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covid19-tech

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#CovidCrisis: How Can You Get A Job Within 6 Months?

#CovidCrisis: How Can You Get A Job Within 6 Months?

If you or someone you know has lost their only earning member in this pandemic then this thread is for you. Read ahead and RT to make it reach someone in need. This is an action plan on how you can get a job within 6 months and what you would need for that 👇 +
1. Calm down. I know it’s easier said then done, I can’t even imagine the pain you’re going through but.. Stop panicking, trust me this is the first step. There are multiple ways to find an income stream but it only works if you are thinking straight. +
2. Take care of your family. Deal with the loss. Yes, I understand that the future looks bleak and we’ll find a way but first deal with the loss. Once you’re done with last rites, spend sometime with your family. Tell them everything is going to be okay. +
3. Savings for 6 months? Now, think clearly. Do you have savings? Life insurance money? Something must be there to help you stay afloat for next 6 months. Or take some loan from a family member, tell them all you need is 6 months. +
5. About college Take leave from college if you can’t do learning and college at the same time. You can finish college later. Sadly degree might not guarantee instant job but skills would. Desperate times call for desperate measures. +

» NextBigWhat’s #Threadmill brings you curated wisdom from Twitter threads on product, life and growth.

Read more posts on Job Skills and Career Development here. For podcasts, click here!

COVID-19 Vaccines That Are Likely To Be Given In India In 2021!

COVID-19 Vaccines That Are Likely To Be Given In India In 2021!

India is currently surviving the second India is currently surviving the second wave of COVID-19 that has put its healthcare system on the verge of being collapsed. People are facing a scarcity of essential medical supplies such as oxygen and many other necessary medicines.

It has led to the shortage of vaccines that has hindered the hope of getting protected from the disease. Looking at the current trends, the government is making all the efforts to turn things around by the end of 2021.

NITI Aayog released a detailed plan about the availability of eight COVID-19 vaccines that will roll out to push the vaccination drive. It can be considered a significant and much-needed push that will help India get vaccinated quickly and proceed further to the step of gaining herd immunity.

Current COVID-19 vaccines that are available in India

There are currently two COVID-19 vaccines in India, Astra-Zeneca Oxford Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, that are being administered at the vaccination drive. Soon Russian vaccine Sputnik-V will be available to speed up the vaccination process.

The centre has announced that between August and December, most of the citizens will get vaccinated.

What are those about eight COVID-19 vaccines that are likely to be available soon?

Covaxin

This vaccine is made in India by the Indian pharmaceutical firm Bharat biotech with the help of the National Institute of Virology and Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR). These vaccines are currently in use at many places in India.

Covaxin is 81% effective against the virus, according to reports, and can neutralize UK, Indian, and Brazilian strains. 

This vaccine has used the sample of deadly coronavirus with the help of the National Institute of Virology to make the anti-covid jab. It will make the human immune system detect the virus and will help in creating antibodies.

The Covaxin is currently being sold to the central government at Rs 150, while the state government is getting it at 400. Rs 1200 is the price set for any private institution. 

Covishield

Covishield is developed by Oxford–AstraZeneca and manufactured in the Serum Institute of India. It is one of the vaccines that is being used widely in India to push the vaccination drive.

Covishield vaccine is made from the weakened version adenovirus (common cold virus in chimpanzees) to develop antibodies in the human immune system against this virus.

Studies have shown Covishield has a 90% efficacy rate against the virus if the second dose of these vaccines is taken after two months from the first dose.

The Serum Institute of India is charging Rs 150 for the centre and Rs 450 for state governments. For private institutions, the price is set at Rs 700.

Sputnik V

The Gamaleya Institute in Moscow developed the Sputnik V vaccine. It employs a harmless cold-type virus as a courier to carry a small portion of the coronavirus to the body. 

Giving the tiny fragment of the virus to the body will help the immune system recognize the threat of this virus and provide time to form antibodies to fight against it without being at risk of falling ill. 

Sputnik V is likely to be available in India by this week.

Bharat Biotech Nasal Vaccine

This vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech is currently in its first phase of trials. Officials from the Ministry of Health said that by December, they expect to have procured ten crore doses of the Nasal Vaccine produced by Bharat Biotech.

