New Delhi- Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine maker, on Wednesday announced a price of Rs 400 per dose for its COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covishield’ for state governments and Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals.

The company also said for the next two months, it will address the issue of limited capacity by scaling up vaccine production.

“Going ahead, 50 per cent of our capacities will be served to the Government of India’s vaccination program, and the remaining 50 per cent of the capacity will be for the state governments and private hospitals,” Serum Institute of India said in a statement.

Following the government directives, the price of the Covishield vaccine is Rs 400 per dose for state governments and Rs 600 per dose for the private hospitals, it added.

Considering the global vaccine prices, “we are ensuring that our vaccines are affordable in comparison to any other vaccines in the world”, Serum Institute said.

The American vaccines in the private market cost more than Rs 1,500 per dose, while Russian and Chinese vaccines cost greater than Rs 750 per dose, it added.

“… owing to the complexity, and urgency of the situation it is challenging to supply it independently to each corporate entity. We would urge all corporate and private individuals to access the vaccines through the state facilitated machinery and private health systems”, Serum Institute said.

After 4-5 months, the vaccines will be made available in retail and free trade, it added.

The vaccine major said it welcomes the recent announcement made by the Ministry of Health and Finance Ministry to accelerate India’s vaccination drive.

“The promising directives will help to scale up vaccine production, and allow state governments, private hospitals, and vaccination centres to procure vaccines directly,” it added.

On Tuesday, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla had also said in a tweet, “On behalf of the vaccine industry in India, I would like to thank and applaud Shri @narendramodi Ji, @nsitharaman Ji, for your decisive policy changes and swift financial aid which will help vaccine production and distribution in India”.

Covishield comprises over 90 per cent of the 12.76 crore COVID-19 vaccines administered across the country so far, according to government data on Wednesday.

Of the 127,605,870 COVID-19 vaccination jabs administered till now, 11,60,65,107 are of Covishield, while 1,15,40,763 are Covaxin, according to the government’s CO-WIN portal.

According to the sources, the government is likely to waive 10 per cent customs duty levied on imported vaccines in a bid to keep the cost of overseas vaccines low, which are being eyed to supplement domestically made shots ahead of the opening of COVID-19 vaccination to all citizens over 18 years of age.

KO File Photo By Abid Bhat

Srinagar: With the new evidence revealing that Covid-19 spreads through the air, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) Tuesday called for an urgent change of safety norms.

A study published in Lancet revealed that indoor airborne transmission associated with small aerosol droplets plays a dominant role in the spread of Covid-19. Till now, large droplet transmission was considered to be the main mode of transmission, and emphasis was laid on staying 2 meter apart from the next person, cleaning surfaces and wearing gloves.

“We need to focus on measures that would prevent airborne transmission of the virus which is now considered to be the primary route of spread,” said DAK President in a statement.

He said improving indoor ventilation would help tackle airborne transmission, opening windows for proper ventilation could be a significant measure at controlling the spread of Covid-19, the simple measure plays a critical role in removing contaminated air and protecting people.

“Upgrading ventilation systems to improve ventilation rates and eliminate air-recirculation would help reduce the risk of airborne infection, people are much more likely to become infected in poorly ventilated spaces,” Dr Nisar, DAK president cautioned.

He said that the use of sufficient and effective ventilation in public buildings including hospitals, shops, offices, restaurants, elevators, schools, conference rooms or public transport would be a critical measure to reduce the likelihood of virus transmission and thereby protect healthcare workers, patients and the general public.

“But in aerosol transmission, particles can travel for long distance of 20-30 feet and can remain suspended in air for hours, So if an infected person coughs and sneezes in a closed space, the virus may be present in the air even after he is gone, emphasising the importance of ventilation,” Dr Nisar cautioned.

“Another crucial implication of airborne spread is that the quality of the mask matters for effective protection against inhaled aerosols. Masks usually impede large droplets from landing on covered areas, and most are at least partially effective against inhalation of aerosols, both high filtration efficiency and a good fit are needed to enhance protection against aerosols because tiny airborne particles can find their way around any gap between mask and face,” said Dr Nisar.

New Delhi: Amid a staggering surge in COVID-19 cases, India’s top experts on Monday said RT-PCR tests detect coronavirus in around 80 per cent of the cases, so clinical features and CT scans/chest X-rays should be used to rule out false negatives in symptomatic patients followed by a repeat test after 24 hours.

Amid SARS COV-2 ”variants of concern” circulating, they said RT-PCR tests do not miss mutations as the ones being used in India target more than two genes.

According to government data till April 15, a total of 1,189 samples have tested positive for ”variants of concern” of SARS COV-2 in India which include 1,109 samples with the UK variant, 79 samples with South African variant and one sample with the Brazil variant.

