‘Covaxin will also provide immunity against Covid mutants’: ICMR scientist
Dr Samiran Panda, scientist, India Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said that Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin will also provide immunity against covid-19 mutants.
Panda added that India has taken a smart vaccination approach.
“Covaxin presents to the immune system a wide array of antigens,” said Panda.
He added, “The array of proteins and range of cells are the soldiers of immunity which will be developed following vaccination.
So that will be able to address the mutants as well.
I’m not tremendously worried and we don’t have any scientific evidence as yet that the mutants are going to challenge the efficacy of the vaccine.” Panda added, “Within 10-12 months, the vaccine has come out and this underlines the superiority, ability and the commitment of the scientists of India and I would say this is phenomenal.” Watch the full video for more.
This is little Fan Xing's introduction to the world and he seems quite at homeat Ouwehands Zoo in the Netherlands. Since his birth on May 1 the young giantpanda stayed in the maternity pen with his mother Wu Wen. The 14kg cub sleepsfour fours between meals, followed by short and careful walks and longstretching exercises. Zoologist José Kok says: "As you could see, this isreally the moment that he starts to eat bamboo. In the beginning, it was onlynibbling on it and playing with it, but now you can see that he starts to eat,and we only know if he eats as soon as there are pieces of bamboo in his pooof course, we didn't see that yet, but I think it will happen not far fromhere." Fan Xing's parents went to the Netherlands in 2017 from the pandarescue centre in China. The bears were supposed to breed because there are notmany giant pandas left in the wild. "You know, we are very eager toparticipate in breeding programmes and especially for the giant panda becausethe giant panda is the symbol for threatened nature. So right from thebeginning, when we started this project, it was our aim to get the pandas hereand do the breeding. Yes, but when the pandas arrived here, mum and dad, theywere only three years old. So we had to wait another three years before theywere finally able to mate and get a cub," Kok says. The young panda's name FanXing refers to Van Gogh's painting Starry Night. Fan comes from Fan Gao, whichmeans Van Gogh in Chinese, while Xing, which means star, and symbolises hope,is also a reference to the panda's father Xing Ya, meaning Elegant Star. Themother's name Wu Wen means Beautiful Powerful Cloud. Giant pandas are solitaryanimals. The male panda Xing Ya lives in a separate enclosure. It took a lotof time and creativity to bring the two together to mate. Kok says: "We alwayssaid we prefer the natural way, and we saw right from the beginning when thefemale is in oestrus, we had them close to each other. Normally they liveapart, but when she was in distress we would have them a little bit closer toeach other, and we could see that, wow, they didn't hate each other, you know,and that was good news because if there was not this mix is good, good feelingbetween the two of them, you would never have a mating." Wu Wen now has atleast a few years of rest before another breeding attempt is made. In thewild, pandas do not often get pregnant, as the bears live solitary lives andfemales are only fertile for a few days each year. The Ouwehands zoo in Rheneis the only zoo in the Netherlands where visitors can see giant pandas. Thezoo and the Chinese panda rescue centre made the deal giving the panda'sfamily only a temporary home. Kok knows the panda's time is limited. She says:"Well, the cub Fan Fan Xing, he can stay here until he's four years old andthen he has to go back to China and really normally the cubs would stay withmum for about two years. So we have to see how the relationship between thesetwo develops. And definitely, we're going to get them together again foranother mating in the future." Wu Wen and Xing Ya will stay in the Netherlandsfor fifteen years.
Credit: PA - Press Association STUDIO Duration: 01:10Published
As per the data released by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), India on January 19 reported single-day spike of 10,064 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. 137 deaths in the same period pushed the COVID-19 toll in the country to 1,52,556. India's confirmed cases of coronavirus stand at 1,05,81,837 which include 2,00,528 active infections. More than 1,02,28,753 people have recovered from the virus with 17,411 new discharges in last 24 hours. According to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 7,09,791 samples were tested on January 18. Cumulative samples tested for COVID-19 till January 18 are 18,78,02,827.
As per the data released by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), India on January 18 reported single-day spike of 13,788 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. 145 deaths in the same period pushed the COVID-19 toll in the country to 1,52,419. India's confirmed cases of coronavirus stand at 1,05,71,773 which include 2,08,012 active infections. More than 1,02,11,342 people have recovered from the virus with 14,457 new discharges in last 24 hours. According to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 5,48,168 samples were tested on January 17. Cumulative samples tested for COVID-19 till January 17 are 18,70,93,036.
On January 16, total COVID-19 tally of India reached to 1,05,42,841. The country reported 15,158 new COVID-19 cases in last 24 hours and active cases stands at 2,11,033. With new 16,977 discharges, total number reached to 1,01,79715. 175 deaths were reported in last 24 hours, taking cumulative toll to 1,52,093. According to ICMR, total number of samples tested up to 11th January is 18,57,65,491 and of these, 8,03,090 samples were tested yesterday.
Union Health minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan reiterated the two vaccines which have been granted approval for use in India are safe and effective. He added that some people are playing politics over the issue resulting in vaccine hesitancy among a section of the people. Harsh Vardhan said that the vaccines will be the last nail in the coffin of Covid. He also said that mild fever, pain and swelling are common after vaccination and added that very few people have shown these side-effects too. Questions have been raised about the safety of Covaxin which has not yet published any data from phase three clinical trials. Additionally, the government has also said that people will not get to choose a vaccine in the first phase. Watch the full video for all the details.
Credit: HT Digital Content Duration: 03:11Published
Health and Family Welfare Ministry of India on January 19 said that in case of the Covaxin which has been given emergency use authorization under clinical trial mode (Covaxin), hospitalization cost would be borne by authorities. He said, "There are two vaccines. One of the two vaccines is given emergency use authorization under clinical trial mode. In a document for this vaccine, it's mentioned that if there's causal relation between immunization and adverse event weather it is severe or serious, hospitalization cost would be borne by authorities."
Karnataka Association of Resident Doctors (KARD) has demanded the government to let people choose which COVID-19 vaccine, between Pune-based Serum Institute of India's Covishield and Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, they want to take. "Government of India has approved Covishield and Covaxin vaccines. We have all the reports for Covishield. But, Covaxin is still in phase-III trials, where the trial is being done on healthcare workers. We condemn this...Healthcare workers should be given a choice of vaccine," said Dr Dayanand Sagar. GoI rolled out COVID-19 vaccine jab from January 16.
In the recent times, Kashmiri youth have chosen art to express their thoughts. A 19-year-old girl Ritambra from Kathua district has astounded everyone with her artwork. Without any guidance from teacher, Ritambra has mastered in sketching. Her constant source of encouragement has been her parents and sibling. During COVID induced lockdown, she got a chance to shine her art and now she has become a sensation. From former President APJ Abdul Kalam and PM Narendra Modi to sports and film celebrities, Ritambra has made portraits of several known personality. Ritambra's father Sukh Dev Singh wanted her to join a professional filed but after seeing his daughter's skills, Singh motivated and encouraged her to sharpen the art form. Ritambra has become an inspiration for girls sitting idle in their homes to come up with their talent and skill.
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