A study conducted by top genetic experts has revealed that Indians should be thankful to their genes for tiding over the Covid pandemic with a relatively lesser mortality rate as compared to the U.S. and European nations.

A team comprising distinguished genetic experts from six institutions, led by Prof. Gyaneshwer Chaubey of the Banaras Hindu University, analyzed complete DNA data of the Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) gene of X chromosome from various continental populations and found that it is the Indian genes that have protected the population and helped battle the deadly virus.

This explains why the mortality rate of Covid-19 has been much higher in European countries and in the U.S., as compared to India and Southeast Asian countries.

The results of the team’s analysis have been published in the internationally renowned journal PLOS ONE, released Sept. 17.

The scientists have provided a possible molecular genetic explanation for why Iranians, Europeans and Americans of European ancestry are at more mortality risk to the novel Coronavirus than people in India and East Asia, as reflected in the current global distribution of reported Covid-19 cases per 1,00,000 inhabitants.

The international team analyzed complete DNA data of the ACE2 gene from various continental populations and found that certain mutations in this gene are helping South Asian and East Asian populations in successfully battling the virus and reducing mortality rate in comparison to the U.S. and Europe.

“The ACE2 gene is the gateway point of the Coronavirus and certain genetic mutations of this gene are related to the disease severity,” said Chaubey.

There have been a few initial studies on the ACE2 gene by other research groups, but all of them looked for the presence or absence of various mutations, whereas this team used more powerful haplotype-based analysis (the method in which experts break the whole length of DNA into several pieces and make comparisons).

“The genetic ancestry of most South Asians can be traced to West Eurasian populations rather than with East Eurasians, whereas for this gene, the result is other way round,” said Prof. George van Driem of University of Bern, Switzerland, one of the experts on the team in the paper.

In this type of analysis, several DNA fragments are compared rather than few mutations as populations that share more DNA chunks are considered to be closer, said Chaubey.

“The match of DNA fragments of South Asians with East Asians suggests that the entry gate of Corona virus among South Asians will be more similar to that of East Asians rather than that of Europeans or Americans. This also explains the low mortality rate in South Asia,” he explained.

The second important finding is about two major mutations which are responsible for strengthening the entry point of the Coronavirus among South Asians. “Thus, this paper adds important potential implications to understanding the transmission patterns of Coronavirus in various populations across the world,” said Anshika Srivastava, one of the authors of the paper.

Rudra Pandey and Prajwal Singh from BHU, Avinash Rasalkar, Pankaj Srivastava from Sagar Central University, Rakesh Tamang from Calcutta University and Pramod Kumar from National Centre for Disease Control were also involved in this research.

The nation’s leading infectious disease expert also voiced concerns about states starting to resume certain indoor activities like dining. Even as movie theaters, gyms and salons are opening and some states are allowing limited indoor dining, daily life in the U.S. won’t get back to normal until late 2021 when a vaccine for COVID-19 could be widely distributed, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Friday.

In an interview on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he remains confident there will be a vaccine available by the end of this year or early 2021.

“But by the time you mobilize the distribution of the vaccine and get a majority or more of the population vaccinated and protected, that’s likely not going to happen until the end of 2021,” he said. “If you’re talking about getting back to a degree of normality prior to COVID, it’s going to be well into 2021, towards the end of 2021.”

As the U.S. is plateauing at a high level of around 40,000 new cases and 1,000 deaths a day, Fauci also voiced concerns about states starting to resume certain indoor activities like dining.

“Being indoors absolutely increases the risk” of transmission, Fauci said. “I am concerned when I see things starting indoors, and that becomes more compelling when you move into fall and winter season.”

This week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said restaurants will reopen on Sept. 30, at 25 percent capacity and allow 50 percent capacity in November. Miami-Dade restaurants were allowed to reopen at 50 percent capacity at the end of August.

A report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that adults who tested positive for COVID-19 were twice as likely to report having eaten at a restaurant in the past two weeks.

Fauci stressed that the safest way to resume indoor activities is to bring down community transmission to the lowest possible level. He also noted that being outdoors doesn’t offer blanket protection, either. “Just because you’re outdoors does not that mean you’re protected, particularly if you’re in a crowd and you’re not wearing masks,” he said, referring to political rallies.

Fauci didn’t offer more details about the University of Oxford vaccine trial, which was paused by ther drug maker AstraZeneca this week after a participant developed a spinal issue, but did say the safety board was investigating.

