Archives for May 2021

NEW DELHI: A study conducted by a private healthcare facility in Delhi has found that vaccines were found to be effective in combating the mutated variants of coronavirus and guarding against severe infection, hospitalisation and even death.

There have also been instances where people have succumbed to the virus after being vaccinated fully.

According to the Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, the study was conducted as concerns have been raised on the efficacy of vaccination against the mutated variants of COVID-19.

The study was carried on 69 symptomatic healthcare workers working at the hospital, who tested positive for COVID-19 despite being administered the Covishield vaccine, during the first 100 days of the vaccination drive earlier this year.

Among the 69 people, 51 were fully vaccinated with two doses and the remaining 18 were partially immunised with a single dose, prior to acquiring the infection, said Dr Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director and Senior Pediatric Gastroenterologist of Apollo Hospitals.

The predominant infections occurred from B.1.617.2 lineage (47.83 per cent), followed by B.1 and B.1.1.7 strains, he said.

“There were only two hospital admissions (2.89%) for minor symptoms, but no ICU admissions and deaths, from this group. These findings are significant because more than half of the cohort were found infected with the Variant of Concern (VoC) and still escaped from the severe illness, which could have been a severe event for them without vaccination coverage,” Sibal said.

Variants of Concern are mutated versions of a virus that may spread more rapidly or may cause severe illness and hence notified for global monitoring by the World Health Organization and other multi-lateral health agencies.

Dr Raju Vaishya, Senior Consultant, Orthopedics, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, and one of One of the key authors of the study, said post-vaccination, SARS-COV-2 infections were seen only in a small subset of their healthcare workers.

“Since, the immunity in an individual takes some time after the vaccination, therefore, it is essential for the vaccinated individual to be extra careful at least two weeks after the second dose of vaccination and even further, by taking universal safety precautions like maintaining social distancing, using face masks, and hand sanitation,” Vaishya said.

The study concluded that the prior vaccination in the healthcare workers offered clear protection from severe disease due to variants requiring hospital and ICU admissions and even causing deaths.

This is the second study whose findings have been released by the hospital.

The facility had also released the findings of a study on May 15 which had stated that only 0.06 percent of people who contracted the virus after vaccination required hospitalisation with no ICU or ventilators used.

The second study narrowed down to analysing those healthcare workers who were affected with the more virulent strain of coronavirus, the hospital said.

The study analysed nasopharyngeal samples for genome sequencing, in collaboration with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), a statement from the hospital said.

Genome sequencing is the key test to identify the nature of the virus and the variants that may emerge.

Currently, this facility is available in only 10 select government organisations, but such testing facilities are now being increased in the near future by the Centre, the statement said.

NEW DELHI: Farmers agitating at three Delhi border points raised black flags, shouted anti-government slogans, burnt effigies and took out protest marches as they observed ‘black day’ on Wednesday to mark the completion of six months of their stir against the three Central agri laws.

As part of their ‘black day’ protest, the farmers put up black flags and burnt effigies of government leaders at the three border points — Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri — to register their protest against the three laws as well as the Centre.

The Delhi Police has urged people not to hold gatherings due to the COVID-19 situation and the ongoing lockdown and said it is keeping a tight vigil to deal with any situation at the protest sites.

Senior farmer leader Avtar Singh Mehma said that black flags have been hoisted not only at the protest sites but also in villages in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, adding that villagers have put up black flags atop their houses as well as on their vehicles.

“Effigies of government leaders were burnt. This day is to reiterate the fact that it has been six months since we have been protesting, but the government, which also completes seven years in office today, is not listening to us,” said Mehma.

All those in solidarity of their movement also donned black turbans and dupattas.

At the Singhu border, protestors gathered at the Kajaria Tiles office, held meetings, and took out a march towards the stage.

Farmer leader Kulwant Singh said, “The protesters took out a march carrying black flags. They burnt Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effigy while raising slogans against the three farm laws.”

“We are urging people to support farmers by putting black flag at their residence and other places,” he said.

