THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Balram Bhargava on Thursday said the interim results of the ongoing clinical trials indicated that the Covaxin, developed in the country, will be effective against the mutated Covid-19 virus strains reported from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil.
He was speaking at the ‘Kerala Health: Making the SDG a reality’, a webinar, organised by the Department of Health and Family Welfare. The endorsement came at a time when the approval for under-trial Covaxin for immunisation became a controversy. ICMR is the apex body for the biomedical research in the country.
According to him, a paper on Covaxin’s neutralisation potential against the UK strain has been accepted for publication. In case of variants from South Africa and Brazil, efforts are on to isolate the mutated virus strains from the samples collected from travellers from these two countries.
The ICMR chief also said the third clinical trial of ‘Covaxin BB152’ had been completed and all 25,800 volunteers involved in the clinical trial were administered both the doses of the vaccine. “The interim analysis report should be out in a week,” he said. Dr Bhargava pointed out that India is the fifth country in the world to isolate the Covid-19 virus as part of its efforts to develop a vaccine for the pandemic.
Health officers stop Covid-infected person at Kochi airport
Kochi: The health authorities intervened and stopped a person, who tried to travel from Kochi airport after covering up his Covid-19 positive test result. The district health officers stopped the person with the help of CISF personnel at the airport, an official release said. “There were similar instances in the past too when persons, who tested positive for the virus, tried to travel from the airport violating Covid-19 protocol,” the release said. So far, at least six persons have been restrained from boarding flights. They were sent back to their respective districts.
Travelling after getting infected with Covid-19 is a punishable offence under the Epidemic Diseases Act as it puts the airport staff and co-passengers at the risk of contracting the disease, the district medical officer said. “The public should be extremely aware of the consequences of not following Covid-19 protocols. If people do not follow the rules, we will be forced to take legal measures,” said the officer. “Those infected with fever, cold and cough should avoid public interactions. The symptomatic persons relying on self-medication has also led to the fast spread of the disease,” the officer said.