‘Pregnant women who tested positive for Covid-19 when admitted to a hospital to give birth were at a greater risk for stillbirth compared to those who did not, according to a study released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Friday, with risks rising more since the delta variant has become the dominant strain.’
Read here (Forbes, Nov 19, 2021)
Read CDC report here.
‘How security measures and regulations meant to protect, actually increase risky behaviour in the public, and how not to become a stereotype...
‘So, what has this got to do with Covid-19 vaccinations? This is where Dr Puri and his message come in. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan reportedly tested positive with the coronavirus a few days after being vaccinated. People assume, wrongly, that vaccination (especially after the first dose) makes you invincible and you can get back to partying and a pre-Covid-19 normal life. Not true. The immunity builds up only a few weeks after the second dose. Also, immunity is not absolute. You can still get infected after being vaccinated, just like you could die in a car accident even though you are wearing a seatbelt. If you wear a seatbelt, you should not drive recklessly. Similarly, if you are vaccinated, you should not behave recklessly. You need to follow the basics—wear a mask, maintain social distance and wash your hands. Furthermore, current vaccines may not be able to protect you against future variants of the virus.
‘So why take the vaccine? Because it does reduce the risk of you getting the virus, and more importantly the risk of dying is significantly reduced. But just like the seat belt can't protect you if you drive like an idiot, the vaccine won’t protect you if you behave like one. Sometimes a seat belt doesn't protect you even if you are driving carefully (because some other idiot is driving recklessly) or you are an innocent bystander. It's the same case with the vaccine. Some other idiot can get you infected, even if you are an innocent bystander. Hence, please don’t believe that being vaccinated makes you superhuman.’
Read here (Forbes India, Apr 8, 2021)
‘The positive results of Molnupiravir represent an emerging hope for more Covid-19 therapies to come. Its oral administration indicates a potential drug that could come before hospitalization and perhaps even prevent severe symptoms. Were a pill-based treatment for Covid-19 available, many lives would be easily saved and many hospital beds could be opened for those who need them.
‘In addition to its reduction of Covid-19 transmission, Molnupiravir is likely to be useful against influenza, ebola, and a large swath of other viruses as well. Its development appears to be a major advancement in virus control and should be active against Covid-19 variants and variants of other viruses. However, we caution Molnupiravir should be administered in conjunction with other therapies to avoid viruses rapidly developing resistance, which all these viruses are well-equipped to do.
‘Though, as these results are preliminary, we eagerly await the full release of the phase two data and the drug’s eventual full trial outcomes. This could be a real winner.’
Read here (Forbes, Mar 16, 2021)
This article, inappropriately whimsical in the initial paragraphs, gives summaries of the effectiveness of 14 types of face masks. They are the results of a simple Duke University test to analyse their effectiveness. The fitted N95 came out tops. Three-layer surgical masks and cotton masks, which many people have been making at home, also performed well.
Read here (Forbes, August 9, 2020)
Read the Duke University paper ‘Low-cost measurement of face mask efficacy for filtering expelled droplets during speech’ here