COVID-19 reinfection very rare occurrence, not a matter of concern: ICMR
New Delhi: Coronavirus reinfection is possible even though it is a "very rare" occurrence, ICMR DG Balram Bhargava said on Tuesday and stressed that it is not a matter of serious concern.
The remarks come amid suspected cases of COVID-19 reinfection being reported from abroad and from Indian states like Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat, Punjab and Maharashtra.
Responding to a question on the issue, Bhargava told a press conference that reinfection was "very, very rare" with COVID-19, but it can happen as had been seen in a case in Hong Kong.
"We have seen that someone gets measles and he is supposed to be protected all his life because he generates certain antibodies, but then we have seen reinfection occurring in measles.
"Similarly, we can have reinfection with COVID-19 as has been described by the case in Hong Kong and it is not a matter of serious concern, Bhargava said.
In an earlier press conference, he had said that there was a need to find out how long the immunity lasts against the infection.
On coronavirus vaccine development, the ICMR director general said three vaccines are at clinical trial stages in the country and two indigenously ones developed by Cadila and Bharat Biotech have completed phase-I trial.
The results are being analysed and they have completed recruitment for the second phase, he said.
Serum Institute of India has completed phase II-B3 trials of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine candidate. There was a pause of seven days. They will start the phase-III trial with 1,500 patients at 14 locations in India after clearances, Bhargava said.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had directed Serum Institute of India to suspend any new recruitment in the phase-II and III clinical trial of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine candidate till further orders in the backdrop of pharma giant AstraZeneca pausing the clinical trials in other countries.
Speaking about the vaccine developed in Russia, the ICMR DG said their first study of 76 patients has been published in the journal Lancet, which is showing good effectiveness and immune-antibody generation. He said Russia has not yet completed Phase-III trial.
Dialogues are going on between the High-Level Committee on Vaccines and the Russian diplomats about the mechanisms for conducting Phase-III trial in India, he said.
British-Swedish biopharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford had on Saturday said that clinical trials for their coronavirus vaccine have resumed in the United Kingdom after Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) confirmed that the trials were safe.
The human trials resumed days after a pause had been announced in the trials after an adverse reaction in one of the participants.
Addressing a query on the national sero-survey, Bhargava said the survey, which was done in April-May and is being repeated after three months, has been completed in 68 out of 70 districts. After analysis of the results by this month end, the two studies can be compared, he said.
The senior official added that the sero-survey also brings out infection fatality rate, which was found to be between 0.5-0.6 in the last national sero-survey, which was much below than in many other countries.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
