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Increase gap between Covishield vaccines to 12-16 weeks; Covid recovered people should get jabs after 6 months: Govt panel

The advisory group on the Covid-19 vaccines – National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) has recommended increasing the gap between two doses of Covishield to 12-16 weeks. The recommendations will be implemented after the approval of the Health Ministry.
Currently, the interval between two doses of Covishield is four to eight weeks.

This is the second time in three months Covishield dosage intervals have been widened. Earlier in March states and UTs were told to increase the gap from 28 days to six-eight weeks “for better results”.

No change in dosage interval for Covaxin has been suggested by the panel.

A government panel has also recommended that those testing positive for COVID-19 should defer their vaccination for six months after recovery.
This announcement comes amid acute shortage of vaccines across the country.

Immunologist Dr Vineeta Bal from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) said infection-triggered immunity is likely to last for a few months, and it would be advisable to wait for 6-8 weeks after recovery. Leading vaccine scientist Dr Gagandeep Kang said data from the UK shows there is 80% protection following a natural infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is fine to even wait up to six months, she said. This is in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) which reviewed data and said it was all right to delay vaccination for six months after a natural infection, as natural antibodies are likely to persist in the body until then.

Numerous states with high infection rates, including Maharashtra and Karnataka, have halted vaccination for their population in the age group of 18-44 and diverted all vaccines to cover people above the age to 45.

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FIR filed against unidentified persons when large number of people gathered at the demise of a Muslim cleric

Muslim cleric

On Monday, the UP police filed a First Information Report (FIR) against unidentified persons, after a huge crowd gathered after the demise of a Muslim cleric. The incident tossed away Covid19 restrictions into thin air.

According to various reports, on Sunday, scores of people attended the funeral of a Muslim cleric in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun. It raised fears of a super spreader event in a state battling Covid-19. On Sunday afternoon, the cleric, Abdul Hamid Mohammad Salimul Qadri, had breathed his last. Within hours, thousands of followers gathered at the mosque where the cleric’s body was kept for public viewing. Kotwali Station House Officer Devendra Singh Dhama told a national daily that the people kept streaming in even though announcements were made from the mosque to avoid gathering.

Also See: New mutants of Coronavirus

People were seen violating distancing guidelines with a majority of them not wearing masks, in photographs, and a video clip circulating on social media.

To fight the second wave of Covid19, the UP government has restricted the number of people at funerals to 20. The penalty for not wearing masks is also stiff  at ₹ 1,000 for the first time and ₹ 10,000 for a repeat offence. Badaun Superintendent of Police Sankalp Sharma stated, “Cases have been filed against unknown people under the Epidemics Act. We are watching the video to gather evidence and strict action will be taken against those found violating restrictions.”

Also Read:Issues faced by India in dealing with Covid 19 resurge- Is it too late to contain the Second Wave

The Badaun incident comes within days of the Gujarat incident, where numerous women (around 500) had gathered in Navapura village in Sananda taluka with metallic pots on their heads for a puja-based ritual purportedly carried out to eradicate Coronavirus. After that incident, 23 were held. Prior to the Badaun incident, the Kumbh congregation and its shahi snans were among the incidents which were blamed to be super-spreaders which have probably fuelled the second wave of the pandemic.

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Results of Covid19 crisis, O2-deficit, & West Bengal election defeat- Denigration & rift within BJP

Amit-shah

The world’s largest political party, BJP is in the middle of an ever-exacerbating quagmire, where it is receiving scathing attacks from multiple quarters like the judiciary, people, party workers, and veteran leaders. Various sections of the society are lashing out at the party which leads the centre. It is due to underestimating the problems of Covid19, and the Oxygen crisis and overestimating the party muscle and the potential of its spin doctors with regards to West Bengal election, which the party lost.

