Avoid unnecessary testing, follow guidelines, BMC tells private labs

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in a clarification on Sunday told private labs to follow ICMR and state guidelines for Covid-19 tests to avoid unnecessary testing. It also told hospitals not to deny elective surgery to any patient over want of coronavirus tests. While private labs that ET spoke with sounded confused about the city’s testing strategy that has seen many flipflops as the city struggled to tackle a rapid increase in Covid-19 cases, BMC officials said the latest clarification will clear any misunderstanding. ....read more

CMAAO Coronavirus Facts and Myth Buster 91

(With inputs from Dr Monica Vasudeva)823: Herd Immunity Some experts use the term to describe the proportion immune among individuals in a population. Others may use it with regard to a particular threshold proportion of immune individuals that should lead to a fall in incidence of infection. Yet another group of experts may use it to refer to a pattern of immunity that should provide protection to a population from a new infection. [CLIN INFECT DIS.]....read more

World COVID Meter 9th May: Its not Lockdown 3.0 but Living with COVID 1.0

212 Countries affected, Crosses 4M, Nearly 100,000 cases per day, Minimum Likely Deaths 283520, Deaths to Cross 300,000 this MonthWorld: Cases: 1M: April 2, 2 M: April 15, 3 M: April 27, 4 M: May 8First reported Case: 10th January. Total cases and numbers are based on RT PCR test which has only 67% sensitivity (no false positive). Total number likely to be higher by 25-33% ....read more

Panchamrit body wash

Panchamrit is taken as a Prasadam and is also used to wash the deity. In Vedic language, anything which is offered to God can also be done to the human body. Panchamrit bath, therefore, is the original and traditional complete bath prescribed in Vedic literature. It consists of the following:●Washing the body with milk and water, where milk acts like a soothing agent. ....read more

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Walking Dead and CORONA

Healthcare News Monitor

Around 75% pharma units operational in Gujarat: FDCA

The Times of India- TNN

AHMEDABAD: After encountering teething problems initially, nearly 75% pharmaceutical units in Gujarat have now managed to become operational. With government support, these manufacturing plants are currently operating at a capacity of more than 70%, said government officials and industry experts. “Gujarat has some 1,100 pharma units. About four weeks ago, only 300 to 350 units were operational,” said H G Koshia, commissioner, Gujarat FDCA. Being essential items producers, the pharma industry is exempted from the lockdown. However, several pharmaceutical firms were not able to run their plants when the first lockdown was imposed. The pharma units were largely non-operational because of issues related to movement of raw materials and workforce. “Central and state government reviewed the situation, identified the bottlenecks and speedily removed them to ensure steady supply of drugs, especially lifesaving drugs such as antibiotics, anti-diabetes and blood pressure pills,” Koshia added. Pharma companies were supported not just to resume operations but also scale up production with all precautions in place. Passes were made available for ferrying their employees and they were helped in procuring raw materials. “As a result, around 60% units became operational two weeks ago and nearly 75% units are currently functional across the state. These units are also operating at 75% of their plant capacity,” he added. According to industry players, Gujarat has a lion’s share in India’s pharma output. If production is hampered in the state, it affects supplies of drugs in pan-India market.

COVID-19 leaves pharmacies firms facing a bitter pill

The New Indian Express- Sunitha Natti

The healthcare industry, as we have seen, is recession proof. And the same can be said of the pharmaceutical sector too. It may be ironic, but pandemics offer an even meatier opportunity for both the healthcare sector in general and pharma companies in particular. The Covid-19 pandemic was supposed to be no different, but during the Great Lockdown — where country after country has shut borders — pharma companies are getting a taste of the bitter pill for once. If raw material shortages, supply chain disruptions and lack of packaging material had hit pharma production until now, the movement of migrant labourers to hometowns could pose another challenge in the form of inadequate manpower for producers. Currently, only a few big players like Sun Pharmaceuticals, Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, and Aurobindo are operating at capacities upwards of 60 per cent. With the graded lifting of the lockdown underway, and several restrictions having been eased, companies are hoping for normalcy to return sooner than later. According to P Eshwar Reddy, executive director, Bulk Drug Manufacturers’ Association (BDMA), companies in Telangana (which is a hub for bulk drugs) are operating units at 50 per cent of capacity due to the limited movement of both employees and materials. Similarly, in Baddi, where 35-40 per cent of the nation’s pharma output comes from, most units were operating at less than half their capacity until recently.

Covid-19: ‘No water in toilets’, claim people quarantined at hospital in Bengal’s Asansol

Hindustan Times- ANI

People kept in quarantine at ESI Hospital in Asansol created a ruckus on Saturday claiming that the toilet facilities do not have a water supply. “People kept in quarantine at ESI Hospital in Asansol, created a ruckus on Saturday, alleging that the toilet facilities there don’t have water supply and the people are not being given access to proper drinking water. They also alleged that they’re not being tested for COVID-19,” said one of the people in the quarantine facility. Another person said, “The number of people kept here is 32 and yet only 1-litre water is provided for all of us. Even the food is coming in a dirty vehicle.” “At present, we do not want anything but just get us tested for coronavirus and if found negative let us go. Until we get the report we won’t eat anything,” one of them in quarantine at ESI Hospital added.

This Mother’s Day, doctors share what it’s like to help other women become mothers

The Indian Express- Prerna Mittra

We think of doctors as duty-bound professionals only, having taken the oath to be in service of their patients. Amid the ongoing health crisis, while some people are looking up to them hopefully, others are seeing them as a threat, mainly because of their exposure to the infection. Around the world, as doctors and nurses fight this dangerous stigma, they carry on with their duties day in and out, sometimes at odd hours even, because the patient is always the priority. This Mother’s Day, in an effort to understand their personal experiences and challenges — vis-a-vis their own kids — indianexpress.com reached out to some doctors — gynecologists, obstetricians and IVF experts, who are mothers themselves. These women have been tirelessly working and pacifying their patients who are getting ready to usher a new life into this world amid a pandemic, all while dealing with their own fears, and staying away from their precious little ones at home. “I have a son who is five-and-a-half years old. Mine is a nuclear family and I live with just my husband and my son here in Pune. Most of the time, I take calls at odd hours because labour does not wait for anyone. When my patient is admitted in the hospital, I tell my son repeatedly that mumma has to go for some time. There is a baby who will come out of another mumma’s tummy, and I have to go and help her. My husband then manages to tell him a story, and puts him to bed. When he wakes up, he says, ‘See I slept and woke up on time.’ On Mother’s Day, my plan is to help deliver a baby for a diabetic mother — this is her first, and she has specifically asked for the baby to be delivered on the day,” Dr Madhu Juneja, a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist with Cloudnine Hospital in Pune, says