While most of the new daily cases reported are among the unvaccinated, breakthrough infections and hospitalisations are being reported in the fully vaccinated too. However, the deaths have predominantly been among the unvaccinated. With the staggering increase in the number of daily fresh coronavirus cases and deaths in many countries in Europe, the continent has … Continue reading Virus rages in Europe as epicentre shifts
Swine Flu
India promotes vaccine inequity in the midst of the pandemic
Whatever policy each State government formulates to identify those eligible for free vaccines, it would need to allocate huge resources to buy vaccines. A significant number of people are likely to fall through the cracks and not be protected. With a stroke of a pen, the Central government on April 19 abdicated responsibility to ensure … Continue reading India promotes vaccine inequity in the midst of the pandemic
Cannot emphatically say India has passed the COVID-19 peak
Dr. Gautam Menon and Dr. Giridhara R. Babu discuss whether India has gone past the peak. Dr. Menon says in major cities in India and in some districts adjacent to those cities that already have sufficient numbers of people infected with novel coronavirus, the number of new infections is going down. But one can't say … Continue reading Cannot emphatically say India has passed the COVID-19 peak
Pandemic causes 25% dip in TB notifications in India
While India accounts for 26% of TB cases in the world, the TB notifications during the period January-June 2020 in India reduced by 25% compared to the same period in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic combined with impacts on care-seeking behaviour threatens to reverse recent progress in reducing the global burden of TB disease, the World … Continue reading Pandemic causes 25% dip in TB notifications in India
U.S. withdrawal from WHO is a lose-lose proposition for all
The capricious decision to withdraw from WHO will have dire consequences for global public health. The departure of the U.S. will be a significant blow to the WHO in terms of loss of technical expertise and absent funding of about $450 million annually. The U.S. too stands to lose on health intelligence. On July 6, … Continue reading U.S. withdrawal from WHO is a lose-lose proposition for all
Can we rely on natural herd immunity to end COVID-19 pandemic?
All previous influenza pandemics — 1918 Spanish flu, 1957 Asian flu, 1968 Hong Kong influenza, and 2009 H1N1 — came to an end when herd immunity acquired naturally reached a certain threshold. So can India and other countries rely on this to tackle COVID-19 till effective vaccines and anti-virals become available? With the number of … Continue reading Can we rely on natural herd immunity to end COVID-19 pandemic?
Coronavirus: U.S. halting funding for WHO will have disastrous consequences
Faulting the WHO for imaginary failings cannot help Mr. Trump wash his hands of many administrative failures in containing the epidemic. Moving beyond blaming and actually withholding WHO funding can have disastrous outcomes. If indeed he fervently believes that U.S has been misled, it is China that he must hold responsible for delayed alert. At … Continue reading Coronavirus: U.S. halting funding for WHO will have disastrous consequences
Coronavirus: Trump finds a scapegoat in WHO
After blaming coronavirus as democrats’ new hoax, and calling the microbe as “China virus”, WHO has now become Mr. Trump’s latest scapegoat for all the failures of his administration in containing the spread. After blaming the Democrats for investing a ‘hoax’ in the form of novel coronavirus, and pointing fingers at China by calling the … Continue reading Coronavirus: Trump finds a scapegoat in WHO
War against coronavirus should not acquire a religious colour
The large religious congregation held in mid-March by Tablighi Jamaat Nizamuddin in Delhi has turned into a large cluster of novel coronavirus. The organisers should have been aware how their congregation in Malaysia in February led to a spike in cases there. But Delhi government is also equally culpable. Nizamuddin in Delhi has turned into … Continue reading War against coronavirus should not acquire a religious colour
China reports zero cases on three days, is it just a blip?
China had zero cases on March 18-20, but one local transmission on March 21. The turnaround in China comes at a time when the virus is galloping in Europe and is quickly spreading in the U.S. In a remarkable turnaround, China had zero cases of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) on March 18-20, including in Wuhan, the … Continue reading China reports zero cases on three days, is it just a blip?
Science Chronicle 