Also Read: Issues faced by India in dealing with Covid 19 resurge- Is it too late to contain the Second Wave

India is dealing with a huge public health crisis due to the second wave of Covid19, and an associated issue of Oxygen deficit. Apart from that, there are questions in the air in India about the status of vaccines, especially after the country supplied around 60 million doses of vaccines to around 70 countries, prior to the onset of the second wave. Critics of the regime currently at the centre have been questioning the vaccine deficiency & unpreparedness for upgrading of health facilities, and unresponsive & insensitive dealing with the Oxygen crisis when advisers within government had forewarned about the present situation beforehand. Higher Courts had to jump in to give a suitable dose of opprobrium to the lackadaisical inaction of the government. In one of the latest developments in this regard, Delhi High Court on Tuesday (May 04) had pulled up the central government over medical oxygen. The HC issued a show-cause notice to centre as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated after it sought to wriggle out of its liability to supply 700 tonnes of medical-grade oxygen to the national capital. Apart from such flaks from the HC, BJP-led centre has also been heavily criticized by people on its apathy on the Covid19 and O2 situations in Delhi and UP.

Also Read: After receiving flak from courts on deficiency of Oxygen, central government possibly trying to blame farmers

Apart from overconfidence in themselves and underestimating the Covid19 situation, BJP workers in Indore had gone a step ahead in using the Oxygen crisis for their own media spectacle.  On April 17, Indore’s local BJP President, Gaurav Ranadive had stopped an Oxygen tanker carrying 30 tonnes of O2 for hospitals for a photo-op while patients remained gasping for the life-saving gas in the city’s hospitals. This incident delayed the Oxygen supply by hours and was criticized by people across party lines, especially by MP Pradesh Congress committee. MP Congress spokesperson, Neelabh Shukla said while castigating BJP that MP PWD minister Tulsiram Silawat carried out Puja Paath on the O2 tanker when hospitals were waiting for the gas.

Also Read: IndiGo airlifts oxygen concentrators from Thailand, Qatar, & other countries into India

After the defeat of the BJP in West Bengal election, the atmosphere changed dramatically, charged with a wave of seething anger. Now, even the diehard fans of BJP are gradually losing their calm and are questioning the government regarding vaccines and solution to the Covid19 crisis and the Oxygen deficit. Since such ardent followers are not getting anything as a recompense for their support towards BJP, which could have been crystallized by a victory in West Bengal election, the obvious outcome is anger towards the party. An example is a member of BJP IT cell, which had placed Amit Malviya to campaign on social media prior to the Bengal polls. Anshu Thakur is a member of the BJP IT cell, who is currently targeting the government over vaccines. He works as a coordinator of the IT cell (BJP) in Jhanjharpur town in the Madhubani district of Bihar. In one of his Facebook posts, he stated, “This is no time for free food. Give us vaccines.” He posted this on Bihar BJP’s Facebook page in response to a post which announced 5kg of free foodgrain in May and June for the beneficiaries of the public distribution system of the state’s coalition government, where BJP partners with Janata Dal (United).

Also Read: Dark-Side of BJP- A friend in foreign soil- Access to an oversight-immune path of funneling money-Election-Season

In West Bengal, from 2002 to 2006, Tathagata Roy was the head of the BJP unit. After the debacle of BJP in the West Bengal election, he blamed Dilip Ghosh & Kailash Vijayvargiya for the rout of the saffron camp. Roy who has also served as the Governor of Meghalaya and Tripura, on Thursday castigated BJP and levelled allegations of incompetence against Ghosh and Vijayvargiya. As a concluding remark in one of his latest tweets critiquing the Bengal unit of BJP he stated, “Now faced with abuse from party workers they (Kailash-Dilip-Shiv-Arvind) are staying put there (Agarwal Bhawan; BJP election HQ in West Bengal), hoping the storm will blow over.”

Roy, who himself is a civil engineer from IIT and has a law degree added in his vitriolic comment on Ghosh, Vijayvargiya and other current faces of Bengal BJP, “A substandard, uninspired, mercenary bunch of people with no political insight, no analytical abilities, no sense of Bengali sensitivities. Education up to Class VIII and a fitter mistri’s certificate. What do you expect?” He also accused the state leadership of BJP to be clueless about the ground sentiments in West Bengal.