This vaccine does not require a needle; hence people will have to go to their nearby healthcare provider to get this vaccine through nasal drops. The institute claims that it will be available for both children and adults.

Novavax

The COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the US pharmaceutical company Novavax, will be produced by the Serum Institute of India and marketed as Covovax.

This vaccine is yet to get approved in the United States, the United Kingdom, and India has shown 96.4 percent effectiveness against moderate to severe effects caused by the initial strain of SARS-CoV-2. It had an effectiveness of about 86.3 percent against mutant virus variants.

The vaccine is currently in its 2nd phase of trials.

Bio E SUBunit Vaccine

This vaccine is developed by the Hyderabad-based firm Biological E, and it’s expected to roll out its vaccine in August after phase 3 results. According to the Ministry Of Health And Family Welfare, Biological E will supply 30 crore doses of its vaccine between August and December.

The company claims to provide the most affordable vaccine in India.

Zydus Cadila DNA vaccine

This vaccine developed by an Ahmedabad-based firm is currently waiting for its 3rd phase results and is likely to start production by the end of May. It is another indigenously prepared vaccine after Covaxin.

The company plans to make one crore doses per month after the third phase results.

Gennova mRNA Vaccine

It is India’s first mRNA vaccine prepared by a Pune-based Pharmaceutical firm Gennova. The company expected to have a phase 1 trial soon to conduct human tests in December by DGCI. The firm is scheduled to get emergency use after the phase 2 results.

It is India’s first indigenously mRNA messenger vaccine after vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna, which are based on the same mRNA pattern.

As the cases are rising in India daily, it becomes crucial for people to get vaccinated as soon as possible. It is the only way to curb the spread of the virus and to attain immunity against it. If all approved, these eight COVID-19 vaccines will serve to develop antibodies against the virus and help speed up the vaccination drive.

Read inspiring and happy stories about COVID-19 warriors to brighten up your mood!

Autos Into Ambulances man riding auto rickshaw travelling on road

Chennai Welfare Group Converts Autos Into Ambulances, Saves 160+ Lives!

Crisis teaches you a lot, they say!

With the number of COVID-19 cases increasing every day, a social welfare group in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, came up with a very interesting and innovative plan to fight the pandemic.

The community-based organization of North Chennai converted several autos into ambulances with oxygen cylinders installed in it. The idea was to help the COVID-19 patients who are critical and in dire need of oxygen and hospital beds.

As of this writing, the NGO, Chennai Welfare Group, managed to save 160+ patients’ lives with this initiative.

The group involves some engineering graduates and local residents who decided to work together to fight the surge in COVID-19 cases. 

[WATCH: COVID-19 Vaccinations for 18+: All you need to know!]

To ensure that no lives are lost or no patient struggle much, the volunteers also trained themselves in basic first aid to assist others. Critical patients are taken to the nearest COVID-19 care centre in the autos and are provided oxygen in the way.

In the wake of the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases, several auto drivers from different parts of the country have converted their autos into ambulances. Besides, many private car owners decided to utilize their vehicles to help COVID-19 patients for free.

In a country where the most basic medicine is even black marketed today, some people bring a ray of hope and make us believe that this too shall pass!

Amid the pandemic, NextBigWhat is featuring and honouring every single effort made by individuals, groups and organizations to acknowledge their fight against COVID-19.

If you know someone who’s bringing a change in people’s lives, share their story with us. Let the world know them! #CovidWarriors

This Mumbai Based Company Launched A Personalized WhatsApp Chatbot To Fight COVID-19!

This Mumbai Based Company Launched A Personalized WhatsApp Chatbot To Fight COVID-19!

India witnessed four lakh COVID-19 cases for consecutive four days. While a lot of private and community-based organizations and volunteers are trying to help people in finding oxygen cylinders, plasma, hospital beds and ventilators, there are still a lot of queries and requirements floating every day on Twitter.

To help people with their queries and fight COVID-19 in their own way, a Mumbai based company came up with their own personalized WhatsApp chatbot that helps people in finding real-time data and information.

Machadalo is a brand owned by Vijaikirti Technologies Pvt Ltd. It’s an IT company HQ in Mumbai specializing in building products and solutions for hyperlocal communities. They have built a campaign management platform that caters to advertising and lead generation in micro-communities. They are also into indirect supply chain management solutions for residential societies and corporates.

