Delta variant can infect despite Covishield, Covaxin doses: AIIMS Study



International Desk, Barta24.com
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The 'delta' variant of COVID-19 - the version first detected in India in October last year - is capable of infecting people even after they have received both doses of the Covaxin or Covishield vaccines, according to separate studies by AIIMS (Delhi) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

It is important to note that neither study has been peer-reviewed as yet.

The AIIMS study suggests the 'delta' variant - which others, including one by British health authorities, say is between 40 and 50 per cent more infectious than the 'alpha' version first reported from the UK - is likely behind the majority of breakthrough infections in India.

The AIIMS-IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology) study was based on an analysis of 63 symptomatic patients who reported to the hospital's emergency ward complaining of high fever persisting for five to seven days.

Of these 63 people, 53 had been given at least one dose of Covaxin and the rest at least one dose of Covishield. Thirty-six had received both doses of one of these vaccines.

76.9 per cent of infections by the 'delta' variant were recorded in people who had received a single dose, and 60 per cent in people who had received both doses.

Data from the NCDC-IGIB study indicated that breakthrough infections due to the 'delta' variant seemed to affect people who took Covishield.

This study showed 'delta' breakthrough infections in 27 patients who had taken that vaccine, with the infection rate at 70.3 per cent.

Data from both studies indicated the 'alpha' variant is also proving resistant to Covishield and Covaxin, but not as significantly as the version first reported from India.

Both studies also indicated that while the vaccine's protection against the 'delta', and even 'alpha', variants may be reduced, severity of infection in each case appeared to be unaffected as a result.

This is in line with scientists' views that there is, as yet, no evidence the 'delta' variant is causing a greater number of Covid-linked deaths or more severe infections.

The AIIMS-IGIB and NCDC-IGIB studies, however, appear to contradict a joint investigation by the National Institute of Virology in Pune, the ICMR and Covaxin manufacturers Bharat Biotech.

That study, which has also not yet been peer-reviewed, indicated Covaxin offers protection against both the 'delta' and 'beta' variants. The 'beta' variant was first discovered in South Africa.

Last week a government study by scientists from the NCDC and the Indian SARS COV2 Genomic Consortia indicated that the 'delta' variant was behind the second Covid wave in India. At the peak of the wave - in early-May - over four lakh new cases were reported every day.

Source: NDTV

   

We are ashamed to look at the development of Bangladesh: Pakistan PM



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif praised the economic progress of Bangladesh and said that they are ashamed to look at the development of Bangladesh.

According to a report by Pakistan-based media Dawn on Thursday (April 25), Shahbaz Sharif said this in a view exchange meeting with business representatives at the Sindh Chief Minister's residence in Karachi on Wednesday (April 24).

He said that before independence, Bangladesh i.e. East Pakistan at that time was considered a burden to the country. But they have made tremendous progress in the growth of industrialization.

Shahbaz Sharif said, I was very young when...we were told that it was a burden on our shoulders. Today you all know where that burden has reached (in terms of economic growth). And now when we look at them, we feel ashamed.

Currently, Bangladesh is ahead of Pakistan in almost all indicators of the socio-economic sector.

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Mass arrests could not stop anti-Israel protests at American universities



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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US universities have erupted in protest over Israel's military operation in the Palestinian-besieged Gaza. This pro-Palestinian movement is being suppressed even after mass arrests. Rather, as the days go by, the protests are spreading.

The news agency Reuters reported that police made mass arrests at Atlanta's Emory University amid protests. A graduation ceremony at the University of Southern California was canceled due to the protests.

Emory University officials said protesters not affiliated with the college entered campus grounds early Thursday morning. When they refused to leave, the police used chemical spray to disperse them.

According to CBS News, about 108 people were arrested at Emerson College in the city on Wednesday night local time. Earlier in the evening, 93 people were taken into police custody from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.

Anti-Israel protests have spread to dozens of US universities within a week of starting at New York's Columbia University.

Meanwhile, a clash between protesters and police took place at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Later, authorities said that 34 people were arrested from there. These new arrests came after massive arrests of protesters at Columbia, Yale and New York universities.

Students gathered Wednesday (April 24) to protest at the University of Southern California's Alumni Park. At this time they were stopped by the riot police. Protesters were told to leave within 10 minutes by an announcement from a police helicopter. However, the students who remained at the scene were arrested for trespassing.

The protests at the University of Southern California were reportedly peaceful at first. Later the tension spread with the presence of the police. Protesters threw water bottles at the police when they tried to arrest a woman. At this time, they kept shouting slogans - 'Let him go'. Besides, they surrounded the police officers and shouted slogans like 'I want the liberation of Palestine'.

It should be noted that on October 7, the Palestinian independence organization Hamas entered Israeli territory and carried out an ambush. 1200 people were killed. Because of this, since that day, the Israeli forces continue to attack Gaza indiscriminately. 34 thousand 305 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip in the attack that lasted for more than six months. Apart from this, there is a severe humanitarian crisis due to lack of food, water and medical equipment.

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Iran is cracking down on women who don't wear Hijab



International Desk, Barta24.com
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Iran is cracking down on women and girls who don't wear Hijab. The country has started a new campaign named 'Noor' from last April 13. Since then, the implementation of the Hijab law has started to become stricter.

Iran has strict laws on wearing the Hijab. Strict action is taken against those who break this law.

Some videos of women being assaulted have gone viral on social media. In them, it is seen that women who go out without Hijab are forcibly picked up in cars by the members of the 'Morality Police'.

A video shows a mother and daughter walking through Tehran's busiest square in the capital. At that time, they were surrounded by five female and two male members of the police. When they tried to evade arrest, they were violently beaten and taken into a car.

Dina Ghalibaf, a female student at Tehran's Shahid Beheshti University, wrote on the micro-blogging site X that she was barred from boarding the metro. When she insisted, she was taken to a room. She claimed that she was beaten and sexually harassed there.

The student was arrested a day after making such a post and taken to Evin prison.

British newspaper The Guardian spoke to some of those arrested. One of them told the media that eight members of the police surrounded her last Saturday. At that time, she was called "prostitute", "naked American prostitute" and insulted her. Apart from this, the young woman claimed that men also touched her during the arrest.



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Boeing incurs huge losses after door open incident



Special Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Boeing lost a huge amount of money due to the opening of the doors of the Boeing aircraft of Alaska Airlines in mid-air. US aircraft manufacturer Boeing reported a loss of US dollar 343 million in the first quarter of this year (January-March).

An unused door on an Alaska Airlines Boeing Max 9 collapsed moments after takeoff from Portland, Oregon last January. Although the Alaska Airlines plane was able to land safely in this incident, questions about Boeing's safety have been raised around the world.

As a result, Boeing reduced the production of the aircraft according to their target. As a result, Boeing is forced to pay huge losses in the first quarter of this year.

After the Alaska Airlines incident, the United States Aviation Agency ordered the grounding of 171 Boeing Max 737 aircraft. In the wake of the incident, Boeing's chief immediately admitted the mistake and promised to fix the problem with 100% transparency. But even this did not save the end. Boeing's CEO was eventually forced to resign.

In order not to cut the heat of this incident, a former Boeing engineer recently talked about the manufacturing defects of the Dreamliner 787. He recommended grounding all Dreamliner aircraft worldwide. In this incident, the safety of Boeing was questioned again.

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