Tag: Delta Variant

  • Russia’s Sputnik V shot around 83% effective against Delta variant

    Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 is around 83 per cent effective against the Delta variant of the virus, lower than previously thought, Reuters quoted Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko as saying.

    Russian authorities blamed the rise in coronavirus cases in June and July on the more contagious Delta variant and the population’s unwillingness to get vaccinated despite vaccination jabs being extensively available.

    The vaccine’s developers in June claimed that Sputnik V was around 90 per cent effective against the Delta variant.

    “The latest results show that effectiveness is around 83 per cent,” the TASS news agency cited Murashko as saying.

    Alexander Ginsburg, director of the Gamaleya Institute which developed the vaccine, said on Wednesday in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper that Sputnik V was safe and effective against all strains of the coronavirus.

    Russia, which has a population of around 144 million, has approved four locally produced vaccines. Around 6.5 million infections have been reported in the country since the start of the pandemic.

  • Public sector and military hospitals should be open to general public: Justice Qazi Faez Isa

    Public sector and military hospitals should be open to general public: Justice Qazi Faez Isa

    Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa has suggested that public sector and military hospitals should be open to the general public, reported Dawn.

    Justice Isa had recently contracted Covid-19 despite being vaccinated. His statement comes in relevance to the grave situation with the surging cases of Covid-19 in Pakistan.

    In a statement, Justice Isa said: “Since we are in a situation no less grave than a war, all public sector hospitals, including combined military hospitals and other armed forces hospitals, should be opened immediately to serve the people.”

    “Otherwise, class and social divides will further be exacerbated and people continue to suffer and die because of an unequal system,” said Justice Isa.

     “My wife and I were one of the initial lucky few in the country who were fully vaccinated as both of us were above 60; courtesy of the Chinese government. We took every precaution, including always wearing masks in public places, yet contracted the highly infectious Delta variant of the disease,” read the statement.

    “Even with the vaccination, I still had to be hospitalised. I am receiving excellent treatment from very competent doctors and attendants at the Quaid-i-Azam International Hospital. Such treatment is not within the reach of most [people],” added Justice Isa.

  • Australian man escapes quarantine using bedsheets

    Australian man escapes quarantine using bedsheets

    A man in Perth, Australia, escaped mandatory quarantine in a hotel room by using a rope made of tied together bedsheets from a fourth-floor window, reports Reuters.

    He arrived in Perth from Brisbane but was told to leave the state within 48 hours, failing to get a mandatory pass before travel, and was sent to a hotel. However, he fled in the middle of the night but was caught and charged with failure to comply with a direction and providing false information.

    Last week, the Western Australia Police Force shared images on their official Facebook account, showing his escape strategy, and informed that he was arrested later and tested Covid-19 negative.

    As per reports, Travis Jay Myles appeared in the Perth Magistrates Court via an audio link. The report added that he did not apply for bail and will remain in custody until early August when his 14-day quarantine period ends.

    G2G passes registration and declaration prior to entry is mandatory for all travelers in Western Australia. The process will declare where the individual has been in the 14 days before their entry and whether they have any Covid symptoms or not.

    More than half of Australia is in lockdown and restrictions have been imposed to stop the spread of the Delta variant.

    Moreover, the vaccination process is quite slow as only 11 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated. The main cause of this is that Australians under 60 are advised to get the Pfizer vaccine, but supplies are very limited.

  • NCOC Eid ul Azha guidelines: Sacrifice is not allowed at home

    The National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) has announced numerous guidelines for Eid ul Azha, which will be celebrated tomorrow, Wednesday, in Pakistan. The NCOC has recommended that no Qurbani should be allowed at home/residential areas, reported Samaa.

    The government has requested the public to follow all the precautionary measures as the country is heading towards the fourth wave of coronavirus.

    The Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) regarding Qurbani include:

    Provinces to initiate awareness campaigns to educate people on the spread of the virus during meat distribution.

    Religious leaders told to encourage collective Qurbani.

    The skin of sacrificed animals will not be given to banned organisations.

    Minimum persons to be allowed at the Qurbani site.

    Last week, Special Assistant to the PM on Health, Dr Faisal Sultan stated that it is mandatory to wear masks and maintain distance from the crowds even for unvaccinated individuals.

    Following the outbreak of the Delta variant in Karachi, more restrictions have been imposed in various parts of the country. The positivity rate on July 20 remains at 5.25 percent.

  • Delta variant most dominant in Karachi with 92 per cent cases

    Delta Variant has become the most dominant Covid-19 variant in Karachi, which accounts for 92 per cent of the infection cases in the city.

