logo
Covid cases rise in Aizawl, 10 patients test positive in 1 day

Covid cases rise in Aizawl, 10 patients test positive in 1 day

Time of India2 days ago
Aizawl: As many as 10 people tested Covid-19 positive in Aizawl in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of active cases in the state to 21, officials from the integrated disease aurveillance programme said on Tuesday.
An upsurge in cases has been observed since Friday, when 5 out of 7 samples tested positive. On Saturday, all 9 samples returned positive results. No samples were tested on Sunday and Monday, officials added. The latest 10 cases, like the previous ones, are from Aizawl district, with most tests conducted at Zoram Medical College & Hospital in Falkawn near Aizawl. Since mid-May — when the first case of the year was detected — Mizoram has recorded 38 Covid-19 infections.
Officials said 73 cases were reported in 2024, with no positive case recorded between Oct last year and mid-May this year. During the pandemic years (March 2020 to Oct 2024), Mizoram recorded 734 Covid-related deaths, with the highest toll of 538 in 2021. Eight deaths each occurred in 2020 and 2023, while 180 were reported in 2022.
Since early 2020, a total of 19,97,882 samples have been tested in the state, of which 2,39,673 were confirmed positive. Of these, 2,38,918 patients have been discharged.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Medicaid Cuts Set to Drain Revenue at Elite Teaching Hospitals
Medicaid Cuts Set to Drain Revenue at Elite Teaching Hospitals

Mint

time14 minutes ago

  • Mint

Medicaid Cuts Set to Drain Revenue at Elite Teaching Hospitals

(Bloomberg) -- Few in the US healthcare sector are immune to the effects of Washington's recent cuts to Medicaid, even the cash-rich teaching hospitals affiliated with top-notch medical schools. These facilities, often known as academic medical centers or AMCs, are usually seen as the cream of the industry crop for their top-tier credit ratings and ability to churn out revenue. But federal cuts to the public health insurance program for low-income and disabled people will lead to less funding for teaching hospitals around the country. In response, they've already started to reduce staff and scale back operations. In June, Vanderbilt University Medical Center said it would lay off as much as 650 people. About 300 positions are being eliminated at the health system tied to the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League school. And just last week, the University of Vermont Health Network announced staff and spending cuts. Add in other industry challenges such as rising costs and labor shortages — which stretch back to the Covid-19 pandemic — and AMCs, once seen as a trophy, now look like a liability. 'It could be material potentially for individual credits,' said Brad Spielman, a vice president at Moody's Ratings, referring to Medicaid funding, which was cut by nearly $1 trillion over ten years. 'Money withdrawn is money withdrawn.' The risk to AMCs is a drop in revenue as some patients lose Medicaid coverage and reimbursements for their care decline. That could spell trouble for schools with teaching hospitals. Medical facilities contributed to 45% of their total revenue in fiscal 2023, according to a Moody's report. For universities, that income from their medical centers can be 'very good in the good times and not so great in the bad times,' said Patrick Ronk, an analyst covering higher education at Moody's. In recent years, some AMCs have increased their exposure to Medicaid patients by acquiring community hospitals in deals meant to expand their networks and boost income. Members of the Association of American Medical Colleges — which includes AMCs, medical schools and academic societies — make up just 5% of the nation's hospitals but provide about 27% of Medicaid hospitalizations. AMCs won't just be affected by Medicaid cuts, which will be phased in over the next few years. The Trump Administration has also frozen billions in research grants and moved to scale back other federal support, which will also put a strain on operations, according to Leonard Marquez, who oversees government relations and advocacy at the Association of American Medical Colleges. It adds up to 'death by a thousand cuts,' Marquez said. 'I've never seen a situation where we have so many different lines of attack coming at us.' More stories like this are available on

Urgently scale-up research and innovation to end TB: WHO
Urgently scale-up research and innovation to end TB: WHO

New Indian Express

timean hour ago

  • New Indian Express

Urgently scale-up research and innovation to end TB: WHO

NEW DELHI: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for an urgent scale-up of research, innovation, and collaboration to accelerate momentum towards ending tuberculosis in the WHO South-East Asia Region, which continues to bear nearly half of the global TB burden, accounting for the highest share of cases and deaths worldwide. 'In our Region alone, nearly 5 million people developed TB and close to 600,000 died from the disease in 2023,' said Dr Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia Region. Calling for urgent action, she said, 'Achieving the ambitious targets in the WHO End TB Strategy requires collaboration to accelerate research and innovation. It requires the adoption and use of new tools, technologies, and drugs. Ensuring timely and equitable access to these innovations remains critical to achieving impacts at scale, leaving no one behind.' While the Region, which includes India, recorded a significant increase in TB case notifications in 2023 - signalling recovery after COVID-19-related setbacks - progress remains insufficient to meet the End TB Strategy targets aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, which call for a 90 per cent reduction in TB deaths and an 80 per cent reduction in incidence by 2030, compared to 2015 levels. India aims to eliminate TB by 2025, ahead of the global target.

'More risks than benefits': RFK Jr shuts down $500 Million mRNA vaccine projects; programs credited with saving millions during Covid
'More risks than benefits': RFK Jr shuts down $500 Million mRNA vaccine projects; programs credited with saving millions during Covid

Time of India

timean hour ago

  • Time of India

'More risks than benefits': RFK Jr shuts down $500 Million mRNA vaccine projects; programs credited with saving millions during Covid

Secretary of health and human services Robert F Kennedy Jr (Image credits: AP) US health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced Tuesday the US federal government is canceling around $500 million worth of vaccine development projects using mRNA technology. The 22 terminated projects, funded through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (Barda), included vaccine efforts for Covid-19, flu, and bird flu. They involved companies like Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur, and Moderna.A Moderna spokesperson confirmed its bird flu contract was canceled in May and said the company is not aware of any new Barda cancellations. 'HHS has determined that mRNA technology poses more risk than benefits for these respiratory viruses,' Kennedy said as quoted by CBS News. 'A single mutation can make mRNA vaccines ineffective.' He said the canceled funds will be redirected to 'safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.' 'Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,' he added. mRNA vaccines, developed by Pfizer and Moderna during the Covid-19 pandemic, use messenger RNA to prompt the body to produce proteins that trigger immune responses. Public health officials credit the technology with saving millions of lives. The decision triggered strong criticism from public health experts and officials. Dr Paul Offit, a virologist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said Kennedy 'has once again made a decision, not based on scientific evidence that puts this country at unnecessary risk.' Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician and chair of the Senate health committee, called the decision 'unfortunate' and said Kennedy is 'wasting the money which is already invested.' 'He has also conceded to China an important technology needed to combat cancer and infectious disease,' Cassidy said in a post on X. On Wednesday, CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes asked US President Trump to comment, noting his role in launching Operation Warp Speed, which funded Pfizer and Moderna's mRNA vaccines. 'Everything about it has been amazing,' Trump replied. 'But you know, that was now a long time ago, and we're onto other things. But we are speaking about it — we have meetings about it tomorrow ... we're looking for other answers to other problems, to other sicknesses and diseases.' Since joining the Trump administration, Kennedy has fired members of a vaccine advisory panel and removed recommendations for children and healthy pregnant women to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. The CDC continues to advise that both groups may safely receive it.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store