Also Read: West Bengal is a tough battlefield for BJP-an overview from historical, cultural & economic standpoints

All of these developments point to the fact that BJP is now shaken to its core. The triumvirate of defeat in West Bengal election, Covid19 crisis, and the issue of Oxygen is pushing it fast against the wall built on outrage across various sections of society ranging from personnel in the party’s IT cell to a veteran politician within the party.

 

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Covid19 patients in Delhi in home isolation can now apply for Oxygen online

Oxygen

The Delhi government has set up a web portal to supply life-saving Oxygen gas to those in home isolation after being infected with the coronavirus, as caretakers of patients scramble to get O2 in the national capital.

Also Read: IndiGo airlifts oxygen concentrators from Thailand, Qatar, & other countries into India

On Thursday, the portal, delhi.gov.in will go live. An order by the Delhi government read, “Those requiring oxygen can apply with a valid photo id, Aadhar card details, Covid positive report and other documents like CT scan report if available.”

Also Read: Oxygen crisis continues- 20 patients died due to low Oxygen pressure in Delhi hospital-Gurugram hospitals staring at limited O2 supply

Officials have been given the responsibility to identify “dedicated dealers/depots to distribute such cylinders to individuals who shall not be redirected to refilling plants under any circumstances”.

The order also added, “This may be accorded top priority. The DMs shall ensure that the dealers regularly get their cylinders refilled from the designated refilling plants.”

Based on the stock availability, officials will issue a pass having the date, time, and address of the dealer/depot from where the oxygen cylinder can be issued/exchanged.

Also Read: Issues faced by India in dealing with Covid 19 resurge- Is it too late to contain the Second Wave

The order also said that a provision of lump-sum allocation of oxygen (to be given through cylinders) for individuals, non-Covid hospitals, nursing homes, ambulances, and SOS cylinders of Covid hospitals running on LMO had already been made against re-fillers with each district being assigned a re-filler.

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RLD chief and former union leader Chaudhary Ajit Singh succumbed to Covid19

Ajit-Singh

The raging second wave of Covid19 claimed another prominent personality in India. Rashtriya Lok Dal chief and former Union minister, Chaudhary Ajit Singh passed away at a private hospital in Gurugram on Thursday morning, his son Jayant Chaudhary confirmed.

Ajit Singh, who was 82 years of age had contracted Covid-19 and was tested positive last month.

Jayant tweeted, “Chaudhary Ajit Singh ji was diagnosed as Covid positive on the 20th April. He battled his condition till the very end and breathed his last today morning, the 6th of May, 2021.”

Senior party members claimed that Chaudhary Ajit singh’s cremation, was a low-key affair with only close family members in attendance, due to the raging second wave of the pandemic.

Jayant further added in a tweet, “As the nation confronts the horrific pandemic, it is our humble request to all those who wish to pay their respects, to please stay at home as far as possible. We must observe all safety protocols to keep ourselves and everyone around us healthy and safe. This would be the best way to honour Chaudhary Sahib as well as those Covid warriors who are working night and day to protect us.”

Ajit Singh was the son of the fifth Prime Minister of India, Chaudhary Charan Singh, who was a pioneer leader in the area of land and agricultural reforms. Charan Singh was known as the farmer’s Prime Minister.

Also See: An overview of farmers’ protests- role of Charan Singh

Ajit Singh had served as the Union minister of industry in former Prime Minister VP Singh’s cabinet from December 1989 to November 1990. He had later served as the Union minister of food in the PV Narasimha Rao cabinet and again as the minister of agriculture from 2001 to 2003 in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. When his party-RLD joined the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in 2011, Chaudhary Ajit Singh came on board to serve as the Union minister of civil aviation from December 2011 to May 2014 under the then Prime Minister, Dr. Man Mohan Singh.