Based on ICMR data, the current variants are also being picked up by the RT-PCR tests. The RT-PCR test has sensitivity of around 80 per cent and therefore 20 per cent of the cases can still be missed out.

“Also, if the sample is not properly taken or if the test is done too early when the viral load is low, it may come out negative. So, if a person is symptomatic, a combination of clinical features, laboratory reports, CT/chest X-ray can be used for presumptive diagnosis of COVID-19 and treatment should be started accordingly. The test should also be repeated after 24 hours,” AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria told PTI.

Dr Samiran Panda, the Head of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research, said the mutants — variants from the UK, Brazil and South Africa — are not able to evade the diagnostic RT-PCR testing that is being conducted in India.

“In India, we have to be able to detect two or more genes of virus so if mutation happens on one area then the RT-PCR test kits will be able to capture it and it is capturing. However, some of the infections will remain undetected irrespective of the mutations happening,” Dr Panda said.

Moreover, all the mutants have been identified from these tests only, he said.

Clinical symptoms and CT scan reports should be the guiding factor for treatment rather than relying only on the RT-PCR test which has a sensitivity of around 80 per cent, another senior doctor said

Even the rapid antigen test has a sensitivity of only 40 per cent, he said, adding, “So many patients will be missed if we rely only upon these tests.”

Washington: A new study by the University of North Carolina Health Care shows that wearing two face coverings can nearly double the effectiveness of filtering out SARS-CoV-2-sized particles, preventing them from reaching the wearer’s nose and mouth and causing COVID-19.

The findings published in JAMA Internal Medicine also states that the reason for the enhanced filtration is not about adding too many layers of cloth but eliminating any gaps or poor-fitting areas of a mask.

“The medical procedure masks are designed to have very good filtration potential based on their material, but the way they fit our faces isn’t perfect,” said Emily Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, associate professor of infectious diseases at the UNC School of Medicine and lead author of the study.

To test the fitted filtration efficiency (FFE) of a range of masks, UNC researchers worked with James Samet, PhD, and colleagues in the USEPA Human Studies Facility on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill. There they filled a 10-foot by 10-foot stainless-steel exposure chamber with small salt particle aerosols and had researchers don combinations of masks to test how effective they were at keeping particles out of their breathing space.

Each individual mask or layered mask combination was fitted with a metal sample port, which was attached to tubing in the exposure chamber that measured the concentration of particles entering the breathing space underneath the researcher’s mask. A second tube measured the ambient concentration of particles in the chamber. By measuring particle concentration in the breathing space underneath the mask compared to that in the chamber, researchers determined the FFE.

“We also had the researchers in the chamber undergo a series of range-of-motion activities to simulate the typical motions a person may do throughout their day — bending at the waist, talking, and looking left, right, up and down,” said Phillip Clapp, PhD, an inhalation toxicologist in the UNC School of Medicine who has been testing mask FFE with Sickbert-Bennett since the pandemic began.

According to their findings, the baseline fitted filtration efficiency (FFE) of a mask differs from person to person, due to each person’s unique face and mask fit. But generally, a procedure mask without altering the fit is about 40-60 per cent effective at keeping COVID-19-sized particles out. A cloth mask is about 40 per cent effective.

Their recent findings on doubling of face masks show that when a cloth mask is placed over a surgical mask, the FFE improved by about 20 per cent, and improved even more with a snug-fitting, sleeve-type mask, such as a gaiter. When layered over procedure masks, cloth masks improve fit by eliminating gaps and holding the procedure mask closer to the face, consistently covering the nose and mouth. When a procedure mask is worn over a cloth mask, FFE improved by 16 per cent.

“We’ve found that wearing two loosely fitted masks will not give you the filtration benefit that one, snug-fitting procedure mask will,” Sickbert-Bennett said. “And with the current data supporting how effective mask-wearing is at preventing the spread of COVID-19, the best kind of double-masking is when you and the person you are interacting with are each correctly wearing a very snug-fitting mask.”

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Srinagar- Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Friday said more intensive care unit (ICU) beds are needed to save severely-ill Covid-19 patients.

“We need to increase the number of ICU beds in hospitals to prevent corona deaths,” said DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

“Hospitals in Kashmir are witnessing increase in admissions of severe and critically ill Covid-19 patients over the past two weeks. And many of them need intensive care and/or ventilator support,” he said.

“At SMHS hospital, we receive 20-30 severe cases every day, and many of them are critical. They come in with ravaged lungs and oxygen levels as low as 50-60. They need ICU beds.”

“But they don’t get it because all ICU beds are occupied,” DAK President said.

“The situation is same in other hospitals where patients are struggling to get ICU beds.”

