-The Hindu Vaccination drive likely to throw up erroneous inferences, experts The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is unlikely to immediately undertake a fourth national serology survey to estimate the extent of exposure to the coronavirus since January. Officials told The Hindu that though discussions were still on, undertaking such a study presented newer logistical challenges and the ongoing vaccination drive could read to erroneous inferences. The ICMR has conducted three national...

-Down to Earth The nomadic pastoral communities cannot afford to remain in their houses even during a pandemic The second wave of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has ravaged livelihoods of people in urban areas. Its has now quietly started to wreak havoc on the lives of people in rural areas. Across the country, villagers are brushing off symptoms of COVID-19 as seasonal flu. The crumbling health infrastructure fails to provide them...

-The Hindu The eminent virologist did not give any reasons for his departure Shahid Jameel, eminent virologist and head of the advisory group to the Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortia (Insacog), resigned from his post on Friday. Dr. Jameel confirmed to The Hindu that he'd quit but did not give any reasons for his departure. Multiple scientists who are part of Insacog — a group of 10 laboratories across the country, tasked with tracking evolving...

-IndiaToday.in In the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, most people do not have smartphones or proper access to the internet. The mandatory online registration for Covid-19 vaccination has made inoculation inaccessible for this belt. India’s vaccination policy mandates that all in the age group of 18 to 44 register themselves in advance using the CoWIN website, Aarogya Setu app or Umang app in order to get vaccinated against Covid-19. No walk-in vaccinations...

With the rise in Covid-19 daily new cases and daily new deaths since March this year, media reports (please click here and here) on migrant workers returning back to their native places (i.e. places of origin) from migration destinations (i.e. workplaces likes cities and large industrial towns to where the informal and low skilled workers from the marginalised sections of the society migrate seasonally, and sometimes for a longer duration,...