Fit India movement proved its influence & relevance in corona period: PM  

The Fit India movement has proved its influence and relevance in this corona period in spite of the restrictions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while interacting with prominent sportspersons of the country on the occasion of the first anniversary of Fit India Movement. He expressed happiness that Yoga, Exercise, Walking, Running, healthy food habits, healthy lifestyle has become a part of our consciousness. He said the Fit India movement has proved its influence and relevance in this corona period in spite of the restrictions. Prime Minister said that a sound mind resides in a sound body but the reverse of this is equally true. He said our body is completely fit only when our mind is fit. He also launched the Age Appropriate Fitness Protocols on the occasion of the first anniversary. The Prime Minister also gave the mantra in Hindi  'Fitness ki Doz, Aadha Ghanta Roz’ ( Fitness dose, Half an hour everyday).

India reports steady trend of higher New Recoveries than New Cases 

With its focussed strategies and effective people-centric measures, India is reporting exponential increase in recoveries. New recoveries in India have exceeded the new cases for the last six days. This is a result of focus on testing, tracing, treatment, surveillance and clear messaging, as highlighted by Prime Minister in his review meeting with seven high focus States/UTs yesterday. 87,374 recoveries have been registered in the last 24 hours in the country, while the number of new confirmed cases stands at 86,508. With this, the total number of recoveries are 46.7 lakh (46,74,987). The Recovery Rate has crossed 81.55%. As India records more recoveries than the new cases, the gap between Recovered Cases and the Active Cases is continuously widening. The recovered cases (46,74,987) exceed the active cases (9,66,382) by more than 37 lakh. This has also ensured that the active caseload accounts for merely 16.86% of the total positive cases.

India urges Nations to put Nature at the heart of recovery plan post COVID19

Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar urged nations to join hands at the start of the “UN Decade of Action and Delivery for Sustainable Development” to put nature at the heart of our recovery plan and realize the vision of “living in harmony with nature”. Javadekar represented India at the virtual Ministerial Roundtable Dialogue on Biodiversity Beyond 2020: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth. The ministerial was hosted by China, one week ahead of the upcoming United Nation Summit on Biodiversity, to exchange views on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.   Around 15 ministerial representatives from countries participated in the event. Javadekar stated that COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the fact that un-regulated exploitation of natural resources coupled with un-sustainable food habits and consumption patterns lead to destruction of systems that support human life.

Centre Advisories / Policies / Updates

MoS Railways Suresh Angadi 1st Union minister to die of Covid-19

Union minister of state for railways and Karnataka BJP MP Suresh Angadi, 65, passed away on Wednesday, days after he tested positive for Covid-19. Angadi is the first Central minister to die of coronavirus. Angadi passed away around 8 pm at the AIIMS trauma centre, which has been converted into a dedicated Covid-19 facility, sources at the hospital said.

eSanjeevani OPD of Health Ministry completes 3 lakh tele-consultations 

eSanjeevani OPD platform of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has completed 3 lakh tele-consultations. This landmark milestone has been achieved within a short period of six months since its launch. eSanjeevani OPD services have enabled patient-to-doctor telemedicine in midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has helped in containing the spread of COVID by ensuring physical distancing and has simultaneously enabled provisions for non-COVID essential healthcare. With 1,29,801 digital interactions, Tamil Nadu has held the largest number of tele-consultations so far. Tamil Nadu had been a pioneer in the field registering 32,035 OPD consultations by 9th August and 56,346 consultations by the 19th of the same month. The State had registered nearly one lakh consultations (97,204) by 8th September.  Tami Nadu is followed by Uttar Pradesh (96,151 consultations), Kerala (32,921 consultations) and Uttarakhand (10,391 consultations). These four States account for 2,69,264 tele-consultations (89.75% of total consultations).

32,000 Covid patients treated under Ayushman Bharat: Centre

Around 32,000 patients have received treatment for Covid-19 across India, and 335,000 cashless tests have been performed in past six months under Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna, the government has said. Meanwhile Prime  Minister Narendra Modi  urged Chief Ministers of six States and a Union Territory to launch a concerted programme to bring down the Covid-19 caseload in 60 districts falling in these States. 

