-ThePrint.in Vitamin D deficiency is a public health problem. India gets surplus sun, yet a large percentage of Indians suffer from significant vitamin D deficiency. And this number is only growing – it’s a public health problem of epidemic proportions. What could be the possible reasons? Dietary insufficiency is an evident cause, and nutrition policymakers are looking into food fortification as a major intervention to combat this public health problem. However, scientists...

-Scroll.in In an endemic future, we will need to learn what levels of disease and death to expect. During the pandemic, many scientific debates have become highly politicised. These include debates around fatality rates, the mortality impact of the pandemic, herd immunity, vaccination, and various drugs and treatments. It has been common for unlikely or absurd claims to be couched in the language of science and data. So, it is not surprising that...

-The Hindu The Government must make haste to prevent a killer disease that claims thousands of workers’ lives each year Long before COVID-19 hit, countless workers engaged in mines, construction and factories in India were silently dying of exposure to dust, utmost exploitation and apathy. They continue to do so. Rajasthan’s pioneering model One State — Rajasthan — with the top-most share of over 17% in value of mineral production in the country and...

-The Telegraph The stimulator will use key epidemic-linked parameters to project the likelihood of a significant rise in daily new infections, allowing authorities time for preparatory steps India’s health research agency is set to release an online calculator to help states and districts project and prepare for fresh Covid-19 surges amid lingering uncertainty about the future course of the country’s epidemic. The calculator — or simulator — developed by the Indian Council of...

-The Hindu Data suggest there were 3.5 million to 3.7 million ‘excess deaths’ nationwide, from April 2020 to June 2021 The scale of devastation caused by India’s COVID-19 epidemic is gradually becoming clearer. This is thanks to the efforts of journalists, The Hindu included, who have been gathering all-cause mortality data from around the country. The mortality data, from State and city civil registration systems, paint a grim picture of a major increase...