Health news

Free Covid booster dose for all adults: The Centre has started rolling out free Covid-19 booster doses for adults in the 18-59 category at government centres under a special drive. The free booster dose drive will continue for 75 days. The drive aims to improve the third-dose coverage and is being held as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of Independence.
So far, less than 1% of the target population of 77 crore in the 18-59 category have

The Union health ministry on Thursday rushed a multi-disciplinary team to Kerala to support the state health authorities after the first case of monkeypox in India was reported from Kerala.
The Central team comprises experts from the National Center for Disease Control, RML Hospital and senior officials from the health ministry along with experts from the regional office of health & family welfare, Kerala.
A person who returned to Kerala from abroad and was hospitalised after showing si

The Union health ministry on Thursday rushed a high-level multidisciplinary team to Kerala which reported the country’s first case of monkeypox, a statement said, adding the team will assist the state authorities in instituting adequate public health measures to deal with the situation.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George earlier said a 35-year-old man who returned to the southern state from abroad and was hospitalised after showing signs of monkeypox tested positive for the disease.
The c

Delhi on Thursday recorded 520 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 3.44 per cent, while one more person succumbed to the viral disease, according to health department data.
With this, Delhi’s COVID-19 caseload climbs to 19,42,425 and its death toll to 26,289, it showed.
The fresh infections came out of 15,114 COVID-19 tests conducted a day ago, according to the data.
On Wednesday, Delhi recorded 490 coronavirus cases with a positivity rate of 3.16 per cent and three fatalities d

Amid a rise in monkeypox cases globally, the Centre on Thursday asked states to ensure screening and testing of all suspect cases at points of entry and in the community as part of India’s preparedness against the disease.
It also asked the states and Union Territories to identify hospitals and ensure adequate human resources and logistic support to manage any suspect or confirmed monkeypox case.
In a letter, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the World Health Organization (WHO) ha

The US is getting another COVID-19 vaccine choice as the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday cleared Novavax shots for adults.
Novavax makes a more traditional type of shot than the three other COVID-19 vaccines available for use in the US — and one that’s already available in Europe and multiple other countries.
Nearly a quarter of American adults still haven’t gotten their primary vaccinations even this late in the pandemic, and experts expect at least some of them to r

A nasal spray administered in high-risk adult COVID-19 patients in India reduced viral load by 94 per cent within 24 hours and 99 per cent in 48 hours, according to the results of phase 3 trial of the drug published in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia journal. The study on Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS) was conducted by Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company Glenmark in 306 vaccinated and unvaccinated adults with symptomatic mild COVID-19 across 20 clinical sites in India.The trial evalua

Nick Barragan is used to wearing a mask because his job in the Los Angeles film industry has long required it, so he won’t be fazed if the nation’s most populous county reinstates rules requiring face coverings because of another spike in coronavirus cases across the country. “I feel fine about it because I’ve worn one pretty much constantly for the last few years. It’s become a habit,” said Barragan, masked up while out running errands on Wednesday.Los Angele

Japan warned on Tuesday that a new wave of coronavirus cases appears to be rapidly spreading through the nation, calling on people to be especially careful ahead of an upcoming long weekend and imminent summer school vacations.Japan has recently seen new COVID-19 cases surge to levels not seen since early this year, with Tokyo recording 16,878 new cases on Wednesday, the highest since February, while national cases rose above 90,000. “We had a total 94,466 new cases reported nationwide yes

The Union health ministry on Wednesday announced the launch of a 75-day programme to administer the Covid-19 vaccine’s precaution dose to anyone above 18 years, free of cost, at government hospitals from July 15.Till now only those above 60 years, healthcare and frontline workers were eligible for the booster dose at government vaccinaton facilities. Those between 18 and 59 years had to get their booster dose after completion of 26 weeks from the date of administration of the second dose a

People in the 18-59 age group will get free precaution doses of the Covid vaccine at government vaccination centres under a 75-day special drive likely to begin from July 15, the government said on Wednesday.
The drive, aimed at boosting the uptake of Covid precaution doses, will be held as part of the government’s Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence, they said.
In a tweet, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “As part of A

Health officials in South Korea are expanding booster shots to adults 50 and over as COVID-19 cases creep up again across the country. The 40,226 new cases reported Wednesday marked the country’s highest daily jump in more than two months, although hospitalisations and deaths remain stable.Baek Gyeongran, South Korea’s top infectious disease expert, attributed the rising case counts to people’s waning immunities following vaccinations and prior infections and a major removal of

The White House said on Tuesday it will ensure Americans continue to have easy access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and testing to contain the fast-spreading Omicron BA.5 subvariant that now makes up a majority of U.S. cases.
Health officials say there are indications the subvariant might be better at escaping immunity, including from prior infections.
BA.5 is estimated to account for 65% of the coronavirus variants circulating in the United States as of last week, said Rochelle Walensky, the

