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By Dr.Dhiren Gupta

A Zoom meeting was held with Executive Director Serum Institute of India to clear certain doubts about Covishield Vaccine, Presenting Excerpts of the session :

1. Covishied can be safely given to people with multiple allergies. However it is advisable to give prior information to the vaccine provider.
2. 2nd dose of Covishied shouldn’t be substituted by another vaccine.
3. No prohibition of taking Alcohol before and after Covishield Vaccination ( contrary to what’s app university advice of avoiding alcohol for 45 days).
4. Covishied is effective against UK & Brazilian strains, not so effective against South African, though it still be effective in preventing severe covid
5. No evidence of South African strain causing recent surge of cases in India/world.
6. A gap of 4 weeks is reasonable between two doses but recent data suggests that immune response is better with a gap of 8-12 weeks as adopted by UK government. Indian government may also implement this strategy
7. No Need to check antibodies after the second dose as all trials have shown good immunogenicity. If one wants to confirm then one should go for neutralizing antibodies against spike proteins after 4 weeks of seconds dose (However only few labs are testing Neutralizing Antibodies).
8. No significant adverse events noted so far. Myalgia, local pain, low grade fever are commonly seen in younger population.
9. It is advisable to complete full course of two doses to get proper Immune response.
10. Vaccine is effective even among people with age more than 55 years.

11.According to current data vaccine remains effective for a duration of at least 10 months. Since it is new vaccine details will follow as time advances.

The writer of Dr.Dhiren Gupta, Pediatrics, Sir Gangaram Hospital

Dr. Krati Jain, an Ujjain-based doctor bags 13 gold medals and one silver medal for topping MBBS and becomes the first woman to achieve this. The doctor completed her MBBS in 2018 from the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College, which is among the three colleges that come under Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore. She topped in all the three.

“Today I am very happy to receive these eight gold medals and one silver medal for becoming an overall MBBS topper of the university and all subject topper in the final year. I received five gold medals earlier in every year of the course.” Krati told ANI.

She said, “MBBS is a tough course but I had the support of my parents and guidance of my teachers. On top of that medical was my primary interest that is why I was able to focus more. I have completed my graduation degree in 2018 and I am now pursuing a Master’s degree in Radiology.”

“Studying your favourite subject more can reduce stress and boredom”, Dr. Krati said advising the students who cannot focus on studies. She added, “the more time you spend studying your favourite subject, the more you will be interested and you will be able to understand the subject in a better way.”

She had received eight gold medals and one silver medal from Governor Anandiben Patel at her convocation ceremony at Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya on Friday. Higher Education Minister Mohan Yadav was also present at the event.

The AIIMS facility of Patna has given consent on the motion to terminate its faculty members for lacking basic qualification at the time of their recruitment.

These members include Ajit Saxena, professor and head of pathology department; Sushmita Das, associate professor in the microbiology department and Alok Ranjan, an assistant professor in the department of community and family medicine, one of whom had been promoted during the August-September 2017 assessment promotion scheme of the institution.

The government body of the institute made no comments on the decision it took on Thursday regarding the matter.

According to a media report, the matter goes back to 2011 when the institute has advertised for faculty recruitment in December that year. However, the advertisement had clearly mentioned that the appointment required a PG degree recognized by the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI), now National Medical Commission (NMC). Two faculties only had postgraduate degrees in Zoology, a non-medical subject, during their appointment in 2012-2013. Although Ranjan had the required qualification, he lacked a Ph.D. degree at the time of recruitment.

Sources informed the Daily that the assistant professor had fulfilled the required criteria within nine months of his joining (September 7, 2012) and submitted his Ph.D. degree from a USA-based University. However the other two still lacked the qualification.

A total of 19 faculties underwent the scanner regarding the matter and some of them earlier criticized the penalty after eight year for the fault committed by the Selection Committee and a few moved to the court against the disciplinary action taken by the institute.

Sources informed that an IPS blew the cover of the terminated professors while Kishore, Deputy Director (Administration) of AIIMS Patna brought the matter into light in 2013.

Later, the Vikas Arya committee, constituted by the Union Health Ministry in 2014, also marked the appointments faulty. Finally, a five-member high-powered committee consisting of directors of AIIMS-Bhubaneshwar and AIIMS-Patna had also found the recruitment of the three members bogus.

However, a doctor working with the AIIMS-Patna has questioned the select penalty order by the institute as there had allegedly been some other faculty members holding non-medical degrees. Speaking about the same, he told TOI, “Why action against few and not others?”

On the other hand, the news took trend on twitter. “Congratulations! Finally, some justice, albeit delayed and inadequate, can be expected to be delivered. I was made to pay a heavy price for my whistle-blowing act…” Kishore Yadav tweeted.

