Category: Covid-19
** India first to develop DNA vaccine, can be given to 12 and above: PM
ZyCoV-D when injected, produces the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and elicits an immune response, which plays a vital role in protection from coronavirus
** West Bengal’s first lung transplantation takes place; patient under observation
West Bengal on Tuesday witnessed its first lung transplantation after doctors at a private hospital in Kolkata successfully conducted a marathon surgery to give a 60-year-old patient a new lease of life, an official of the medical establishment said.
The operation on the male patient started late on Monday night and took around 11-12 hours for the doctors to complete the process of transplanting the organ which came from a brain dead person in Gujarat.
** Use of non-toxic antivirals developed to treat Covid: Jitendra Singh
Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said the use of non-toxic antiviral nanoparticles has been developed for clinical applications to prevent and treat Covid.
Addressing an inaugural session of the five-day International Conference on ‘Nanotechnology for Better Living’ at National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Srinagar, Singh said India always had superlative scientific temperament but there was lack of desire to implement it in the past but the gap has now been filled.
** First COVID nasal vaccine by Bharat Biotech gets regulator’s nod for holding phase 2, 3 clinical trials
Bharat Biotech’s intranasal vaccine is the first nasal vaccine that has received the regulatory approval for Phase 2/3 trials,” the DBT said.
This is the first of its kind COVID-19 jab to undergo human clinical trials in India.
** Panacea Biotec to manufacture up to 25 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine
** Serum Institute chairman Cyrus Poonawalla named as recipient of Lokmanya Tilak National Award
Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman of the city-based vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII), will be honoured with the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award for 2021. Deepak Tilak, president of the Lokmanya Tilak Trust, has made the announcement.
** COVID vaccine at doorstep for old, ailing Kolkata residents
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will soon start visiting old and ailing residents of the city to vaccinate them, its chief Firhad Hakim said.
Many Kolkata residents, who are above 80 years, and those over 60 years and have serious illness, could not travel to COVID vaccination centres, he said.
These people will be considered for vaccination during the special drive, he added.
Hakim said civic health workers would visit the residences of such persons only if all other family members are vaccinated.
** DRDO to get 2 per cent royalty from Dr Reddy’s on sale of anti-Covid drug 2-DG in India: Government
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) drug for emergency use as an adjunct therapy in moderate to severe coronavirus patients in early May.