This comes in the backdrop of some clinicians writing to the Principal Scientific Advisor cautioning against the "irrational and non-scientific use" of convalescent plasma.
Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, face of ICMR during Covid briefings last year, said India could become breeding ground for several mutants if it does not adhere to evidence-based treatment.
Experts say revised strategy that calls for rapid tests in hospitals & public places, among others, is a tacit admission of community transmission & limitations of RT-PCR capacity.
Experts including Gagandeep Kang and Gautam Menon say ICMR's granular data on residents who’ve been tested so far needs to be opened to outside experts who could study & predict Covid spread.
The apex health research body said the National Institute of Virology has also demonstrated the neutralisation potential of Covaxin against the UK and Brazil variants.
ICMR data also highlights that this time around, entire families have been contracting Covid if even one person tests positive unlike in the previous wave.
Covaxin is one of two vaccines being administered as part of India’s Covid vaccination drive. It was given conditional emergency-use nod in absence of complete Phase 3 trial data.
The recoveries surged to 1,06,78,048, which translates to a national recovery rate of 97.27 per cent and the case fatality rate stands at 1.42 per cent.
ICMR, in its newsletter, lists achievements — from starting a multi-centre trial on plasma therapy to conducting national sero surveys — but says we must remain 'Covid conscious'.
For the last 11 years, Nehru has been constantly blocking my efforts and causing the fiascos that are my many yojanas and abhiyans. He is the reason most of my initiatives turn into disasters.
India’s industrial output growth saw a 10-month low in June, with Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growing by mere 1.5% as against 1.9% in May 2025.
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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