By Dr (Brig) WVBS Ramalingam

Hearing loss is the most widespread sensory deficit across the globe. Any hearing loss greater than 40 decibels (dB) in the better hearing ear in adults and a hearing loss greater than 30 dB in the better hearing ear in children can result in disabling hearing loss. Hearing loss can range from mild to moderate, severe, or profound and can affect one ear or both ears.
Over 5% of the world’s population, of all age groups, which is about 466 million people (432 million adults and 34 million children) suffer from hearing loss and it is estimated that by 2050, approximately 900 million people i.e., one in every ten people will have disabling hearing loss. About 60% of childhood hearing loss is due to preventable causes and almost 1.1 billion young people (aged between 12–35 years) are at risk of hearing loss due to exposure to noise in recreational settings.
Causes of hearing loss and deafness can be varied including:
Congenital causes-
Present at or acquired soon after birth, this kind of hearing loss can be caused by hereditary and non-hereditary genetic factors or due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth such as –
• maternal rubella, syphilis or certain other infections during pregnancy
• low birth weight
• birth asphyxia (lack of oxygen at the time of birth)
• inappropriate use of particular drugs during pregnancy
• severe jaundice in the neonatal period, which can damage the hearing nerve in newborns
Acquired causes-
This kind of hearing loss can occur at any age due to:
• infectious diseases including meningitis, measles and mumps
• chronic ear infections
• collection of fluid in the ear (otitis media)
• use of certain medicines known as ototoxic drugs
• injury to the head or ear
• excessive noise, including occupational such as that from machinery and explosions
• recreational exposure to loud sounds such as that from use of personal audio devices at high volumes or staying close to speakers in pubs and discotheques
• ageing, in particular due to degeneration of sensory cells
• wax or foreign bodies in ear canal
The impact of hearing loss can also be very profound and far reaching:
Functional impact-
The individual loses his/her ability to communicate with others. Spoken language development is delayed in children with hearing loss leading to adverse effect on their academic performance.
Social and emotional impact-
Impaired communication due to hearing loss can have a significant impact on everyday life, causing feelings of loneliness, isolation, and frustration, particularly among older people.
Prevention
Hearing loss (and related ear diseases) can be avoided by taking preventive actions such as:
• immunizing children against childhood diseases, including measles, meningitis, rubella and mumps
• immunizing adolescent girls and women of reproductive age against rubella before pregnancy
• preventing cytomegalovirus infections in expectant mothers
• following healthy ear care practices
• reducing exposure (both occupational and recreational) to loud sounds
• screening of children for otitis media
• avoiding use of particular drugs which may be harmful to hearing
• Screening infants at high risk
• Educating general population on hearing loss
• Seeking professional help in time for hearing loss or ear diseases
• Getting hearing tests done regularly for those at high risk of hearing loss
People with hearing loss can benefit from early identification, use of hearing aids, cochlear implants and other assistive devices and in severe cases with captioning and sign language as well as other forms of educational and social support.

On Sunday, the PMO said that Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Institute of Medical Sciences and Research at IIT Kharagpur through video conferencing on Tuesday, Feb 23 at and will also address the 66^th convocation of IIT Kharagpur at 12:30 pm. It said that Governor of West Bengal, Union Education Minister and Union Minister of State for Education will be present on the occasion.

IIT Kharagpur established Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, a Super Specialty Hospital, with support from the Ministry of Education.

PMO said that the institute is inspired by the vision of the Prime Minister that the future of India will be shaped by investment in Science and innovation and driven by its research talent. This hospital is thus a product of fusion between technology and healthcare.

The PMO also added that taking the legacy of IIT Kharagpur in developing healthcare technology products further, the hospital will focus on robust biomedical, clinical and translational research, development of remote diagnostics, telemedicine, teleradiology along with research in drug design and delivery. The MBBS programme is expected to start from academic year 2021-22 in addition to postgraduate and doctoral programmes.

Dr. Reddy’s has announced the launch of Lansoprazole DR Orally disintegrating Tablets a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Prevacid Solu Tab Delayed Release Orally Disintegrating Tablets, 15 mg and 30 mg , approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).

For more information – please click – https://www.drreddys.com/pi/lansoprazoledr_odtus_outsert_v_3.pdf

The upsurge in daily Covid-19 cases prove that we are still far from achieving herd immunity levels, specially in few states like Maharashtra and Kerala.

The decline in numbers for nearly five months in India, leading to a resurgence in the states, led to the belief that the level of infection in the country had probably already reached a level where herd immunity began to take effect.

Though, the cumulative testing record has crossed 21.5 crore, out of which 6,20,216 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. India’s cumulative national Positivity Rate is presently pegged at 5.20%. 9,695 patients have been recovered and got discharged in the last 24 hours. 80.86% of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in 5 States. Kerala has reported the maximum number of single day recoveries with 4,345 newly recovered cases. 2,417 people recovered in Maharashtra in the past 24 hours followed by 460 in Tamil Nadu.

