-Scroll.in Death registration data shows the second wave of Covid-19 hit Andhra Pradesh much harder than what has been captured in official data. Andhra Pradesh reported over 130,000 deaths in May 2021, or nearly five times the usual number of deaths reported in the month, official data shows. In all, the excess mortality reported by the state from January to May 2021 was 34 times the official Covid-19 toll for the same...

-The Hindu Official secrecy on pandemic policies aggravates a crisis In August 2020, the Modi government constituted the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) as a nodal agency on all matters related to vaccine administration and rollout. Asked under the Right to Information (RTI) Act for details of the NEGVAC’s meetings, the Health Ministry, which anchors the expert group, replied that it does not know where the concerned documents...

-The Hindu It officially objected to affixing nationality to the virus variant later The government used the term “Indian double mutant strain” in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court just days before it officially objected to affixing nationality to the virus variant. A May 9 affidavit refers to “Indian double mutant strain” while detailing the steps taken by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology to develop...

-The Telegraph Researchers will document the vaccination status of infected patients admitted with severe disease at 11 sites across the country Medical researchers have launched India’s first study to measure the real-world effectiveness of Covishield and Covaxin by documenting the vaccination status of Covid-19 patients admitted with severe disease at 11 sites across the country. The study by the National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), Chennai, a unit of the Indian Council of Medical...

-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...