Heena Sharma Blog

  Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Monday said that the recovery time from COVID-19 infection and oxygen dependency will be reduced by anti-COVID drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). While speaking at the release ceremony of the first batch of the Covid 2-DG drug , Vardhan said, "With the support of DRDO and in the leadership of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, this (anti-COVID drug 2DG) may be our first indigenous research-based outcome to fight against COVID-19. It will reduce recovery time and oxygen dependency." "I hope that this drug will serve the world and not just India in the fight against COVID-19 in the coming days," he further said. "We have been combating COVID-19 for the past year and our scientists have developed the vaccine and made it available to the public. I thank and congratulate DRDO and its scientists. We have seen that under Prime Minister Modi's l...

  The coronavirus vaccine cannot be forced upon anyone but the government will educate and give the right information to people about it, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday. "Vaccine hesitancy issues will be addressed through education. The government will spread awareness and educate people about the vaccine that this is for their own good and benefit," Harsh Vardhan said in an interview with ANI. He also said that the government had prioritised who will get the vaccines after observing international trends and keeping in mind the guidelines of the World Health Organisation. "The ideal time would be when we reach a point where everyone can be vaccinated. But if there is a limited number of vaccines, it is important to prioritise how who will be the first to get it. Before taking a decision, the government consulted experts, those in the ministries, people in the state governments, and those involved in making vaccines. These decisions have been m...

  Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said that the worst is over concerning coronavirus in the country but people still need to follow Covid appropriate behaviour to stay safe. "At a personal level, I think that the worst is over concerning the Covid-19 situation. I have been following this situation right from the time when we had our first case on January 30, 2020. Since then, I have watched everything from the closest of quarters with meticulous precision. If we look at the things in the last three-four months then things are in a declining phase," Dr Vardhan told ANI in an exclusive interview. "But we need to strictly follow Covid appropriate behaviour and cannot afford to relax on that front," he added. Substantiating his point, the Union Health Minister said that right now India has just around three lakh active cases and its recovery rate is 95 to 96 percent which is significantly higher than many developed countries. Read More

  India's COVID-19 tally climbed to 83.64 lakh with 50,210 new cases in a day, while 77,11,809 people have recuperated so far pushing the national recovery rate to 92.20 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data on Thursday. The total coronavirus cases mounted to 83,64,086 and the death toll climbed to 1,24,315, with the virus claiming 704 lives in a span of 24 hours in the country, the data updated at 8 am showed. The COVID-19 case fatality rate was recorded at 1.49 per cent. There are 5,27,962 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 6.31 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 11,42,08,384 samples have been tested up to November 4, with 12,09,425 samples being tested on Wednesday. Read More  

  India's COVID-19 caseload went past83 lakh, while the number of recoveries surged to 76.56 lakh, pushing the national recovery rate to over 92 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry's data updated on Wednesday. With 46,253 fresh infections, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country mounted to 83,13,876, while the death toll rose to 1,23,611 after 514 more fatalities were reported, the data updated at 8 am showed. A total of 76,56,478 people have recuperated from the infection so far, pushing the national recovery rate to 92.09 per cent, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.49 per cent. The number of active cases of COVID-19 remained below six lakh for the sixth consecutive day. There are 5,33,787 active cases in the country as on date which comprise 6.42 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. Read More

  India's COVID-19 caseload crossed the 82 lakh-mark, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 75.44 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 91.68 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday. The total coronavirus cases mounted to 82,29,313 with 45,231 people testing positive for the infection in a day, while the death toll climbed to 1,22,607 with 496 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. A totalof75,44,798 people have recuperated from COVID-19 so far, taking the national recovery rate to 91.68 per cent, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.49 per cent. The number of active cases of COVID-19 remained below six lakh for the fourth consecutive day. There are 5,61,908 active coronavirus cases in the country as on date which comprise 6.83 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. Read More

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the Chief Ministers and heads of 21 States and Union Territories on Tuesday. The meeting with heads of Punjab, Assam, Kerala, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, among others, is scheduled for 3 pm today. A similar meeting with heads of the rest 15 states and UTs is also scheduled to take place tomorrow. Earlier on Saturday (June 13), Prime Minister Modi had held a detailed meeting with senior ministers and officials to review India's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More

After partial relief in lockdown at select places, the government is now looking at promoting blood donation , especially for Thalassemic and Hemophilic patients. In a letter to state blood transfusion councils (SBTC), the National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC) promoted voluntary blood donation programmes across the country. In the letter, it noted that due to the national lockdown from March 25, there was limited movement of Blood Mobile and Transportation vans, and blood donations. The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a communication to the chief secretaries, administrators, Cmmissioner of Police of all the states to facilitate the movement of blood mobile/ transportation vans and blood donors. Read More

Continuing its fight against coronavirus , the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said a total of 2,74,599 samples have been tested for Covid-19 detection so far, with 28,941 samples being tested on Wednesday. The samples were taken from 2,58,730 individuals which is lower than the samples tested because many suspected patients were tested more than once, according to the statement released by ICMR. On April 15, till 9 p.m., 28,941 samples have been reported, out of which 953 were found positive for Covid-19. "At least 11,297 individuals have been confirmed positive among suspected cases and contacts of known positive cases in India," it said. Read More

The Coronavirus outbreak has taken the world by a storm, with governments globally scrambling to control the outbreak, which has so far infected over 125,000 people and killed more than 4,500 across 114 countries. Even as the virus forces countries to quarantine citizens, lock down borders and suspend travels, the number of recoveries across the world so far has been 68,000, according to data collated by the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine. The data show that over 50,000 people have recovered in China’s Hubei province alone. Hubei has been the most affected by the outbreak. Iran, also affected badly and facing difficulties owing to several US sanctions and poor medical facilities, has seen over 2,900 recoveries so far. The country has also reported over 400 deaths, the most after China and Italy. While over 90 per cent of the cases are confined to four countries – China, South Korea, Italy and Iran – the first two have lately seen a significant drop in new Covid-19 ca...