    “Our experts at the National Institute of Virology at the University of Karachi analysed 90 Covid samples on July 14 and 15, and of them, 83 or over 92 per cent, were of the Delta variant. This is an extremely alarming situation,” said Dr Iqbal Chaudhry, director of KU’s International Centre for Chemical & Biological Sciences.

    To deal with the rising number of Covid-19 cases, health officials have begun reserving more beds, wards, and human resources at two major tertiary-care hospitals in Karachi.

    “A surgical ward comprising 48 beds is being converted into a Covid-19 ward at the Civil Hospital Karachi [CHK], while the pulmonology ward at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre has also been put on standby to deal with the rising cases due to the Delta variant, which is now spreading like wildfire in the city,” a Sindh Health Department official told The News.

  • Delta variant dominant worldwide, deaths surge among unvaccinated people: Officials

    Delta variant dominant worldwide, deaths surge among unvaccinated people: Officials

    The Delta variant of Covid-19 is now the dominant strain worldwide, accompanied by a surge of deaths around the United States (US) almost entirely among unvaccinated people, US officials said on Friday.

    US cases of coronavirus are more than 70 per cent over the previous week and deaths are up 26 per cent, with outbreaks happening in parts of the country with low vaccination rates, US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said during a press briefing.

    “This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Walensky said, adding that 97 per cent of people entering hospitals in the US with Covid-19 are unvaccinated.

    The Delta variant, which is significantly more contagious than the original variant of the virus, has been reported around 100 countries globally and is now the dominant variant worldwide, top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said.

    Read More: Study reveals Pakistanis prayed for India during Covid-19 crisis

    “We are dealing with a formidable variant” of Covid-19, Fauci said.

    Walensky has urged the unvaccinated people to get Covid-19 shots and said Pfizer Inc’s and Moderna Inc’s vaccines have proven to be especially effective against the Delta variant.

    She said people should get the second dose of the vaccine even if they have passed the recommended window of time for receiving it.

  • Here’s everything you need to know about the Delta variant

    At least 40 cases of the Delta variant — a highly virulent Covid-19 strain — have been recorded in the country in the last few days. Heath experts also suspect the presence of the Delta variant in Lahore.

    With increasing number of cases of this deadly variant, here is everything you need to know about the Delta variant.

    What is the Delta variant?

    The Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, can spread more easily, according to Web MD. The strain has mutations on the spike protein that make it easier for it to infect human cells, which means people may be more contagious if they contract the virus and spread it more easily to others.

    Why should we be worried?

    As per the New York Times, Delta variant is believed to be the most transmissible variant yet, and it can cause more severe illness. One study found that people infected by the Delta variant were roughly twice as likely to be hospitalised as those infected with the Alpha Variant.

    Does vaccines work against Delta variant?

    Data suggests that several widely used shots — including those made by Pfizer, BioNtech, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson and AstraZenca — appear to retain most of their effectiveness against Delta.

    How does the Delta Variant spread more rapidly inside the body?

    A recent study explains why the Delta variant grows more rapidly in the body. Delta variant grows more rapidly inside people’s respiratory tracts and to much higher levels, researchers at the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

    On average, people infected with the delta variant had about 1,000 times more copies of the virus in their respiratory tracts than those infected with the original strain of the coronavirus, the study reported.

    After someone catches the Delta variant, the person likely becomes infectious sooner. On average, it took about four days for the Delta variant to reach detectable levels inside a person, compared to six days for the original coronavirus variant.

    In the past 24 hours, Pakistan has recorded 2,327 cases of Covid-19 with a positivity rate of 6.1 per cent.

  • Hundreds of people watching Euro Cup football matches catch coronavirus

    Hundreds of people watching Euro Cup football matches catch coronavirus

    Hundreds of people watching Euro Cup football matches were affected by Covid-19.

    Read More – Portugal knocked out of Euro 2020 despite Ronaldo being a top scorer

    As per reports, fans returning from London and St. Petersburg have been exposed to the Delta variant from India, and the rate of corona cases in Europe has risen by 10 per cent in one week.

    According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), corona cases are on the rise in Europe again due to the easing of corona restrictions.

    WHO has called for better monitoring of football matches due to the rise in corona cases.

    The 16th edition of the European Championship, Euro 2020, began on June 11 with matches in 11 major cities across Europe — for the first time in the 63-year history of the tournament.

    At the end of the round of 16 stage, eight teams have qualified for the quarterfinals.