Efficacy of vaccines against Omicron to be put to test
The Hindu
AIG Hospitals to launch lab test with pseudo Omicron virus; hospital chief says the new variant of coronavirus could be ‘good news’
Efficacy of the currently available COVID-19 vaccines against Omicron, the new variant of concern, would be put to test at AIG Hospitals, Gachibowli, shortly. The results would be available around two weeks after launching the tests.
Chairman of the corporate hospital, D. Nageshwar Reddy says a pseudo Omicron virus can be created in the lab. Blood samples containing antibodies were collected from people who underwent immunisation. The blood samples will be used to test against the pseudo virus.
“It takes around two weeks to create the pseudo virus of Omicron. We will start the tests at AIG Hospitals shortly,” informs Dr Reddy. Efficacy of various vaccines will be tested.
A crowd comprising farmers, researchers, professors, students, and horticulture enthusiasts thronged the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru, on Friday for the inaugural ceremony of the Triphal Diversity Show which showcased 300 mango, 100 jackfruit, and 100 banana genotypes in collaboration with ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli.
The State government on Friday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director-General of Police, Manish Kharbikar of the Economic Offences division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the alleged multi-crore scam in the government-run Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.