Why a COVID-19 vaccine could never be around

London, While over 100 vaccines are currently under pre-clinical trials and a couple of those have entered human trial stage, leading health experts have raised alarming questions about what if the world never sees a COVID-10 vaccine, as in the case of HIV and even dengue where there is no vaccine even after years of research.According to a CNN report, "there is another, worst-case possibility: that no vaccine is ever developed"....read more

Government has extended lockdown for two more weeks to May 17

After a comprehensive review, and in view of the Lockdown measures having led to significant gains in the COVID-19 situation in the country, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India (GoI) issued an Order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, to further extend the Lockdown for a further period of 2 weeks beyond May 4, 2020.MHA also issued new guidelines to regulate different activities in this period, based on the risk profiling of the districts of the country into Red (hotspot), Green and Orange Zones. The guidelines have permitted considerable relaxations in the districts falling in the Green and Orange Zones....read more

World Covid Meter 2nd May: 210 Countries, Crosses 3.4 M, Deaths likely to Cross 250,000 in next two days

First reported Case: 10th JanuaryTotal cases and numbers are based on RT PCR test which has only 67% sensitivity (no false positive). Total number likely to be higher (5-33%)GOOD NEWS: No new cases in South Korea or Hong Kong: Following months of imposing social distancing,. They are not the only ones on that path —Australia and New Zealand are also close. Beijing’s major tourist sites will reopen just in time for China’s extended holiday weekend. ....read more

Understanding exact speech

Upanishads, Yogasutras of Patanjali and teachings of Gautam Buddha, all talk about "the right speech". As per Gautam Buddha, the right speech has three components:●It should be based on truthfulness.●It should be necessary.●It should be kind....read more

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How to manage acute heart attack in COVID times

Health Sutras By Dr K K Aggarwal

Thermal screening is not the test for Covid 19

Healthcare News Monitor

CSIR labs working at par with international peers to discover Covid-19 drug: Scientists

The Indian Express

Scientific institution in the country were working at par with international peers to discover an effective drug to fight coronavirus (COVID-19), said senior scientists of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on Saturday. Shekhar Mande, director general of CSIR, chaired an online discussion centred on COVID-19 research with the directors of six laboratories operating under the council. Talking about the ongoing trials of drug-potent molecules for coronavirus, Ram Vishwakarma, director of Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu and Kashmir, said, “Four to five potential molecules, meant for coronavirus drugs, are either under stage two of trials or will soon enter trials. Private hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, too, are involved in the research.” Vishwakarma said knowledge of traditional Indian medicine, some of them proven for over 5,000 years, was also under consideration for drug development in India. In this regard, a hospital in Gurugram was carrying out research and, soon, hospitals in Mumbai and Pune will commence similar efforts, he added. Scientists said India had recently emerged as one of the largest exporters of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and the drug had, so far, shown good results.

Experts caution against risks of anti-malarial drug

The Tribune

Several medical experts have warned against the indiscriminate use of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for the prevention or treatment of coronavirus as it may cause life-threatening health issues, including heart disorders and convulsions. Safety-monitoring and critical appraisal pertaining to the adverse drug reactions (ADR) of certain anti-malarial, anti-HIV, anti-influenza and antibiotic medicines being administered to Covid patients is being carried out by the Department of Pharmacology of PGIMS-Rohtak as a part of a national study. “The department is among the ADR Monitoring Centres under the Pharmaco-vigilance Programme of India, a flagship programme of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare being spearheaded by the Indian Pharmacopia Commission (IPC),” said Dr MC Gupta, Head of the Department of Pharmacology and Coordinator of the programme. It may be pertinent to mention that anti-malarial drug HCQ, anti-HIV drugs lopinavir and ritonavir, anti-inflammatory drug oseltamivir and antibiotic drug azithromycin are being given for prevention and/or treatment of Covid. “As per the data collected by us, some of the patients who are taking HCQ have reported mild disorders like nausea, vomiting, headache, watery eyes and diarrhea, but the drug has the potential to cause life-threatening health issues like heart disorders and convulsions,” said Dr Gupta. The medical expert cautions that if HCQ has to be given to a patient for prevention or treatment of Covid, it should be administered under the prescription of a competent physician and in compliance with the relevant guidelines of the ICMR.

No government database yet on clinical details of those who succumbed to coronavirus in India

The New Indian Express- Sumi Sukanya Dutta

Over 1,300 COVID-19 patients have died in India so far but no central government agency has started collecting crucial clinical details about these patients yet, effectively denying clinicians and researchers pathways to unravel severe disease and deaths. This, in effect, means that there is no database, as of now, to establish how exactly is COVID-19 killing those infected in India. Many hospitals and doctors this correspondent spoke with confirmed that they are required to fill a two-page form, provided by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in case of admission of every COVID-19 patient and inform district health officials about the infection related deaths. But they have not been asked to either record or submit the clinical details of those who are succumbing to the infection. “The NCDC form we are supposed to fill and submit is largely for epidemiological purpose and asks for details like contact history of the patients and whether they have any underlying health conditions. But we are not being asked to register what exactly is killing a COVID 19 patient,” head of the critical care medicine department in a major corporate hospital in Delhi told The New Indian Express. Another doctor treating COVID-19 patients said that the government asks for real-time update on death due to the virus and whether they had any co-morbid conditions.

Coronavirus in India: IAF helicopters shower flower petals over KIMS Hospital in Bhubaneswar

India Today- Mohammad Suffian

An Indian Air Force(IAF) chopper showered flower petals over the Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences(KIMS) Hospital in Bhubaneswar. KIMS has been one of the major hospitals treating Covid-19 patients in Odisha. IAF helicopters showered petals as a thanking gesture from the nation to all the Covid warriors. The chopper showered petals on the front lawn of KIIT Campus near blood bank between 09:45 am to 10:30 am today. The hospitals had also put up a thank you’ note for the armed forces for this gesture. Flower petals were also showered on Ashwini Hospital in Cuttack. KIMS Hospital founder Achyuta Samanta thanked the IAF for showing gratitude to all those serving. Samanta also thanked the frontline warriors. "The helicopters carried out petal shower on Police War Memorial at 9 am followed by Delhi hospitals involved in providing relief to patients of Covid-19 between 10-10.30 a.m.,” the Air Force said in a statement. "Fighter aircraft formations, comprising of the Sukhoi-30 MKI, MiG-29, and Jaguar will be flying over Rajpath, and will orbit over Delhi and will be visible to the residents of Delhi from their rooftops,” the force said earlier.