HyFun Foods donates 22,500 kgs of ready-to-cook Potato Cubes to Akshaya Patra Foundation’s ‘Donate Meal’ project.
The potato cubes will be directly delivered across the foundation’s kitchens in Delhi, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad by HyFun Foods using its supply chain network.
Bengaluru, July 27th: HyFun Foods, one of India’s largest producers, exporters, and retailers of premium-quality frozen potato products, has recently joined hands with the Akshaya Patra Foundation, one of India’s renowned non-profit organizations; to donate 22,500 kgs of ready to cook Potato Cubes to their ‘Donate Meal’ project in Delhi, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. With this initiative, HyFun Foods aims to provide meals to the marginalized and low-income segment of society.
The Covid-19 pandemic-induced lockdown has weighed heavily on the poor and daily wage laborers. They faced a shortage of food and essential supplies that created a lot of distress for them. To lend a helping hand, this is an endeavour by HyFun Foods to provide food to the daily wage workers, migrant laborers, construction site workers, and people at old age homes and night shelters.
Speaking on the initiative, Mr. Haresh Karamchandani, Managing Director & CEO, HyFun Foods, said, “During these challenging times, it is our responsibility to extend a helping hand to those in need. We are humbled to associate with Akshaya Patra Foundation’s noble cause and lend our support to a larger section of society. We are making sure that only good and safe food reaches them. The potato cubes we are providing are absolutely fresh and completely free from preservatives. I am sure that this collaboration will help provide meals for those who cannot afford them in the prevailing situation. We look forward to a long association and are hopeful to provide our continued support to such causes.”
Mr. Sundeep Talwar, CMO, Akshaya Patra says, “The strength of this collaboration will lead to the well-being of the underprivileged society at the core of the collective effort. With the sustained and valued support from organizations like HyFun Foods, we aim to provide nutritional meals to feed the needy. Such partnerships in our social sector are the need of the hour.”
Mr. Punit Shukla, General Manager Human Resources, HyFun Foods, “As part of the MoU, the partnership with Akshaya Patra Foundation will be an additional step to provide quality meals to those in need. At HyFun Foods, we believe that an organization can survive, sustain its growth, and contribute to society only if it is consistently aligned to its core values and social responsibilities. We are happy to make our contribution to support the Akshaya Patra Foundation’s vision of eradicating hunger.”
He further added, “It has been difficult for the marginalized and low-income segment of society to feed themselves and their families. By associating with this cause, HyFun Foods is hopeful of making a significant impact on society and will strive hard to reach communities in dire need of help and ensure that they are well provided with food even in economic uncertainty.”
Corona is a 191 billion dollar biological weapon unleashed on humanity to decrease population by a vested mafia of elite 1% of world population who want to own & control all the natural resources of the world. This is a supremacy psychosis which needs to be addressed urgently. With increasing population there are multiple groups demanding for equal share n rights for living n enjoying the resources. This goes against the greed of these elite who have created this PLANDEMIC over decades while giving subtle hints off late. Their aim is to decrease dependents ‘draining revenue of people capturing governments, old age especially pensioners, sick managing multiple diseases with medications, and dissidents who protest the supremist’s agenda. Initially released on protestors in Hongkong, India with significant mortality was rereleased with lot of FEAR drama in wuhan with stronger strain. Series of virus targeting different age groups are being released through satellites/aircraft-biotrails/balloons via rains. These are causing death, diseases affecting all organ systems- (strokes, heart attacks, kidney/liver failure, endocrine disorders) ageing, sterility/abortions, fear psychosis, reversal of constitutional human rights all compounded by injections being given as vaccines to create a new world order. Many whose immune system couldn’t fight the corona virus effectively have already died/disabled, nearly all the rest have been exposed with it without symptoms developed natural immunity and don’t need the injections with more significant risk of all complications of covid(infection/inflammation/both) post injections. The mRNA vaccine have risk of genetic modification to ensure chronic dependency on health care system. Only those who had strictly isolated themselves due to fear or immunosuppressive states-post Organ transplants, ongoing chemotherapy, long term immunosuppressive therapy, HIV and other infected might benefit only with nasal/oral vaccine which is not being released. Money laundry between government & NGO should be prevented to save public assets.
