India on Sunday recorded 27,553 new cases and 284 deaths, taking the cumulative caseload to 34,889,132 (1,22,801 active cases) and the death toll to 481,770. So far 1,525 cases of Omicron have been detected.
Worldwide: more than 289.24 million cases and over 5.44 million deaths.
Vaccination in India: 1,454,793,673 doses. Worldwide: Over 9.16 billion doses.
A series of new studies on laboratory animals and human tissues are providing the first clues as to why the Omicron variant causes milder illness than previous versions of the coronavirus, reports new York Times,
In studies on rats and hamsters, Omicron produced less-harmful infections, often largely confined to the upper airways: the nose, throat, and trachea. The variant caused very little damage to the lungs, where the previous variant often caused scarring and severe breathing difficulties.
On Wednesday, a large consortium of Japanese and American scientists released a report on hamsters and rats that had been infected with either Omicron or one of several earlier types. The study found that people infected with Omicron had less lung damage, lost weight, and were less likely to die. Several other studies on rats and hamsters have reached the same conclusion.
Like most urgent Omicron research, these studies have been posted online but have not yet been published in scientific journals.
The reason why the Omicron is lightweight may be a matter of anatomy. The researchers found that hamsters had the same level of omicron in their noses as in animals previously infected with the corona virus. But the levels of omicrons in the lungs were one-tenth or less than the levels of other types. A similar discovery was made by researchers from the University of Hong Kong.
These findings will have to be followed up with further studies, such as experiments with monkeys or investigations of the airways of people infected with Omicron. If the results hold up to scrutiny, they could explain why people infected with Omicron seem to be less likely to be hospitalized than those with Delta. read full story Here
Molnupiravir, the antiviral drug that has received the Drug Controller General of India’s emergency use approval to treat Covid-19, is expected to be priced between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000, ET reports.
Around 13 pharmaceutical companies in the country are set to launch the drug developed by MSD and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.
The recommended dose of molanupiravir is 800 mg twice a day for five days. Since the companies are planning to launch 200 mg capsules, a patient would have to ingest 40 of them during the course of treatment.
At least six brands of molnupiravir from Natco Pharma, JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (JBCPL), Hetero Drugs, Mankind Pharma, Viatris (formerly Mylan) and Sun Pharma are expected to hit the market by next week. more information Here
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