Category: Covid-19

** Made in Odisha RAT kit gets ICMR nod   

The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has approved ImCOV-Ag, a Covid-19 rapid antigen test (RAT) kit developed in Odisha. The high sensitivity kit that can detect infection of all variants of the novel coronavirus will be available in the market in one to two months.

Developed by Imgenex India Pvt Ltd in collaboration with the ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Bhubaneswar, the kit is the first to be developed in the eastern zone of the country. Director RMRC Dr Sanghamitra Pati said based on the internal validation here, Imgenex submitted the report to ICMR central office in November, 2021. The ICMR validated the kit through a third party and gave approval for its use at laboratory testing facilities on January 27. 

Odisha

** ‘AirVaidya’ dhoopa can be effective in preventing air-borne infections, including COVID, say researchers

Prepared by AIMIL Pharmaceuticals, ‘AirVaidya’ contains phytochemicals from 19 medicinal which are known for their potential therapeutic effects to combat the coronavirus.

Researchers at Banaras Hindu University have found that anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of the fumes of ‘AirVaidya’ herbal incense sticks can be effective in preventing air-borne infections.

Prepared by AIMIL Pharmaceuticals, ‘AirVaidya’ contains phytochemicals from 19 medicinal which are known for their potential therapeutic effects to combat the coronavirus.

Benares, Uttar Pradesh

** India delivers 3 tonnes of medical assistance to Afghanistan

Prior to this, India has supplied three shipments of medical assistance, consisting of 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine and essential life-saving medicines to Afghanistan.

India has supplied three tonnes of essential life-saving medicines to Afghanistan in the fourth batch of medical assistance to the war-torn country and will provide further humanitarian help to the people there in form of medicines and foodgrains in coming weeks, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Saturday.

** DCGI gives nod to Bharat Biotech for intranasal booster dose trials

Experts have noted that an intranasal vaccine as a booster will be easier to administer in mass vaccination drives.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech approval for conducting Phase-III clinical trials of an intranasal booster dose for those who have received both doses of Covaxin.

Only the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL), Kasauli, certified batches shall be used in the clinical trials, which will be conducted at nine sites, including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and Bihar. The Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vectored COVID-19 Vaccine (BBV154) is to be administered through an intranasal route and each single dose is 0.5 ml.

The trials will evaluate BBV154 intranasal vaccine for both the 2-dose primary schedule and booster dose schedule.

** Celebrated IAS officer Guruprasad Mohapatra, who succumbed to COVID-19, conferred with Padma Shri

Guruprasad Mohapatra despite his own illness continued to work on distribution of oxygen when the pandemic was at its most dreadful.

Guruprasad Mohapatra, a senior bureaucrat known for his administrative acumen who succumbed to COVID-19 last year, was conferred with Padma Shri on Tuesday.

“I am very grateful that the government has recognised his contribution. I am very humbled by the gesture. There is sadness mixed with happiness on this occasion,” Anjali Mohapatra, the wife of the senior officer, told The Hindu.

** TN doctor conferred MBE by UK for fight against Covid

Dr S Balachandran, a native of Uthukuli, was conferred an MBE (Member of the British Empire) on Monday. Along with two other doctors, Balachandran was given the honour for services to the nation during the pandemic. 

peaking to TNIE, Balachandran’s brother-in-law M Ravi said, “Balachandran studied at the Uthukuli Government High Secondary, and joined Thanjavur Medical College. He completed MD and Diploma in Anaesthesia there in 1989. He served in Karur Government Hospital and Ramanathapuram Government Hospital for several years before moving to the UK.” Now, he leads the board for infection control at the same university.

** Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurates 144 PSA oxygen plants

“Besides establishing the oxygen plants, the government is providing a 30% subsidy to private hospitals with over 100-bed capacity for setting up oxygen plants,” the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh said.

Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, on January 10, virtually inaugurated 144 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants set up at various government hospitals in the State.

On the occasion, Mr. Reddy said the government has been taking all measures to contain coronavirus ahead of the third wave and as part of it, 144 oxygen plants have been installed in government hospitals at a cost of ₹426 crore.

** PM Modi lauds feat of 2 crore children getting vaccinated

Vaccination of children in the 15-18 age group began on January 3 in the country.

Lauding the feat of over two crore youngsters in the 15-18 age group getting vaccinated against COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called for continuing the momentum.

He tweeted, “Excellent! Well done my young friends. Let us continue this momentum. Urging everyone to follow all COVID-19 related protocols and get vaccinated, if you haven’t already.” He was reacting to Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s tweet regarding the feat.

* Bengaluru virologist’s test kit ‘Omisure’ for Omicron variant cuts delays

“Globally, all other test kits for Omicron are either made for gene dropout or mutation specific detection. Omisure is the first test kit combining both.”

In a major and global breakthrough towards cutting down procedural delays in genome sequencing to ascertain the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV2, Dr V Ravi, former head of the Department of Neurovirology at National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences and Head, Research & Development, Tata Medical & Diagnostic Centre, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, and his team have developed the world’s first test kit, Omisure, that can detect the Omicron variant by combining S-gene target failure (SGTF) and S-gene mutation amplification (SGMA).

** Dr. Reddy’s prices anti-COVID-19 molnupiravir capsules at ₹35 each

Molflu is expected to be available from early next week in pharmacies throughout the country, Dr. Reddy’s said

Pharma major Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories on Tuesday said it would launch molnupiravir capsules 200 mg, the anti-viral drug that India recently granted emergency use authorisation for COVID-19 treatment, at ₹35 each under the brand name Molflu.

Each strip would have 10 capsules. With the recommended dose 800 mg twice a day for five days, the total course of 40 capsules would cost ₹1,400, making it among the most affordable treatment options available to patients, Dr. Reddy’s said.