By Harminder Singh Multani
The mouth is the window to the entire body. Oral and dental issues are recognized by WHO as a significant threat to public health that diminishes the quality of life by impairing the individual’s everyday functioning. Oral disorders are chronic, non-communicable diseases that not only inflict agony and discomfort but can also result in lost work hours, consequently negatively impacting the economy as a whole. Teeth misalignment and bad breath have been related to

Over 150 dengue cases have been reported in the national capital so far this year, including at least 10 cases in July, a civic report said on Monday. Till July 2, the city had logged 143 cases of the disease. Delhi recorded 23 dengue cases in January, 16 in February, 22 in March, 20 in April, 30 in May and 32 in June, it said, adding that 10 cases were reported till July 9.The total count of dengue cases reported in the national capital this year stood at 153 till July 9. No death due to the di

Macau shut all its casinos for the first time in more than two years on Monday as authorities struggle to contain the worst coronavirus outbreak yet in the world’s biggest gambling hub. The city’s 30-plus casinos, along with other non-essential businesses will shut for one week and people were ordered to stay at home. Police will monitor flows of people outside and stringent punishments will be imposed for those who disobey, the government said.Hospitals, pharmacies, supermarkets and

Delhi on Sunday recorded 433 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 2.96 per cent and two more deaths, according to health department data.
This is the fourth consecutive day when the daily case count has remained below 600.
With the fresh infections and fatalities, Delhi’s COVID-19 caseload climbed to 19,40,735 and the death toll increased to 26,284, the health department bulletin said.
The fresh cases came out of 14,623 tests conducted the previous day, it said.
Delhi on Saturday

India recorded a marginally lower number of cases on Saturday compared to that on Friday, July 8th. According to the data released by the health ministry, the number of Covid-19 cases in the country was 18,257, in the last 24 hours. There were 42 deaths reported in the country, taking the total death toll to 5,25,428. The biggest contributor to the country’s new Covid-19 caseload is Kerala, with 3,186 new infections.
Delhi sees 544 new cases, positivity 3.37 percent
In Delhi, the number of

By Dr Maharshi Desai
There is a worrying rise in typhoid cases. What are the basic precautions to be observed to prevent the disease?
It spreads due to contaminated food and water. So, you need to take care, especially in monsoon season, about the following:
Wash your hands with soap and water before eating or handling food.
* Drink uncontaminated water. If in doubt, boil water.
* Do not eat icy drinks and do not eat popsicles or flavoured ice.
* Eat food that is freshly and completely cooked.
*

Delhi on Saturday recorded 544 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 3.37 per cent, as two more people succumbed to the virus, according to health department data.
This is the third consecutive day when the daily case count has remained in the range of 500-600. Delhi on Friday had recorded 531 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 3.13 per cent, and three fatalities.
With the fresh infections and fatalities, Delhi’s caseload climbed to 19,40,302 and the death toll increased to 26,

Around 70 per cent of senior citizens did not have access to proper healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic while over 57 per cent faced mental health issues, according to a survey by Max group firm Antara.
Launched in 2013, Antara is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Max India Limited, one of the three listed entities of the Max Group. It is an integrated service provider for all senior care needs, operating two main lines of businesses – residences for seniors and assisted care ser

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a recent media briefing informed that a new variant of the Covid-19 bacteria, BA 2.75, has been identified in India. The variant has now been found in 10 more counties. It’s not yet clear if the new strain is more severe than its predecessors. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in response to the growing concerns about the fluctuations in Covid-19 numbers recently issued a letter to the states and territories,

India witnessed 18,840 new coronavirus cases in the country in the last 24 hours, the data released by the union health ministry suggests. The death toll has risen to 5,25,386 with 43 new Covid-related deaths in the last 24 hours. As of now, there are over 1,25,028 active coronavirus cases in the country. The daily positivity rate is at 4.14 percent and the recovery rate is at 98.51 percent. Close to 200 million vaccine doses have already been administered under the national immunization drive.

India witnessed 18,840 new coronavirus cases in the country in the last 24 hours, the data released by the union health ministry suggests. The death toll has risen to 5,25,386 with 43 new Covid-related deaths in the last 24 hours. As of now, there are over 1,25,028 active coronavirus cases in the country. The daily positivity rate is at 4.14 percent and the recovery rate is at 98.51 percent. Close to 200 million vaccine doses have already been administered under the national immunization drive.

