Tag: Covid variant

  • No new subvariant of Covid-19 spreading in Pakistan: NIH

    No new subvariant of Covid-19 spreading in Pakistan: NIH

    The Ministry of National Health Services has refuted news reports that said a new subvariant of Covid-19 is spreading in Pakistan.

    “NCOC-NIH refutes the news of any new COVID-19 subvariant. Currently, XBB Omicron sub-variant is already the dominant variant for the last 3 months. NCOC is closely monitoring the situation,” the ministry wrote in a tweet.
    According to the spokesperson of the National Institute of Health (NIH), Pakistan has had a total of 29 cases of XBB (Omicron) since it first appeared, but no cases of BF.7 have been reported as yet.

    A review meeting was held on tuesday to review prevalence of the virus in the country under the chairmanship of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif .
    The Premier commended the efforts put in by all the relevant officials and NCOC to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

    The meeting was informed in detail about the current situation of Covid in the world including the region and in Pakistan, new variants of the pandemic, measures taken to prevent them and status of vaccinations.

  • New Covid symptom only occurs at night

    New Covid symptom only occurs at night

    A leading immunologist has warned that a new Covid variant can cause a different symptom that only occurs at night.

    BA.5 was first discovered in South Africa earlier this year. It is a highly-contagious subvariant that can cause night sweats. The variant is contributing to a fresh wave of infections across the world.

    Professor Luke O’Neill from Trinity College Dublin called this symptom “strange”.

    “One extra symptom from BA.5 I saw this morning is night sweats.”

    “The disease is slightly different because the virus has changed. But if you are vaccinated and you’re boosted, it doesn’t progress into the severe disease,” Professor O’Neill added.

    BA.5’s ability to reinfect is concerning to healthcare professionals. It is pertinent to mention that previously, if a person had been infected with SARS-CoV-2, they were considered safe from the virus after one cycle ended. With the subvariants, this is not the case anymore.

  • Another deadly Covid variant identified in Pakistan

    Another deadly Covid variant identified in Pakistan

    The health authorities announced that another variant of the deadly Covid virus has reached Pakistan, reports Dawn.

    Talking to the media outlet, Member Scientific Task Force on Covid-19 Dr Javed Akram said a fatal variant of the virus called ‘Epsilon’ had been detected in the country.

    He confirmed that around 40 patients had contracted the variant so far, however, the figure is not accurate.

    “This variant had originated in California, which was why it was called the California strain or B.1.429,” Dr Akram added.

    “We need to understand that the virus has been controlled but not eradicated, therefore, there are chances of it bouncing back,” said Dr Akram.

    Talking about the vaccines’ efficiency, Dr Akram, who is also the vice-chancellor of the University of Health Sciences (UHS), stated, “The positive side is that all vaccines are effective against Epsilon, therefore people should get immunised and adhere to the standard operating procedures.”

    The Japanese government provided equipment worth 6.59 million dollars to Islamabad through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for enhancing Pakistan’s capacity for Covid vaccine storage.

    According to the statistics shared by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 662 covid cases were recorded in the last 24 hours and the current positivity rate is 1.40 per cent.

  • Lahore gets its first drive-through vaccination centre

    The city district administration of Lahore has established the first drive-through vaccination centre at Nishtar Park Sports Complex. According to details, the facility has been launched in collaboration with the Bank of Punjab.

    This facility will help people get vaccinated from the comfort of their vehicles in just 15-20 minutes, which includes registration, checking vitals, and inoculation. The timings for the drive-through vaccination centre are from 08:00 pm to 02:00 am.

    Pakistan’s vaccination drive began on March 10 with priority given to healthcare workers and senior citizens above 60. Later, vaccinations for those aged 50-59 were started on April 21. Meanwhile, registration for ages 40-49 was started on on April 2 and the registration for19 plus started from May 27.

  • Students vaccinated with Covaxin, Sputnik V, asked to get re-vaccinated in US

    Students at universities in the United States are being asked to re-vaccinate themselves if they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 with Indian-made Covaxin or Russia’s Sputnik V as these vaccinations are still not approved by World Health Organizations, Hindustan Times has reported.