On Tuesday, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had issued notices to Delhi, UP, Haryana on alleged flouting of COVID norms by the protesting farmers.

The Delhi Police too had urged people not to hold gatherings due to the COVID-19 situation and the ongoing lockdown.

However, Mehma said that the government shouldn’t have introduced the three laws during the pandemic in the first place.

“If the government wants us to go back then it should listen to us and repeal the laws, because we are not going anywhere unless our demands are met.

“It is not our hobby to sit in the heat and the cold at the borders. We also want to go back home and be safe,” the farmer leader told PTI.

Police force has been in place at all the borders points, including the protest sites of Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur, since Tuesday.

At Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, hundreds of farmers, led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait, converged into groups as they burnt an effigy of the Centre in protest.

A ruckus briefly ensued between protestors and the local police, donning anti-riot gears, who had tried to stop them from burning the effigy at the UP Gate below the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.

While many BKU supporters held black flags in their hands, several others had placards that condemned the government and demanded withdrawal of the contentious laws, even as COVID-19 protocols on social distancing and face masks were largely amiss at the site.

Tikait, who has been leading the protest at Ghazipur since November 2020 and had become a prominent face of the protest after the January 26 violence in Delhi, was seen sporting a black-colour turban and a black flag.

The influential BKU spokesperson from western Uttar Pradesh was credited with reviving the protest that had lost sheen after the January 26 violence with his emotional pull that overnight drew support for the farmers on Delhi’s outskirts.

Thousands of protesting farmers reached Delhi borders on November 26 last year to protest against the Centre’s three new farm laws.

Meanwhile, a plea in the Delhi High Court has sought an independent probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into an alleged attack on the farmers camped on the outskirts of the national capital in protest against the Centre’s three farm laws.

The petition has alleged that on January 29 the farmers’ camp at Singhu border, between Delhi and Haryana, was attacked by some miscreants “with assistance and guidance of the police personnel” deployed there.

It has claimed that a criminal complaint in relation to the attack was filed at the Alipur police station against the miscreants and erring officers of Delhi Police, however, no FIR was lodged.

The plea has also claimed that representations were sent to the CBI, the Chief Justice of India, National Commission for Women and National Human Rights Commission requesting for proper enquiry to be conducted against the accused persons, but nothing happened.

KOLKATA: The Indian Army on Wednesday said that in coordination with the West Bengal government it has positioned rescue and relief columns across the areas on the Odisha-West Bengal coast expected to be affected by “very severe cyclonic storm”, which made landfall this morning, battering coastal districts of the two states with heavy rain and strong winds.

According to the India Meterological Department, the very severe cyclonic storm Yaas centred about 50 kilometer south -southeast of Balasore and landfall process commenced at 9 am.

“Meanwhile, in East Midnapore, one rescue column has been launched to rescue 32 civilians who are stuck due to a surge in water levels”, the Army said.

The West Bengal state government has set up a round-the-clock control room in the secretariat annexe to monitor the situation. 

Modi extended condolences to those who have suffered and lost near and dear ones in the pandemic, and said he grieved with them.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that the planet will not be the same after COVID-19 and noted that the events in future will be remembered as either pre or post-Covid.

However, he added, there is now a better understanding of the pandemic, and described vaccine as absolutely important to save lives and defeat the virus.

He also extended condolences to those who have suffered and lost near and dear ones in the pandemic, and said he grieved with them.

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday reported 2,08,921 COVID-19 infections, pushing the overall tally of cases to 2,71,57,795, as the country conducted 22,17,320 coronavirus tests, its highest-ever in a day, according to Union Health Ministry data.

A total of 22,17,320 tests, the highest in a day, were conducted on Tuesday taking the cumulative number so far in the country to 33,48,11,496, while the daily positivity declined to 9.42 per cent, the ministry said.

This is the second day in a row that positivity rate has remained below 10 per cent, the ministry said.

The updated data showed that the number of active cases have further come down to 24,95,59, constituting 9.19 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 89.66 per cent.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,43,50,816, while the case fatality rate was 1.15 per cent, the data showed.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore on May 4.