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Medical Voice 28th July 2020

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Dr KK Aggarwal    28 July 2020

‘Suspend patents on Covid-19 drugs in India to ensure accessibility & affordability’

Mumbai: India should consider temporarily restricting and suspending intellectual property, including patents and designs, on all Covid-19 medical products like diagnostics, medicines and vaccines, according to public health experts. This, they say, could be one of the ways to ensure accessibility and affordability of key life-saving drugs for Covid-19 to not only patients in India but to millions across the world.Patent and public health experts told TOI that India is a special case because of its huge population and it’s responsibility as the ‘pharmacy of the developing world’. It is important that it be able to meet the needs of its own population to access safe and effective Covid-19 medicines and vaccines. But it also needs legal freedom to produce massive surpluses that can be exported to other countries, especially lower and middle-income countries at risk of being left behind because of the surge of ‘vaccine and therapeutic nationalism’ in US and Europe, they added. ....read more

Race for the Vaccine

Reproduced from: India Legal, https://www.indialegallive.com/special/race-for-the-vaccine,published July 10, 2020Though the ICMR is aiming for an August 15 deadline, it is a moot question whether a timeline can be issued when different phases and trials have to be done to ensure safety. ,The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recently stated that it would like to launch a Covid-19 vaccine by August 15. This drew criticism from all sections of society, including the medical community. Later, ICMR said it had not set any deadline, but the aim was to conduct clinical trials as quickly as possible. Let us evaluate all aspects of the claim. ,Covid-19 virus strains are different in various countries. Over 13 strains are in circulation. A virus strain circulating in the US or any other country may not be able to prevent all presentations of the virus in India and vice-versa....read more

CMAAO Coronavirus Facts and Myth Buster: COVID and Post COVID Illness

With inputs from Dr Monica Vasudev1008: Chronic COVID or Post COVID IllnessCOVID-19 could mean weeks long illness, even in young adults and those without chronic conditions who have mild disease and are treated in outpatient settings, suggest survey results published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ,In a multistate telephone survey of symptomatic adults who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, 35% reported that they had not returned to their usual state of wellness when they were interviewed 2 to 3 weeks after testing....read more

Managing grief by free expressive writing

The loss of a loved is often painful. The resultant grief makes it hard to eat, sleep and leads to loss of interest in routine life, affecting behavior and judgment. ,Some can feel agitated or exhausted, to sob unexpectedly, or to withdraw from the world and others may find themselves struggling with feelings of sorrow, numbness, anger, guilt, despair, irritability, relief, or anxiety. ,It is well known that disclosing deep emotions through writing can boost immune function as well as mood and well-being. Conversely, the stress of holding in strong feelings can increase blood pressure and heart rate and increase muscle tension. ....read more

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Atypical features of COVID 19

Healthcare News Monitor

Coronavirus treatment: Favipiravir leads to price war among pharma companies in India

Business Today

After Glenmark, Brinton and Cipla, another firm launched Favipiravir for coronavirus treatment on Friday. Released under the drug name Favivent, drug firm Jenburkt Pharmaceuticals is the latest company to roll out the drug for Rs 39 per tablet - its cheapest pricing yet.Glenmark Pharmaceuticals was one of the first companies to roll out Favipiravir. Branded as FabiFlu the drug was initially priced at Rs 103 per tablet, which was reduced to Rs 75 per tablet. Recently, Brinton Pharmaceuticals received DCGI approval to launch Favipiravir for Rs 59 per tablet. Cipla, too, said that it has received approval from DCGI to launch the drug for Rs 68 per tablet under the name Ciplenza.

Lupin, Granules India recall around 9.71 lakh bottles of diabetes drug in the US

Business Standard

Lupin and Granules India are recalling close to 9.71 lakh bottles of generic diabetes drug in the US due to the possibility of the affected lot containing cancer-causing nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) above the acceptable intake limit. ,As per the latest Enforcement Report of the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), Lupin is recalling 4,92,858 bottles of Metformin Hydrochloride extended-release tablets in 500 mg and 1,000 strengths. ,Granules India is recalling over 4.78 lakh bottles of the drug in 750 mg strength. ,As per the USFDA, the companies are recalling the product due to deviation from the current good manufacturing practices (CGMP).

92% deliveries in hospitals, every third child born through a c-section

HT

Findings of the latest survey on the state of India’s health conducted by the National Statistical Office in 2017-18 show a positive change: the proportion of women delivering a child in a hospital (or health care institution) has increased over the past two decades by nearly 73 percentage points in rural India and 37 percentage points in urban India. ,At least nine of every 10 pregnant women now deliver a child in a hospital and thereby avail better health care facilities. But nearly every third woman who delivers a child in a hospital undergoes a caesarean-section or C-section surgery, which is a rate twice of what the international health care community considers ideal, and almost the same it is in the US. Personal preferences and older mothers are part reason for this, as is, in some cases, profiteering , but another reason, experts say, is that health care workers do not have the time, patience, or inclination to wait.

Bengal: Gap between fresh Covid cases, recovery widens; hospital bed capacity increases marginally

The Indian Express

On June 20, the number of fresh Covid-19 positive cases in one day in West Bengal stood at 441, while that of patients discharged was 562. The dedicated number of Covid-19 beds in both state-run and private hospitals stood at 10,340. A month later on July 20, the daily new positive cases stood at 2,282 and the daily discharge 1,535. The dedicated Covid beds increased to 11,239. ,While the gap between new positive cases and discharged patients hovered over 700 per day, the state government in an entire month only managed to increase 899 dedicated Covid beds in hospitals across the state, according to the data released by the state government in the health bulletins.

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