New Delhi, April 16 (IANS): Going beyond precautions and vaccinations, doctors and the World Health Organization (WHO) have advised that proper nutrition and hydration would be key in fighting the second wave of Covid-19. This is a throwback on some essential ancient wisdom. 2500 years ago, Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, hit the nail right on the head when he said: "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." In January, the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molec

Washington, April 16 (IANS) People who have recovered from Covid-19 require only one vaccine dose. A second jab is important for those who have not had Covid-19 to reach strong immunity, suggests a study. The study, led by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania in the US, found that Covid survivors had a robust antibody response after the first mRNA vaccine dose, but little immune benefit was seen after the second dose. On the other hand, those who did not have Covid-19

New Delhi, April 16 (IANS) With Covid-19 spreading fiercely in many parts of the country, it has now become extremely important to follow all the precautionary measures, besides wearing a mask, to keep infections at bay, health experts have said. It is important to understand that the virus responsible for Covid-19 spreads mainly from person to person. Therefore, coming in close contact with a sick person can put them in danger. Doctors have therefore advised that in times like t

New York, April 16 (IANS) If you are planning to avoid vaccination just because you are a Covid survivor, think twice. According to a new study, despite a prior Covid-19 infection young people can likely catch the virus again and may still transmit it to others. Even after a previous infection and the presence of antibodies, vaccination is still necessary to boost immune responses, prevent reinfection, reduce transmission, and that young people should take up the vaccine wherever po

Washington, April 16 (IANS): Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said people will likely need a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine within 12 months of getting fully inoculated. Bourla told CNBC News on Thursday that it is possible people will need to get vaccinated against the coronavirus annually, reports Xinhua news agency. "We need to see what would be the sequence, and for how often we need to do that, that remains to be seen," he told CNBC.

New Delhi, April 15 (PTI) The risk of rare blood clotting known as cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) following COVID-19 infection is several times higher than post-vaccination, according to a study unveiled on Thursday. The study led by researchers at the University of Oxford in the UK counted the number of CVT cases diagnosed in the two weeks following diagnosis of COVID-19, or after the first dose of a vaccine.   They compared these to calculated incidences of CVT fo

New York, April 15 (IANS) Exposure to higher levels of air pollution is likely to increase the severity of Covid-19 among people suffering from respiratory conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), warns a study. Researchers from the University of Cincinnati in the US found that a one-unit increase in particulate matter 2.5 was associated with a 60 per cent higher chance of hospitalisation for Covid-19 patients with pre-existing respiratory disease.

New York, April 15 (IANS) Maintaining a daily exercise routine in youth may help reduce risk of high blood pressure or hypertension and dementia in later life, according to a study. People with moderate exercise for at least five hours a week during early adulthood had 18 per cent lower risk of developing hypertension than for those who exercised less than five hours a week. The likelihood was even lower for participants who maintained their exercise habits until age 60. While

SINGAPORE, APRIL 14 (IANS): People who have recovered from Covid-19, especially those with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions, may be at risk of developing blood clots due to a lingering and overactive immune response, according to a study. The study, led by researchers from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, found that recovered Covid-19 patients had twice the normal number of circulating endothelial cells (CECs) that had been shed from damaged blood vessel wall

NEW DELHI, APRIL 14 (IANS): Regular exercise or a 30-minute brisk walk in the neighbourhood park or in your society five days a week while following the social distancing norms can improve your chances of beating Covid-19, reveals a significant study that analysed 48,440 adults who were Covid positive. On the other hand, patients who were consistently inactive had 1.73 times greater chances of ICU admission, while the risk for death was 2.49 times greater for patients who were consi

NEW YORK, APRIL 14 (IANS): Some genetic material of the coronavirus can persist up to a month in dust in the rooms where Covid-19 patients were isolated, finds a study. The study, published in the journal mSystems, did not evaluate whether the dust can transmit the virus to humans. But, it offers another option for monitoring Covid-19 outbreaks in specific buildings, including nursing homes, offices or schools. Researchers from the Ohio State University in the US, worked with the

New Delhi, April 13 (PTI) The Centre on Tuesday said doctors should ensure "rational and judicious" use of anti-viral drug Remdesivir, underlining it is to be given only to serious COVID-19 patients in hospitals and is not to be used in home settings. At a weekly press conference, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul said, "Remdesivir is to be used only in those who require hospitalisation and are on oxygen support. That is the precondition. There is no question of

New York, April 13 (IANS) The onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, which resulted in the sudden isolation of families together at home, gave rise to depression and anxiety at levels high enough that professional help is needed now, a new study has warned. In the initial months of the pandemic, parents reported that their children were experiencing much higher levels of "internalising" problems like depression and anxiety, and "externalising" problems suc

London, April 13 (IANS) People infected with the B117 variant of the coronavirus did not experience more severe illness and were not more likely to die, according to a new study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. However, the strain, popularly called as the UK variant, remains more contagious than original strains of the virus, the npr.org reported. It first emerged in England in September 2020, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is now t

New Delhi, April 12 (PTI) COVID-19 vaccines protect against serious illness but transmissibility can still continue and inoculated people can pass on the infection to others, say scientists, warning against complacency in those who stop maintaining protocol after they get their jabs. Transmissibility from vaccinated persons can be a risk factor until global coverage is achieved, top experts said as India's Covid numbers escalated sharply, reaching 1,35,27,717 (1.35 crore/13,5 mi

New Delhi, April 12 (IANSlife) Family pets help children better manage feelings of stress and loneliness, which have been greatly exacerbated by virtual schooling as a result of the pandemic, shows a new survey. According to UNICEF, at least 1 in 7 children -- or 332 million globally -- has lived under nationwide stay-at-home policies for at least nine months since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, putting their mental health and well-being at risk. The Mars Petcare survey of p

New York, April 12 (IANS) After reports of blood clots experienced by some people after receiving the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine triggered safety concerns, new research published in a leading medical journal suggests that a rare antibody reaction was found in a few people who got the vaccine. The reports which looked into the issue of blood clots linked to AstraZeneca jabs were published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The results showed that among the studied populatio

New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) In the first wave of coronavirus in India last year, virus mutations were not a major issue, but the ongoing second wave, where the spike in cases is much steeper, has led to variants concern, which are more infectious and lethal. However, the vaccine technology platform for Covaxin and Covishield, can develop effective vaccines against mutations, said Y.K. Gupta, former Dean and Head of Pharmacology AIIMS, Delhi, and currently president, AIIMS - Bhopal and A

Hyderabad, April 11 (IANS) Depression and anxiety could be the symptoms leading to Parkinson's disease, says doctors on the occasion of World Parkinson's Day on Sunday. Parkinson's disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects the movement of the human body. Symptoms start gradually, sometimes starting with a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand. Tremors are common but the disorder also commonly causes stiffness or slowing of movement. While prope

New York, April 10 (IANS) Psychosocial stress -- typically resulting from difficulty coping with challenging environments -- may work synergistically to put women at higher risk of developing coronary heart disease, a new study suggests. The findings indicate that the effects of job strain and social strain -- the negative aspect of social relationships -- on women is a powerful one-two punch. Together they are associated with a 21 per cent higher risk of developing coronary heart d