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Covid-19 Wrap-up: Doubts over vaccine dose gap arise

Last Updated 16 June 2021, 13:34 IST

As speculation over India's vaccination policy worries experts, the latest development raises doubts on the Centre touting that a longer gap between vaccine doses was just as effective. Divergent views seemed to emerge as reports cited National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) scientists saying that they did not back increasing the gap in vaccination doses. The Centre has maintained that "the dosing decision was based on scientific evidence" and there were no dissenting voices.

The Health Ministry had announced the decision to change the gap from 6-8 weeks to 12-16 weeks at a time when vaccine supplies were falling short and infections were surging across the country. It said the extended gap was recommended by the NTAGI, based on real-life evidence, mainly from Britain. Yet the NTAGI scientists, classified by the government as three of the 14 "core members", said the body did not have enough data to make such a recommendation.

The Congress took the Centre to task, questioning the decision by the government to double the gap between the doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, asking whether it was prompted by a vaccine shortage. "GOI’s constant attempts to save PM’s fake image are facilitating the virus & costing people’s lives," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

A controversy also brewed over the contents of the indigeneous coronavirus vaccine - Covaxin - after news on social media went viral that newborn calf serum is used for manufacturing it. The Centre rubbished these claims saying that facts were "twisted and misrepresented" in social media posts. It said that newborn calf serum is used only for the preparation and growth of vero cells. Serum from bovine and other animal are standard enrichment ingredient used globally for vero cell growth, it said.

Even as the gasping of patients from the second wave is barely days behind, fears that the national capital may see an 'explosion' in Covid-19 cases are rampant as all Covid norms were flouted with the unlock process underway. Doctors say Delhi's near-complete re-opening is concerning. The city's authorities have said they would reimpose strict curbs if cases rise. With visuals of death and families mourning their loved ones lost to the deadly pandemic, major companies in India are trying everything from therapy and counseling apps to yoga and mindfulness sessions to help employees combat the overwhelming sense of grief and trauma.

As India prepares for the third wave, monoclonal antibodies or antibody cocktails may be the need of the hour, albeit the high price, which may be the staggering factor. Regeneron's Covid-19 antibody cocktail reduced by a fifth the 28-day mortality of people admitted to hospital with Covid-19 whose immune system had not mounted an antibody response, known as seronegative.

For the first time in two months, Bengaluru logged less than 1,000 new Covid-19 cases, as the state on Tuesday reported 5,041 fresh infections and 115 deaths. Karnataka, which began a gradual unlock starting Monday, may see more curbs being eased in the next few days. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday indicated that there will be further relaxation in lockdown restrictions in the state after June 21, when the current Covid-19 guidelines come to an end. All centrally protected monuments, sites and museums across the country opened their doors to visitors from Wednesday as India logged over 62,000 new infections and over 2,500 fatalities in the last 24 hours.

Among major districts, Chennai, Kolkata and Gurugram lead the charge in terms of second-dose coverage. Chennai has fully vaccinated nearly 13 per cent of its population, while Kolkata and Gurugram trail closely behind, having given jabs to 12 per cent and 11.8 per cent of their respective populations.

Anticipating intermittent surges in Covid-19 cases, especially among children, the government issued guidleines for Covid care on Wednesday which specify that drugs such as ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, favipiravir and antibiotics like doxycycline and azithromycin prescribed for adult Covid-19 patients are not recommended for kids.

The Delta plus strain, of which not much is known so far, has been labelled “variant of interest” at the moment and not a “variant of concern” as there isn't enough information on its transmissibility and virulence, the Niti Aayog said on Tuesday. "This is a variant of interest that has not yet been classified as a variant of concern. A VOC is that in which we have understood the adverse consequences to humanity in terms of increased transmissibility and severity. This is not known yet about the Delta plus variant,” Niti Aayog's Vinod Paul said.

Days after a probe was ordered by the Haridwar district administration into alleged fake Covid tests during the Kumbh Mela, reports have surfaced that over 1 lakh tests were forged by a private agency. The Kumbh was suspected to be one of the key superspreader events that added to the surging coronavirus infections in India. Experts and activists condemned that the religious gathering was allowed against health experts' advice even as the country was facing its worst crisis.

On the international front, the Chinese scientist at the centre of theories that the coronavirus pandemic originated with a leak from her specialized lab in the city of Wuhan has denied her institution was to blame for the health disaster. "How on earth can I offer up evidence for something where there is no evidence?" Dr Shi Zhengli told the New York Times in rare comments to the media. The leak hypothesis had been floated earlier during the global outbreak but was widely dismissed as a conspiracy theory. However, it has gained increasing traction recently, fuelled by reports that three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology became sick in 2019 after visiting a bat cave in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan.

Meanwhile, the polarisation between countries over coronavirus restrictions seem to be widening. Even as New York lifted most Covid curbs marking a momentous day for the United States, vaccination campaigns are barely underway in many Asian countries such as Vietnam, Taiwan and Thailand. Others, like China, Japan, South Korea and Australia, have seen a sharp rise in inoculations in recent weeks, while remaining far from offering vaccines to all who want one. While Americans celebrate what feels like a new dawn, for many of Asia’s 4.6 billion people, the rest of this year will look a lot like the last, with extreme suffering for some and others left in a limbo of subdued normalcy.

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(Published 16 June 2021, 12:51 IST)

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