ICMR has submitted a proposal to the Modi govt recommending the cancer drug developed by AstraZeneca, which apparently improved clinical outcomes of patients with severe Covid-19.
ICMR did not look for presence of neutralising antibodies, which fight off infection, as tests to detect their presence were unavailable when the study was launched in April.
The drug was tested on 40 patients during phase 2 trials. But, the govt’s expert panel found the sample size ‘inadequate’ to approve the drug for marketing in India.
Lancet notes the patient tested negative twice between the two positive tests & also highlights significant genetic variation in the two strains of the novel coronavirus.
Experimental antibody cocktail Trump was given has generated a row, partly because it uses embryonic stem cell research that has stirred the US president’s voter base in past.
The study says ‘there was no clinical benefit’ of HCQ as ‘pre-exposure prophylaxis’. India continues to use it among healthcare and frontline workers as a prophylactic drug.
Countering insurgency needs the Pakistan Army to demonstrate a political will that ties leaders at the centre with those in the borderlands. But it may not have the imagination.
Centre for Science and Environment in new report makes case for rationalising GST on waste material, saying most informal operators can’t afford high tax & it also hinders recycling.
21st edition of annual joint military exercise will be held from 1 to 16 September, aimed at sharing military tech, operational best practices & disaster relief coordination methods.
Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.
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