whether Delta Plus, labelled as a “variant of concern”, will be responsible for a third wave of coronavirus, which according to experts will depend on several other factors, as reported by news agency ANI. The Delta Plus is the new mutant version of the Delta strain of COVID-19 first detected in India.

Highlighting that there is still no concern for the third wave of COVID-19, Dr Sumit Aggarwal, Scientist and Program Officer, Division of Epidemiology and Communicable disease, Indian Council of Medical Research, told ANI, that “it’s too early to predict the third wave, third wave depends on many other factors.”

Dr Aggarwal said, “It’s a normal tendency of a every mRNA virus that mutation will happen. These mutations are inevitable, we cannot control the mutation. So, as the time progresses, we will proceed further. So there will be a variation. Initially there was alpha, then delta and now delta plus.”

He also said that in future more mutations can be seen and this virus is a ‘variant of concern’.

“So, now in future we may see more mutations. Yes, definitely it’s a new virus and MoHFW has also released a statement that this is a virus of concern because this is a new variant and we have started the studies. We confirmed 40 cases of Delta plus variant in three states are involved, Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.

“There are three characters of the variant which we have recognised till now. High transmissibility, it shows high affinity towards the lung cells and less response to the monoclonal antibodies therapy,” Dr Sumit added.

Recently identified Delta Plus by experts is said to be more infectious. Currently, several studies are underway on the mutant variant.

June 25, 2021 0 comment

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ICMR study finds pregnant, postpartum women more severely affected during COVID second wave

by Medically Speaking Team June 16, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

Pregnant and postpartum women were more severely affected during the second wave of COVID-19 as compared to the first with symptomatic cases and the case fatality rate being significantly higher among this category this year, according to a study by ICMR.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said cases related to pregnant and postpartum women during the first wave (April 1, 2020 – January 31, 2021) and during the second wave (February 1 to May 14, 2021) of the pandemic in India were compared.

“Symptomatic cases were significantly higher at 28.7 per cent in the second wave (111/387), compared to the first wave (162/1143) when the proportion was 14.2 per cent,” ICMR said.

“The case fatality rate (CFR) among pregnant women and postpartum women was 5.7 per cent (22/387) during the second wave, which was significantly higher compared to the scenario encounter in the first wave with CFR 0.7 per cent (8/1143),” it said.

The total number of maternal deaths during both the waves of the pandemic was two per cent (30/1530), of which the majority (28/30) were due to COVID-19 pneumonia and respiratory failure.

“The study underlines the importance of vaccination of pregnant and lactating women against COVID-19,” the ICMR said.

The COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all lactating women in India.

However, the government has still not allowed vaccinating pregnant women citing a lack of clinical trial data and the matter is under discussion by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI).

WHO has recommended vaccinating pregnant women if they face a high risk of exposure to COVID and if they have co-morbid conditions.

June 16, 2021 0 comment

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ICMR to conduct national sero survey

by Medically Speaking Team June 12, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

The Centre on Friday said that the ICMR’s fourth round of national-level sero survey to assess the intensity of the spread of Covid-19 in India will begin this month, but all states/UTs should be encouraged to conduct them so that information from all geographies can be collected.

The government said on Friday that there is no need to panic on the need for an immediate change in the dosage interval of Covishield vaccine, underlining that reducing the time gap requires proper scientific study in the Indian scenario.

June 12, 2021 0 comment

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Delhi HC challenges ICMR advisory on RT-PCR

by Medically Speaking Team June 2, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

Delhi High Court on Tuesday challenged an ICMR advisory barring repeat of RT-PCR on those who tested positive for Covid-19. The court sought response of the Centre and Delhi government on the issue.

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh also issued notice to ICMR and sought their stand on the plea by a lawyer. The petitioner has challenged ICMR’s May 4 advisory as due to it, neither he nor his family members could get tested again after spending more than 17 days in quarantine from April 28 when they first tested positive.

He has contended that the May 4 advisory was “arbitrary, discriminatory and creates a paradoxical situation since a negative RT-PCR report is compulsorily required by several other notifications issued by the respondents (Centre, ICMR and Delhi government)”.

