Current evidence shows it neither improves survival nor reduces the need for ventilators.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest developments:
WHO advises against blood plasma treatment for COVID-19 patients
The World Health Organization on Monday advised against using the blood plasma of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to treat those who are ill, saying current evidence shows it neither improves survival nor reduces the need for ventilators.
The hypothesis for using plasma is that the antibodies it contains could neutralize the novel coronavirus, stopping it from replicating and halting tissue damage.
Several studies testing convalescent blood plasma have shown no apparent benefit for treating COVID-19 patients who are severely ill. A U.S.-based trial was halted in March after it was found that plasma was unlikely to help mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients.
The method is also costly and time-consuming to administer, the WHO said in a statement on Monday.- Reuters
Mumbai reports first two cases of Omicron; Maharashtra tally at 10
Two fully vaccinated persons who returned from abroad last month have tested positive for the new Omicron strain of coronavirus in Mumbai, the first cases of the variant found in the metropolis, the civic body said on Monday.
Maharashtra’s Omicron variant of COVID-19, total tally rises to 10.
One of them was a 37-year-old man who had come from Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 25. His 36-year-old friend, who had come from the U.S. the same day, has also tested positive for the new variant, said the State Public Health department.
UP govt issues guidelines for all districts on Omicron variant
The Uttar Pradesh government has issued guidelines for all districts regarding the Omicron variant of coronavirus, an official statement said on Monday.
Apart from conducting RT-PCR tests of all passengers coming to the state, genome tests of all infected patients are also being carried out according to the guidelines, it said.
Following the confirmation of cases of the new variant in other states of the country, the state government is ensuring strict vigil on the borders and is also emphasising on further improving the health facilities in rural and urban areas, the statement said.-PTI
NTAGI discusses administering ‘additional’ vaccine dose, inoculation of kids
The issues of administering ‘additional’ dose of Covid vaccine to immunocompromised individuals and inoculation of children were deliberated upon in a meeting of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) on Monday, official sources said.
However, no consensus was learnt to have been reached by the members and no final recommendation has been made on these issue as of now, the source said.
Sources also said the issue of booster dose was not on the agenda of the meeting as studies need to be conducted to ascertain its need and value.
While a booster dose is given to an individual after a pre-defined period when the immune response due to primary vaccination is presumed to have declined, additional shot is given to immunocompromised and immunosuppressed individuals when the primary schedule of inoculation does not provide adequate protection from the disease, officials explained.- PTI
With Omicron, third wave projected to hit India by Feb. but may be milder than second, says IIT scientist
With Omicron, the new variant of SARS-CoV2, the third wave of coronavirus could hit the peak by February with cases likely to be reaching up to 1-1.5 lakh a day in the country, but it will be milder than the second wave, Manindra Agarwal, IIT scientist involved in the mathematical projection of trajectory of COVID-19, said.
He said in the new forecast, the new Omicron variant has been factored in.
Source: Read Full Article