Kumaraguru Action for Relief and Empowerment (KARE), was founded in Nov, 2015 during the Chennai floods. KARE supports the victims of natural disasters such as floods, cyclone and other calamities and has supported during Kerala floods & Gaja Cyclone. This is a volunteer movement of Kumaraguru Institutions where many join hands when the need arises.

KARE COVID 19 Response Bulletin is an effort by a group of Kumaraguru alumni, students & informed citizens alike to clear the clutter around COVID 19 by providing informative, insightful news, articles & data around the world under various tags such as Research, Technology, Education, Economy & Insights with a short summary for each.

COVID19 Basic Info & Previous Bulletin Link: tinyurl.com/blog-KARE

STATISTICS

COVID-19
 		Active Cases
 		Recovered
 		Casualties 
 
World11,659,443168,709,1173,989,558
India485,34029,658,078402,015

The above graph depicts the status of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases as of July 03, 2021. From the graph it is observed that, the daily cases in many states including Kerala and Maharashtra have stopped falling indicating the highest recorded cases. In addition to this, the cases in North Eastern states have also been rising. |Prof. Shamika Ravi

VACCINE

South Korean consortium to produce Sputnik light vaccine

Huons Global Co Ltd., a South Korean Consortium plans to begin the production of the single dose Sputnik light COVID-19 vaccine from September. The company said that it would begin producing sample batches of Sputnik V and Light vaccines in August and would flexibly meet the demand from the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). Huons said it was boosting it’s production capacity and aimed to make 300 million doses by the end of this year.| Reuters

Sputnik V around 90% effective against Delta variant 

Sputnik V, which was found to be 92% effective against the original strain of Coronavirus, is claimed to be 90% effective against the highly contagious Delta variant.  The delta variant has caused a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases, sparking alarm worldwide. Denis Logunov, deputy director of Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute which developed Sputnik V, said the Delta variant efficacy figure was calculated based on digital medical and vaccine records. |India Today

RESEARCH

Pfizer and Moderna Vaccines Likely to Produce Lasting Immunity

The vaccines made by Pfizer  and Moderna are said to provide persistent immune reaction in the body for COVID-19, for  years. Studies show most of the people immunized with mRNA do not require immunity boosters. Based on studies, researchers suggest that immunity might last long or for a lifetime for those vaccinated after recovering from COVID-19, but unclear about this long lasting effect only on vaccination.| NY Times

COVID-19 aggravates antibiotic misuse in India

The COVID-19 catastrophe in India has resulted in more than 30 million people infected with the virus and nearly 400,000 deaths, though experts are concerned that the figures most likely are much higher. Use of antibiotics is considered inappropriate because they are only effective against bacterial infections, not viral infections such as COVID-19, and overuse increases the risk for drug-resistant infections. Antibiotic use increased, despite guidelines from the Indian Health Ministry and WHO urging against antibiotics for mild and moderate forms of COVID-19. “Antibiotics should only be given to patients who develop secondary bacterial illnesses,” says Gandra, who  serves on a WHO for reducing antibiotic prescriptions in low- and middle-income countries.| Science Daily

ENVIRONMENT

Global movement that empowers slum dwellers with scientific and fact based information to fight COVID-19

Verified, a global communications movement, powered by the United Nations in partnership with Purpose, aims to end the pandemic by empowering people around the world with science-based information, countering misinformation and building momentum for a global response that leaves no one behind. The vision is inclusive, sustainable and equitable growth for all. The initiative is being led on ground by Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence (CURE), Chintan Environmental Research & Action Group, and Forum for Organized Resource Conservation & Enhancement (FORCE) CURE, Chintan and FORCE will be training 115 community leaders in 33 districts across Delhi.| India CSR