Recently, they have built a WhatsApp-based chatbot, Machadalo Education Assistant (MEA), to map the interests of students and then provide them with curated online content.

“As we were experimenting with technology to strengthen the capabilities of our WhatsApp chatbot, we realized that out there is a pandemic which is growing at an alarming rate. Around 24th April 2021, we had an internal team meeting, and we decided that we all have to do something for the people suffering because of COVID-19. Based on our Pan India network with residential societies and our chatbot capabilities, we decided to build a COVID-19 helpdesk cum a WhatsApp based virtual chatbot,” says Anupam Sorabh, the founder.

The motive was purely to provide solutions and not just information to affected people under 30 minutes.

How does it work?

The COVID-19 helpdesk is very simple to use. One can just save the number +91 72088 80208 on WhatsApp and send ‘Hi’ to start the chat session. The bot provides the user with a menu from which a particular category could be chosen. One can select the city to find the latest updated information for a particular query.

For example: If a user wants to know about the latest availability of beds, s/he can type ‘B’, select the state, say Madhya Pradesh, by typing ‘D’ and can get the web URL, which will show the latest availability of hospital beds.

If a user finds it difficult to use, s/he can connect with a volunteer by typing ‘V’ and then by selecting the state and the city he wants to know the information about. There is a special feature that works for all Indian cities, i.e., by typing ‘T’, one can get all the relevant Twitter feeds in real-time for the latest available stock. 

“We want to help affected people with solutions which might save lives and reduce the mental trauma of the near and dear ones,” Anupam continues. “We are getting so much positive feedback every day from both directly affected people and those who want to keep verified information at hand. People are also approaching us to work as a volunteer.”

The COVID-19 helpdesk is developed by an alumnus of NITIE/ NITs and backend technology of Machadalo Platform. With more than 100 active volunteers across India, the team has information of 13500+ verified suppliers.

On asking about the further plans, Anupam says, “we want to tackle the problem of optimizing the entire supply chain, i.e., to provide real-time solutions as and when the real need arises. Currently, what we have achieved is very little, and COVID-19 has already started affecting villages and semi-urban areas drastically. We are now adding more volunteers to our team to make the work smooth. We are also starting to book residential societies for vaccination drives.”

It will take a lot of time and effort for the Machadalo team to reach every village, but they believe this is the least what they can do.

Who thought a small team meeting would turn into a big initiative and will start impacting so many people.

“Save this number, share save lives: +91 72088 80208. Follow the COVID-19 protocol strictly and help in whatever way you can,” Anupam ends with a small but important message.

Amid the pandemic, NextBigWhat is featuring and honouring every single effort made by individuals, groups and organizations to acknowledge their fight against COVID-19.

If you know someone who’s bringing a change in people’s lives, share their story with us. Let the world know them! #CovidWarriors

#COVID19: Why The Primary Outcome Of The Trial Should Be Reported Before Commencing The Trial?

#COVID19: Why The Primary Outcome Of Any Trial Should Be Reported Before The Commencement?

Similarly, in clinical trials one starts with a target – aka primary endpoint. Generally this is the outcome of the trial you want to measure. These outcomes differ based on the kind of trial being planned. E.g. if we were planning a heart failure trial, some outcomes we might..
measure would be : improvement in LV function, improvement in symptom status, hospitalization, to just name a few. In Covid trials, these end points are determined based on the population we are studying, so for mild cases it might be time to recovery, or progression of disease.
For moderate to severe cases on the other hand, we tend to look at more serious endpoints like need for oxygen or mechanical ventilation or death. The outcome has to be relevant to the patient and it should easily measurable with limited scope for manipulation or bias.
“Composite end point of symptom relief AND free from oxygen on Day 3” might just be the only significant thing they could find when they analysed their 100 measurements, and given this language it sure sounds like it. We won’t know anyhow until they give us a preprint or publish.
Until then, take this press release with a HUGE truckload of salt. End of tweetorial
@drabbyphilips @PriyankaPulla @d_s_thakur @netshrink @swapneilparikh @Charakan @just1doctorwala @pash22 @Neurophysik @Sulci_Gyri @omlakhani

» NextBigWhat’s #Threadmill brings you curated wisdom from Twitter threads on product, life and growth.

Read more posts on #CovidWarriors and Social Enterprise here!