“With resurgence of Covid-19, hospitals have run out of ICU beds,” he said.

“Lack of ICU beds is turning into nightmare, with critically ill patients kept in general wards on regular beds.”

“Early transfer of severe cases to intensive care is key to help improve outcome of Corona patients,” Dr Nisar said.

“How fast intensive care is given to them determines whether they survive or not.”

 “The constant surge in cases has meant that demand for ICU beds for Covid patients has increased,” he said.

“Every day we have over a thousand new cases of Covid-19 infections. About 3% of them get critically sick and require intensive care.”

“The next few weeks could be challenging as cases are expected to rise further because enough people are still susceptible to the virus,” said Dr Nisar.

“The situation can be kept under control if vaccine is opened up for more people and Covid-19 protocols are strictly adhered to,” he said.

KO File Photo By Abid Bhat

Srinagar: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) Thursday urged the administration to rope in private hospitals to treat corona patients.

In a statement, DAK said it would reduce the burden on government-run hospitals.

“We are back in the eye of the storm, with the second wave of Covid-19 causing surge in cases and hospitalisations too. The virus has once again become dangerous and is behaving aggressively,” DAK said.

The statement said today “we have more patients in hospitals than what we saw during the first wave and we are finding it hard to cope with the rush of patients,” DAK President said in the statement.

He said hospitals are running full and are at the risk of becoming overwhelmed. Patients are struggling to get a bed in ICU. Even oxygen support beds are occupied and patients have to use cylinders to maintain their oxygen levels.

“We should include private hospitals in the fight against Covid-19,” he said.

He said there is an urgent need for private hospitals to take part in the management of Covid-19 patients. “That would ease the pressure on public hospitals, and would relieve the strained staff,” he said.

The DAK president said the number is expected to rise further in coming days as there are still massive number of people in the population who are susceptible to the virus. “Hospitals should prepare for dealing with any eventuality,” he said. “Public safety will depend on hospital preparedness.”

He said hospitals should have separate negative pressure isolation wards for corona patients, he said. “The negative pressure would prevent contaminated air from escaping the ward. These wards should have dedicated ventilators and HEPA filters that would reduce the risk of transmission of the virus. They should have separate entrance so that infected patients don’t risk other patients and staff in the hospital.”

“In order to ensure safe environment for patients, hospitals should adopt strict infection prevention and control measures and vaccination to staff,” said the President.

Srinagar- With SKIMS hospital stopping all routine admissions and surgeries, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Tuesday said patients will suffer immensely due to closure of these services.

“While it is critical to contain Covid resurgence, it is vitally important to take care of non-Covid patients as well,” said DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

SKIMS hospital has ordered closure of all routine surgeries and admissions from April 07 in view of resurgence of Covid-19 cases.

“This could be detrimental for patients,” DAK President said.

“Cancer patients can progress in no time and their disease will spread if their surgeries are delayed.”

“Even delaying simple surgery like gall bladder stone removal could lead to major issues in the long run,” he said.

“Most chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart, lung, liver and kidney disease require monitoring and drug dose modifications, and if not done they can land up in complications.”

“Hundreds of patients every day are referred to this premier health institution for advanced care. Their fate hangs by a fine thread now,” he added.

“While we fight the novel coronavirus, we must ensure that the price to be paid is not with the lives of non-Covid patients.”

“That fight will be immoral and not worth waging,” Dr Nisar said.

“Non-Covid patients have been paying the price since the pandemic began.”

“We lost many lives last year because of reduced access to healthcare,” he said.

“At least 25% of those deaths could have been prevented, had we been able to take care of non-Covid patients as well.”

“We can’t wait for Covid to go and ignore patients who are suffering from other ailments,” said Dr Nisar.

“We need to implement strategies by which we can manage both Covid and non-Covid patients.”

“Hospitals should have separate wards with dedicated ICU’s for corona patients so that there is no disruption to the care of non-Covid patients,” he said.

“The existing healthcare infrastructure and manpower in hospitals is sufficient and adequate to address the increasing cases of Covid and at the same time manage non-Covid patients.”

KO File Photo By Abid Bhat

Srinagar: With Kashmir valley facing second wave of Covid-19, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Wednesday warned that the new wave could be worse than the first.

“Second waves of pandemics have been harsher,” said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

“We have witnessed in the past how second wave of 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was deadlier than the first one. The first wave occurred in the spring which was relatively mild. A far deadlier second wave erupted in the fall months which infected 500 million and killed 50 million people globally. Covid-19 is following the same suit.”

He said the second waves of coronavirus in United States and Europe were uniformly worse than the first. “Kashmir is currently under the grip of a second wave and the cases are rising and hospitalisations too, he said.

“And if countermeasures are not put in place, we could end up having a situation that could be worse than what we saw last year.”

