India has been witnessing a surge in cases in many States. There is no reason to believe that the variant will behave differently in India or that Indians have some unknown shield of protection against the virus. The Omicron variant is galloping across the U.S. and many countries in Europe at a pace never seen … Continue reading India should prepare for the worst with Omicron
United Kingdom (UK)
Can vaccination of healthcare workers be made mandatory?
On July 12, France made it mandatory for healthcare workers to get vaccinated. Likewise, Greece and Italy too have made vaccination mandatory for healthcare workers from fall this year. In the U.K., care home workers would be required by law to have the COVID-19 vaccination. But if the core argument of compulsory vaccination is to … Continue reading Can vaccination of healthcare workers be made mandatory?
New cases and deaths rising again globally
Ever since the new daily cases globally touched a new peak of over 0.9 million on April 28, the daily recorded cases have been steadily dropping before rising again from the fourth week of June. The highly transmissive Delta variant has been driving the cases in most countries. Brazil, India, Indonesia, the U.K and Colombia … Continue reading New cases and deaths rising again globally
I would be reluctant to change Covishield dose interval at a time when we still have intense transmission: Gagandeep Kang
Even as the government flatly denies that its decision to increase the Covishield dose interval to 12-16 weeks is not due to vaccine shortage and is instead based on real-world data, there is no such real-world data to support its decision while it is common knowledge that acute shortage of vaccines is leading to a … Continue reading I would be reluctant to change Covishield dose interval at a time when we still have intense transmission: Gagandeep Kang
Can the lockdown in England control new variant spread?
There is evidence that the earlier lockdown was generally effective in containing the spread of the previously predominant strain suggesting that the new variant grew in absolute terms. Controlling the spread of the new variant might be possible if the lockdown is stricter and compliance is better. In a bid to slow down the spread … Continue reading Can the lockdown in England control new variant spread?
New variant does not increase reinfection risk, disease severity, deaths
Preliminary results from a cohort study show no statistically significant difference in hospitalisation, 28-day case fatality and reinfection between the new variant and wild-type comparator cases. Preliminary results from a cohort study show no statistically significant difference in hospitalisation and 28-day case fatality between cases with the new variant (VOC 201212/01) and wild-type comparator cases. … Continue reading New variant does not increase reinfection risk, disease severity, deaths
Emergence of a new coronavirus variant raises concerns
A single mutation — N501Y — in the virus spike protein has been found to increase the binding affinity thereby making the variant more transmissible. There is currently no evidence that the new variant can cause any change in disease severity or increase the risk of reinfection. While the mutations are unlikely to make the … Continue reading Emergence of a new coronavirus variant raises concerns
U.K. will continue to excel in science post-Brexit: Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
The United Kingdom has played a pivotal role in shaping research in the European Union (EU), which is today a superpower in science. But post-Brexit, the future of science in the U.K., the fate of several EU-managed programmes and the funding and free exchange of scientists and students between the U.K. and the EU appear … Continue reading U.K. will continue to excel in science post-Brexit: Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
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