HEALTH HEAL

Coronavirus Live Updates | Omicron tally in India rises to 1,431 Here are the updates : Gujarat Union Health Minister visits RT-PCR test centre at Ahmedabad international airport Amid rising cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya visited the RT-PCR screening centre at the Ahmedabad international airport in Gujarat and interacted with passengers and officials. India has mandated additional measures, including testing, for the passengers arriving at airports from " at-risk " countries. A facility has also been set up at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. As per the airport authorities, the facility with a waiting area sufficient for 220 passengers, 17 registration counters, eight sampling booths, including 120 RT-PCR machines, has been set up for such passengers. In a video clip posted by Mr. Mandaviya, he is seen interacting with the waiting passengers and airport officials. "During my Gujarat vi...

The challenge is getting tested, getting a prescription and starting the pills in a short window. Newly infected COVID-19 patients have two new treatment options that can be taken at home. But that convenience comes with a catch: The pills have to be taken as soon as possible once symptoms appear. The challenge is getting tested, getting a prescription and starting the pills in a short window. U.S. regulators authorized Pfizer's pill, Paxlovid, and Merck's molnupiravir last week. In high-risk patients, both were shown to reduce the chances of hospitalization or death from COVID-19, although Pfizer's was much more effective. WHO SHOULD TAKE THESE PILLS? The antiviral pills aren't for everyone who gets a positive test. The pills are intended for those with mild or moderate COVID-19 who are more likely to become seriously ill. That includes older people and those with other health conditions like heart disease, cancer or diabetes that make them more vulnerabl...

India has approved two more vaccines under emergency use authorisation and an antiviral drug , Molnupiravir . Currently, India uses Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V in its vaccination programme. Corbevax to be made by Hyderabad-based Biological-E is a protein sub-unit vaccine and Covovax, to be manufactured by Serum Institute of India. Corbevax is co-developed by Biological E, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, United States, and American company Dynavax Technologies. Covovax is produced by the Serum Institute of India under licence from Novavax, a U.S.-based biotechnology company. Covovax has been approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) under its Emergency Use Listing and, therefore, will also be available globally as part of the COVAX initiative to ensure that at least 40% of world is vaccinated on priority. Molnupiravir , that was approved this month by the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration (U.S. FDA), on the heels of Paxlovid by Pfizer Inc , is said...

The pill has mild side effects and superior effectiveness, including a nearly 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease. U.S. health regulators  authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus. The long-awaited milestone comes as U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all rising and health officials warn of a tsunami of new infections from the Omicron variant that could overwhelm hospitals. The drug, Paxlovid , is a faster way to treat early COVID-19 infections, though initial supplies will be extremely limited. All of the previously authorized drugs against the disease require an IV or an injection. An antiviral pill from Merck also is expected to soon win authorization . But Pfizer's drug is all but certain to be the preferred option because of its mild side effects and superior effectiveness, including a nearly 90%...

OMICRON VARIANT  : UPDATE BY W.H.O  The discovery of a new corona virus variant has sparked global concern. The new variant is called Omicron and formally known as B.1.1.529. The World Health Organisation has put Omicron into the most troubling category of Covid 19 variants, along with the globally dominant Delta, in addition to its weaker rivals Alpha, Beta and Gamma. The variant was first reported in South Africa from a specimen collected on 9 November 2021. Transmissibility : It is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible (e.g., more easily spread from person to person) compared to other variants, including Delta. The number of people testing positive has risen in areas of South Africa affected by this variant, but epidemiologic studies are underway to understand if it is because of Omicron or other factors.   Severity of disease: It is not yet clear whether infection with Omicron causes more severe disease compared to infecti...