Health

Former US secretary of state Colin Powell dies of Covid complications: Statement

Former US secretary of state Colin Powell dies of Covid complications: Statement

The former top military officer died on Monday morning, his family said. He rose to become the first African-American secretary of state in 2001 under Republican President George W Bush. Powell, who was fully vaccinated, later prompted controversy for his role in garnering support for the Iraq War. "We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American," the family said in a statement, thanking the staff at the Walter Reid Medical Center "for their caring treatment". As a four-star Army general, he was chairman of the military's Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W.…
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India to restart COVID vaccine exports to COVAX, neighbours

India to restart COVID vaccine exports to COVAX, neighbours

The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya on September 20 said the government will resume exports of COVID-19 vaccine under the Vaccine Maitri initiative from October. Mandaviya told the media that India will resume vaccine exports to fulfil the country's commitment towards the world in the collective fight against COVID. This announcement has come just a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US where the issue of vaccine export was likely going to be raised by US President, Joe Biden. Addressing the media, Mandaviya said that this is an effort to restart the 'Vaccine…
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How Parents Can Keep Their Children Safe From Covid-19

How Parents Can Keep Their Children Safe From Covid-19

Children are the heart of the concerns for an anticipated third wave of Covid-19 in India. A child with a COVID-19 infection may be asymptomatic, mildly symptomatic, moderately sick, or severely ill. The symptoms for children are similar to those for adults including fever, cough, shortness of breath and fatigue among others. is an ayurvedic syrup that helps in improving appetite and mothers can easily give home-cooked nutritious food to their children. It contains nine natural ingredients including Giloy, Amla, Pippali, etc. That is even recommended by Ayush Mantralaya to help children strengthen their natural immune system. Making sure that…
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Long Covid in kids rarely last beyond 12 weeks

Long Covid in kids rarely last beyond 12 weeks

Long Covid symptoms rarely persist beyond 12 weeks in children and adolescents unlike adults, suggests a review. The review, published in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, analysed 14 international studies involving 19,426 children and adolescents who reported persistent symptoms following Covid-19. The findings showed that long covid among children is less common than feared. The most common symptoms reported four to 12 weeks after acute infection were headache, fatigue, sleep disturbance, concentration difficulties, and abdominal pain. “It is reassuring that there was little evidence that symptoms persisted longer than 12 weeks suggesting long Covid might be less of a concern…
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Vaccination is the medicine to boost economy, says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Vaccination is the medicine to boost economy, says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said vaccination was the only medicine to boost the economy as it allows people to conduct businesses regularly or farmers to carry out farming activity. “Vaccination programme has been going on smoothly in the country and so far 73 crore people have already received jabs free of charge. Today, through vaccination programme, people were able to conduct business, traders were able to procure products to run businesses, (thereby) boosting economy, or farmers were able to do farming…So, vaccination is the only medicine (to combat the virus, to boost economy)…,” she said. Sitharaman made those…
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‘Vaccines don’t give 100 per cent protection’

‘Vaccines don’t give 100 per cent protection’

Dr. Nikhil Tandon, is Professor in the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and Head of Capacity Building at the Centre for Chronic Disease Control in New Delhi. His research interests include autoimmune thyroid disease which includes thyroid epidemiology, diabetes and metabolic bone disease, and the impact of early life events in adult chronic disease. In an interview to Swimmi Shrivastava, Dr Tandon talks about precautions everyone, especially people with diabetes and other comorbidities, should take to avoid a surge in the Covid-19 cases during the upcoming festival season. This second wave had…
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WhatsApp helps vaccination slot booking

WhatsApp helps vaccination slot booking

The MyGov Corona Helpdesk on WhatsApp now allows users to locate their nearest vaccination centre and book their vaccine-appointment. The Ministry of Health and MyGov announced it. To contact MyGov Corona Helpdesk chatbot, citizens can save the WhatsApp number +91 9013151515 on their phones, start a chat by typing ‘Book Slot’ and send it to the number. This will generate a 6-digit one-time password on the respective mobile phone number. Users then choose a preferred date and location, based on the pincode and vaccine type. All users can follow this sequence to get a confirmation of their centre and day…
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Glenmark Pharma achieves a world record

Glenmark Pharma achieves a world record

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals successfully achieved a world record for the largest pin badge sentence, 'Pride of India' on 18 August 2021, in Mumbai. A total of 22,373 Indian flag pin badges were used to create the sentence. Over 15,000 diabetologists, cardiologists and physicians from across the country participated and supported this unique initiative honouring the frontline warriors. This achievement is aimed to honour the healthcare warriors, who have been on the frontlines of the nation’s battle against COVID-19, safeguarding countrymen’s lives whilst risking theirs. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is a pioneer in the Diabetes Care segment in India. It is the first company in…
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Lupin’s Aptivate for children

Lupin’s Aptivate for children

During the peak of the second wave of Covid-19, almost 80,000 kids had tested positive across five states according to government data. There is still no approved vaccine available for children in India. So, immunity for the kid below 18 becomes a matter of paramount importance. Parents must ensure that their children are provided healthy nutritious food. Natural home remedies and time-tested ingredients like Giloy, Amla and Pippali that are also recommended by Ayush Mantralaya can be administered to help children build their natural immune system. Lupin’s Aptivate is an ayurvedic syrup that helps in improving appetite and mothers can…
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SC notice on plea seeking transparency in vaccine clinical data

SC notice on plea seeking transparency in vaccine clinical data

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a plea seeking transparency in clinical trial data for the vaccines being administered in India under emergency use authorization and also a stay on the vaccine mandates, which is being issued by authorities in various parts of the country. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing petitioner Jacob Puliyel, vehemently argued that there is evidence in the medical literature that, vaccines that have not been adequately tested for safety or efficacy are now licensed under emergency use authorization without the data being disclosed to the public. Bhushan emphasized coercive mandates for use of these inadequately…
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