The NTAGI’s Standing Technical Sub-Committee (STSC) approved the use of COVID-19 vaccines Corbevax and Covaxin for children aged between five and 12 years, official sources said on Friday.
However, there was no decision on introducing these vaccines in the vaccination programme.
Data of Biological E’s Corbevax and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for children aged between five and 12 years were reviewed in the STSC meeting held on June 16 and members decided that the vaccines can be re

In a shocking incident, a man was hospitalised recently for consuming vitamin D supplements, more than was recommended, a case study published in the British Medical Journal. The study pointed out that the man took the supplement dose along with 19 other supplements he was recommended by a private nutritionist as part of a regimen.
The report said that the man suffered from nausea, abdominal pain, recurrent vomiting, cramps in his legs, a dry mouth, among other things. The report said, “Th

India witnessed a surge of 18,815 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally across the country to 4,35,85,554. With this, the active cases in the country have gone up to 1,22,335, the Union health ministry informed today. With the loss of 38 more lives across the country in the last 24 hours, the total death toll has gone up to 5,25,343.
According to the ministry, the active cases consist of 0.28 percent of the total infections, even as the national COVID-19 recovery rate stoo

Wockhardt Hospitals, Mira Road recently conducted a survey that revealed that around 61 percent of people don’t know the warning signs of stroke which is the concept of B.E.F.A.S.T (Balance Loss, Eyesight Blurring or Loss, Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties, and Time).
“There is a lack of awareness regarding stroke in the general population. But, treatment within the golden hour of stroke can save many lives. To address the needs of stroke patients and help them to re

National Health Authority (NHA) on Thursday announced the successful onboarding of more than one lakh government and private health care facilities in the Health Facility Registry of its flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
“ABDM is the flagship scheme of government being implemented by National Health Authority (NHA). Health Facility Registry (HFR) which is being built under the ABDM is a comprehensive repository of health facilities of the country across modern and tra

A team of experts from Amrita Hospital conducted a study to analyse contraceptive use, knowledge, and fertility intentions in Wayanad district and found that only 26.4 percent use contraceptives as compared to the state average of 53 percent. Moreover, knowledge about contraceptive use was poor among more than half of the women (53%).
According to the hospital, The sample size was 2500 women in the reproductive age group of 15-49 years. The women represented in the study are mainly from Paniya,

As the researchers detect yet another sub-strain of the novel coronavirus, it is safe to say that the pandemic is not ending anytime soon. For most of the world that has started looking at the Covid-19 infections in rearview mirror, here’s a ready reckoner.The World health Organization has now confirmed that a new variant of Omicron is circulating in India. The sub-lineage strain has now been designated as BA.2.75. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that there has been a

The Union health ministry on Wednesday cut the gap between the second and precautionary doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, from nine months to six months.
Since December 28, 2021, the precautionary dose was being administered nine months, or 39 weeks, after the second dose. Now, those aged between 18 and 59 will be administered the booster dose after 26 weeks at private vaccination centres. Those above 60 years, healthcare and frontline workers would get their precautionary dose at government vaccin

The Union Health Ministry has reduced the gap between the second and precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine for all beneficiaries from nine to six months following a recommendation by NTAGI.
Corresponding changes have been made in the CoWIN system to facilitate the new vaccine regimen.
In a letter to states and Union Territories, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Wednesday said the revision was made following a recommendation of the Standing Technical Sub-Committee of the National Technical

Scientists have found the first indications that some of the neurological symptoms in long-COVID are being caused by protein clumps appearing in the brain that are similar to those that lead to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, shows similarities between the effects of COVID-19 and the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
The researchers cautioned that the implications of the c

Residents of parts of Shanghai and Beijing have been ordered to undergo further rounds of COVID-19 testing following the discovery of new cases in the two cities, while tight restrictions remain in place in Hong Kong, Macao and other Chinese cities.
Shanghai has only just emerged from a strict lockdown that confined most of its 24 million residents to their homes for weeks and the new requirements have stirred concerns of a return of such harsh measures.The latest outbreak in China’s large

Canada is going to throw out about 13.6 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine because it couldn’t find any takers for it either at home or abroad. Canada signed a contract with AstraZeneca in 2020 to get 20 million doses of its vaccine, and 2.3 million Canadians received at least one dose of it, mostly between March and June 2021.Following concerns in the spring of 2021 about rare but potentially fatal blood clots from AstraZeneca, Canada focused on using its ample suppl

Mumbai on Tuesday logged 659 COVID-19 cases, a 53 per cent spike over Monday, taking the tally to 1,116,132 while the death toll rose by one to 19,620, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official said. A total of 1,289 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours, taking the count of recoveries in Mumbai so far to 10,90,103, he said. The city had reported 431 COVID-19 cases and two fatalities on Monday.
Mumbai is now left with 6,409 active cases, he said, adding that the case positivity rate

The highly transmissible strain of Omicron’s BA.2 sub-variant BA.2.75 has been documented to have a limited circulation in India, official sources said on Tuesday, underlining that this lineage has so far not been recorded to have enhanced severity or the spread of the disease.
Currently, the predominant circulating variant of concern of SARS-CoV-2 is Omicron VoC and globally, the BA.2 Omicron lineage has been seen to replace the BA.1 lineage, the sources said.
In India, BA.2.75 has been d

