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-19Active Cases Recovered Casualties  
India1,884,91838,713,494494,110
World73,010,393295,066,4265,677,697

Moderna Begins Omicron-Specific Vaccine Trials After Pfizer-BioNTech

Moderna’s statement came the day after Pfizer and BioNTech said they had begun enrollment for a clinical trial for an Omicron-specific vaccine. The trials will involve a total of 600 adults, half of whom have already received two doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine at least six months ago, and half of whom have received two doses plus the previously authorized booster dose. The already authorized booster doses showed reduction in the levels of neutralizing antibodies against Omicron  by six times. |NDTV

COVID-19 vaccine, including boosters 3 months after COVID-19 recovery 

Union Health Ministry Additional Secretary Vikas Sheel, said that COVID-19 vaccination, including precaution doses, for individuals having lab test proven Coronavirus infection will be deferred by three months after recovery. The suggestion is based on scientific evidence and recommendation of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, he said. The UN health agency said it was now recommending booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, beginning in the highest-priority groups, about four to six months after receiving the first two doses. |Live Mint

DCGI allows Bharath Biotech to conduct phase-3 trials for intranasal booster shot

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has allowed Bharat Biotech to conduct a phase-3 clinical trial to evaluate and compare the immunogenicity of intranasal vaccine with Covaxin. The trial has been decided to be conducted at five sites which includes the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi (AIIMS). According to Bharat Biotech, “BBV154 has received approval for phase-3 trials. The trials will evaluate BBV154 nasal vaccine for both the two-dose primary schedule and booster dose schedule. |Economic Times

Covax opens new front in pandemic arms race 

Covax aims to break the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022 by ensuring a steady supply of vaccines at last for the world’s poorest countries. Covax reckons it has enough confirmed vaccine supplies to jab 45 percent of the population in the poorest 91 economies. Overall, around 9.8 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered around the world. Covax jabs account for 82% of injections in the 91 poorest economies. Covax therefore wants to build a pool of 600 million doses to ensure a reliable supply, and to cover eventual variables such as boosters or new variant-specific vaccines. |Live Mint

Pfizer and BioNTech Initiate Study to Evaluate Omicron-Based COVID-19 Vaccine in Adults

In order to evaluate the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of an Omicron-based vaccine candidate in healthy adults 18-55 years of age, Pfizer and BioNTech conducted a study that evaluated up to 1,420 participants across three cohorts. Side effects reported with the vaccine include severe allergic reaction, chest pain, shortness of breath, feelings of having a fast-beating, etc. Statements were released concerning collaboration between BioNTech and Pfizer including a program to develop a COVID-19 vaccine and COMIRNATY (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA). |Pfizer

Regular market approval granted for Covishield, Covaxin for use in adult population

India’s drug regulator on Thursday granted regular market approval for COVID-19 vaccines Covishield and Covaxin for use in the adult population subject to certain conditions, official sources said. Adverse events following immunisation will continue to be monitored. The Drugs Controller General of India’s (DCGI) approval came after the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on January 19 recommended granting regular market approval to the Serum Institute of India’s (SII’s) Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for use in adult population subject to certain conditions. |The Hindu

Mix-and-match trial finds additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine safe, immunogenic 

According to  The New England Journal of Medicine, an additional booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines was safe and prompted an immune response. Findings from 458 adults who had been fully vaccinated, at least 12 weeks before enrollment had no reported history of SARS-CoV-2 infection. All combinations of primary and booster vaccines resulted in increased neutralizing antibody levels. Half of them experienced headaches, muscle pain and no serious vaccine-related events were reported. Data suggest that homologous and heterologous booster vaccines will increase protective efficacy against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. |National Institute of Health

Precautionary does of COVID-19 vaccine: Lancet study finds mix-and-match booster more effective than more-of-same 

According to a study recently published in the Lancet, mixing COVID-19 vaccines for the booster dose was shown to be more effective than administering more of the same vaccine for the third shot. The Phase-IV study also showed that heterologous boosting increased protection against both delta and omicron variants. Studies by reputed global health organisations have also given the go-ahead for mix-and-match administration after studying its reactogenicity and immunogenicity. |Money Control

Sputnik-V more efficient against Omicron than other vaccines

Recent findings of an Italian research show that Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V has the best effect against the “highly mutated” omicron strain when compared to its peers, including Pfizer. The Sputnik V vaccine is found to be 2.1 times more effective against omicron than two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Research reveals that the vaccine neutralizes the omicron strain by inducing a strong antibody response with a significant level of protection. Top virologists and vaccine experts from Argentina, France, and the United States have praised the Sputnik V as an excellent vaccine on account of its efficiency. |The Republic World

COVID-19 vaccines can protect against severe diseases caused by Omicron

Novel Coronavirus vaccines prevent severe diseases caused by the Omicron variant of COVID-19 by stimulating the body to make effective, long-lasting T cells against SARS-CoV-2. Research shows that fully vaccinated people have fewer memory B cells and neutralizing antibodies against this variant. In a person exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the T cells do not prevent infection, but they do destroy cells that are already infected which is why omicron infections are less likely to lead to severe infection in fully vaccinated people. |Live Mint

Where can we get authentic information about Coronavirus?

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Bulletin 60 Team

  1. Architha R
  2. Delma M D
  3. Lakshana B
  4. Mahisharthi V
  5. Nakshatra Lakshmi M S
  6. Shabnam S
  7. Shivani S

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