Combating COVID-19: Patient treated with plasma therapy in Delhi recovers, discharged

New Delhi: The first patient, who was administered convalescent plasma therapy on compassionate grounds at Max Hospital in Saket, has now fully recovered and was discharged on Sunday.Dr Sangeeta told ANI: "It is an encouraging news for India. He was finally discharged today. He will be in home quarantine for another two weeks as per the government norm."....read more

CMAAO Coronavirus Facts and Myth Buster 72

(With regular inputs from Dr Monica Vasudev)A special report published in the journal Radiology outlines prevention, diagnosis and treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with COVID-19From the analysis of available medical, laboratory, and imaging data on COVID-19, it has become quite clear that symptoms and diagnostic tests could not be explained by impaired pulmonary ventilation alone....read more

World COVID-19 Meter 25th April

210 Countries affected, over 2.83 M Cases; Deaths to Cross 250,000 with Current Trend of > 6000 deaths per day if new cases continue for another 10 days with Minimum 206024, First reported Case: 10th JanuarySituation around the GlobeLikely minimum deaths (197245 + 58523 x 15 = 8779) = 206024Total cases: 2,830,051 (new Cases +105,616)....read more

The very purpose of life is to face sufferings

According to Hinduism, the very fact we are born means that in our last life, we did not get liberation or Moksha. It also means that some sufferings in our last birth still remained. Therefore, the purpose of this birth is to face those sufferings.When the purpose of our life is to face sufferings, why suffer from them?...read more

Health Sutras By Dr K K Aggarwal

Regularly disinfect the surface, handles.

Healthcare News Monitor

India never discriminates, supplying Covid-19 drug to others: Mohan Bhagwat

Business Standard- ANI

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday said that India never discriminated and was helping other countries with medicines during Covid-19 pandemic. "Coronavirus is a new disease. We are getting to know more about it as we are getting closer to the disease. All efforts are being made to mitigate this problem," said Bhagwat in an online address on "Current scenario and our role." He said that India had suffered a loss, but still sent to other countries the medicines that were banned for exporting. "India never discriminates. We work for all," said Bhagwat. India, a major producer of hydroxychloroquine, has promised to supply the drug to 55 countries including Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. The medication, which is used in Covid-19 therapy, has already been supplied to the United States, Afghanistan, Mauritius, Kazakhstan, Brazil, and Seychelles. The RSS chief also appealed to the people to join the government in this collective effort to combat Covid-19 and reach out to everyone who needs help. "When the people were bound by some rules and guidelines, they felt that they are being prohibited from doing certain things. RSS made a decision in March itself and cancelled all its programmes till June end," he said. "But some people might feel that the government is prohibiting our programmes. We are working not for the publicity of our works but for the betterment of society. Everyone should work for the society in these hard times with dedication," added Bhagwat.

Indian firm to test Covid vaccine in 3 weeks; if successful, drug wont be patented

Deccan Chronicle

Indian vaccine major Serum Institute of India said on Sunday that it plans to start production of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University in the next two to three weeks. If human clinical trials of the vacine are successful, the product should be available in the market by October. However, human clinical trials are a big if. They will take place in the UK. The Pune-based company has partnered with Oxford University as one of the seven global institutions manufacturing the vaccine. "Our team has been working closely with Dr Hill from Oxford University, and we are expecting to initiate production of the vaccine in 2-3 weeks and produce 5 million doses per month for the first six months, following which we hope to scale up production to 10 million doses per month," Serum Institute India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla said. SII has collaborated with scientists at Oxford University for a malaria vaccine project in the past and can say with certainty that they are some of the best scientists, he added. "We expect the (COVID-19) vaccine to be out in the market by September-October, only if the trials are successful with the requisite safety and assured efficacy. We will be starting trials in India for this vaccine hopefully over the next 2-3 weeks time," Poonawalla said. SII will begin manufacturing the vaccine in anticipation of clinical trials succeeding by September-October in the UK, he added.

Bengal doctor in charge of Covid supplies falls to virus

The India Express- Atri Mitra , Amitava Chakraborty

As the man in charge of West Bengal’s Central Medical Stores, Dr Biplab Kanti Dasgupta led the distribution of COVID-19 medical supplies to hospitals and health centres across the state — from Personal Protective Equipment to masks and gloves. On Sunday, nine days after he tested positive and months shy of retirement, the 64-year-old Assistant Director of Health Services became the first frontline health provider in West Bengal to die of the virus. Dasgupta, who was admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata’s Salt Lake area, tested positive on April 17. Diabetic and hypertensive, his condition had deteriorated soon after, and he was put on ventilator support. The cause of his death has been recorded as ‘COVID pneumonia’. Follor: After he tested positive, his family and primary contacts, including 17 more staff of the Health Department and another senior medical officer, were put in quarantine and their swab samples sent for testing. So far, his wife and family physician have tested positive for the virus and are in the same hospital. While one of his sons is stuck in another city and has been unable to return due to the lockdown, the other is in quarantine in a hotel in east Kolkata. On Sunday, in a series of tweets, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was “deeply pained at the untimely demise” of Dasgupta. She said Dasgupta’s “sacrifice for the cause of ailing humanity will ever be in our hearts and will make our COVID warriors fight the deadly virus with even greater determination.”

Demanding non-veg food, Jamaat members create ruckus at Kanpur hospital

India Today- PTI

Miffed at not being served “non-vegetarian food”, some coronavirus patients linked to the Tablighi Jamaat allegedly created a ruckus at Kanpurs Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital, chasing and manhandling a ward boy. According to officials, 70 Tablighi Jamaat members and their contacts are undergoing treatment for coronavirus at the hospital attached to the GSVM Medical College. On Saturday, 15 of them refused to eat food, demanding that they be served non-vegetarian food, said college Principal Dr Arati Dave Lalchandani. Their daily diet includes a bun and butter in breakfast; fruits, rice, dal, roti and vegetables in the dinner. "On Saturday, a ward boy had gone to the COVID-19 isolation ward situated on the third floor of the hospital to serve food to the Jamaatis and their contacts who refused to eat and asked for non-vegetarian food,” Dr Lalchandani told reporters on Sunday. “They asked that the menu should be changed everyday as they are bored of eating vegetarian food," she added. When they did not get non-vegetarian food, they threw the pure protein-rich food on the floor, she said. "They even manhandled the ward boy who somehow managed to escape. They came down while chasing him," the principal said, adding that the ward boy narrated his ordeal to the authorities, who brought up the matter before police officials. "It has been decided that food will be served to the Jamaatis in police presence to avoid such problems in future," she said.