AAYU, an AI-driven health and wellness app has been recently recognised by the Ministry of Ayush for the ‘Start-up’ India program under the category of ‘Yoga in the Digital Era’ which is a part of the government’s ‘Digital India’ vision. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated this program at the ‘Digital Yoga Exhibition’ held at Mysuru on the International Day of Yoga. At the event, the PM acknowledged the AAYU app, its offerings and the na

By Dr. Rinky Kapoor
‘Hair fall cure’ is one of the most commonly searched phrases on search engines. Every person suffers from hair fall at some point in their lives. Medically hair loss is called alopecia and it can affect any part of the body. Hair is considered a mark of beauty and not having hair especially scalp hair frequently causes physiological distress. Hair loss changes the way a person looks. It causes many personal, social, and work-related issues and it makes the patien

Macau reported 89 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking the total to more than 900 infections since mid-June, as authorities in the world’s biggest gambling hub race to contain its largest outbreak since the pandemic began. More than 13,000 people are under quarantine in the Chinese special administrative region, which has effectively shut down to limit the spread of coronavirus.The city’s more than 600,000 residents are subject to three citywide COVID-19 tests this week, with peo

Maharashtra on Monday reported 1,515 new Covid-19 cases, nearly 50 per cent less compared to the previous day, and three more deaths linked to the infection, taking the overall tally to 79,86,811 and the toll to 1,47,943, said the state health department. The state logged a drop of 1,447 cases as compared to Sunday when the daily tally was 2,962. Similarly, the number of coronavirus-linked fatalities dipped to three from six the previous day.
Mumbai reported 431 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hou

As part of IHW Council’s Gratitude Week 2022 doctors and nurses at several hospitals Delhi, including those in the largest dedicated COVID-19 facility Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital on Monday got a pleasant surprise when groups of super bikers came to greet them with flowers in their hands to express their gratitude for the selfless services the healthcare fraternity has been rendering to people in the wake of the pandemic.
The initiative was conducted in association with JK Tyre and Bharat

Researchers have developed a new N95 face mask that can not only reduce COVID-19 spread but also kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus upon contact with it. The mask can potentially be worn longer, causing less plastic waste as it does not need to be replaced as frequently, the researchers said.
“We think the work is a first step toward longer-lasting, self-sterilising personal protective equipment, such as the N95 respirator,” said Edmund Palermo, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the US

Scientists in the US have developed a rapid COVID-19 test that can accurately detect all current variants of SARS-CoV-2 within hours. The test, CoVarScan, detects the signatures of eight hotspots on the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.The researchers at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center in the US tested CoVarScan on samples collected from more than 4,000 patients.The research, published recently in the journal Clinical Chemistry, shows that the test is as accurate as

Parts of eastern China are running fresh rounds of mass COVID-19 testing, as the country faces new waves of infections while recovering from impact of the spring outbreaks that hit Beijing and Shanghai. China continues to demand local authorities detect and contain new infections as soon as possible in its “dynamic COVID zero” strategy, although it has warned against expanding strict curbs unnecessarily as it struggles to revive the economy.Daily numbers of locally transmitted infect

Delhi on Sunday recorded 648 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 4.29 per cent, while five more people succumbed to the viral disease, according to data shared by the health department here. This is the fourth consecutive day when the daily case count is less than 1,000.With the fresh infections and fatalities, Delhi’s caseload climbed to 19,37,013 and the death toll increased to 26,271, the health department bulletin said. The fresh cases on Sunday came out of 15,103 tests cond

Maharashtra on Sunday recorded 2,962 COVID-19 cases, including 761 in Mumbai, and one more patient of BA.4 sub-variant of Omicron besides six fatalities, the health department said in a bulletin. With the latest additions, Maharashtra’s tally of infections rose to 79,85,296 and the COVID-19 death toll to 1,47,940.A day earlier, the state had seen 2,971 cases and five fatalities. The state is now left with 22,485 active cases.
The health bulletin said one more patient of BA.4 sub-variant of

Coronavirus July 2nd Latest Updates: India on Saturday witnessed a slight drop in the daily case count as the country logged 17,092 new Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours. The health ministry records show that there were 29 coronavirus deaths across India on Saturday. While the daily cases have dropped a bit, the surge in terms of active case count continues. With an increase of over 2,000 new infections, India’s active case count remained above 1 lakh mark. The official bulletin say

By Dr Abhishek Hoshing
Know how prolonged screen use in the past two years during the pandemic has affected your eye health and what you can do about it
Has increasing digital experiences and screen use actually affected eyes in the past two years?
Yes, incidence of digital eye strain has increased with increase in computer vision syndrome. People who never used glasses before have started requiring glasses, especially children. More children require glasses now and those who were alre