He has sought striking down of the clause in the advisory which bars repeating of an RTPCR test on someone who has already tested positive by way of Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) or RTPCR. The petitioner has also sought a direction permitting testing of himself and his family members.

‘Fundamental rights violated’

The petitioner said denial of testing at a public facility is violative of his fundamental rights enshrined under Article 14 and Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The recommendation in the advisory has led to a virtual blanket ban on COVID testing among patients who have already tested positive has led to several complications.

June 2, 2021 0 comment

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Man files complaint against Adar Poonawalla and ICMR, says no antibodies formed after jab

by Medically Speaking Team June 1, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

A man from Lucknow has filed a police complaint against Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla, ICMR director-general Dr Balram Bhargava and others on Tuesday alleging that no antibodies against COVID-19 were developed in his body despite being inoculated with a single dose of Covishield.

Pratap Chandra, who is a resident of city’s Ruchi Khand area, also named Union Health Ministry’s Joint Secretary Luv Aggarwal, National Health Mission Director Aparna Upadhyay and others in his complaint to the Ashiyana police station officer in charge.

Chandra, who took the first shot of Covishield on April 8, alleged that he did not develop antibodies and even his platelets count dropped.

“I took the first dose of Covishield on April 8. As per the recent government guidelines, we need to wait for a minimum of 12 weeks to take the second dose. Out of curiosity, I wanted to know whether I developed antibodies in my body or not. I got myself tested at a nearby government-approved lab on May 25 and found out that I did not develop antibodies,” he stated in the complaint.

“The test result revealed that I did not develop any antibodies against Covid-19, instead, my platelets were reduced to 1.5 lakh from 3 lakh. This is not only disappointing but hazardous for my life,” he said.

The police have registered the complaint but did not file the FIR so far. The police said, considering the sensitivity of the matter, they have informed the top officials before taking any further action.

Chandra also threatened to go to court if an FIR is not filed in the matter.

“If FIR is not filed, then I will move to the Court. I have also mentioned in this complaint all those government institutions, whose authorised this vaccine for vaccination. This matter is being considered by the higher authorities, after which further action can be taken,” he told ANI.

June 1, 2021 0 comment

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ICMR advises against surgery of Covid-recovered patients before 6 weeks

by Medically Speaking Team May 31, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

Experts at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the national task force for Covid-19 have advised people who have recovered from Covid-19 and need to undergo non-urgent surgery to delay the process for at least six weeks to ensure “faster healing and convalescent hearing”.

Surgeons are advising patients to undergo a Covid-19 test before undergoing the surgery. However, experts say if a person who recently recovered from Covid-19 undergoes RT-PCR test, then the test result may come positive result due to the presence of harmless non-viable dead-virus remnants in the body.

Speaking to The Times of India, infectious diseases expert Sanjay Pujari said Covid-19 reinfection is confirmed only after 102 days of diagnosis. Hence, it is advisable to delay surgery for the said time. However, if anyone requires emergency surgery, then it must be done immediately while taking all the necessary precautions, Dr Pujari said.

If a patient experiences recurrence of Covid symptoms, re-testing and consultation must be considered, Dr Pujari added.

“Residual symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, and chest pain are common in patients who have had Covid. These symptoms can be present for more than 60 days after diagnosis,” Dr Pujari told TOI.

Sanjay Kolte, president of Poona Surgical Society, said, “Retesting recovered patients within 102 days from Covid diagnosis only addds to anxiety and is a wastage of money. Importantly, surgeons should adopt universal precautions while performing elective surgery rather than insisting on RT-PCR reports.”

A study published in health journal Anaesthesia in March this year stated that patients are more than two-and-a-half times more likely to die after their surgery if the procedure takes place within six weeks of testing Covid positive.

According to doctors, these are the suggested waiting period for a patient before undergoing surgery.

– Four weeks for an asymptomatic patient or someone who has recovered from only mild, non-respiratory symptoms

– Six weeks for a symptomatic patient (including cough, shortness of breath) who did not require hospitalization

– Eight to 10 weeks for the asymptomatic patient who is is diabetic, immunocompromised, or was hospitalized with Covid-19

– Twelve weeks for a patient who was admitted to ICU with Covid-19 and so forth

May 31, 2021 0 comment

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