A Ray Of Hope Amidst Pandemic
In these times of darkness due to the gigantic second wave of the pandemic, we discuss some new scientific developments that come as a ray of hope.
Starting with Sputnik light, a one-shot vaccine with an impressive efficacy of 79.4%. Sputnik Light is already approved and is being administered in Russia. The vaccine is soon going to be produced in India. Sputnik light can prove to be a game-changer for largely populated countries like ours as it solves the problem of immunising large groups in a shorter period of time
2 DG (2- deoxy D-glucose), an anti-cancer antiviral drug produced jointly by DRDO(INMAS) and Dr.Reddy's Laboratories, has been approved by the DGCI for treatment of covid-19 patients. The molecule inhibits the growth of SARS-CoV-2. It thus helps COVID-19 patients recover faster and reduces dependence on supplemental oxygen. The molecule is generic and can be easily produced. The drug comes in the form of a sachet that can be taken orally after dissolving in water, making it easy to administer. With all these factors combined, 2DG can turn out to be a very useful weapon in this war against covid-19.
Img 1.14- DCGI approves anti-COVID drug developed by DRDO for emergency use.
CoviSelf is a home-based rapid antigen testing (RAT) kit developed by Mylab Discovery Solutions, Pune, that costs just ₹250 and gives results within 15 minutes. The test kit is extremely simple to use and is non-biohazard. These home based-test kits are helpful to detect runaway infection and early detection in places where the infection rate is high.
Saline Gargle RT-PCR Method is a non-invasive and patient-friendly testing method developed by Nagpur based NEERI and approved by ICMR. It uses a collection tube filled with saline. The patient gargles the solution and rinses the mouth for 15 seconds and spits it back inside the tube. The sample is then tested in the laboratory. The test gives results in just 3 hours and does not require a medical professional to administer.This will reduce the workload on our frontline workers and quick results would mean quicker treatment saving hundreds of lives.
[FAKE MEDICINES] : The issue of counterfeit medicinal supplies has always been a major one in pandemics, here’s what caught our eyes in this biological disaster.
A sanitizer should comprise 70% of Isopropyl Alcohol. Selling of substandard, less viscous and less alcohol containing sanitizers has been reported in India.
According to a study by Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, current N95 masks are only 60%-80% effective which is significantly lesser than the actual ones(95%). In addition, these masks are non-washable. So the claim of washability is a questionnaire.
Mysore Police busted a group of people involved in collecting exhausted Remdesivir bottles and refilling them with antibiotics and saline water before selling it to needy buyers at higher prices.
Fake test kits created ambiguity in keeping count of active cases.
Anything that you heard of but we didn’t?COMMENT
Vaccines
During the entire period of pandemic, there was always some hope at each and every point of time of getting the situation to be normal. Also, it was the immense hope and prayer of the entire world with the hard work of research scholars, scientists and pharma-specialists which really helped in some sense or other to get the vaccines sooner and once again the hope for getting normal soon arose in people's minds. It actually started from January 16th when the front-line workers got vaccinated, then came for 45+ age groups and As of May 1st 2021, all Indian citizens aged 18 and above were eligible to get vaccinated. It is not unusual to have questions about the process, effectiveness, and side effects of these vaccines at a time like this. In this section, we have tried to answer some of these questions.
Candidates for Vaccine :
Currently we have three vaccine options Covi-Shield, Co-vaxin & Sputnik-V . But soon enough we could expect to see several other candidates. A more detailed summary about them could be found here : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LwXznmC-FRPd0XAuT0HeWs4AkoQCRUcik2WzNgXRVrI/edit?usp=drivesdk
Covi-shield or Co-vaxin ?
There cannot be any much detailed comparison between the two. But both are effective in developing immunity against Covid and will prevent the patient from escalating to a severe state.
Also remember to get vaccinated soon and follow covid protocols at the vaccine centre.
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