Health

Eli Lilly and Incyte’s arthritis drug baricitinib helped reduce the risk of death in hospitalised COVID-19 patients by 13% regardless of which other coronavirus treatment they were given, according to a large British study. Over 8,000 patients were administered baricitinib in addition to usual care, at random, or usual care alone, as part of the so-called RECOVERY trial, scientists from …

Non-profit drugmaker Civica said on Thursday it expects to launch lower-cost versions of insulin in the United States by 2024, to help diabetic patients struggling with high prices for the life-sustaining medicine. Civica, launched in 2018 to make generic drugs, said it would produce three copycat versions of insulin, and make them available at roughly the same price for all …

A World Health Organization (WHO) panel on Wednesday backed the use of molnupiravir- Merck & Co’s COVID-19 antiviral pill- for high-risk patients. The expert panel conditionally recommended the pill, molnupiravir, for patients with non-severe disease who are at high risk of hospitalisation, such as the immunocompromised, the unvaccinated, older people and those with chronic diseases. The recommendation was based on …

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Thursday ended a heavily criticised policy that required Muslim Covid-19 victims to be buried at a remote government-designated site in the absence of their families or final religious rites. Only a year ago, Colombo reversed an initial policy of enforced cremations — prohibited by Islam — under intense international pressure, while still refusing to allow traditional …

A World Health Organization (WHO) panel on Wednesday backed the use of molnupiravir- Merck & Co’s COVID-19 antiviral pill- for high-risk patients. The expert panel conditionally recommended the pill, molnupiravir, for patients with non-severe disease who are at high risk of hospitalisation, such as the immunocompromised, the unvaccinated, older people and those with chronic diseases. The recommendation was based on …

ISLAMABAD: In its fight against Covid-19, Pakistan has achieved another milestone by fully vaccinating 70 per cent or 7.9 million students, aged between 12 and 17 years, in just six months. Talking to Dawn, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Health Services Sajid Shah said the decision to vaccinate all the 11.3 million students in that age group on a priority …

ISLAMABAD: The Nati­onal Command and Oper­ation Centre (NCOC) on Covid-19 has decided to allow 100 per cent stadium capacity for the month-long Pakistan-Australia cricket series, starting from March 4. The decision was taken on Tuesday when the Australian team started preparations at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium for the first test match against Pakistan. While the coronavirus positivity across the country was …

LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II resumed public engagements on Tuesday after falling ill with Covid, as her son and heir Prince Charles was quoted as saying that she is “a lot better”. Concerns have mounted for the 95-year-old monarch’s health since she tested positive on February 20, overshadowing the start of her record-breaking 70th year on the throne. But a palace …

BEIJING: In a possible sign that the Beijing is rethinking its strict approach, a top Chinese scientist said that the country could move away from its zero-COVID strategy “in the near future” and co-exist with the virus. The country where the coronavirus was first detected in 2019 is now one of the last places still hewing to a zero-tolerance approach, …

ISLAMABAD: Covid-19 has claimed 20 more lives in Pakistan during the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 30,173, the data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed Sunday. As per details, Pakistan has reported 847 fresh cases of the pandemic during the past 24 hours when 40,127 tests were conducted. STATISTICS 27 FEB 22: TOTAL …