PHANA President Dr. Prasanna H M & Secretary; Dr. Rajashekar Y L appoint healthcare leader; Dr. Hema Divakar as Chair of Expert Group; private hospitals to strengthen collaboration
BENGALURU: PHANA (Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association) has developed a multi-pronged strategy to be implemented, especially when the number of patients is low, in a coordinated attempt to prepare effectively for the next wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Karnataka. Renowned healthcare leader Dr. Hema Divakar, who has been appointed as the chair of PHANA’s Expert Group on Covid-19 has come out with a set of recommendations encompassing vaccination advocacy, research-linked data documentation and effective training of healthcare workers, for the private hospitals in the state.
The Expert Group, led by Dr. Hema, formed on 9th July 2021, comprises office-bearers of PHANA and experts from the fields of virology, epidemiology, and pulmonologist and pediatricians for a collective and collaborative approach.
“The need of the hour is to take visible, proactive, and useful steps. The role of the private sector in containing the spread of this pandemic is critical while supporting the steps taken by the government. When cases are low is time to prepare to avert the next wave. We should, therefore, make the most of the non-emergency period (when cases are low) by setting up processes and the action begins now,” said Dr. Hema Divakar, CEO of ARTIST for Her and past president of FOGSI.
Emphasizing the role of vaccines, Dr. Prasanna H M, President, PHANA, pointed out that private hospitals must follow the hub and spoke model to conduct vaccination drives across cities and towns, “This model was followed during the first phase of the vaccination drive and the outcomes were effective. While specific hospitals were appointed as vaccination centres, nearby hospitals would undertake advocacy. All hospitals will address vaccine hesitancy with the same voice. In addition, the corporate sector, industries, and SMEC sectors, in conjunction with the designated vaccination centres (hospitals), must conduct large scale drives.”
The second recommendation is on data documentation, which is essential to streamline the approach. A common template and colour-coded document for the Covid-19 case sheet must be used by all the private hospitals. This will help disseminate Covid-19 case-related information accurately and speedily through physical as well as electronic transfers to the state nodal centres.
“Early detection of a rise in infections and acting early is the only way to suppress the next wave before it begins. We need to put in place systems to accurately record key indicators such as cases, hospitalizations, mortality, the infection rate, R0 (the number of new infections generated by each case), and seroprevalence in a timely manner. This is crucial for early detection,” Dr. Rajashekar Y L, Secretary, PHANA, said.
The third recommendation is imparting training to all healthcare workers in the latest practices and guidelines for care. During the first wave, ARTIST had undertaken extensive training of healthcare workers in key states on handling Covid-19 cases and the associated protocols. Likewise, in order to relieve the pressure on hospitals in advance, PHANA will focus on developing and communicating Covid-19 clinical and home-based care guidelines in collaboration with trusted medical institutions for treatments that are of assured quality, safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness.
Decision-making during a pandemic is complex, as it involves tremendous pressure, requires multiple stakeholders, and relies on information that is flawed, uncertain, proximate, or sparse. “We cannot afford to be complacent to the risks of subsequent waves. Mechanisms for early detection and preparedness are key to preventing deaths and wider socio-economic impacts. PHANA is working in this direction,” Dr. Hema said.
~ Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) is an immune system mediated hyper inflammation targeting children, adolescents & young adults; more than 50% develop heart problems ~
July 6, 2021: Doctors at Amrita Hospital are warning of an impending wave of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome or MIS-C across South India which may hit children in a big way. They have already begun to see increasing numbers of children coming to the Hospital with MIS-C symptoms and they believe that this is only the beginning. The disease, which mainly affects children who are exposed to Covid positive individuals in their household or themselves have been infected with Covid, begins to manifest symptoms 3-6 weeks after a wave of Covid has already swept through the adult population.
With the second wave of Covid now coming to an end, doctors at Amrita Hospital feel that it is only a matter of time before MIS-C wave will begin to take over the young population. The disease is an immune system mediated hyper inflammation that seems to target children, adolescents, and young adults; more than 50% of those suffering from MIS-C develop heart problems. The severity of heart damage in patients is what determines the outcome of the illness.
Commenting on the rising incidence of cases, Dr. Suma Balan, Rheumatology AIMS Kochi, said, “MIS-C has been observed to have a correlation with the Covid wave in adults – the larger the Covid wave, the bigger is the MIS-C wave. Since the current Covid wave in South India has been the largest so far, we are anticipating a huge MIS-C wave in Kerala and South India in the months to come. Symptoms of MIS-C include rapidly progressing state of high-grade fever with poor function of several organ systems especially the heart and gastrointestinal organs and are found mostly in Covid negative cases. A child with MIS-C may have been completely asymptomatic if they had COVID-19 infection previously and may not have been tested simply because of lack of symptoms. MIS-C starts to manifest within a period of 4 to 6 weeks of having survived COVID.”
