COVID shots should target XBB variants in 2023-24 campaign, US FDA staff say

COVID shots should target XBB variants in 2023-24 campaign, US FDA staff say The comments were made in documents posted ahead of Thursday's meeting of a panel of FDA's independent experts, who are expected to make recommendations on what strain an updated COVID-19 booster should target. https://ift.tt/inJrgdT

Centre 'rejects' AIIMS-D site

Centre 'rejects' AIIMS-D site The Union ministry of health and family welfare secretary Rajesh Bhushan in his letter to state health department additional chief secretary Pratyaya Amrit in which it was mentioned that the proposed land for AIIMS at Darbhanga is low-lying where earth filling of more than 10 metres is required. https://ift.tt/inJrgdT

MoHFW hits back & calls CoWIN data breach reports mischievous; ropes CERT-In

MoHFW hits back & calls CoWIN data breach reports mischievous; ropes CERT-In Although the Health Ministry has not shied away from calling its Co-WIN portal completely safe with adequate safeguards in place for data privacy, MoHFW has at the same time roped in the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) to further investigate the alleged data breach and called for a report on the same. https://ift.tt/inJrgdT

CoWIN data breach, jeopardises citizens’ personal details

CoWIN data breach, jeopardises citizens’ personal details As of this writing the Telegram bot has been blocked but there is no official statement on the breach from the Government of India, ETHealthworld reached out to some of the largest hospital chains in India on the subject but no responses were shared. https://ift.tt/lzZ0LO7

India logs 92 fresh COVID cases

India logs 92 fresh COVID cases The total tally of COVID cases is 4.49 crore (4,49,92,880) and the active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, it stated. https://ift.tt/lzZ0LO7

BioNTech faces first German lawsuit over alleged COVID vaccine side effects

BioNTech faces first German lawsuit over alleged COVID vaccine side effects The woman, exercising her right under German privacy law for her name not to be made public, is suing the German vaccine maker for at least 150,000 euro ($161,500) in damages for bodily harm as well as compensation for unspecified material damage, according to the regional court in Hamburg which is hearing the case and law firm Rogert & Ulbrich, which is representing her. https://ift.tt/lzZ0LO7

Central govt staff to get 42-day special leave for organ donation

Central govt staff to get 42-day special leave for organ donation Any central government employee donating to an approved transplant, whether kidney or liver, shall be entitled to 42 days of leave. https://ift.tt/WOPVC01

Dr Malik takes over as new chief of AIIMS Bhopal

Dr Malik takes over as new chief of AIIMS Bhopal Dr Sunil Malik has been working as a senior consultant in neurology at Bhopal for two decades. He brings with him a wealth of experience concerning healthcare issues of the entire region and a deep understanding of the aspirations and expectations of patients of the state and of adjoining states. https://ift.tt/WOPVC01

Child, neonatal mortality rates see decline in Punjab

Child, neonatal mortality rates see decline in Punjab The infant mortality rate in Punjab, as per a 2020 survey, was 18 deaths per 1,000 live births, again lower than the national average of 28 deaths per 1,000 live births. The under-five mortality rate in Punjab is 32, compared to a national average of 42, and the neonatal mortality rate (NNMR) as per NFHS -5 stands at 22 as against the national average of 42. https://ift.tt/WOPVC01

Adding genomic info to blood biomarkers yields cost-effective results for chronic disease prevention: Study

Adding genomic info to blood biomarkers yields cost-effective results for chronic disease prevention: Study The researchers used machine learning to build predictive models for individuals' future risks of nine common diseases, based on their genetic information and the biomarkers that they measured. https://ift.tt/WOPVC01

U.S. government sets penalties on 43 drugs over price hikes

U.S. government sets penalties on 43 drugs over price hikes Drugmakers hiked the price of these 43 drugs by more than the rate of inflation and are required to pay the difference of those medicines to Medicare, the federal health program for Americans over age 65. https://ift.tt/0NfGR1m

India logs 186 fresh COVID cases

India logs 186 fresh COVID cases The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has increased to 4,44,58,259, while the case fatality rate has been recorded at 1.18 per cent. https://ift.tt/0NfGR1m

US FDA panel backs approval for Eisai-Biogen Alzheimer's drug Leqembi

US FDA panel backs approval for Eisai-Biogen Alzheimer's drug Leqembi Leqembi won accelerated approval by the FDA in January based on its ability to remove sticky amyloid plaques from the brain. The panel on Friday considered Eisai's large confirmatory trial designed to show the drug benefited patients. https://ift.tt/0NfGR1m

AstraZeneca signs $2 bln agreement with Quell to develop cell therapies

AstraZeneca signs $2 bln agreement with Quell to develop cell therapies The agreement includes developing, manufacturing and commercialising cell therapies that have the potential to be curative in type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease indications. https://ift.tt/jLN6SH4

Government gives nod to sale of 2 fixed-dose combination drugs

Government gives nod to sale of 2 fixed-dose combination drugs FDC– drugs made by combining two or more drugs in certain fixed dose combinations – were found to be rational by the expert committee. https://ift.tt/jLN6SH4

MoHFW organises webinar on NAFLD

MoHFW organises webinar on NAFLD In view of NAFLD emerging as a growing health concern, the primary objective of this capacity-building webinar organised under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases was to foster knowledge exchange, promote collaboration, and raise awareness about non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and its impact on global health among medical officers in the country. https://ift.tt/jLN6SH4

Newer heart transplant method could allow more patients a chance at lifesaving surgery

Newer heart transplant method could allow more patients a chance at lifesaving surgery Duke Health researchers said Wednesday that using those long-shunned hearts could allow possibly thousands more patients a chance at a lifesaving transplant, expanding the number of donor hearts by 30 per cent. https://ift.tt/JCfclTF

Sanofi and AstraZeneca's preventive RSV therapy appears safe: FDA staff

Sanofi and AstraZeneca's preventive RSV therapy appears safe: FDA staff The companies are seeking the FDA's approval for use of the therapy in infants and children up to 24 months of age to protect them against lower respiratory tract disease that could cause pneumonia and bronchiolitis. https://ift.tt/JCfclTF

Moderna, Pfizer hit with new patent lawsuits over COVID vaccines

Moderna, Pfizer hit with new patent lawsuits over COVID vaccines The lawsuits add to a web of patent disputes between biotech companies over technology used in the coronavirus shots, including a case brought last year in Massachusetts by Moderna against Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. https://ift.tt/JCfclTF

Active COVID cases in country decrease to 2,831

Active COVID cases in country decrease to 2,831 The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,44,57, 379 and the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.18 per cent. https://ift.tt/toE2475