A couple married for 48 years, and together for over 50, died of coronavirus only minutes apart holding hands.  Johnny Lee Peoples, 67, and his wife Cathy “Darlene” Peoples, 65 started feeling symptoms at the beginning of August, but would not make it to see more than two days of September.

“Mom and Dad lived hand to hand for 50 years, they died hand to hand, now they’re walking in heaven hand to hand,” their son, Shane Peoples, told CNN.  “The message our family would like to convey is that Covid is real. It’s not a hoax or a joke. Our parents took the proper precautions but tragically still contracted the virus.”

Johnny served in the US Army for over 17 years and retired from the North Carolina Department of Correction a few years ago. Darlene worked at Rowan Family Physicians where she was employed by LabCorp and was supposed to retire on September 1, the day before she and her husband died.

Darlene had a fever on August 1 and had a coronavirus test that week. Shane said that on August 10 she tested negative, which the family believes was a false negative because she later tested positive at the hospital.

Johnny started having symptoms on August 5 and tested positive on August 7. Then on August 11, both were admitted to the Covid-19 unit at their local hospital, Novant Health Rowan Regional Medical Center, because of difficulty breathing due to previous illness.

Darlene had high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, and Type 2 diabetes, while Johnny had pneumonia two years ago that caused some damage to his lungs, Shane said.

“(On September 1), we were told they had no chance of surviving. Dad could continue to live on the ventilator but would never come off of it. Mom’s organs were failing,” Shane said.

The next day, they were placed in the same room next to each other. They were taken off the ventilator and died a few minutes apart.

“They both had pre-existing conditions. Just keep in mind, these didn’t kill my parents, Covid-19 did,” Shane said. “This was the first time for that ICU staff to deal with two family members passing. The hospital staff was amazing through the whole thing.”

The couple is survived by their three children and nine grandchildren.  In their memory, the family is asking for donations to Dr. Vandana Shashi’s Genetic Sequencing Research in the Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine since two of their grandchildren have rare unnamed genetic disorders.

“We were cheated,” Shane said in a Facebook post after they died.  “My parents weren’t just a blessing for me, my brother, my sister, our spouses, and our children. They were a blessing to every person that met them… I just wish everyone could see them through my eyes. You would see the two most loving and caring couple, ever. Without them, this world just got a bit more gloomy.” (Source: CNN.COM)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Almost seven in 10 Americans would be interested in receiving a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available, according to a new study. But researchers say there are concerning gaps in interest, particularly among Black Americans, who suffer disproportionately from the virus. 

Researchers from The Ohio State University surveyed more than 2,000 Americans in May, asking them about their willingness to be vaccinated and 11 factors that could influence that decision. They found that 1,374 out of 2006 people in the survey, 69%, said they would “definitely” or “probably” get a vaccine. The survey found that 17% were “not sure” and 14% were “probably or “definitely” not willing. 

The study, one of the first estimates of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in the U.S., appears online in the journal Vaccine. 

Lead researcher Paul Reiter, an associate professor of health behavior and health promotion, said he suspected there would be higher-than-normal interest in this vaccine, considering the nature of the pandemic and the severity of illness many people have experienced. 

“The interest here is higher than what we typically see for flu vaccine and other vaccines where there is a strong public health need for widespread protection,” he said. 

The strongest predictors of whether someone said they’d accept a vaccine were how well the vaccine works and whether their health care provider would recommend it. Individuals’ perceived personal health threat from COVID-19 also played strongly into their willingness to be vaccinated, the researchers found. “That aligns with what we see in public health in a variety of areas — if someone perceives themselves to be at a higher risk of a health issue, that’s going to make them more likely to engage in the health behavior, in this case vaccination,” Reiter said. 

One of the more unexpected findings in this study – and something that isn’t typical of public health research – is the correlation between political affiliation and willingness to adopt a public health intervention, Reiter said. Respondents who identified as liberal or moderate were significantly more likely to accept a vaccine. 

“COVID-19 has turned into a political issue in many cases, and I think that some people just pick their side based on that, without much research,” he said. “We’ve seen that with mask wearing. It’s a promising public health intervention, but it’s turned into a political powder keg.” 

The most worrisome finding was among Black survey respondents, as only 55% said they were willing to get a vaccine.  “Given the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 infection and death among Black Americans, it’s concerning to see that Black survey participants had less interest in a vaccine,” Reiter said. “I think there are likely several factors at play, including access to care and trust in health care and potential socioeconomic barriers.”  Reducing such barriers is important since only 35% of participants in the study would pay $50 or more out-of-pocket for a COVID-19 vaccine, Reiter said. 

