-The Telegraph Drug helps patients recover from fever in an average of three days and from cough in four days A painkiller called indomethacin prescribed for arthritis and spondylitis is an effective treatment for mild or moderate Covid-19, Chennai-based researchers have told India’s apex health research agency, seeking its inclusion in Covid-19 treatment guidelines. The researchers have submitted what they claim are “striking” study results, indicating that patients of mild or moderate Covid-19...

-The Telegraph There is a perception that the ICMR is bureaucratic and lacks transparency in decision-making on the proposals it receives: Researcher Poor response has hit efforts by India’s apex health research agency to enhance the country’s pool of medical researchers through fellowship training programmes and to bring back Indian researchers from abroad, a Parliamentary panel has noted. The Parliamentary standing committee on health has expressed concern that the Indian Council of Medical...

-The Hindu ICMR chief Balram Bhargava urged students coming from Ukraine to get vaccinated immediately if they had not already done so.  In 2022, 92% of COVID deaths have been in unvaccinated individuals, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr. Balram Bhargava said on Thursday. He added that it’s evident that vaccines and the wide vaccination coverage have played a very important role in protecting hundreds of lives. Dr....

-Press release by National Coalition on the Education Emergency (NCEE) dated January 22, 2022 Schools in Bengaluru remain closed while malls, theatres, pubs and restaurants have been kept open. As of 21 January, the weekend curfew has been lifted as well. The decision to keep schools closed is having catastrophic consequences on children. Schools had only recently started opening after remaining mostly closed since March 2020. Their being closed again spells...

-The Telegraph The health ministry, ICMR and DBT said they have not received any share of the Rs 100 crore pledged from the PM CARES Fund The department of biotechnology in the Union science ministry has spent only 13 per cent of the Rs 900 crore earmarked for Covid-19 vaccine development 14 months ago and multiple government departments have not received money for jabs pledged by the Prime Minister’s Office 20 months...