MIS-C needs to be treated by administration of steroids and intravenous immunoglobulin along with supportive management which requires intensive care in most cases. Some children need breathing support and medications to support the failing heart. Because of the high costs of intravenous immunoglobulin, the treatment for MIS-C incurs a high cost.
Elaborating on how MIS-C can affect the heart, Dr Mahesh Kappanayil, Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Pediatric CMR Services, said, “It is critical to identify the extent to which the heart is affected by way of ECGs, blood tests and intensive monitoring. In some cases, children may require pacemaker implantation to support heartbeat. The heart shows excellent recovery if supported well during the critical phase of the illness. If the heart is significantly affected, such children need to be given specific medicines to improve heart pumping and to maintain blood pressure, in addition to the overall treatment of MIS-C.”
Explaining the treatment protocols to be followed, Dr Sajith Kesavan, Senior Consultant and Head, Department of Pediatric Pulmonary and Critical Care added, “When MIS-C affected children become sick enough to need intensive care, they also usually need IVIg treatment. Though expensive, this treatment can save a lot of lives. Because of its multisystem presentation, a wide range of medical professionals may need to be consulted by those suffering from it. If a child is suspected to be suffering from MIS-C, it is imperative that a history of a possible Covid link be explored and an appropriate treatment suggested accordingly.”
Dr C. Jayakumar, Head and Professor at the Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine added “In MISC different systems are involved. But in Kawasaki disease cardiac involvement is the dangerous problem. MIS-C, there is involvement of gastrointestinal tract, lung, kidney, skin in addition. This condition can be fatal if not recognized early and should be managed adequately with not usually used drugs like steroids, intravenous immunoglobulins, immunomodulators and in some cases Extracorporeal membrane support. During this Covid pandemic, irrespective of the fact that one has had Covid or not, if there is fever or other symptoms, medical care must be sought at the earliest. Please do not ignore symptoms of any disease in this season of the pandemic.”
The best ways to tackle MIS-C are through prevention i.e., by ensuring vaccination of all adults in contact with children and management i.e., through timely identification and treatment of the infection. Unless these measures are observed strictly, children will continue to be affected by this deadly disease which may even prove to be fatal if not treated at the earliest.
● Efficacy analysis demonstrates COVAXIN® to be 77.8% effective against symptomatic COVID-19, through evaluation of 130 confirmed cases, with 24 observed in the vaccine group versus 106 in the placebo group
● Efficacy analysis demonstrates COVAXIN® to be 93.4% effective against severe symptomatic COVID-19
● Safety analysis demonstrates adverse events reported were similar to placebo, with 12% of subjects experiencing commonly known side effects and less than 0.5% of subjects feeling serious adverse events
● Efficacy data demonstrates 63.6% protection against asymptomatic COVID-19
● Efficacy data demonstrates 65.2% protection against the SARS-CoV-2, B.1.617.2 Delta variant
Hyderabad, July 3, 2021: Bharat Biotech, a global leader in vaccine development and innovation, announced today safety and efficacy analysis data from Phase III clinical trials of COVAXIN®, a whole virion inactivated vaccine against SARS-CoV2, was developed in partnership with ICMR and NIV Pune.
Phase 3 clinical trials of COVAXIN® was an event driven analysis of 130 symptomatic COVID-19 cases, reported at least two weeks after the 2nd dose, conducted at 25 sites across India. COVAXIN® is formulated with a novel Algel+IMDG adjuvant. IMDG is a TLR7/8 agonist known to induce memory T cell responses along with strong neutralizing antibodies. The activation of cell mediated immune responses is especially valuable in a multi epitope vaccine such as COVAXIN®, where immune protection can be achieved from S, RBD and N proteins alike. IMDG was developed under partnership between Virovax and NIAID, National Institutes of Health USA.
COVAXIN® was well tolerated and the Data Safety Monitoring Board has not reported any safety concerns related to the vaccine. The overall rate of adverse events observed in COVAXIN® was lower than that seen in otherCovid-19 vaccines. The safety profile of COVAXIN® is now well established based on inactivated vaccines technology, and in large part due to the extensive 20-year safety track record of Bharat Biotech’s vero cell manufacturing platform. Furthermore, Bharat Biotech has so far not sought indemnity for COVAXIN® from the Governments.