As of the first week of September, 10 states had indicated plans to offer free vaccines when they become available, according to KFF (formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation.) Reiter said public health leaders and policymakers can look to this study as they shape efforts to communicate the benefits (and any risks) of a COVID-19 vaccine, once one is approved for general use. 

“You hear a lot of talk of vaccination and the benefits of herd immunity, the idea that when enough people have resistance to a virus it reduces the threat to the entire population. At 70%, we may or may not get there,” Reiter said. 

That makes it especially important to work toward educational efforts, the elimination of obstacles and other strategies to increase the chances of vaccination among those who face increased risks of severe illness or death. If the vaccine against COVID-19 requires more than one dose, it will present even more challenges, he said — a reality that has been made clear in recent years with efforts to fully vaccinate young people against HPV to help prevent cancer. The HPV vaccine requires at least two doses, and three when given later in the teen years. 

Though the survey was conducted four months ago, Reiter said he doesn’t expect much has changed in terms of public perception.  “As we get closer to a vaccine becoming available, factors that could further affect the public’s interest will include cost and the number of doses required,” he said. Other Ohio State researchers who worked on the study are Mira Katz and Michael Pennell. The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences provided funding for the research. 

Using alcohol to cope with distress was associated with increased drinking during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study. Adults experiencing greater depression or lower social connectedness, and those with children under age 18, were among those at risk for drinking to cope. The COVID-19 pandemic brought extensive disruptions to daily life, involving elevated stress among the general public. This increased the likelihood of people using alcohol to cope, a motive linked to solitary drinking, heavier drinking, and alcohol-related problems. At the same time, social distancing and closures meant that access to healthier supports, such as counseling and recreation, was reduced. The study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research explored adult drinkers’ use of alcohol to cope with distress during the early pandemic, with the goal of informing interventions to address long-term alcohol-related harms.

Motivational theories of alcohol use emphasize individuals’ varying reasons for drinking, including internal distress. Researchers applied this lens to data supplied by 320 Canadian adult drinkers recruited online. The participants took surveys assessing their drinking frequency and quantity over a 30-day period beginning soon after public health measures were implemented, and the preceding 30 days. They also reported on demographic factors, and influences known to be associated with drinking as a coping mechanism or considered likely to increase that risk. These including changes in work hours and income, having children at home, anxiety about health, depression, social connectedness, drinking alone, and alcohol-related problems. Researchers used statistical modeling to explore associations between these influences.

Overall, participants’ reported total alcohol consumption was fairly steady compared to the previous month, although some people reported increased drinking while others reported decreased drinking. Using alcohol to cope with distress was associated with increased drinking and greater alcohol problems during the early stage of COVID-19. The risk was most notable among participants with greater depression or lower social connectedness. It also affected those with a child under 18 living at home, in line with previous evidence of parenting stress linked to both drinking to cope and the pandemic. Although people who lost income reported increased alcohol use early in the pandemic, this was not explained by drinking to cope.

Solitary alcohol use, a behavior linked with alcohol problems, also increased (drinking in virtual social contexts was not considered solitary). However, increased solitary drinking was linked to situational factors (such as living alone) rather than drinking to cope. Men and people belonging to racial or ethnic minority groups were also more likely to report increased solitary drinking.

The study highlights the importance of addressing coping-motivated drinking among depressed or socially isolated people and parents of children under age 18. The researchers cautioned that the study findings are not necessarily generalizable and are limited by focusing on one point in time. They recommend further investigation involving larger and more diverse samples, and longitudinal research to clarify cause and effect.

Drinking to cope during COVID-19 pandemic: The role of external and internal factors in coping motive pathways to alcohol use, solitary drinking, and alcohol problems. J. Wardell, T. Kempe, K. Rapinda, A. Single, E. Bilevicius, J. Frohlich, C. Hendershot, M. Keough.

Foreign Secretary Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla on 4 September 2020 delivered a major foreign policy lecture on “The Broad Canvas of Indian Diplomacy during the Pandemic,” during a virtual event organised by Indian Council of World Affairs, one of India’s premier and oldest foreign policy think tanks.

The scale and spread of the event covered the length and breadth of India, with participants from 28 states and 4 union territories. With 2000 registered participants, the lecture was attended by a diverse array of distinguished think-tankers and eminent academics, including deans and vice chancellors of prestigious universities and research centers.