Dr Samiran Panda says Covaxin, being a whole virion vaccine, could work better, while there are chances of Omicron escaping targeted vaccines such as those based on the mRNA platform.
Health ministry also asked states and UTs to focus on containment, surveillance, monitoring of hotspots, increased coverage of vaccination and augmenting health infrastructure.
Amid rising concerns over Omicron, designated by WHO as 'variant of concern', the Centre has announced stricter guidelines for travellers from or transiting through ‘at-risk’ countries.
Japan will ban foreigners from Tuesday until more is known. UK has reintroduced mandatory PCR tests & Israel shut borders for inbound foreign nationals for 14 days.
President Joe Biden’s top medical advisor said stepped-up prevention with the emergence of the new variant will impact whether Americans are headed into a bleak or bleaker winter.
WHO said understanding Omcron's severity will take days to weeks, adding that currently there is no information to suggest its symptoms are different from other Covid variants.
Modi govt had Friday announced resumption of scheduled international commercial flights from 15 December, but will now review SOP on testing and surveilling incoming passengers.
The world watched aghast as police armed with tasers, tear-gas masks—and in one case backed up by snipers—arrested hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters at universities across the United States.
The Asian Development Outlook 2024 report suggests that policymakers in the region should monitor a number of risks. These include escalating conflicts and geopolitical tensions.
Germany’s erstwhile Christian Democratic Union govt, led by Angela Merkel, prevented sale of small arms to police forces in states they perceived had ‘bad human rights record’.
A theme has not yet emerged for BJP & people see lack of a contest, which makes it unexciting. For all these reasons, 2024 is turning out to be an unexpectedly theme-less election.
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