Covid Vaccination

केंद्रीय आयुष मंत्री सर्बानंद सोनोवाल ने अखिल भारतीय आयुर्वेद संस्थान (एआईआईए) में बच्चों के लिए टीकाकरण केंद्र का उद्घाटन किया। उन्होंने बाल रक्षा मोबाइल ऐप भी लॉन्च किया, जिसका उद्देश्य माता-पिता के बीच आयुर्वेद के माध्यम से बाल रोग निवारक स्वास्थ्य देखभाल के प्रति जागरूकता पैदा करना है। ऐप माता-पिता से उनके बच्चों के स्वास्थ्य और प्रतिरक्षा पर किट के प्रभाव के बारे में प्रतिक्रिया भी एकत्र करेगा।    सोनोवाल ने 2020 में कोविड के कारण अपनी जान गंवाने वाले एआईआईए के शल्य तंत्र विभाग में एच.ओ.डी के रूप में कार्य करने वाले स्वर्गीय डॉ संजय गुप्ता को श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित की। माननीय मंत्री ने संस्थान में छात्रों को भी संबोधित किया और उन्हें इस बारे में अपनी सोच साझा करने के लिए प्रेरित किया कि कैसे आयुर्वेद को दुनिया भर में स्वीकृति मिल चुकी है और आयुर्वेद अध्ययन करने वाले छात्रों के लिए इसका क्या अर्थ है। एआईआईए की निदेशक, डॉ. तनुजा मनोज नेसारी ने संकाय के सदस्यों के साथ सोनोवाल के आगमन पर उनका स्वागत किया। इस मौके पर यूपी के मलिहाबाद से विधायक श्रीमती जय देवी कौशल भी मौजूद थीं। वह अपने साथ संस्थान में वृक्षारोपण अभियान के लिए कुछ पौधे लेकर आईं थी। श्रीमती कौशल, डॉ नेसारी के साथ श्री सोनोवाल ने पौध लगाए और संस्थान का भ्रमण किया। आयुष मंत्रालय के तहत एक स्वायत्त संगठन अखिल भारतीय आयुर्वेद संस्थान का उद्देश्य आयुर्वेद के पारंपरिक ज्ञान और आधुनिक उपकरणों और प्रौद्योगिकी के बीच तालमेल बनाना है। संस्थान में 12 विशिष्ट विभाग, 30 ओपीडी इकाइयां हैं जिनमें एक से अधिक विषयों से संबंधित अत्याधुनिक अनुसंधान प्रयोगशालाएं और आयुर्वेद में वैश्विक प्रचार और अनुसंधान के लिए एक अंतरराष्ट्रीय सहयोग केंद्र है। आयुर्वेद चिकित्सा और स्वास्थ्य विज्ञान की सबसे पुरानी प्रणाली है जो 3,000 से अधिक वर्ष से जारी है। कोविड के दौरान, एआईआईए ने कोविड हेल्थकेयर सेंटर में मरीजों का इलाज 'करुणा के साथ देखभाल' के अपने मिशन के साथ करके एक प्रमुख भूमिका निभाई। यह भी पढ़े► तनुजा नेसारी को ब्रिटेन की संसद ने आयुर्वेद रत्न पुरस्कार से सम्मानित किया