Phase 3 trials of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin to begin in October

The hunt for the coronavirus vaccine to prevent the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, dubbed COVID-19 seems to get more intense every day. As the disease claims lives of more than 9,60,000 people worldwide and infects more than 31.5 million people globally, hundreds of vaccines are currently under trials and development, in the hope to find a safe, effective, and cheap jab against the viral infection. Bharat Biotech has been exploring the potential of tying up with international partners to scale up production of another Covid-19 vaccine candidate, ‘Covaxin’, to around a billion doses a year. The firm, currently conducting phase 2 human trials, also plans to move to late-stage testing for this candidate next month, said a senior executive at the firm.

IICT Partners with Mylan for Combination Therapy Trials 

Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) has partnered with the Indian subsidiary of global pharmaceutical company, Mylan, to test combination therapies for coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The institute had identified first three combination therapies, for Phase 3 clinical trials, based on computational modelling of molecules and laboratory-based data. Another five combinations are also in the works and will be finalised after preliminary data for the same is received.

Global Advisories/Policies/Updates

Double Whammy for Minorities Key in Covid Vaccine Race, Fauci Says

Anthony Fauci, the US’s top infectious disease expert, highlighted how Covid-19 disproportionately sickens people of color, and said they must be strongly represented in the race to find a vaccine. Fauci, who heads the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview at the Bloomberg Equality Summit that people of color often hold essential jobs that don’t allow them to work from home. At the same time, they have higher prevalence of conditions including diabetes, hypertension and obesity.

WHO says no guarantee if any coronavirus vaccine in development will work

At a time when the world is patiently waiting for an effective coronavirus vaccine hoping that it will contain the spread of the contagious disease, the World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said they have no guarantee whether a coronavirus vaccine that are in development stage will be effective or not. Speaking during a press briefing, WHO chief Tedros said, "We have no guarantee that any vaccine in development will work. The more candidates we test, the higher the chance we will have for a safe and efficacious vaccine."

 State Advisories / Policies / Updates

Delhi's Deputy CM Manish Sisodia hospitalised due to Covid-19

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was hospitalised on Wednesday due to coronavirus, sources said. The 48-year-old Aam Aadmi Party leader has been admitted to the state-run LNJP Hospital here, they added. He had tested positive for the infection on September 14 and was in home isolation.

2 Mumbai Hospitals Begin Phase 2, 3 Trials of Oxford Covishield Vaccine For COVID-19: Report

The civic-run King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Mumbai today began phase II and III trials of the Oxford Covishield vaccine for COVID-19, an official said. The hospital, located in Parel area, on Tuesday got the approval of the Maharashtra ethics committee for conducting the vaccine trials. King Edward Memorial Hospital Dean Dr Hemant Deshmukh told news agency Press Trust of India that the hospital has started screening volunteers for the trials.

In Noida, hospitals see Covid ICUs running full

As ICU beds for Covid patients in private hospitals in Noida fill up fast, the Gautam Buddh Nagar CMO said that one of the reasons for the sudden increase could be people delaying treatment. “The possible reason for escalation in ICU admission is delay in treatment. Every patient must remember that the first three days of symptoms appearing is very crucial. A lot of times people wait for testing and further treatment. By the time the situation is understood, they might require oxygen supply or admission in ICU. We haven’t yet received any report of a patient in home isolation being directly admitted to ICU since we track them closely,” said Dr Deepak Ohri, CMO Gautam Buddh Nagar.

Industry Updates

Covid-19 vaccine: Johnson & Johnson begins Phase-3 trial with 60k people

Johnson & Johnson said it was entering the final Phase 3 stage of its Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial following positive results in earlier stages. The trial will seek to enroll up to 60,000 volunteers across more than 200 sites in the US and around the world, the company and the US National Institutes for Health (NIH), which is providing funding, said.

Mobile app to help pre-book vaccination

With an aim to augmenting AtmaNirbhar concept across the healthcare stakeholders in the country, Mumbai-based start-up WONDRx has launched a mobile app to book an appointment with the nearest doctor or the vaccination clinic. It has already listed 180K plus healthcare providers, making it the largest healthcare providers’ aggregator in India.

Prepared by Impact Health Research Team

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