Connection with Muzaffarpur

Ajit Singh had a special connection with Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, as per a Co-Operative leader from the region. Charan Singh as PM had visited Muzaffarpur in 1974 during the land movement. Charan Singh was there to address the issues and problems faced by farmers in the region over various angles like irrigation and control of landholdings. Co-Operative leader in Muzaffarpur, Virendra Rai had met Ajit Singh in Ajmer, when the latter had recounted the incident of the visit by Charan Singh to Muzaffarpur, which had forged a special connection for the region in Ajit Singh’s heart and soul.

Hence, apart from the national political circle, the former RLD leader Ajit Singh will also be missed in Muzaffarpur of Bihar.

 

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Chief Minister of Maharashtra has warned against complacency by people when Covid19 cases fall in number

Chief Minister of Maharashtra

Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray has said that people should not be complacent after a downward trend in cases. He said, “Several districts are seeing a decline in the number of Covid19 cases while some districts are seeing a spike. We are keeping a close tab on it. The Centre’s scientific body has warned about a third wave now. We are preparing for that since last month.”

The state of Maharashtra has reported 57,640 fresh Covid19 cases and 920 deaths in the last 24 hours as update at 1 am IST, May 06.

Also Read: Issues faced by India in dealing with Covid 19 resurge- Is it too late to contain the Second Wave

On Wednesday, Karnataka has reported 50,112 new Covid19 cases. Out of these, 23,106 cases were from Bengaluru. The state also reported 346 more deaths, out of which 161 are from the capital city. Karnataka now has a positivity rate of 32.28%, which is quite concerning. Issues related to shortage of Hospital beds have also been reported from Bengaluru.

Also See: New mutants of Coronavirus

K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor to Centre, warning that a third wave of Covid19 infections is inevitable, said, “A phase three is inevitable, given the higher levels of circulating virus but it is not clear on what time scale this phase three will occur. Vaccines are effective against current variants. New variants will arise all over the world and in India too but variants that increase transmission will likely plateau. Immune evasive variants and those which lower or increase disease severity will arise going ahead.”

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Third-wave is inevitable, so says government’s top scientific adviser

Third wave

The government’s top scientific adviser stated on Wednesday that a third wave of coronavirus infections is inevitable. The adviser further cautioned that the vaccines need to be updated to deal with the new strains that have put an excessive load on the hospitals and caused deaths of thousands.

At a government briefing, the adviser, Dr K Vijay Raghavan said, “Phase 3 (third wave) is inevitable, given the high levels at which this virus is circulating. But it is not clear at what time scale this Phase 3 will occur.”

It was observed that the current surge in the Covid19 infections is probably due to the Indian double mutant virus. On a query about whether a national lockdown was the only solution to contain the spread and the rise in the infections, VK Paul who is a NITI Aayog member and chief of the national expert group, said that any more options are being discussed. Paul further added that there is already a guideline given to the states to impose restrictions to suppress the chain of transmission. Currently, the central government has dropped the ball in the courts of the state governments’ courts, on how to contain the spread.

Also See: New mutants of Coronavirus

Under the onslaught of the second wave of Covid19, India accounted for nearly half of the cases reported worldwide last week, as per World Health Organization. Hospitals are struggling for Oxygen and beds as they fight the increasing number of cases. The Morgues and crematoriums are dealing with an almost unstoppable streamline of dead bodies in need of cremation. Many medical experts suggest that the actual figures for India could be atleast 5 to 10 times the officially reported tallies.  One crore cases were added in India in just over four months, after the country recorded its first crore cases in more than 10 months. This shows the intensity of the second wave with respect to the first wave.

Also Read: Issues faced by India in dealing with Covid 19 resurge- Is it too late to contain the Second Wave

India can test around 15 lakh tests in its 2,506 molecular testing laboratories, including RT-PCR, TrueNat, CBNAAT and other platforms. In this context, the government has issued a guideline on when not to go for RT-PCR.  How this guideline will impact the testing & the recordings of the new cases will also have impacts on the second wave and the third wave highlighted by Dr. K VijayRaghavan.

