(This story was first published in The Times of India on Dec 30, 2020)
- What led to the emergence of the highly contagious Covid-19 strain in the UK? It is possibly the rampant use of various therapies together and their failure to work against the virus.
- The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) director Dr Balram Bhargava has blamed “immune pressure” caused by environment or treatment modalities for its emergence. He warned against the “non-judicious use of therapies that have not been established” for Covid-19 as these put immune pressure on the virus.
- The B.1.1.7 lineage emerged in the UK in September; and it has become the dominant strain (over 60%) in circulation.
- The use of various therapies simultaneously for Covid-19 patients has occurred in India as well. While standard operating procedures for treating Covid-19 patients were laid down by the Union health ministry and ICMR, many doctors followed their own treatment plans. Initially,…
