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COVID excess deaths

COVID casualties: The uncounted dead

A Lancet study estimates that more COVID-19 deaths occurred in India than official statistics show, but the Central government refuses to acknowledge
T.K. Rajalakshmi
COVID-19

Three separate and spaced exposures to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein confers high immune protection, say scientists in two studies

The key finding of two foreign cohort studies seems to imply that three separate and spaced exposures to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein—either from thre
R. Ramachandran
COVER STORY: COVID-19

COVID: Swift spread of Omicron variant across States in third wave

The surge in test positivity rate across the country in early January signals the arrival of the third wave of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, helmed this time
Lyla Bavadam,R. Krishnakumar,Suhrid Sankar Chattopadhyay,R.K. Radhakrishnan,Vikhar Ahmed Sayeed
Omicron-fuelled third wave of pandemic

Omicron spread: Down but not out

Data from metros show that the Omicron-led surge may be on the decline, but it is still too early to declare that the third wave has ended. It is time
T.K. Rajalakshmi

More stories from Covid-19

In the Old Washermanpet area of Chennai on January 12, people shopping for the Pongal festival.

Omicron surge: Understanding the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India

Although India and the world at large are experiencing the Omicron-fuelled wave of the pandemic to varying degrees, it is still not possible to say wh
R. Ramachandran
Dr V.K. Paul, NITI Aayog member and head of the COVID Task Force, and Balram Bhargava, Director General of the ICMR, at a press briefing in New Delhi on January 5. Bhargava told reporters that there was an upsurge of infections in cities and Omicron was the predominant circulating virus.

Omicron cases fuelling the surge in India’s third COVID-19 wave

However reluctant the government may be to admit to the fact, it is clear from the data that not only is India in the midst of the third wave but that
T.K. Rajalakshmi
A health care worker collects swab samples from a policeman for a COVID-19 test amid concerns over the rising number of Omicron cases, in Jammu on December 24, 2021.

COVID: Omicron concerns rise in India as virus rages in other parts of the world

Although the new virus variant’s spread in India is relatively low when compared with the situation in the United Kingdom and the United States, a deb
T.K. Rajalakshmi
Daily wagers waiting for work at Bhajanpura Chowk in New Delhi on May 31, 2021.

No data, little relief: Panel report exposes government inadequacies

A parliamentary panel report exposes the government’s cluelessness on the extent of job losses caused by the pandemic and its inability to provide ade
T.K. Rajalakshmi
At a vaccination centre in Mumbai.

The trajectory of scientific progress in the time of pandemic

The scale and spread of the pandemic have imposed unprecedented demands on modern science. But science being bound by the complex nature of reality an
Sandipan Baksi
People waiting for the jab outside a vaccination centre in Mumbai on August 19.

Will India be able to avert a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic?

The downward trajectory of the second wave has slowed down to imperceptible levels, a worrying trend in a context where the numbers are rising again a
T.K. Rajalakshmi
Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, epidemiologist and public health expert.

Dr Chandrakant Lahariya: ‘India’s Covid vaccination drive has been underwhelming’

Interview with Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, epidemiologist and public health expert.
V. Sridhar
Health-care staff attending to a complicated case in a COVID-19 ICU on August 6 at Government Medical College in Malappuram in Kerala. The State has been aggressively testing and vaccinating and undercounting of COVID deaths is reportedly minimal.

Why counting the dead matters

The Million Death Study, done between 1998 and 2014, was meant to throw up data on the leading causes of death in India. Had the study been allowed to
ANUPAMA KATAKAM
Health-care staff attending to a complicated case in a COVID-19 ICU on August 6 at Government Medical College in Malappuram in Kerala. The State has been aggressively testing and vaccinating and undercounting of COVID deaths is reportedly minimal.

The fall and rise of COVID numbers

The number of cases begins to rise again after weeks of showing a declining trend, confirming that the COVID challenge is not over yet.
T.K. Rajalakshmi

India impossibly short of vaccinating its entire adult population against COVID-19 by the end of 2021

India’s vaccination drive rests on a wing and a prayer as it looks set to miss the target of vaccinating all adults by the end of the year.
V. Sridhar
Venki Ramakrishnan: “The cost of this pandemic is in the trillions of U.S. dollars. India has an extremely low investment in public health infrastructure and needs to increase it manyfold to be ready for future occurrences.”

The Nobel laureate Venki Ramakrishnan discusses COVID-19, vaccinations, science education in India, among other things

Interview with Venki Ramakrishnan, structural biologist and a winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Jipson John , Jitheesh P.M.
Blood samples collected as part of the Statewide serosurveillance by the Directorate of Public Health in Chennai on November 11, 2020.

COVID-19 in India: Fourth ICMR survey results show 67.6 per cent seropositivity

The results of the fourth nationwide ICMR survey show unprecedented levels of SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence while the rate of vaccination in Indi
T.K. Rajalakshmi
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