The sudden increase in the number of cases coincided with the drop in vaccination rates due to supply and delivery issues. But the fact that India exported 60 million vaccine doses to 70 countries before the arrival of the second wave cannot be ignored as a symptom of incompetency and lack anticipation by the authorities, which indeed added to the current issue of vaccine deficiency in India.

Therefore, it remains to be seen how does the government handle the inevitable third wave, when it arrives.

 

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ICMR issued new advisory on when not to go for RT-PCR testing

ICMR has released a new guideline with regards to testing for Covid19. The new guideline said, that any individual with fever, headache, sore throat, breathlessness, body ache, the recent loss of taste or smell, fatigue, diarrhea should be considered as a suspect case of Covid-19 unless proven otherwise by confirmation of another etiology.

Also See: New mutants of Coronavirus

The Indian Council of Medical Research, in its new testing guideline issued on Tuesday, has talked about reducing RT-PCR tests to take the load off the existing laboratories. This guideline comes in a backdrop where the Centre has repeatedly asked states and Union territories to increase the proportion of RT-PCR tests to at least 70 percent of all Covid-19 tests being conducted.

ICMR has recommended that there should be no RT-PCR tests if

  • An individual has tested positive by rapid antigen test.
  • An individual has tested positive once by RT-PCR test.
  • One has completed 10 days home isolation period with no fever for the last three days.
  • At the time of hospital discharge.
  •     A healthy individual is undertaking interstate domestic travel. While this is a requirement imposed by states, ICMR said this can completely be removed to reduce the load on laboratories.

Also Read: Issues faced by India in dealing with Covid 19 resurge- Is it too late to contain the Second Wave

As the number of coronavirus cases is surging, the time taken to carry out and process an RT-PCR has gone up to over 72 hours. In this regard, the ICMR is recommending bringing back the focus on Rapid Antigen Testing for mass detection.

 

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Covid19 claims the life of Siwan’s strongman & RJD MP-Mohammad Sahabuddin

Md Sahabuddin

On Saturday, Mohammad Shahabuddin, former MP of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) died a lonely death. He succumbed to Covid19. After testing positive for Covid-19, he was being treated at the DDU hospital in New Delhi.

Shahabuddin was in critical condition and doctors were planning to shift him to the LNJP hospital.

Also See: New mutants of Coronavirus

DG (Tihar) Sandeep Goel said that Shahabuddin, serving a life sentence for murder in Tihar jail, had contracted the virus on April 20, after which he was admitted to DDU hospital.  On Saturday, Goel said, “Information has been received from DDU Hospital about death of Mohd Shahabuddin. He was suffering from Covid-19 and was admitted in DDU Hospital on April 20.”

Data provided by the Tihar Jail authorities till April 23 has revealed that the prison has 227 active Coronavirus cases among jail inmates and 60 among jail staff, including a jail superintendent and two prison doctors. Officials stated that four inmates have died of Covid-19 to date.

Recently, former JNU student Umar Khalid & gangster Chhota Rajan, both of whom are in Tihar, had tested positive for the virus.

Also Read: Issues faced by India in dealing with Covid 19 resurge- Is it too late to contain the Second Wave

Sahabuddin ruled Siwan with brute muscle power for years by heading a syndicate involved in crimes ranging from kidnapping and extortion to murder with impunity.

With the demise of Sahabuddin, an inglorious chapter on the unholy infamous nexus of crime and politics has come to an end. It is a certain setback to his political boss, Lalu P Yadav who ironically has just come out of prison on bail in the fodder scam case after being discharged from AIIMS.

He was called by his supporters as Sahab & ran his fiefdom in Siwan treating Bihar police with disdain in his heyday before the law caught up with him.

