ArdorComm Media Group

COVID-19

Apple employees are no longer compelled to wear masks at work

According to reports, Apple has informed its staff that wearing masks to work is no longer mandatory. However, if they feel safe doing so, they are free to wear masks. The employees are free to choose in accordance with their level of comfort, the particular circumstances and conditions in their respective locations, and the health authorities’ criteria. At most of its sites, Apple has reportedly instructed staff to respect individual decisions to mask up or not, and to not engage in any form of discrimination against those who choose to do so. Coincidentally, the COVID-19 BA.5 variant is spreading quickly throughout the US. According to media sources, more than 1.75 lakh cases have already been reported. Based on the drop in infections and hospitalizations, Los Angeles County in California has formally decided to repeal the mask mandate. The County’s 10 million residents would have been required to wear masks indoors, according to earlier plans by its health authorities. In the meantime, a Texas court has upheld the governor’s ban on mask requirements in schools, Greg Abbott. Abbott’s executive order forbade any governmental organisations, including universities and other academic institutions, from enforcing mask regulations. There were numerous demonstrations against this restriction, nevertheless. The prohibition was also the subject of a lawsuit by a group of students who claimed Texas State had violated the American Rescue Plan Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Disabilities Act by imposing it and that doing so endangered the lives of the students. However, the court said there was insufficient evidence to support the claim that the mask restriction put them at danger of catching COVID-19.

64% of Indians are confident after receiving two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, not interested in precautionary dose: Survey

Mumbai: YouGov’s latest survey illustrates the attitudes of urban Indians on the COVID-19 booster dose amid new emerging variants and the fear of a potential fourth wave of the virus. Although 85% of urban Indians have received the COVID-19 vaccine, 11% are still waiting for their second dosage, and 5% have not received the vaccine and do not want to in the future. A higher proportion (74%) of people who have received the vaccine in both doses demonstrate an unwavering desire to get the booster dose. One in ten people are still doubtful about their choice, and nearly one in five (18%) are reluctant to take another shot. In comparison to tier I cities, tier II-III cities appear to have a higher rate of vaccine reluctance. Perhaps the rising number of cases in major cities and towns is prompting people in Tier 1 cities to protect themselves with an additional dose of the vaccine. Many people who have received the vaccination in its two doses are inclined to take the booster dose, but when we look at those who do not, the majority of respondents (64%) say that their faith in the vaccine in its two doses is the main reason they do not want to take a precautionary dose. Nearly one in five (19%) reported being afraid of the immediate adverse effects, such as fever, while 17% expressed concern about the supposed long-term side effects of the vaccines (like heart attacks, medical complications, etc). 15% of people have doubts about the booster dose’s efficacy, while 13% admitted they took the first dose of Covid against their will (due to travel or other obligations). Through the Har Ghar Dastak 2.0 campaign, which launched earlier last month, the Indian government has already administered more than 198.09 (1,98,09,87,178) crore vaccinations against COVID-19. It has also been actively working to improve vaccine coverage among the elderly. However, many people have not yet received the second dose of the vaccination or have not yet received a booster shot. In response to a question about whether the government should enforce booster dosages due to the rising number of cases, 76% of respondents said yes. Those who said they would without thinking twice take the booster dose demonstrated greater support (90 per cent).

India registers 1,675 COVID-19 cases, 31 deaths

The number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 in India has surpassed 192.52 crore. This was accomplished after 2,42,67,393 sessions. The first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination has been given to almost 3.30 crore adolescents so far. COVID-19 precaution dosage administration for the age group 18-59 years began on April 10, 2022, and will continue until April 10, 2023. In the last 24 hours, 1,635 patients have recovered, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 4,26,00,737. As a result, India’s recovery rate is 98.75 percent. In the previous 24 hours, 1,675 new cases and 31 deaths have been reported. The number of active cases in India is presently 14,841. Active cases now account for 0.03 percent of all positive cases in the country. In the previous 24 hours, 4,07,626 COVID-19 tests were done. India has completed approximately 84.74 crore tests in total. The country’s weekly positivity rate is currently 0.49 percent, with a daily positivity rate of 0.41 percent.

