Wastewater surveillance programmes for India: A call for action

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a disaster emergency on September 9 2022, to ramp up efforts to vaccinate residents against polio after the virus was detected in wastewater samples in four counties. While wastewater surveillance is an effective tool for monitoring community health, there has been no concerted governmental effort in India to include it in the broader public health strategy.Such a programme could better predict the emergence of diseases, help prepare mitigation measures and improve public health outcomes

Long Covid Among Kids: Numbers May Not Be Too High, But It’s a Big Risk to Ignore Its Threats

Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, it has been clear that children are less severely affected by Sars-CoV-2 than adults. Coronavirus infections in children usually do not cause symptoms, or the symptoms are mild. Nevertheless, many children infected with the omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic, show health effects, even months after the virus was first detected. Recent studies have shown that long Covid is prevalent in children infected with Sars-CoV-2. India started its vaccination campaign for kids above 12 in January 2022, but we need to drastically increase this coverage to protect children from long Covid.

Why India’s 75-Day Free Booster Drive is a Smart Move and How Can it be Made Smarter

To facilitate and enhance the ongoing mass vaccination campaign for Covid-19, the government has made booster doses free for citizens above 18 years of age for 75 days, starting July 15. This announcement has come amidst the rise of Covid-19 cases across India. The decision is not only bold, but also smart. This is because a staggering 92% Indians, who are currently eligible for a third dose, have not yet taken their shots and are now late receivers. The move is targeting many objectives together: increasing affordability, improving accessibility to more groups and strengthening the trust of the people in government authorities. However, poor awareness and implementation can hinder the ultimate objective of the decision.

Vaccine Nationalism of Rich Countries: A Self-Defeating Approach With No Winners

Just a week ago, Danish officials confirmed that they will be doing away with more than 1.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as their efforts to give them to other countries have failed. While on one hand, several rich countries like Denmark have vaccines in surplus, on the other hand, The Duke Global Health Innovation Centre has estimated that the majority in low-income countries will have to wait until 2023 to be vaccinated.

From Libya to Afghanistan and Syria, Vaccination Rates in War-Torn Nations Are Alarmingly Low

Fear grips the lives of people in various disputed regions around the world. Fear of several years of war and destruction and now the fear of a fatal global pandemic. The already hobbled healthcare systems have further been overwhelmed with high infection rates of Covid-19. As newer variants continue to keep coming up, the best possible way out of the situation is to get the maximum possible number of people vaccinated. However, vaccinating people in crisis zones has been fraught with difficulties thus far. Many of these areas have not even partially vaccinated one-fourth of their population. Rapid and concerted efforts in the coming months are critical to closing the vaccine distribution gap.

Current Booster Dose Policy is Not Enough. India Needs More Booster Shots To Beat The Fourth Wave

India has not begun booster doses for all adults. This is after fourteen months of initiation of the vaccination campaign. Apart from this, India has nine approved vaccines in its basket. The imprudent policy for administering booster doses is putting millions of lives at risk. According to the current policy, boosters are only open to the frontline workers and those above the age of 60. Understanding that the recent surge in cases due to the detection of new variants can be a cause of concern, India should start allocating third doses for all people.

Missing Females: Underreporting of COVID-19 Cases Among Women Shows A Persistent And Global Problem

In the healthcare sector, relevant and accurate data has become everything. Public health across the globe can be tremendously improved with the help of accurate and timely data. But data on women’s health has always remained in the dark. Several surveys and reports have repeatedly shown that “Missing Women,” a term coined by Indian economist Amartya Sen, is a global problem. This underreporting of females has come to light yet again. A recent research study has demonstrated that many countries have failed to report female infections throughout the pandemic equally.

In a fast-paced, digital world, data becomes essential at each step. Developing a blind spot for continued underreporting adds to the “normalisation” of men representing the entire population’s health. The missing data is a significant impediment to a country’s holistic development and improvement in overall health. It is now that the world should turn towards addressing and filling in the data gap; otherwise, we would fail to produce better outcomes for women’s health.

Omicron: Is India testing enough?

With the onslaught of the third wave, low testing rates have become a point of concern. With positivity rates touching 30 per cent in some cities as against the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s recommended five per cent, we do not see a proportional rise in the number of cases. This low number contributes to the narrative about the meekness of the Omicron variant hindering our implementation of the 3T strategy of testing, tracking and treatment.

Omicron: Clinically milder but potentially deadlier

There has been a sudden surge in Covid cases across the country in the past few days. This increase can be attributed to the newest Covid-19 variant: Omicron. Ignorance, misconception, and a delay in response could result in India's even more fatal third wave. With India still reeling from the effects of earlier waves and the economic crisis, a new variant, while less fatal, could turn out to be deadlier.

Why India shouldn't allow COVID-19 booster dose

The Delta variant caused a fresh wave of Covid-19 infections worldwide, aggravating the global public health catastrophe. The currently available Covid-19 vaccines are effective against the Delta variant, which prompted researchers to evaluate whether booster doses for vaccinated people are necessary and when they should be given. The objective of the booster dose is to extend vaccine efficacy in people already administered with primary vaccination. However, this decision should be taken after careful analysis of the necessity of boosters and their timing. India, however, should refrain from administering booster doses to its population until further studies are done to show its utility.Read the full article in the Deccan Herald