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Referring to powers under Drugs Control Act Supreme court pulls up Centre on Covid19 management

Meravote.Org

The higher judiciary has pulled up and questioned the apathetic response of the centre regarding the management of the public health crisis unfolding in the wake of the second wave of the Coronavirus. The action from the Apex court comes at a time when the centre is trying to throw away the responsibility of handling the requirements of the hospitals on the states and certain state governments like that in UP are brushing away the grim picture. Involvement of the highest court comes at the correct time as the CM of UP had stated in an insensitive tone about invoking NSA on questioning of availability of Oxygen.

Also Read: Issues faced by India in dealing with Covid 19 resurge- Is it too late to contain the Second Wave

On Tuesday, Supreme Court of India flagged the differential vaccine pricing during a suo motu hearing on issues regarding Covid-19 management, asking for a clarification from the Centre on the issue, even as in an affidavit the government challenged what the GOI calls a “completely false narrative” that it had failed to anticipate the second surge.

Also Read: Officials of Election Commission should be booked for murder, said Chief Justice of Madras High Court while castigating ECI

Addressing the central government, a Bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat said, “The Union of India shall also clarify in its affidavit the basis and rationale adopted in regard to the pricing of vaccines.”

Pointing out that the “different manufacturers are quoting different prices”, Justice Bhat chided Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, “There are powers under the Drugs Control Act and Patents Act. This is a pandemic and a national crisis. If this is not the time to invoke such powers, what is the time?”

The Bench of the Apex court also clarified that its hearing of Covid-19 matters would not “supplant or substitute the process of hearings undertaken by various High Courts to deal with issues related to the pandemic”, adding that it cannot be a “mute spectator” during “a national crisis”.

Also Read: Equal rights of daughters in joint Hindu family property- how far the Coparcenary law has come

The three-judge bench of justices D Y Chandrachud, L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat said, “There are certain national issues to be dealt by the Supreme Court. At a time of national crisis, the Supreme Court cannot be a silent spectator. We are not preventing the High Courts from hearing. The Supreme Court intends to play a complimentary role.”

Supreme Court of India has again clarified that while taking up the shortage of oxygen, medicines, vaccines and other supplies in the Covid crisis, it did not intend to stop High Courts from hearing petitions in various states. The Apex court said that it wanted to play a complimentary role and could not be a silent spectator during what it called a “national calamity” for the country.

The judges further added that the Covid19 situation across the country along with the Oxygen shortage, is a “national calamity” and the court must protect the lives of citizens.

Last week, Supreme Court of India had decided to take up the problems related to distribution of oxygen, vaccines and medicines across the country amid rising number of Covid19 cases and had issued notice to the Centre in this regard. Calling for a “national plan”, the Apex court had said that six High Courts across the country were hearing-related petitions but there was confusion and diversion of resources.

Since then, the Apex court has repeatedly clarified that its intention was not to hijack the High Court cases.

Also Read: Supreme Court stated that the conception that housewives do not add to economic value of household must be overcome

In its affidavit to the Court submitted on Tuesday, the Centre listed the steps taken by it to meet the Covid-19 challenge, enumerating measures to boost oxygen supply on “a war footing” and ensuring drug supplies, and said that it was implementing “innovative measures”.

At the hearing, the Apex Court asked the Centre to “clarify the projected requirement of vaccine as a result of enhancement of coverage”, starting May 1, when vaccination opens to all above the age of 18 years, and to put in place modalities to look into shortages and deficit.

SCI asked for similar details on oxygen, asking the Solicitor General to appraise it about the supply, the projected need of states, the basis of allocation of oxygen from the central pool and the methodology adopted to communicate requirements of states.

Fixing the matter for next hearing on April 30, the Apex Court’s Bench also sought to know details regarding enhancement of critical medical requirements, including Covid-19 beds, and steps taken to ensure essential drugs such as remdesivir and favipiravir.

The three judges’ Bench noted that the High Courts were best situated to make assessment of ground realities in each state and find flexible solutions for problems faced by citizens.

Pulling up the centre on a suo moto basis regarding the Covid19 management and the issue of Oxygen, the bench has driven home the point that the Supreme Court’s intervention must be understood in the correct perspective.