People who regularly fast are less likely to experience severe complications from Covid-19, suggests a study. Intermittent fasting has previously shown to have a host of health benefits, including lowering the risk of diabetes and heart disease. The findings, published week in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, showed that Covid patients who practised regular water-only intermittent fasting had lower risk of hospitalisation or dying due to the virus than patients who did not. "Intermittent fasting has already shown to lower inflammation and improve cardiovascular health. In this study, we're finding additional benefits when it comes to battling an infection of Covid-19 in patients who have been fasting for decades," said Benjamin Horne, director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology at Intermountain Healthcare in the US. In the study, researchers identified 205 patients who had tested positive for the virus between March 2020 and February 2021 -- before vaccines were widely available. Of these, 73 said they regularly fasted at least once a month. Researchers found that those who practised regular fasting had a lower rate of hospitalisation or death due to coronavirus. "Intermittent fasting was not associated with whether or not someone tested positive Covid-19, but it was associated with lower severity once patients had tested positive for it," Horne said. While Horne said that more research is needed to understand why intermittent fasting is associated with better Covid outcomes, he said it's most likely due to a host of ways that it affects the body. For example, fasting reduces inflammation, especially since hyperinflammation is associated with poor Covid-19 outcomes. In addition, after 12 to 14 hours of fasting, the body switches from using glucose in the blood to ketones, including linoleic acid. "There's a pocket on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 that linoleic acid fits into -- and can make the virus less able to attach to other cells," he said. Another potential benefit is that intermittent fasting promotes autophagy, which is "the body's recycling system that helps your body destroy and recycle damaged and infected cells", Horne added. Horne stressed that these results are from people who have been practising intermittent fasting for decades -- not weeks -- and that anyone who wants to consider the practice should consult their doctors first, especially if they are elderly, pregnant, or have conditions like diabetes, heart, or kidney disease. Researchers also stressed intermittent fasting shouldn't be seen as a substitute for Covid vaccination. (Agency) Read More► Reducing Air Pollution May Improve Brain Development in Children

People infected with Covid-19 had a roughly 25 per cent increased risk of developing a psychiatric disorder in the four months following their infection, compared with those who had other types of respiratory tract infections, finds a study. Researchers at Oregon State University in the US found that Covid patients had a 3.8 per cent rate of developing a psychiatric disorder compared with 3.0 per cent for other respiratory tract infections. The 0.8 per cent difference amounts to about a 25 per cent increased relative risk. The team looked specifically at anxiety disorders and mood disorders and found a minor but significant increase in risk for anxiety disorders and no change in risk for mood disorders. The results speak to the need for both patients and health care providers to be more proactive when it comes to addressing mental health concerns following Covid infection, said Lauren Chan, doctoral student in nutrition in OSU's College of Public Health and Human Sciences. "For people that have had Covid, if you're feeling anxiety, if you're seeing some changes in how you're going through life from a psychiatric standpoint, it's totally appropriate for you to seek some help," Chan said. For the study, published in the journal World Psychiatry, researchers included data of 46,610 Covid-19 positive individuals and control patients who were diagnosed with a different respiratory tract infection so they could compare how Covid specifically affected patients' mental health. They looked at the rate of psychiatric diagnoses for two time periods: from 21 to 120 days after patients' Covid diagnosis, and from 120 to 365 days after diagnosis, limited to patients with no previous mental illness. When patients leave a doctor's office, sometimes care stops there, but Chan recommended that providers consider calling in two weeks for a check-in. "I don't want to say that every single person who gets Covid is going to have this type of problem, but if you start to have concern for yourself or a family member, it's not unheard of. You should definitely seek care for yourself or others around you," Chan said. Read More► Dogs Can Detect Covid-19 Faster Than Rapid Antigen Test: Study

London: Dogs are more effective at detecting Covid-19 infections through human sweat samples than the existing rapid antigen tests, according to a study. The study, published in the PLOS ONE, showed that dogs were 97 per cent effective at detecting Covid infection compared to PCR tests - the most accurate Covid test. On the other hand, the nasal antigen tests detected 84 per cent of positive Covid infections. The findings suggest a potentially less invasive and quicker Covid testing alternative. For the study, researchers at the Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Paris included PCR and sweat samples from 335 people and antigen tests from 234 people recruited in Paris from March 16 and April 9, 2021. The researchers examined five dogs trained to sniff out Covid-19 by examining both positive and negative tests to see if they could tell. They found canines were 100 per cent accurate in detecting positive Covid cases in asymptomatic individuals compared to PCR test results. The canines were slightly less effective at identifying negative coronavirus infections, detecting 90 per cent of negative cases compared to antigen tests that were 97 per cent accurate. "Non-invasive detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection by canine olfaction could be one alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs RT-PCR when it is necessary to obtain a result very quickly according to the same indications as antigenic tests in the context of mass screening," the researchers wrote in the paper. Previous studies have shown dogs to detect malaria, prostate cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's disease and also breast cancer. (Agency) Read More► Diabetes Almost Doubles Risk of Death From Covid: Study