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- India on Sunday reported 14,092 Covid cases and 41 fatalities. The cumulative caseload is 4,42,53,464 (1,16,861 active cases) and 5,27,037 fatalities
- Worldwide: Over 589 million cases and over 6.43 million fatalities.
- Vaccination in India: Over 2.07 billion doses. Worldwide: Over 12 billion doses.
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TODAY’S TAKE |
One vaccine for all variants may be on the way |
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The good news
- Scientists at US-based Scripps Research Institute have discovered antibodies that induce immunity against different variants of SARS-CoV2, including the highly infectious Omicron variant.
- It is also effective against SARS viruses like SARS-CoV-1, which caused an outbreak in 2003.
Why it matters
- Scientists say the discovery could pave the way for the development of a pan-coronavirus vaccine.
The study
- According to a study published in Science Translational Medicine, the scientists from Scripps Research Institute immunised rhesus macaques, a species of old world monkey, with two shots of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein — the outside portion on the virus that allows it to penetrate and infect host cells — to generate antibodies.
- The mRNA vaccines that are being administered currently in many countries to immunise people against Covid-19 work on the same principle.
- Unlike these vaccines, however, the macaques were shown to have a broad neutralising antibody response against the virus– including variants such as Omicron — in the study.
The finding
- Intrigued by this stark difference, the scientists investigated the antibody structures and found these antibodies recognise a conserved region on the edge of the site where the spike protein binds to host cells, called the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor binding site.
- “If we can design vaccines that elicit similar broad responses that we’ve seen in this study, these treatments could enable broader protection against the virus and variants of concern,” says senior author Raiees Andrabi.
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TELL ME ONE THING |
The pandemic isn’t over yet |
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- Is the current surge in Covid-19 cases as innocuous as it seems? Several parts of the country are reporting a positivity rate of above 10% but low hospitalisation rates have made many people believe that the disease does not pose a serious threat anymore.
- Dr Rommel Tickkoo, the director of internal medicine at Delhi’s Max Superspecialty hospital does not agree with this view. “Covid-19 cases have surged at an alarming rate over the past few days. While it is true that the disease is causing mild symptoms in most cases, we are still seeing patients who develop moderate to severe symptoms. The threat isn’t over completely as yet,” he says.
- This week alone, Dr Tickkoo says, he has seen two patients who developed pneumonia after suffering from the infection and both of them are currently hospitalised.
- Dr Anurag Agrawal, the former head of CSI-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), also says time for reasonable precautions has not gone away.
- “If the virus keeps circulating, there is a high probability of the emergence of newer variants. Contrary to popular perception, new variants are not always milder,” he says.
- In a letter sent to Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Telangana last week, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said upcoming festivals and mass congregations in different parts of the country may potentially facilitate transmission of infectious diseases, including Covid-19.
- The symptoms and clinical manifestations of Covid-19 have undergone some changes. Therefore, the Centre has asked the states reporting a spike in cases to monitor and report district-wise Influenza-Like-Illness (ILI) and SARI (severe acute respiratory infections) in all health facilities on a regular basis for detecting early warning signals of the spread of infection.
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Written by: Rakesh Rai, Sushmita Choudhury, Jayanta Kalita, Prabhash K Dutta Research: Rajesh Sharma
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