This is because, he said, a vast majority of people in the valley are still susceptible to the virus and the virus will go where it is given room to run, and will find people who are vulnerable to infection.

“People have got pandemic fatigue. They are tired of restrictions, wearing masks, being away from family and friends, and increasingly fed up with the new normal routines. They have thrown caution to the wind,” he said.

He said many people don’t wear masks and don’t care for social distancing. “This behavior would facilitate transmission of the virus that could reignite an outbreak,” said Dr Nisar.

Another factor, he said, that could make the new wave worse is the emergence of new variants. “Some of the variants can make the virus more infectious, deadly, or even resistant to vaccines and treatment,” he said.

“We should not take much comfort from the fact that so far in the second wave, the incidents of severe cases and deaths are considerably lower than the first spike. The second wave is infecting young people in larger proportion than the first one. And, after a couple of weeks, many of them are likely to infect the elder members of their family and when that happens, serious illnesses and deaths will go up,” said Dr Nisar.

KO File Photo By Abid Bhat

Srinagar- Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Monday said hospitals in Kashmir are witnessing a surge in severe cases of Covid-19 infection.

“A few weeks ago, we had drop in number of severe cases, but over the last few days hospitals are seeing increase in number of seriously-ill Covid-19 patients, much like we saw last spring,” said DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

“Patients in large numbers are coming to hospitals with severe bilateral pneumonia requiring oxygen, some needing intensive care and the support of ventilators to help them survive the respiratory distress. Our beds are full, oxygen points are occupied and we don’t have space in intensive care units.”

“Patients are coming with bad lungs when it is difficult to salvage them. Not only the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions, but young people are coming with severe disease and some of them are dying,” DAK President said.

“The rising number of cases over the past two weeks is now starting to reflect in rising number of hospitalizations,” he said.

“The number is expected to rise further in coming days as there are still massive number of people in the population who are susceptible to the virus.”

“The virus has once again become dangerous and is behaving aggressively which gives us to understand whether a mutated strain has sneaked into the valley because of huge tourist influx or we are dealing with an indigenous mutant,” Dr Nisar said.

“Another reason for resurgence of cases in the valley is because of public complacency.”

“People no longer regard pandemic as a risk and have thrown caution to the wind,” he said.

“Many people don’t wear masks and they don’t care for social distancing. Huge gatherings are seen in gardens and public functions.”

“Accelerated transmission of Covid-19 within the next few weeks would not be surprising considering the lackadaisical approach by most people towards the pandemic,” said Dr Nisar.

“People must continue to adhere to health guidelines to avoid catastrophic slipup.”

“And, it is vitally important to ramp up the vaccination process and vaccinate as many people as possible that too quickly to break the chain of  virus transmission,” he said.

London- The U.K. reported 25 new cases of rare blood clots possibly linked to AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine, adding to the numbers that have caused some European countries to adopt precautionary measures.

The fresh reports lift the total number of cases to 30 as of March 24, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said in a statement Thursday. The benefits of the shot continue to outweigh the risks, the regulator said.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, is under mounting scrutiny and has faced dwindling support in Europe. Still, countries are counting on the shot to help them exit the pandemic, and millions of doses have been administered across the region.

The U.K. agency said that the 30 incidents were out of 18.1 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine given by March 24. Prior to that, the agency disclosed five cases on March 18, out of 11 million shots.

With the new reports, the rate of incidents with the AstraZeneca shot in the U.K. is about 1 in 600,000. There were no reports of the same reactions to the vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, which is also being used in Britain.

“On the basis of this ongoing review, the benefits of the vaccines against Covid-19 continue to outweigh any risks and you should continue to get your vaccine when invited to do so,” the MHRA said. The AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines have shown “very high levels of protection” against Covid-19, the agency said, adding that “all vaccines and medicines have some side effects.”

U.K. Program

The U.K. has one of the world’s fastest-moving vaccine programs, administering shots to more than half of all adults by late March. New daily Covid cases and deaths have fallen to the lowest levels since September, even as infections surge anew across much of the European Union, where immunizations have lagged.

Earlier this week, the EU drugs regulator said a link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and a rare type of blood clot is possible, identifying at least 62 cases of the condition. The European Medicines Agency said its safety committee will probably issue an updated recommendation next week.

Germany has restricted younger people from taking the AstraZeneca vaccine amid growing concerns about side effects. That followed reports of 31 cases of the rare clots, mostly in women.

Norway and Denmark extended suspensions on the use of the shot, which has also been the subject of a tussle over supplies between the EU, the U.K., and others.

On Friday, Australia reported one case of clotting disorders following inoculation with the AstraZeneca vaccine and is investigating, according to a joint statement by government agencies.