Page 13 - Who

Only one strain of Covid-19 variant found in India of concern, says WHO

Variants no longer classified as Variants of Concerns or Variants Of Interests will continue to be monitored as part of overall evolution of SARS-CoV-2

End stigma, aid science: WHO hopes Greek names for Covid strains will do so

A country may be more willing to report it has found a new variant if it knows nomenclature won't cause trouble, say experts.

WHO names Covid-19 variants found in India as 'Kappa' and 'Delta'

The B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2 variants of the COVID-19, first identified in India, has been named as 'Kappa' and 'Delta' respectively, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced on Monday as it named various variants of the coronavirus using Greek alphabets. "Today, @WHO announces new, easy-to-say labels for #SARSCoV2 Variants of Concern (VOCs) & Interest (VOIs). They will not replace existing scientific names, but are aimed to help in public discussion of VOI/VOC," Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's technical Covid-19 lead, tweeted on Monday. An expert group convened by WHO has recommended labeling using letters of the Greek Alphabet, i.e., Alpha, Beta, Gamma, which will be easier and more practical to discuss by non-scientific audiences, the UN health agency said in a statement. "The established nomenclature systems for naming and tracking SARS-CoV-2 genetic lineages by GISAID, Nextstrain and Pango are currently and will remain in use by scientists and in scientific research, it ...

WHO names Covid-19 variants first found in India as 'Kappa' and 'Delta'

The B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2 variants of the COVID-19, first identified in India, has been named as 'Kappa' and 'Delta' respectively, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced on Monday as it named various variants of the coronavirus using Greek alphabets. "Today, @WHO announces new, easy-to-say labels for #SARSCoV2 Variants of Concern (VOCs) & Interest (VOIs). They will not replace existing scientific names, but are aimed to help in public discussion of VOI/VOC," Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's technical Covid-19 lead, tweeted on Monday. The UN health agency named the B.1.617.1 variant of the COVID 19 as 'Kappa' while the B1.617.2 variant was dubbed 'Delta.' Both the variants were first found in India. The WHO's move came nearly three weeks after India objected to the B.1.617 mutant of the novel coronavirus being termed an "Indian Variant" in media reports with the Union Health Ministry pointing out that the UN's top health organ has not used the word "Indian" for this strain in .

Covid LIVE: Preparing for third wave, says Uddhav as cases hit 2-month low

Coronavirus live updates: India's Covid fatality count remains above the 3000-mark. Stay tuned for corona-related news

B.1.617 Covid variant, first found in India, now in 53 countries: WHO

WHO noted that India recorded a 23 per cent decrease in the number of new cases in the last seven days but they were still the highest in the world

US renews call for 'transparent' second investigation into origins of Covid

In March, the WHO issued a report written jointly with Chinese scientists on the origins of Covid-19

Bharat Biotech expects EUL from WHO for Covaxin by Jul-Sept period

Emergency Use Listing (EUL) is a procedure to streamline the process by which new or unlicensed products can be used during public health emergencies, according to WHO guidelines

Countries must vaccinate 10% of their population by Sept, says WHO

French President Emmanuel Macron called for the WHO to be empowered to visit countries rapidly in case of outbreaks with potential to spark a pandemic

Wuhan lab staff took hospital care before Covid outbreak disclosed: Report

WSJ report may add weight to calls for a broader probe of whether the Covid-19 virus could have escaped from the laboratory.

Covid LIVE: India third nation after US, Brazil to record 300,000 deaths

Coronavirus LIVE updates: India has set a record of conducting the highest Covid-19 testing in a single day with more than 2.12 mn fresh tests. Stay tuned for corona-related news

Remove content mentioning 'Indian variant' of Covid: Govt to social media

The government has asked social media companies to immediately remove any content from their platform that uses or refers to the term Indian variant' of coronavirus, to curb misinformation

Covid: Real death toll could be 3 times higher than reported, says WHO

Death tolls likely a 'significant undercount', says WHO; at least 6-8 mn people may have died, says WHO expert

India logs 13% fall in new Covid cases in week; still highest globally: WHO

India registered a 13 per cent decrease in new Covid-19 cases in the past week but the number of fresh infections was still the highest around the world, the WHO has said

Invest in health care or face credit rating cuts, says WHO's expert panel

"A pandemic like this one poses huge threats not just to financial stability but to the whole economic and financial system", said Mario Monti

Serum Institute has to 'catch up', supply Covid-19 vaccines: WHO chief

"Once the devastating outbreak in India recedes, we also need the Serum Institute of India to get back on track and catch up on its delivery commitments to Covax," WHO chief said

World is at risk of 'vaccine apartheid', says WHO chief Tedros Adhanom

Highlighting the gap of vaccinations between high-income countries and low and lower-middle countries,WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that world is at risk of 'vaccine apartheid'

Long working hours are killing 745,000 people a year, says WHO study

Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard, said Maria Neira, director of the WHO's Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health

Covid-19: WHO asks rich countries to delay child vax, donate jabs

Rich nations must delay their plans to vaccinate their children and teenagers against Covid-19 and instead donate the jabs to low-income countries, says World Health Organization

India's Covid-19 situation hugely concerning: WHO chief Tedros Adhanom

India's Covid tally crossed the 10 mn mark on December 19 and in under six months it has doubled, surpassing the grim milestone of 20 mn cases on May 4