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Pfizer says its coronavirus vaccine 95% effective in final trials

Pakistan

New Delhi (NVI): US Pharma giant Pfizer today said that its coronavirus vaccine developed with German partner BioNTech is 95 per cent effective and that the phase 3 study of its Covid vaccine candidate has met all primary efficacy endpoints.

The US and German biotech firms are collaborating on the project. Pfizer came up with the results after administering the vaccine candidate BNT162b2 to 170 coronavirus cases and demonstrated 95% efficacy beginning 28 days after the first dose.

In a series of tweets, Pfizer said that the safety milestone required by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) has been achieved. “To date, no serious safety concerns related to the vaccine candidate have been reported,” it said.

The pharmaceutical company further said that within days, it plans to submit a request to the US FDA for an EUA based on the totality of safety and efficacy data collected, as well as manufacturing data relating to the quality and consistency of the vaccine candidate.

“We also plan to submit the efficacy and safety data from the study for peer-review in a scientific journal once analysis of the data is completed,” the company said.

On Monday, another US based bioechnology company, Moderna had said that the Covid vaccine developed by it is 94.5 per cent effective at preventing coronavirus.

-ARK

First flight from Kalaburagi to Hindon

New Delhi (NVI): The first direct flight operations from Kalaburagi in Karnataka to Hindon Airport in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh were flagged off today under the RCS-UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik), the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement.

Commencement of the flight operations on the Kalaburagi – Delhi (Hindon) route is in line with the commitment and perseverance of MoCA and AAI to enable the country with better air connectivity under the UDAN scheme, the Ministry said.

Till date, 295 routes and 53 airports including 5 heliports and 2 Water Aerodromes have been operationalised under the UDAN scheme.

The officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Airport Authority of India (AAI) were present at the launch.

The airline, Star Air was awarded the Kalaburagi – Hindon route under the RCS-UDAN-3 bidding process last year. The airline will be operating three weekly flights on the route and will deploy its 50-seater Embraer-145 luxury aircraft.

It currently connects 15 routes under UDAN and with the addition of the Kalaburagi – Hindon route, there will be 16 routes under the ambit of RCS-UDAN for Star Air, the Civil Aviation Ministry said.

-ARK

Indian Army celebrates 240th Corps of Engineers Day

New Delhi (NVI): Indian Army today celebrated the 240th Corps of Engineers Day, in a solemn ceremony organized at National War Memorial.

Lt Gen SK Shrivastava, Engineer-in-Chief along with other serving officers, JCOs and other ranks laid wreaths and paid homage to the brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country, according to a statement by the Ministry of Defence.

The Corps of Engineers provides combat engineering support, develops infrastructure for armed forces and other defence organisations and maintains connectivity along the vast borders, besides providing succour to populace during natural disasters.

These tasks are executed through four pillars of the Corps – Combat Engineers, Military Engineer Service, Border Road Organisation and Military Survey.

The Corps of Engineers have three groups – Madras Sappers, Bengal Sappers and Bombay Sappers – which were amalgamated into the Corps on Nov 18, 1932.

Since its inception, history is replete with colossal exemplary contributions of the Corps of Engineers both in war and peace.

-CHK

J&K: 12 civilians injured in grenade attack in Pulwama

J&K: 12 civilians injured in grenade attack in Pulwama

Srinagar (NVI): At least 12 civilians have been injured in a grenade attack by terrorists on a security forces party in Kakapora area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police officials said.

A senior police officer said that the militants lobbed a grenade on a joint team of Police and CRPF in Kakapora. However, the grenade missed the intended target and exploded on road.

Twelve civilians received splinter injuries in the blast. They were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment, the officer added.

Two of those injured were shifted to Bone and Joint Hospital, Srinagar, four to SDH Pampore and six others were being treated at PHC Kakapora.

Those injured have been identified as Raja begum and Suhail Ahmad, both residents of Naman in Kakapora, Shabir Ahmad Dar, Mushtaq Ahmad, Bashir Ahmad Dar, Habib Ulla Shiekh, Gh Nabi Shiekh, Abrar Dar, Bashir Ahmad, all residents of Kakapora, Amir from Uttar Pradesh, Adil Ahmad from Shamboora and Gh Muhandin from Laribal, Kakapora.

Meanwhile, the whole area has been cordoned off and a search operation is underway.

(More details awaited)

Chirp of crickets may soon be used to monitor their species diversity

New Delhi (NVI): The chirp of the cricket may soon be used to monitor their species diversity. Scientists are establishing an acoustic signal library that can help track the diversity of these insects.

