Covid 19

The new platform is the latest initiative under Lupin's long running umbrella programme, Joint Airways Initiative (JAI), for patients suffering from respiratory ailments. According to estimates, India has nearly 35 million people living with asthma, including children. While there is no cure for Asthma, it is manageable with proper treatment, vigilance, drug adherence and regular medical checks, thus enabling patients to lead a normal life.

The study, led by Baton Rouge General Medical Center, in Louisiana, found that people who experienced low intensity of bitter tastes or no bitter tastes, classified as "non-tasters" were significantly more likely to be hospitalised once infected. On the other hand, none of the participants who experienced greater intensity of bitter tastes considered "super-tasters" were hospitalised when infected with Covid.

Our pre-pandemic lifestyle was frenetic and fast-paced; we lived in a high-speed world with little time for ourselves. Common areas in our homes were far less inhabited than our private areas. It was only when the health emergency-induced lockdowns assailed us that we hit the pause button as it became apparent that we were going to be cooped up inside for an indefinite period.

The study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, found that negative mental health outcomes were disproportionately reported by girls and older adolescents (13-18-year-olds), compared to same-age peers before the pandemic. At the same time, it revealed a decline in cigarette smoking, e-cigarette usage and alcohol intoxication among 15-18-year-old adolescents during the pandemic.

The team from McGill University in Quebec, Canada, analyzed genetic variants of 4,134 individuals with Covid-19, and 1,284,876 without Covid-19, from 11 countries to determine whether genetic predisposition for higher vitamin D levels were associated with less-severe disease outcomes in people with Covid-19.

The study, published in the journal Stem Cell Reports, sheds light on why many Covid-19 patients, even those not in hospital, are suffering from hypoxia -- a potentially dangerous condition in which there is decreased oxygenation in the body's tissues. The study also shows why anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone has been an effective treatment for those with the virus.

The study, led by scientists at the Rockefeller University, also showed that vaccination boosts the immunity these individuals naturally develop after the infection, so much that they are likely to be protected even from the emerging variants. The study is available on bioRxiv ahead of publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The team analysed antibodies present in the blood of Covid patients and tracked the evolution of these mutable molecules.

9,453 cases of missing children were reported in Delhi and four neighbouring states between January-July 2020. In 74 per cent cases the missing children were girl. In absolute numbers this figure, 7,065, reveals a status report by Child Rights and You (CRY) titled 'COVID and Missing Childhoods: A Status Report from 5 States'. The study was conducted to understand the impact of COVID-19 pandemic led lockdown on status of missing children.

Almost a year ago, one of the busiest airports in the world- Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi had a deserted look brought about by the coronavirus. A year later, the airport has terminated operations on terminal 2 as a result of the reduced number of flights due to the second wave, which is turning out to be more deadly than the previous one.

The study was conducted amid several reported cases of infections after partial or complete vaccination, occurring in a small percentage of people. Concerns have been raised on the efficacy of vaccination against the mutated variants of Covid-19.