Celebrating our Scientists, Reliving The Trauma

The Vaccine War: Movie Review Rating: 8/10 The latest offering by Vivek Agnihotri is a daring venture: a tribute to the scientists at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) who played a vital role in India’s battle against the COVID pandemic. The movie is an adaptation of Balram Bhargava’s book Going Viral. It sensitively […]

Booster dose for COVID vaccination: Needed or Not?

It is well known that two doses of COVID vaccination – whether it is Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Covishield or Covaxin – offer excellent protection against moderate and severe COVID (95-97%) but not against mild and asymptomatic disease (28%). Booster doses have been a matter of speculation since the early days of COVID vaccination when it was […]

AstraZeneca / Covishield vs Delta Variant, and Timing of 2nd dose of vaccine

The delta variant of SARS-COV2 is estimated to be 30-100% more transmissible than other prevalent variants and cause more severe infections than the original alpha-variant. At last count, it has spread to 80 countries and has rapidly become the dominant strain in several countries such as India and UK. Some concerns were expressed that the […]

AstraZeneca – Covishield delayed booster: Classic case of using bad science in the Lancet to make politically convenient decisions

“Modelling analyses showed an increase in vaccine efficacy after two standard doses from 55·1% (95% CI 33·0 to 69·9) with an interval of less than 6 weeks to 81·3% (60·3 to 91·2) with an interval of at least 12 weeks. A single standard dose had an efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19 in the first 90 days […]

COVID-19 Treatment & Vaccination: A Potential Model for Upgrading India’s Public Health System

As the nation’s COVID vaccination program takes off in earnest, a most striking feature has been the near-flawless conduction of the program at government hospitals as well as outsourced COVID facilities. The government’s rollout has received a staggeringly high 97% positive rating by healthcare workers, who were the first to receive the vaccines in the […]

The Global COVID Mass Vaccination Juggernaut is Gathering Steam And Showing Results

The number of people vaccinated worldwide against COVID is now approaching 100 million and rising by 4.5 million a day. Israel has vaccinated 33% of its total population and 75% of its elderly population. Norway has completed vaccination of all residents living in nursing homes – the most vulnerable population. The UK has also prioritized […]