Dr Ranjana Jaiswara, a Department of Science and Technology (DST) Inspire Faculty Fellow at the Department of Zoology, Panjab University, is working to establish a field crickets acoustic-signal library which can be used as a non-invasive tool in species diversity estimation and monitoring.

The library will be a digital one and can be used through mobile phone application for automated species recognition and discovery as well as documentation of new species of crickets from India.

Field crickets are one of the most commonly used model organisms in the field of neuroethology, behavioural ecology, experimental biology, and acoustics because of their unique ability to produce loud acoustic signal by rubbing of highly specialised forewings against each other.

Morphology-based traditional taxonomy has gone a long way to recognise and establish species diversity. But it is often not sufficient in delimiting cryptic species– a group of two or more morphologically indistinguishable species (hidden under one species) or individuals of the same species expressing diverse morphological features (which are often classified into multiple species).

Therefore, identification solely based on morphological features leads to underestimation or overestimation of species diversity.

Jaiswara’s research as a DST-INSPIRE Faculty addresses the problem of cryptic species by using advanced tools in an integrative frame in delineating species boundaries.

These tools include acoustic signals, DNA sequences, and phonotactic behavioural data in studying species diversity. She uses field crickets as the model organism.

In her research published in Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, she has shown that species-specific bioacoustics signals are a highly efficient and reliable tool in marking species boundaries and it can be used to get an accurate estimate of species richness and diversity estimate of any geographical area.

Dr Jaiswara has further documented that the issue of cryptic species can be addressed economically with the basic skill of bioacoustic signal and statistical analyses. These integrative approach-based studies have led to the discovery of several cryptic and new species of crickets from India, Brazil, Peru and South-Africa.

The researcher plans to build a phylogenetic relationship and understand evolutionary relationships among approximately 140 species of field crickets known from India. This study will provide an evolutionary frame structure to the scientific community at a global level.

-CHK

Inter-state fake invoice racket busted

New Delhi (NVI): The Directorate General of Goods & Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) of Nagpur Zonal Unit has busted an Inter-State fake invoice racket with transactions valued at over Rs 131 crore.

The fake invoice involved three taxpayers, one based in Maharashtra and two based in Karnataka.

According to an official statement, “Searches were conducted in remote areas of Chandrapur district, Maharashtra against a Taxpayer involved in issuance of fake invoices and availment of fraudulent ITC.

In addition, the searches revealed that the taxpayer was fake and non-existent.

Further investigations revealed that the documents uploaded on the GST portal as proof of address by the taxpayers like electricity bills etc. were all forged and fabricated.

It also revealed the details of two more taxpayers based in Karnataka who were a part of this racket as they were found to have taken GST registration on the same date, had declared the same e-mail addresses in REG 01 and were sole suppliers or buyers of each other,

The total fraudulent ITC detected was Rs 26.09 crore which involved total 3 entities and services involved were works contract services and labour supply, the statement noted.

However, the matter has been taken up with the jurisdictional DGGI, Zonal Units for apprehending the kingpin who is reportedly based in Karnataka.

-RJV

Former Goa governor passes away

New Delhi (NVI): Mridula Sinha, former Goa governor and BJP leader, today passed away at the age of 77.

Sinha was the first female governor of Goa. Born in Muzaffarpur in Bihar, Sinha was a noted Hindi writer as well as a senior BJP leader.

She had also served as head of the BJP’s women’s wing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several other leaders expressed condolences over Sinha’s demise.

Condoling the demise of the former Governor of Goa, PM Narendra Modi tweeted, “Smt. Mridula Sinha Ji will be remembered for her efforts towards public service. She was also a proficient writer, making extensive contributions to the world of literature as well as culture. Anguished by her demise. Condolences to her family and admirers. Om Shanti.”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Former Goa Governor and senior BJP leader Mridula Sinha ji’s death is very sad. She worked for the nation, society and organization throughout her life. She was also an accomplished writer who will always be remembered for her writing. My condolences to her family. ”

-CHK

Children in India affected by ‘digital divide’, rising poverty amid pandemic: Report

Children in India affected by 'digital divide', rising poverty amid pandemic: Report

New Delhi (NVI): Digital divide, rising poverty levels, child marriage and child labour are among the major challenges faced by children in India amid the Covid-19 pandemic, child rights experts noted in an online session organised by UNICEF.

Ahead of World Children’s Day on Friday, child rights experts, in an online session Monaday, highlighted the need to understand the full impact and invest more time, resources and efforts to protect the world’s youngest citizens from impact and the crisis.

