Two Mumbai companies step up work on COVID-19 drug helping in recovery

Mumbai: Two Indian drug makers are stepping up efforts to develop antiviral molecule Favipiravir, a drug that has shown to help in the recovery of Covid-19 patients in a trial conducted in China.

Mumbai-based BDR Pharma, which makes anti-HIV and Hepatitis C medication, and LASA Supergenerics, an active pharmaceutical ingredient maker, are betting that the drug works....read more

CMAAO IMA HCFI Coronavirus Myth Buster 29

One can do COVID-19 test every 48 hours once positiveNo. It’s a waste of resources. Kanika Kapoor, Bollywoods first coronavirus victim, has tested positive for Covid-19 for the fifth consecutive time in 10 days. She is presently admitted to Lucknows Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences....read more

World COVID-19 Meter 1st April

1st April COVID-19 Update:Deaths will cross 50,000 in 202 countries, Minimum expected deaths - 469751st one lac got infected in 67 days, 2nd in 11 days, 3rd in 4 days, 4th in 3 days, 5th in 2.5 days, 6th in 2 days, 7th in 2 days, 8th in 1.5 daysUSA, Italy, Spain numbers cross China markFirst reported Case: 10th January....read more

Understanding who we are........

The classical description of ‘who we are’ comes from Adi Shankaracharya’s Bhaja Govindam, where he says that even the wife refuses to touch the same physical body after death, and if she touches it, a ritual bath has to be taken. This means physical body is not what we are....read more

Health Sutras By Dr K K Aggarwal

Learn the life-saving technique of CPR-10. Compress the center of the chest of the victim within 10 minutes of death (earlier the better) at least for the next 10 minutes (longer the better), with a speed of at least 10x10=100 per minute to revive a victim of cardiac arrest.

Healthcare News Monitor

Coronavirus update: Govt identifies 500 companies to map Covid-19 solutions

Hindustan Times - Rhythma Kaul

The government has identified at least 500 entities in the field of diagnostics, drugs, ventilators, protection gear, disinfecting systems,etc, as an effort to map coronavirus disease (Covid-19) related technology capabilities in start-ups, academia, research and development labs and industry, in an effort to bolster its ability to contain the spread of the pandemic in the country. At least 200 proposals have been received in the past one week against the funding calls of the department of science and technology (DST), from which over 20 entities are under active consideration for support in the first phase, taking into account the relevance, cost, speed and scale of solutions to manage the disease outbreak, the government said on Tuesday. “The manufacturing capacity of the first indigenous kit developed by a Pune-based start up is being scaled up to produce nearly one lakh kits per week. A manufacturing facility for indigenous development of ventilators, testing kits, imaging equipment and ultrasound and high end radiology equipment has been set up in Vishakhapatnam where manufacturing will start in the first week of April,” said the health ministry in a statement.

Modi govt allows pharma firms to tweak clinical trial rules during Covid-19 lockdown

The Print- Himani Chandna

The Modi government has allowed deviation from protocol in clinical trials in light of the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 lockdown, ThePrint has learnt. Companies and laboratories conducting the trials, however, will have to convey the protocol tweaks to the government. The order was conveyed to pharmaceutical majors through a notice issued by the Central Drugs Safety and Control Organisation (CDSCO) Monday. In the order, accessed by ThePrint, the government has said the trials underway may also be reconsidered, suspended or terminated. In the notice, India’s apex drug regulator seeks to acknowledge the fact that “various challenges may arise during the conduct of clinical trial in the wake of outbreak Covid-19 in the country”. The restrictions imposed to check the spread of Covid-19, the notice says, may impact “recruitment of trial subjects, laboratory testing, diagnosis, administration of investigational product, reporting of severe adverse effects, scheduled visits, assessment of safety and efficacy parameters among others”. “In some cases, protocol amendment, deviation, modification in the procedures may be necessary due to unavoidable circumstances,” it says. Signed by drug controller general of India V.G. Somani, the CDSCO notice says the protection of trial subjects’ “rights, safety and well-being” is of paramount importance. “In case of ongoing trial, the sponsor in coordination with the investigator and the respective ethics committee should decide whether to continue the trial or otherwise in the interest of the trial subject.”

Coronavirus in India: Lack of equipment forces doctors to fight Covid-19 with raincoats, helmets

India Today

Shortages of protective health gear in India are forcing some doctors to use raincoats and motorbike helmets while fighting the coronavirus, exposing the weak state of the public health system ahead of an anticipated surge in Covid-19 cases. Prime Minister Narendra Modis government said India was trying to get personal protective equipment in bulk domestically and from South Korea and China to meet the shortages. More than a dozen doctors battling the outbreak, which has so far infected 1,251 people and killed 32, told Reuters they were concerned that without this proper gear, they could become carriers of the disease. AMBULANCE DRIVERS STRIKE: In Uttar Pradesh, Indias most populous state, drivers of around 4,700 ambulances that mainly serve government hospitals went on strike on Tuesday, demanding proper safety gear and health insurance. "We wont risk our lives unless our demand is met," Hanuman Pandey, president of the Ambulance Workers Association, told Reuters. According to one projection, more than 100,000 people could be infected by mid-May, putting Indias underfunded health system and scarce doctors under severe strain.

Coronavirus in India: One more doctor at Mohalla clinic tests positive for Covid-19

India Today- Pankaj Jain

A doctor of Delhis Mohalla Clinic in Babarpur has tested positive for Coronavirus. The authorities have asked patients who visited the clinic at the Janta Mazdoor Colony between March 12 and 20, to self-quarantine. The notice from Shahdara District Magistrate has been put around the clinic, saying the doctor has been tested positive for Coronavirus. People have been asked to report if they develop any symptoms for the same. This is the second time a Mohalla clinical doctor has been infected with the viral infection in the same are. As per government, Doctors of all Mohalla clinics have been given advisory to take care from coronavirus. Simultaneously Mohalla clinics are also being sanitised. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Shahdara had last week ordered that all those who visited or were present at Mohalla Clinic in Mohanpuri area of Maujpur between March 12 and March 18 to stay in home quarantine for 15 days.