COVID: Why is India′s largest vaccine maker cutting production? | Asia | An in-depth look at news from across the continent | DW | 13.12.2021

India’s largest vaccine maker is reducing its production of the COVID-19 vaccine as the country now has more doses than it needs to fully vaccinate its population.

As of Monday, nearly 816 million of the country’s eligible adult population had received at least one dose of a vaccine, while 512 million were fully vaccinated, according to health ministry figures.

“We have more than the 1.8 billion vaccine doses required to fully vaccinate the 950 million eligible adults,” Dr. N K Arora, chief of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), told DW.

The NTAGI provides the government with guidance on vaccinations, following scientific reviews of the effects of immunization policy and programs.

SII halves production

The country’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India (SII), announced that it would reduce the production of Covishield, the primary vaccine in India, by at least 50% starting from this week, citing a lack of orders from the Indian government.

The Covishield vaccine accounts for nearly 90% of the 1.33 billion doses administered in India so far. India’s other major vaccines include the the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, and Russia’s Sputnik-V.

Source: COVID: Why is India′s largest vaccine maker cutting production? | Asia | An in-depth look at news from across the continent | DW | 13.12.2021

The need to improve autism services in lower-resource settings – The Lancet

Parent-delivered intervention is one area of focus for the future of care in autism in lower-resource settings. Research on a caregiver-administered intervention programme for young children with autism in India and a parent-delivered behavioural intervention for autistic children in Nigeria highlights the potential of such approaches.

The parent-mediated intervention for autism in south Asia adopted the process of task-shifting to non-specialist health workers with encouraging results.

To address the limited access to autism services in lower-resource settings, the involvement of parents as facilitators who are culturally competent to provide collaborative and supportive instruction between caregivers and other therapists and educators might serve as a way of providing a variety of culturally sensitive resources to economically diverse families.

In lower-resource settings, the expansion of integrated care services across the lifespan is needed and the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram initiative in India points to one approach with potential for monitoring neurodevelopmental disabilities and other health conditions throughout childhood and adolescence.

Source: The need to improve autism services in lower-resource settings – The Lancet

The Lancet Commission on the future of care and clinical research in autism – The Lancet

Individuals with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders are a valued part of society and represent a prototype of neurodiversity. At the same time, many individuals with autism have profound needs and are vulnerable to harm, marginalisation, and exclusion, and societal attitudes to difference, inclusion, and equity will affect their life experiences and outcomes. Autistic individuals and their families can show extraordinary strengths and persistence, patience, and perception that can change their development as well. Respect for this diversity and heterogeneity, as well as for the power of development and the possibility of change, is vital. Now is the time for optimism, with a focus on ways to make changes happen. It is a time for realism and for recognising the varied needs of autistic people, including those with severe intellectual disabilities and language impairments, and those with significant strengths in the same or other areas. It is also a time to acknowledge the scarcity of resources in low-income and middle-income countries and in some high-income countries, and to ensure that different underserved groups, such as those who are minimally verbal, women, minority ethnic individuals, and those with severe co-occurring conditions, are included. Societies in every part of the world have a duty of care to all people with autism and those who care for them, and investment in research and services needs to be targeted wisely to help them to reach better life outcomes and propel the change that makes this possible. Source: The Lancet Commission on the future of care and clinical research in autism – The Lancet

Greta Thunberg connects pandemic, food, climate — Darcy Hitchcock

Greta Thunberg shares startling statistics in this powerful 5-minute film, connecting the pandemic to our diet and its impact on land use and climate change. Those of us with the most have the greatest responsibility. Please watch this and then take meaningful action. We are all part of the problem so we can all be […]

Greta Thunberg connects pandemic, food, climate — Darcy Hitchcock

Crucial Antarctic ice shelf, Thwaites Glacier, could fail within five years, scientists say – The Washington Post

Until recently, the ice shelf was seen as the most stable part of Thwaites Glacier, a Florida-sized frozen expanse that already contributes about 4 percent of annual global sea level rise. Because of this brace, the eastern portion of Thwaites flowed more slowly than the rest of the notorious “doomsday glacier.”

But new data show that the warming ocean is eroding the eastern ice shelf from below. Satellite images taken as recently as last month and presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union show several large, diagonal cracks extending across the floating ice wedge.

Source: Crucial Antarctic ice shelf, Thwaites Glacier, could fail within five years, scientists say – The Washington Post