Is Covid back? As cases climb, how Indians can stay safe
What are the new treatments available?There are antivirals approved for Covid infection, but are mostly used in patients who are anticipated to have severe infection because of certain comorbid conditions, and are used in the early course of infection because they mainly affect the viral replication. As such, these are Remdesivir and Paxlovid. Remdesivir is intravenous. So, it is used in patients who are admitted in hospital, while Paxlovid can be used in an outpatient setting.advertisementHowever, it is not universally recommended that all patients should be taking this medication after diagnosis of Covid. It depends on person to person and as per the risk assessment status for severe disease. Apart from the antiviral, certain supportive therapies and some anti-allergens are used depending on what symptoms the patient is having. Accordingly, supportive treatment is the one that is usually provided.Would Indians' immunity have waned over time?People in India should not worry, but yes, preparedness and taking precautions are always better. Therefore, awareness is important. As these viruses tend to mutate, our immunity against these diseases changes with time, and getting a milder form of infection is possible. And it is not always necessary that somebody who gets Covid is going to get a severe disease. So it is about the immunity and the response to the virus that our body takes after infection. It is advised not to panic, but one must take precautions.What precautionary measures should one take?The precautions are still the same as taken before. It is always suggested to wear a mask, especially in social gatherings or when somebody has symptoms of viral infection, and practise hand hygiene. Affected people should wear a mask and isolate themselves. This helps in preventing the transmission of infection to close family members and friends, helping slow down the progress of the disease in society.advertisementSubscribe to India Today MagazineMust Watch
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Business Standard
5 hours ago
- Business Standard
Senior citizens double down on super top-ups, drive 61% rise in portability
As medical costs rise, senior citizens are changing how they buy health insurance. More such citizens are purchasing policies earlier in their lives; they are adding top-ups, and even switching insurers for better value, according to data provided by Policybazaar. Almost six of 10 health insurance policies are bought by people aged 60 to 65, making it the most active bracket. The 66-70 segment is also seeing steady growth. About 65 per cent of policies bought by senior citizens were renewed in FY5 and one in three purchases were fresh, pointing to expanding coverage among families. Cost-saving strategies To manage premiums, senior citizens use tools like: 15-20 per cent opt for deductibles of Rs 2-3 lakh. Top-up purchases have almost doubled in three years, with one in three senior citizens choosing such offers to expand insurance cover Around 12 per cent shift to co-pay options at renewal, paying a small share of bills while insurers bear the bulk. Seniors seek flexible cover and add-ons Senior citizens prefer features that offer immediate and relevant insurance protection: Over 40 per cent now want cover for pre-existing conditions without waiting. Women lean towards OPD and wellness riders, while men prefer critical illness add-ons. Demand for domiciliary treatment has risen, especially after Covid-19. Portability rising As many as 61 per cent senior citizens have changed their insurers in two years for cheaper premiums or better service, according to Policybazaar. This shows growing financial awareness in evaluating long-term value, not just price. Urban-rural divide Insurance penetration is better in cities like Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, where seniors buy higher covers of Rs 10-25 lakh. Coverage in villages and towns is largely driven by government schemes, though Tier-II cities are slowly bridging the gap. Premium payment Nearly three in four premiums are funded by children or family members of senior citizens. Of these, 11 per cent come from children living abroad, highlighting the role of overseas support in ageing parents' healthcare. About 27 per cent of seniors, however, still pay premiums on their own. 'We're witnessing a significant shift in how India's senior citizens approach health insurance. Seniors are insuring earlier, buying larger covers and making smarter choices, whether through super top-ups, portability or Day-1 coverage,' said Siddharth Singhal, business head, health insurance, at Policybazaar.