Many Indian utilities ignore water efficiency standards

 A survey by the Centre for Science and Environment of 154,000 MW of India’s coal plant capacity has found almost half the plants relying on freshwater do not meet water efficiency standards first announced in 2015. Most of the plants failing to meet the standards are owned by public utilities. The standards require coal plants built before January 1, 2017 to consume less than 3.5 cubic metres of water per megawatt hour (MWh) with plants commissioned after that date to use 3 cubic metres of water or less per MWh. India’s fleet of coal plants consumes about 70 per cent of water consumed by all industries with about half located in water-scarce districts, often causing conflict with other users. Coal plants reliant on seawater for cooling are exempt from the standards. | Center for Science and Environment

TECHNOLOGY

 RBI warning: Tech giants’ growth poses financial stability risk

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cautioned about the growing presence of big technology companies in India’s digital financial services and payment systems. Concerns have intensified around a level playing field with banks, operational risk, too-big-to-fail issues, challenges for antitrust rules, cybersecurity and data privacy. The RBI’s concern comes at a time when the biggest US internet companies are engaged in a tussle with the Indian government over the new IT rules, stating that they curtail free speech and privacy.| Business Today

WHO lays down guidelines for the use of AI in healthcare 

The World Health Organisation has enlisted the key principles that must be followed while using artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies in healthcare. The first principle is to ensure the use of AI protects human autonomy in medical decisions. The second principle states that AI technologies must be used keeping safety, accuracy and efficacy in place and must not cause physical or mental harm. The third principle is to ensure transparency and explainability to AI technology and fourth principle highlights the need for accountability. The fifth principle focuses on ensuring inclusiveness and equity of all stakeholders. WHO also calls for collaboration between the public, governments and health experts to make the best and safest use of AI. | The Hindu

PEOPLE

 Inequities has increased multiple folds in COVID-19 

The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Special Programme HRP and the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH) in partnership with the British Medical Journal (BMJ), have released a special series of papers on “Women’s Health and Gender Inequalities”. The COVID-19 has exacerbated existing inequities, with reports of rising violence against women, as well as higher adverse economic impacts caused both by increased unpaid care-giving and the fact that women work in more insecure, low-paid and informal jobs. The complete series, along with the three podcast episodes of BMJ, is an urgent reminder that the health, well-being and needs of half the world’s population cannot be treated as an afterthought. | WHO

POLITICS

COVID-19 tests India’s federalism

No other crisis in India’s contemporary history has tested the country’s federal system more than the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While the first-wave response was a mixed success, India’s federal response has hugely floundered during the second wave. A combination of triumphalism for managing the first wave, a sense of complacency, and lack of urgency in the beginning of the second wave, compounded by missing federal leadership and the breakdown of trust and cooperation between the Centre and states—all led to the gross mismanagement of the pandemic and a momentary virtual collapse of the State. The most fundamental lesson from India’s experience with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, is that managing a grave national crisis requires healthy cooperation between the Centre and states.| Orf Online

Where can we get authentic information about Coronavirus?

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KARE COVID-19 Response So Far

43038 Cooked meals
2279 Volunteering hours clocked.
10 Tons of Vegetables transacted so far.
28+ Number of Farmers impacted so far.
640 Helpline Calls.
500 Grocery Kits & 500 kg Rice
50+ hours of student mentoring & 8 Gadgets
1400 Liquid sanitizer packs
5500 Masks
₹ 4,95,141 Funds Raised.
₹ 6,50,000 Funds Spent.
63000+ Lives Impacted

Impact areas: 

Chinnavedampatti, Saravanampatty, Vellaikinar, Sathyamangalam, Sulthanpet, Paapampatti, Sulur, Thondamuthur, Narasipuram, Kangayam, Coimbatore & Pollachi.

TO MAKE A DONATION
KARE Bank Account Details

Account name: KCT KARE
Account number: 1245155000078376
Bank: Karur Vysya Bank
Branch: KCT Extension Counter
IFSC: KVBL0001245
Bank address: Kumaraguru College of Technology, Chinnavedampatti, Coimbatore – 641036

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