No licensed SARS-CoV-2 vaccine has reported efficacy against asymptomatic infection in a randomised controlled trial, based on qPCR testing. COVAXIN® is the first to report promising efficacy against asymptomatic infections based on qPCR testing that will help in reducing disease transmission.
Dr. Krishna Ella, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, said, “The successful safety and efficacy readouts of COVAXIN® as a result of conducting the largest ever COVID Vaccines trials in India establishes the ability of India and developing world countries to focus towards innovation and novel product development. We are proud to state that Innovation from India will now be available to protect global populations.”
COVAXIN® has been specifically designed to meet the needs of global distribution chains, the requirements for which are more critical in low- and middle-income countries. It has been formulated to enable shipping and long-term storage at 2-8ºC. It is also formulated to adhere to a multi-dose vial policy, thereby reducing open vial wastage, saving money to procurement agencies and governments alike.
Prof. (Dr) Balram Bhargava, Secretary Department of Health Research & Director General Indian Council of Medical Research, said, “I am delighted to note that COVAXIN®, developed by ICMR and BBIL under an effective public private partnership, has demonstrated an overall efficacy of 77.8% in India’s largest COVID phase 3 clinical trial thus far. Our scientists at ICMR and BBIL have worked tirelessly to deliver a truly effective vaccine of highest international standards. COVAXIN® will not only benefit the Indian citizens but would also immensely contribute to protect the global community against the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus. I am also pleased to see that COVAXIN® works well against all variant strains of SARS-CoV-2. The successful development of COVAXIN® has consolidated the position of Indian academia and Industry in the global arena.”
Bharat Biotech is a company driven by science and validated by empirical evidence. Its commitment to data transparency has been proven again with 10 publications on COVAXIN®, covering all aspects of product development, all within 12 months.
Bharat Biotech’s commitment to continued improvement of COVAXIN® is well under way with additional clinical trials to establish safety and efficacy in children between 2-18 years of age. A clinical trial to determine the safety and immunogenicity of a booster dose is also in process. Several research activities are being carried out to study variants of concern and to assess their suitability for follow up booster doses.
Mrs. Suchitra Ella, Joint Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, said, “It is a momentous day for everyone, at Bharat Biotech, as we announce the Final Phase-3 Results of COVAXIN® and its efficacy of 77.8%. We wish to thank ICMR, NIV-Pune, Virovax, DSMB and Adjudication Committee. We earnestly thank our clinical trial sites, Principle Investigators, IQVIA, and every participant who has reposed their faith in COVAXIN®. We SINCERELY thank all our employees for enduring work pressures through the pandemic & lockdowns, with 24×7 commitment amidst unprecedented number of physical challenges, stress and continuous operations. We specially thank our medical affairs team for leading the project, the technical and marketing teams who have relentlessly worked to complete the clinical trials and coordination of 25 sites across the country since May 2020.”
COVAXIN® has been evaluated through neutralizing antibody responses against several variants of concern, namely B.1.617.2 (Delta), B.1.617.1 (Kappa), B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P2- B.1.1.28 (Gamma). The data from these studies have been extensively published in peer reviewed journals and available for review in the public domain.
Prof. (Dr) Priya Abraham, Director National Institute of Virology ICMR said, “The overall efficacy of 77.8 % following the phase III clinical trial of COVAXIN® is wonderful news. ICMR-NIV and BBIL have had very fruitful interactions during this exhilarating journey. Sera from COVAXIN® recipients have also been evaluated against viral variants detected in India i.e., the Alpha, Beta, Zeta, Kappa and Delta. The making of this vaccine entirely on Indian soil is a matter of great pride to every Indian.”
COVAXIN® has now received emergency use authorizations in 16 countries including, Brazil, India, Philippines, Iran, Mexico, etc. with EUA’s in process in 50 countries worldwide. The company is in discussions with WHO to obtain emergency Use Listing for COVAXIN®. The product has been exported to several countries with additional requests for supplies being received.
Bharat Biotech has established COVAXIN® manufacturing at 4 facilities within India, further expansions are in process to reach an annualized capacity of 1 billion doses by the end of 2021. Technology transfer activities are in progress to companies in United States, and other countries.
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