The online media panel discussion was organized in partnership with the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia (FCC).

The session titled “Impact of COVID-19 Crisis on the Lives of Children in India,” drew attention to children’s health, their protection and on the learning crisis, to ‘reimagine’ a more sustainable, safer world for children post COVID.

During the session, Dr Dhir Jhingran, Founder Director, Language and Learning Foundation, focused on the impact the digital divide has had on children, particularly when only a quarter of households (24 per cent) in India have access to the internet and there is a large rural-urban and gender divide.

“Beyond the internet accessibility, the poorest students in remote areas and girls do not have access to smartphones. Marginalized children are paying the heaviest price as millions of young people are not able to access remote learning during school shutdowns,” Dr Jhingran said while calling for “reimagining” for reopening of schools.

“Safe re-opening of schools presents an opportunity to ‘build back better’ – by investing in equitable, quality education and skills development to ensure a whole generation of children and young people is not left behind,” he said.

“Safe re-opening also includes looking at the psychosocial wellbeing of children when they join back as well as assessing the learning/revision needs of children as they enter new grades,” he added.

Delivering the keynote address, Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF India Representative, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded as a child rights crisis. Through rising poverty and inequality, the pandemic has upended essential services that protect health, education and safety of children and young people. We need to adopt a whole of society child-centric

approach as the costs of the pandemic on children are immediate and can persist for years, if not addressed.”

Referring to the health crisis, the UNICEF India Representative said, “We know that health systems are strained by the COVID -19 pandemic, however we must not allow our fight against one deadly disease to come at the expense of our fight against other preventable diseases. This means ensuring the continuity of immunization services to prevent all vaccine-preventable diseases, even as we address the growing COVID-19 pandemic.”

UNICEF also shared the results of Wave-2, a Community Based Monitoring (CBM) Mechanism on socio-economic impact of COVID pandemic on marginalized populations during the period August–September 2020.

-ARK

US FDA authorizes first self-testing Covid-19 kit for home use

Representative image

New Delhi (NVI): The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved emergency use authorization for the first COVID-19 diagnostic at home self-testing kit.

The Lucira COVID-19 All-In-One Test Kit is a molecular single use test that provides rapid results of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19, the agency said in a statement.

“While COVID-19 diagnostic tests have been authorized for at-home collection, this is the first that can be fully self-administered and provide results at home,” FDA Commissioner Stephen M Hahn said.

“This new testing option is an important diagnostic advancement to address the pandemic and reduce the public burden of disease transmission. Today’s action underscores the FDA’s ongoing commitment to expand access to COVID-19 testing,” he added.

According to the agency, the test, which works by swirling a self-collected nasal swabbed sample in a vial which is then placed in a hand-held test unit and can provide results in 30 minutes or less. The unit’s light-up display then shows whether a person is positive or negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The FDA also stated that the test kit is only authorized for individuals of age 14 and above who are suspected of COVID-19 by their health care provider, the FDA said.

Meanwhile, it is also authorized for use in at hospitals point-of-care (POC) settings for all ages but samples must be collected by a healthcare provider when the test is used at the POC to test individuals younger than 14 years.

Reportedly, the test is intended to cost less than USD 50 and the kit is manufactured in the United States.

“Today’s authorization for a complete at-home test is a significant step toward FDA’s nationwide response to COVID-19,” said Jeff Shuren, director of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

“We look forward to proactively working with test developers to support the availability of more at-home test options,” he added.

-RJV

Fact check: Message claiming coronavirus vaccine launched in India is fake

New Delhi (NVI): A viral WhatsApp message claims that a coronavirus vaccine has been launched in India and people have to register for it by downloading a ‘Vaccine App.’

Refuting such claims on social media, the fact check wing of the Government’s Press Information Bureau said that the claim is fake and no such vaccine has been launched in the country yet.

Debunking the fake news, PIB, in a tweet wrote, “A #WhatsApp forward is claiming that a ‘Corona Vaccine’ has been launched in India and people have to register for it by downloading a ‘Vaccine App.’

#PIBFactCheck: This Claim is #Fake. No #COVID19 vaccine has been launched in the country yet.”

The viral message read, “Corona Vaccine launched in India. Register your number now and apply for vaccine today. Download vaccine app and apply now.”

The Press Information Bureau launched this fact-checking arm in December 2019, to curb misinformation and fake news prevalent on the internet. It claimed that its objective was “to identify misinformation related to government’s policies and schemes that are circulating on various social media platforms”.

-CHK

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