The Hindu
7 hours ago
- The Hindu
Delhi's stray dog crisis demands a One Health response
Delhi is once again at war with its dogs. The Supreme Court's recent order to remove stray dogs has reignited a long-running debate. The fear driving it is, of course, real. The city is home to nearly a million strays, dog bite cases surged almost 277% between 2022 and 2024, and January 2025 alone saw a 52 percent spike over the previous year's monthly average. Yet the Court's response is less a cure than a reflex, aimed at symptoms rather than causes. This is where the One Health framework becomes critical – as it recognises human, animal and ecological health are deeply interconnected and that only integrated solutions can deliver real safety. The Covid-19 pandemic should have made that lesson unmissable. Also Read: Dogs and laws: On street dogs and the Supreme Court order Understanding the crisis Rabies is a zoonotic disease that passes between animals and humans, and it thrives in urban systems like Delhi. The city generates more than 11,000 tonnes of solid waste every day, nearly half of which is mismanaged. These open garbage heaps are permanent food sources for dogs, allowing their numbers to persist regardless of how many are caught or removed. The 'catch and kill' method, introduced by the British in the 19th century and heavily used after Independence, proved disastrous. A Municipal Corporation of Delhi study from 1980 to 1990 found that despite slaughtering 8 lakh dogs over the decade, the city's stray population remained at 1.5 lakh. By 1993, authorities admitted the approach had failed, as rabies deaths had risen and the dog population continued to grow. The problem lies in the city's disrupted urban ecology, where unmanaged waste sustains multiple disease-carrying scavengers and the sudden removal of dogs destabilises the system further. When dogs are displaced, other scavengers like rodents, pigs or monkeys, move in to occupy the same ecological niche. Rodent populations in particular thrive on unmanaged waste and are reservoirs of diseases such as leptospirosis. Any strategy that ignores these connections risks replacing one public health crisis with another. These ecological vulnerabilities are compounded by gaps in human health systems. Post-exposure treatment can prevent almost all deaths, yet access remains patchy. Clinics often lack vaccines and immunoglobulin, epidemiological and laboratory surveillance is limited, healthcare professionals receive inadequate training, community awareness is low, and coordination across sectors is weak. Therefore, the issue moves far beyond dogs. India's own Animal Birth Control Rules, updated in 2023, require sterilisation, vaccination and release precisely to avoid these outcomes. The Supreme Court's directive cuts against this, undermines years of legal reform, and risks exposing India again to the charge of cruelty. One Health approach Viewed through the One Health lens, Delhi's challenge is not a choice between humans or dogs, but how the city manages the interconnected systems that affect both. Waste management shapes the conditions in which rabies spreads, dog vaccination protects both animals and humans, and post-bite treatment saves lives. None of these measures can succeed in isolation, and climate change intensifies the stakes. Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall alter waste decomposition, influence rodent populations, and affect dog behaviour, making fragile urban ecosystems even more unstable. Treating dog removal as a technical fix ignores the reality that the most serious health risks in the coming decades will emerge where human, animal, and environmental health intersect, and a One Health approach emerges as the pathway to tackle them effectively. There is also mounting evidence from India itself that large scale vaccinations can rapidly lower exposure even before sterilisation programmes achieve scale. Goa became India's first state to eliminate human dog-mediated rabies through a programme that combined mass dog vaccination, public education, and surveillance. Vaccinating each dog in India costs a mean of U.S. $3.45, slightly above the global average of U.S. $2.18 due to labour-intensive methods like hand-catching strays - yet, over 10 years, the programme prevented 121 human deaths and 3,427 DALYs (disability-adjusted life years, which measure years of healthy life lost due to illness or premature death) at just U.S. $567 per DALY, making it a highly cost-effective public health intervention. Jaipur's two-decade programme of sterilising and vaccinating stray dogs cost about U.S. $658,744 and saved more than 36,000 years of healthy life from rabies and dog bites at just U.S. $26–40 per year of life preserved, far below the World Health Organization's benchmark of U.S.$2,000 for cost-effectiveness in India. The city saved U.S. $5.6 million, nearly nine times its investment, when the value of lives saved is included, making it one of the most cost-effective public health strategies documented in India. Similarly, modelling in Tamil Nadu shows that vaccinating just 7% of stray dogs annually could reduce human rabies deaths by 70% within five years, while expanding coverage to 13% could reduce deaths by nearly 90%. Both cases highlight that targeted canine vaccination under a One Health framework is feasible, affordable, and highly effective at preventing human rabies deaths while maintaining animal welfare. Delhi's reliance on mass removals is short-sighted, and does not offer solutions to tackle the root cause, which is rabies rather than dogs. It offers only temporary relief, undermines animal welfare, and risks disrupting the urban ecosystem. Evidence from Goa, Jaipur, and Tamil Nadu shows that targeted canine vaccination, combined with sterilisation, public education, and effective waste management - is both feasible and highly cost-effective. By embracing a One Health strategy, Delhi can protect human lives, uphold animal health and welfare, while restoring ecological balance - providing a sustainable path to eliminate rabies. (Sharon Sarah Thawaney works with the Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata. sharonthawaney04@
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
US health officials urge Kennedy to stop spreading vaccine misinformation
Washington: Hundreds of current and former employees of US health agencies on Wednesday accused President Donald Trump's health secretary of putting them at risk by spreading false information. In an open letter, the federal officials criticized Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -- a noted vaccine skeptic -- nearly two weeks after an armed attack on the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the main US health agency. A gunman who blamed the Covid-19 vaccine for sickening him targeted several buildings at the Atlanta-based CDC on August 8, killing a police officer. The attack "was not random," the signees of the open letter said, pointing to "growing mistrust in public institutions, driven by politicized rhetoric that has turned public health professionals from trusted experts into targets of villainization -- and now, violence." Kennedy, who has repeatedly aired false information about vaccines and slammed the agencies he heads as corrupt, was accused of fueling the mistrust. Kennedy "is complicit in dismantling America's public health infrastructure and endangering the nation's health by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information," the open letter said, imploring the health chief to change his stance. Since taking office, the nephew of assassinated president John F. Kennedy has made numerous pronouncements that run counter to scientific consensus, particularly about vaccines. This shift toward vaccine skepticism has been denounced by many experts. A petition calling on Congress to impeach Kennedy had gathered more than 12,600 signatures as of Wednesday. The latest open letter from US civil servants, many of whom signed anonymously, comes on the heels of other similar texts backed by federal employees denouncing actions of the Trump administration. Taking such a step was not without risk: nearly 140 staffers at the Environmental Protection Agency who spoke out publicly were placed on leave in last month.