    Milloni Doshi, 25 years of age who will be joining Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs soon and has already been administered two doses of Covaxin in India says, “I am just concerned about taking two different vaccines. They said the application process would be the toughest part of the cycle, but it’s really been all of this that has been uncertain and anxiety-inducing.”

    On the concerns of having two different vaccines, spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Kristen Nordlund said: “Since Covid-19 vaccines are not interchangeable, the safety and effectiveness of receiving two different vaccines have not been studied.”

  • South African, Brazilian variant of COVID-19 detected in Karachi

    Minister for Health and Population Welfare Sindh Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho has alerted citizens that the South African and Brazilian variant of COVID-19 has been detected in samples taken by the Agha Khan University (AKU).

    In a video message, the minister said: “13 samples were studied yesterday in Agha Khan University Hospital. 10 UK, two African and a Brazilian variant were found.”

    Dr Pechuho further said that South African and Brazilian variants have a high fatality rate and that these variants are not vaccine responsive.

    The doctor warned that those infected with these new found variants can get severely ill.

    She further urged people to stay indoors, avoid gatherings and Eid shopping.

    The minister also added that if citizen continue with such carelessness, hospitals and medical centres will be overburdened as “we have seen in India”. She added that if the virus begins to spread, it will become difficult to control it.

    Last year in December, Pakistan reported three cases of the new strain of coronavirus that first emerged in the United Kingdom, prompting countries to ban travel with the UK.

    Pakistan is experiencing a deadly third wave of Covid-19, with the positivity rate at an all-time high. According to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), 5112 cases and 131 deaths were recorded in the country in the last 24 hours.

  • In a first, Kangana thanks Pakistan for extending prayers

    Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut has made headlines every now and then. Apart from her argument on nepotism, the actress has also been very vocal about her dislike of Pakistan. However, as Twitter in Pakistan trends with hashtags showing solidarity to India, Kangana’s heart, too, turned soft. But she was still misinformed about one detail.

    Taking to Twitter, Kangana wrote: “Heartwarming to see top trend from Pakistan #PakistanstandswithIndia. Narendra Modi provided the country with the vaccine. Nice to see them appreciate his kindness and reciprocate with love. We too acknowledge their empathy in these testing times.” But the actress was misinformed about the vaccine available in Pakistan.

    Pakistan is currently administering Sinopharm and Sputnik, which have been sent from China and Russia, respectively. Some users also clarified that the vaccines in Pakistan were not supplied to them by India.

    https://twitter.com/Little_knightss/status/1385846303574269953?s=19
    https://twitter.com/talkingcurves/status/1385834239837540352?s=19

    As of Saturday, the coronavirus death toll in India stood at 1,66,10,481 with 2,624 fatalities reported in 24 hours, out of which Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (773) followed by Delhi with 348 daily deaths, reported the Hindustan Times.

    People across the country are scrambling for life-saving oxygen supplies, while patients lay dying outside hospitals. There is a shortage of life-saving medicines and hospital beds too.

    Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has also expressed solidarity for the people of India in the current wave of COVID-19.

  • New COVID strain detected in three UK returnees

    Pakistan has reported three cases of the new strain of coronavirus that first emerged in the United Kingdom, prompting countries to ban travel with the UK.

    This new strain, called the B.1.17 lineage, may be 70% more infectious than the previous strain going around in the UK. According to the Sindh Health Department, three passengers who had arrived from the UK had been infected with this variant of the coronavirus.

    The health department said it took samples of 12 people who had returned from the UK for genotyping, out of which six tested positive for the coronavirus. “Three showed the new variant for the COVID-19 in the first phase of testing,” said the statement of the department quoted by Geo News.

    It said that the samples will be sent to the 2nd phase of genotyping. The health department has already begun tracing the people that these patients had come into contact with.

    Last week, reports that a new strain of coronavirus, similar to the one wreaking havoc in the United Kingdom, had also surfaced in Karachi. Coronavirus Task Force head Dr Attaur Rehman had said that the authorities discovered a new strain of coronavirus in the port city that is similar to the one spreading in Europe.