AIIMS-Delhi designated as WHO network site for pandemic preparedness
_vb_27.jpeg)
New Delhi (PTI): AIIMS, Delhi has now become one of the WHO global network sites for pandemic preparedness and emergency response under the Global Influenza Surveillance And Response System (GISRS).
The World Health Organisation (WHO), during the Covid crisis, had started the global network of Unity Study sites which conducts investigations and studies rapidly in the event of a pandemic, or epidemic of an emerging or re-emerging pathogen.
The network will ensure response readiness for rapid evaluation of critical tools to supplement routine surveillance systems to address specific questions, particularly in the early stages of a pandemic or an epidemic, Dr Puneet Misra, Professor of Community Medicine at AIIMS, said.
Unity Studies are standardization research protocol developed by WHO that may be implemented during inter pandemic period as well as any future pandemic of respiratory pathogen, Dr Misra explained.
The Unity Study protocols aim to rapidly gather evidence to facilitate evidence-based public health policy. These protocols advocate standardized and uniform method of data collection on epidemiological exposure, and collection of biological specimens, he said.
"This approach permits rapid sharing of data in a format that can be easily aggregated, tabulated and analysed across many different settings globally for timely public health response," Dr Misra said.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a global public health emergency, he said.
Although the health systems had the experience of dealing with infectious outbreaks and epidemics in past, but at time of Covid, WHO realised the need of generic protocols for standardised data for public health measures at global level to make processes and systems in place to deal with a public health emergency of such magnitude and be alert for any future outbreak, Dr Misra underlined.
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that the unity protocol studies added value, and that they could be implemented both in high as well as in low-to-middle income countries.
Within the WHO South-East Asia Region (SEARO), which comprises 11 member countries, only five sites have been selected for establishing Unity Study site.
"AIIMS, Delhi, is privileged and proud to be one of the five sites designated as network site for Pandemic Preparedness and Emergency Response from the World Health Organization under the leadership of Dr Puneet Misra, Professor of Community Medicine," a statement issued by the hospital said.
Importantly, this centre will continue to function even in non-pandemic periods, contributing to broader public health actions, capacity building, and preparedness activities, ensuring that the systems remain robust and ready to respond effectively whenever needed, the statement added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
