Page 17 - Health

India records 9,419 Covid infections in 24 hours; active cases at 94,742

India on Thursday reported 9,419 fresh Covid cases and 159 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family welfare on Thursday morning.

Omicron variant may change course of Covid-19 pandemic: WHO chief

Certain features of the Omicron variant, including its global spread and large number of mutations, suggest it could have a major impact on the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, WHO chief said

Omicron could spread faster, its severity still not certain, says WHO

The World Health Organization says early evidence suggests the omicron variant may be spreading faster than the highly transmissible delta variant but brings with it less severe coronavirus disease

Omicron has 'increased infectivity' but no 'severe profile': Anthony Fauci

Dr Anthony Fauci on Tuesday said emerging evidence suggests that Omicron has increased infectivity and not a "severe profile".

WHO advises against use of convalescent plasma for Covid treatment

Convalescent plasma shows no improvement in survival and other important measures and is not recommended for patients with Covid-19, the WHO said

France announces new anti-Covid measures to curb rising cases amid 5th wave

Amid the ongoing fifth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the French government has announced new measures in an attempt to curb the rising number of confirmed cases in the country.

India records 6,822 new Covid cases, daily tally lowest in 558 days

India logged 6,822 new coronavirus infections, the lowest in 558 days, taking the country's total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,46,48,383

With a total of 336 cases, UK now has community transmission of Omicron

The UK's health minister said the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 is now in transmission within the community across regions of England

Next pandemic could be more lethal than Covid: AstraZeneca vaccine maker

Future pandemics could be even more lethal than Covid so the lessons learned from the pandemic must not be squandered, one of the creators of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine said.

Omicron coronavirus variant linked with high risk of reinfection: Study

The recently identified Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is associated with a substantial ability to evade immunity from prior COVID-19 infection, according to a study based on population-level evidence. The team of researchers in South Africa noted that, in contrast, there is no population-wide epidemiological evidence of immune escape associated with the Beta or Delta variants. The B.1.1.529 COVID variant, first detected in South Africa, was designated by the World Health Organisation as a Variant of Concern (VOC), the health body's top category for worrying coronavirus variants. Experts believe the variant carries around 50 mutations. Of these, 32 are in spike proteins, which the virus uses to enter the human cells, and 10 are mutations of high relevance. This is the first data-based study to suggest that Omicron may evade immunity from prior infection. "Population-level evidence suggests that the Omicron variant is associated with substantial ability to evade immunity from prior

India records 8,306 new Covid infections, active cases lowest in 552 days

With 8,306 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,46,41,561

Omicron has higher risk of reinfection than Delta, Beta variants: Singapore

The Omicron variant may be more transmissible and have a higher risk of reinfection compared to the Delta and Beta variants of the virus, Singapore's Ministry of Health said

Omicron variant more likely to cause reinfection than Beta or Delta: Study

People who had been infected once with Covid were more likely to be reinfected with the Omicron variant than with the Beta or Delta variants, a study found

Some US states rev up contact tracing after Omicron cases detected

The arrival of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in the U.S. has health officials in some communities reviving contact tracing operations

India reports 8,603 new Covid infections, active cases decline to 99,974

With 8,603 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India's tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,46,24,360

Omicron not more severe than other Covid variants as of now: Singapore

There is currently no evidence to suggest that symptoms associated with the Omicron variant are different or more severe than those of other variants, Singapore's Ministry of Health said

New coronavirus variant Omicron reported confirmed in 10 US states

Cases of the coronavirus Omicron variant have been reported by health officials in five additional US states today, bringing the total number of states with confirmed infections to ten

South Korea tightens social gatherings restrictions to fight Covid wave

South Korea is tightening recently relaxed restrictions on social gatherings as it grapples with its worst wave of the virus since the start of the pandemic.

Air travel recovery in October can be reversed amid Omicron fears: IATA

A fledgling recovery in both domestic and international air travel in October faces a new threat amid a spate of new restrictions imposed by governments due to the Omicron coronavirus variant, the IAT

Covid variants, vaccine boosters turn rich-poor vaccine gap into chasm

The global initiative to share coronavirus vaccines fairly already scaled back its pledge to the world's poor once.