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Thursday, August 14, 2025
TopicSARS-CoV-2

Topic: SARS-CoV-2

Wuhan virologists identify new coronavirus in bats. It has a disturbing similarity to COVID-19

Findings reported by a team of virologists at the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at Wuhan Institute of Virology. Study published in the journal Cell.

Govt to discuss declaring Covid endemic in India, as WHO says global emergency over

With 'pattern of disease' being stable & no alarming spike in hospitalisations and deaths in past few months, govt likely to call meeting of Covid task force soon, it is learnt.

French lab scientists couldn’t make bat virus mutate to become like SARS-CoV-2. Why it matters

Scientists at Pasteur Institute in France conducted experiments with bat virus similar to SARS-CoV-2 & tried to spur evolution of a mutation that could cause it to adapt to human cells.

45% of samples sequenced in India since January had Omicron, shows Covid lab network INSACOG

INSACOG, in its latest bulletin, revealed that nearly half of all Covid-19 samples sent for genomic sequencing in India since January this year have been identified as Omicron.

Covid result in 3 minutes? US FDA gives emergency-use nod for first SARS-CoV-2 breath test

InspectIR Covid-19 Breathalyzer test detects chemical compounds in breath samples associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Needs to be performed by trained operators.

India’s 1st Covid nasal spray FabiSpray aimed at high-risk adults, doesn’t let virus reach lungs

Designed to kill the coronavirus in the upper airways before it progresses to the lungs, the nitric oxide spray was approved after clinical trials on 306 Covid patients in India.

Omicron could replace other Covid variants, survive as common cold: Harvard immunologist Pillai

Harvard Medical School professor Dr Shiv Pillai says India’s third wave likely to subside by March, and suggests that the country’s response to the pandemic was a mixed bag.

Covid spilling over to free-ranging animals? Dead leopard cub had Delta, didn’t die of it

Case was detected at a time when infection levels had dropped significantly in humans, says 12 January report by scientists from Indian Veterinary Research Institute.

Most of Covid virus ‘inactivated’ in minutes, says UK study on aerosol risk at short distance

Infectivity falls drastically within a few seconds to minutes of aerosol generation, according to a study by researchers from the University of Bristol, yet to be peer-reviewed.

Booster dose of Covishield can increase antibody levels against Omicron, Oxford study says

Antibody levels against Omicron were higher in people who had taken a 3rd Covishield dose than in people who’d had other Covid variants, found a preprint study by Oxford researchers.

On Camera

Asim Munir wants to be guardian of the Middle East. He’s fated to fail at home

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.

Slashing GST on waste can unlock Rs 1.8 lakh crore, high tax hurting circular economy goals—CSE

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.

India, US troops to undertake joint military exercise next month, first after Op Sindoor

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.

Modi’s ready to risk it all for farmers. Farm reform can answer Trump with new Green Revolution

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.