The country’s Active Caseload is 1.50 lakh (1,50,055) today. The present active caseload now consists of 1.36% of India’s total Positive Cases. 14,199 new daily cases have been recorded in the last 24 hours.

While the ease of laws on lockdown got a number of people out, the farmer’s protest causing a majority of people violate the anti-Covid regulations could be seen as the obvious reason for resurgence in the number of active cases. Madhya Pradesh has also shown only a small increase, but the rising trend has been holding on for more than a week now.

The Supreme Court setting aside the Telangana High court order, has said it’s compulsory to have knowledge of practical and theoretical at senior secondary level in biology science ,“MBBS primarily if not predominantly, involves prior knowledge- both theoretical and practical, of senior secondary level in biology or biological sciences.”

The Telangana High court has allowed a student’s contention that the institution illegally denied her admission to the MBBS course for the 2020-21 academic year on the basis of not having records of her study in the required subjects.

Justice S Ravindra Bhat , who wrote the recent judgment , referred to Regulation 4 of the Medical Council Of India regulations on Graduate Medical education of 1997, that stipulates the eligibility criteria for admission to MBBS course stipulated that a candidate should have “undergone at the 10+2 , {or in the Intermediate course) in the specified subjects of Physics , Chemistry and Biology/Bio-Technology.

Upon knowing about the obvious lie of WHO certification for a secret medicine launched by an entrepreneur in the presence of honorable health minister, Indian Medical Association was left in dismay.

The founder of Patanjali Aayurved limited #CORONIL, a medicine he claims as the first one against Covid-19, in the presence of Dr. Harsh Vardhan. Baba Ramdev also said this so called CORONIL to be used for prevention, treatment as well as post-Covid phase treatment. It was mentioned that the said medicine is the first evidence-based medicine.

The World Health Organization (#WHO) clarified in a tweet that it has not reviewed or certified the efficacy of Patanjali’s Covid-19. “@WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment #Covid19,” WHO’s regional office for South-East Asia posted on its official Twitter handle.

It is proved beyond doubt to the entire country, how false the projections are about the said anti-corona ayurvedic medicine.

As per the code of act of Medical council of India ,which binds the code of conduct of every modern medical doctor under section 6:1:1, no doctor can promote any drug as it says, “A physician shall not give to any person, whether for compensation or otherwise, any approval, recommendation, endorsement, certificate, report or statement with respect of any drug, medicine, ——with his name, signature, or photograph in any form or manner of advertising through any mode nor shall he boast of cases, operations, cures or remedies or permit the publication of report thereof through any mode”. However, it is surprising that the Minister himself is promoting the drug.

The code of ethics also mandates,

6.5 Secret Remedies: The prescribing or dispensing by a physician of secret remedial agents of which he does not know the composition, or the manufacture or promotion of their use is unethical and as such prohibited. All the drugs prescribed by a physician should always carry a proprietary formula and clear name. Without disclosing the proprietary formula of the drug the modern medical doctor promoting it is unethical.

The Indian Medical Association (#IMA) also said, “we respect pure unadulterated Ayurveda and let us not adulterate Ayurveda on the pretext of market gain to some monopoly corporate and create a disaster for humanity.”

Glenmark’s Swiss Subsidiary, Glenmark Super Specialty S.A. has received marketing approval from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation for its innovative Ryaltris Nasal Spray – a novel fixed dose combination nasal spray, announced Glenmark.

A press release by Glenmark said that this has paved the way for commercialization of Ryaltris® in Russia which is expected to be made available to patients in the country in Q1 FY 2021-22.

Ryaltris® (olopatadine hydrochloride 665 mcg and mometasone furoate 25 mcg), is indicated for symptomatic treatment of seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis in adults and children over 12 years of age. Ryaltris® relieves symptoms of allergic rhinitis, including stuffy nose, runny nose, nasal itching, sneezing, as well as itchy, red and watery eyes.

In Russia, allergic rhinitis affects 10-20% of the population on average, with certain regions having a higher prevalence rate of 18 – 38%. Allergic rhinitis can impact a person’s quality of life and lead to functional impairments, as well as increase the risk of having asthma.

The Senior Vice President of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Russia and CIS region, Csaba Kantor said, “Glenmark has built strong capabilities in the area of respiratory medicine and is among the leading players in this therapy area across several markets globally. Russia is one of the key markets for us and we are consistently looking to expand our product portfolio. We are delighted to receive an approval for Ryaltris® nasal spray in the Russian market. This new innovative addition to our portfolio is yet another major step in strengthening Glenmark’s respiratory focus in Russia and the CIS region. Glenmark has a strong established presence in Russia for over 30 years, which will enable us to lead the commercialization of this product in the country. We look forward to being able to make this innovative product available to patients in Russia as soon as possible”.