Byju’s in talks with banks for $1 billion funding

Byju’s, India’s most valuable startup, is in talks with lenders to acquire more than $1 billion in acquisition financing as the online education provider looks to aggressively grow its business, people familiar with the situation stated. The Bangalore-based market leader is in talks with banks, including Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co., for funding to takeover another edtech company, according to the sources, who asked not to be named as the information is not public.  They didn’t say anything about the acquisition target and said that the terms of the transaction and the funding are yet to be finalized. Byju’s, helmed by former teacher Byju Raveendran, has been buying up businesses offering coding lessons, professional learning courses, and test prep programmes for competitive Indian examinations in recent years in the US and overseas. Bloomberg reported earlier this year that the business was valued at $22 billion after raising funds this year and is working on plans for an initial public offering. JPMorgan and Byju’s representatives declined to comment on the financing. Morgan Stanley representative did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment right away. According to information on the platform’s website, the platform’s app has been downloaded more than 150 million times, and clients spend an average of 71 minutes each day on it. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Naspers Ltd., Tiger Global Management, and Sequoia Capital India have all invested in the company, which is formally known as Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd. After schools and tutoring centres were forced to close their doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing parents, teachers, and students to seek alternative learning resources, the popularity of online classes soared in the country of almost 1.4 billion people with one of the world’s youngest populations. Byju’s has also expanded its product portfolio to include one-on-one coaching with teachers in India and other countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and Australia. Source: Economic Times

Digital Health: A Vision of Modern India 2021

  1. What is Digital Health Technology? The World Health Organization (WHO) defines digital health as the “application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of lives.” To explain the term more efficiently, the use of computing platforms, software and sensors for healthcare and wellness of the entire population is known as digital health technology. It is a broad multidisciplinary concept that blends health and technology together to support the equitable and universal distribution of healthcare services across the globe. Soon, the medical fraternity and healthcare technology experts will share their acquired digital health intelligence with the world and impoverished nations to eradicate diseases and anomalies. We are looking towards a future that will leverage practices like telehealth and telemedicine to treat patients. 2. Digital Health Innovations The healthcare system of India has always been burdened with the overwhelming population of the country rushing to hospitals for treatment. On top of it, the pandemic posed myriad complexities for the country’s healthcare system. India still doesn’t enjoy overall and equitable distribution and access to technology which has caused digital health inequalities in various parts of the country. However, many technology startups are emerging in the digital health market with brilliant solutions that could help a huge chunk of the population remotely. Digital health innovations in the country include: Mobile health Health and wellness applications Big Data Telehealth Electronic medical records with interoperability of data Personal genomics Diagnostics Medical imaging Wearable technologies (fitness trackers, medical devices, etc.) Technologies to support integrated care [Source: RGNUL, Research Paper] During the pandemic, the government came up with a GPS-tracking system to track the movement of the patients who were quarantined at their homes. This means that with increasing necessity, there will be more innovations to suit online medical assistance. 3. Digital Health Trends As digital tools begin to have fundamental impacts on medical assistance and patient care, new innovations and tools will act as facilitators of digital health in India. However, one has to understand that adoption of new digital health methods and tools will take time as providing concrete evidence for regulation and adoption is a critical manoeuvre. We can certainly say that India will witness the applications of digital therapeutics soon in 2021 and so forth. Let’s take a look at the digital health trends during the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital Therapeutics Mobile Apps – Gave information about COVID-19, self-assessment options and monitoring Disease Management Apps – Remote patient monitoring Bulk emailing and text messaging – helped patients communicate with medical experts for assistance and wellbeing Web-based Interactive Programs – programs for healthcare delivery, insomnia, physical therapy and other therapeutic interventions Digital Health Records Telemedicine – virtual patient visits by healthcare experts In-home Connected Virtual Assistants – to guide people to healthcare information, data, records or to push reminders Clinical Trial Tools – to collect patient information and initiate virtual trials Connected biometric sensors – to track vitals and help patients monitor themselves Consumer Wearable – monitor patient activity [Source: IQVIA Institute] 4. ArdorComm Media’s Webinar On ‘Digital Health: A Vision of Modern India’ ArdorComm Media is a growing media organization with its branches spread in various industries including Healthcare, Education, HR, Governance & Media and Entertainment. The upcoming event on ‘Digital Health: A Vision of Modern India’ will take place on 28th October 2021. The event aims to initiate discussions on digital healthcare practices and tools in India to revolutionize the existing healthcare ecosystem of the country. The webinar will be power-packed with leading healthcare and technology experts, startups, subject-matter experts, healthcare sales and pharmaceutical reps and much more. The theme of the event is ‘Rapid Digitization of Healthcare in Post-Pandemic India’ and the key takeaways are: Blend of technology in modern and traditional medicine Role of technology in preventive healthcare AI in healthcare facilitating long-term care management Latest innovations in remote healthcare monitoring in India Join the event to interact with like-minded experts to expand your network for personal and professional growth. Your presence will help India to move one step closer towards our vision of digital health for India.