In the Press

Scientists are keeping a close watch on a recently-discovered sub-variant of the Omicron version of the COVID-19 virus to determine how its emergence could effect future pandemic spread.

Highlights ► We assessed the impact on mortality of atmospheric pollution in two small municipalities. ► The methodology developed by the World Health Organization was used for this purpose. ► We found an excess of total mortality of 8 out of 177 in a year and a reduction of life expectancy. ► Particulate matter of aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm had the highest health impact.

World experts met to identify essential components of a One Health Intelligence System for early warning and risk assessment.

A third 'booster' dose of COVID-19 vaccine successfully raises antibody levels that neutralize the Omicron variant, according to laboratory findings from the Francis Crick Institute and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) UCLH Biomedical Research Center, published today (Wednesday) as a Research letter in The Lancet.

An Israeli hospital on Monday said preliminary research indicates a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine provides only limited defense against the omicron variant that is raging around the world.

A drug treatment that acts as a decoy against SARS-CoV-2 was highly effective at preventing death and lung damage in humanized animal models of severe COVID-19 disease, according to a Nature Chemical Biology study from researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago. The study suggests that the drug has the potential to treat COVID-19 patients, including those who are infected with aggressive SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Our objective was to characterize the frequency, early impact, and risk factors for neurological manifestations in hospitalized children with acute severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

Blood drawn from patients shortly after they were infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may indicate who is most likely to land in the hospital, a study led by Stanford Medicine investigators has found.

COVID-19 is known to cause multi-organ dysfunction1-3 in acute infection, with prolonged symptoms experienced by some patients, termed Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC)4-5.

It seems that the current Covid-19 surge in the country is subsiding day-by-day, as the daily Covid-19 tally of the country is witnessing a significant decrease each morning. On Sunday, India has recorded as many as 3,33,533 fresh Covid-19 cases.