Indian startup’s smart stethoscope could prove effective for doctors battling Covid-19 pandemic

Indian startup AyuSynk’s smart stethoscope could prove useful during the Covid-19 pandemic as standard ones could place the doctor in danger of infection along with providing impaired information on heart and lung conditions.

The device can be attached to a conventional stethoscope and provides amplified sounds of heart and lungs which can even be recorded, shared and analyzed. As the data is being sent wirelessly from the patient to the doctor, the physical distance can also be increased. The signal can even be converted into a phonocardiogram and displayed on a smart phone or laptop.

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Google has banned employees from using Zoom due to security concerns: Report

The coronavirus pandemic has given a major boost to video conferencing platform Zoom, however recent concerns over its security and privacy flaws has given it some bad press. Now, according to a report by Buzzfeed News, Google has sent out an email to employees informing employees about security vulnerabilities in the app and said that the app would stop working on employee laptops in the coming week.

A Google spokesman said that the app “does not meet our security standards for apps used by employees”. Incidentally, SpaceX has also banned its employees from using the video conferencing application due to “significant privacy and security concerns”.

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Google Maps will show locations of COVID-19 food and night shelters in India

Google Maps will now show the locations of food shelters and night shelters in 30 cities across India to help people find and access these essential services during the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Users can search for ‘Food shelters in ‘ or ‘Night shelters in ‘ in Maps, Search or Assistant for results. Google has been working with central and state authorities to list this information. Google says that more cities will be added soon and that the service will be made available in Hindi and other Indian languages in the coming days.

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COVID-19 detection via the sound of a cough? Leading universities attempt the challenge

Cambridge University and Carnegie Mellon are running independent initiatives to develop apps that can listen to users’ coughs and voice to predict whether they are infected with the coronavirus. Both the Cambridge University’s COVID-19 Sounds Project and Carnegie Mellon’s Covid Voice Detector are being built on machine learning and are crowdsourcing the sounds of coughs from the public – both of people who are infected and those who’re not.

The technology is not intended to replace other more thorough medical tests, but as a tool to help differentiate COVID-19 coughs from other illnesses. Many challenges still remain, including collecting diverse and large amounts of data as well as the quality of recordings from people.

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Robots replace students as they graduate via video at Japanese university due to COVID-19

Many universities around the world have canceled their graduation ceremonies due to the coronavirus pandemic, however the Business Breakthrough University in Tokyo managed to go ahead with it in a unique manner – with the help of robots and students connecting via video.

The robots were dressed in graduation caps and gowns and had tablets that displayed the faces of the students connecting from home on video calls. The University President Kenichi Ohmae placed the diplomas on a rack mounted on the robot’s midsection as the school staff clapped and congratulated the students.

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Creators of RSA launch new technology to track COVID-19 patients without sacrificing privacy

To tackle the privacy concerns around apps designed to trace and track COVID-19 patients and contacts, the creators of RSA encryption – Ron Rivest and Adi Shamir – and others have launched a new system that would help alert people if they’ve been around infected patients without sharing your identity or phone number with anyone, including the government.

Private Automated Contact Tracing, or PACT, works via broadcasting a random and frequently changing ID number by Bluetooth while listening to others’ IDs. In case you test positive, you can upload your record of ID numbers to a server and alert everyone in the list. Alternatively, you can check if your history includes contact with infected IDs.

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Central Government Says Bengaluru Startup Bione’s Rapid Testing Kit For COVID-19 Not Approved

The Central government has put out a notice that the Bengaluru based startup Bione’s self-test kit for coronavirus has not been approved. Previously, a number of media outlets had reported about the kit and said that it would revolutionize the testing process.

The Drugs Comptroller of India, Dr VG Somani has stated that “CDSCO, the competent authority for coronavirus diagnostic kits, has not licensed the diagnostic kit by Bione”. Additionally, the All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN) in a letter to the Drugs Comptroller of India has called Bione’s activities a ‘mockery of the government policy’.

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IIT Roorkee Develops Innovative Mobile App To Locate Coronavirus Suspects

IIT Roorkee has developed a mobile tracking application that can track COVID-19 suspects who have been quarantined through geofencing technology. In case GPS data is not received, the location will be determined based on triangulation of mobile towers.

If the Internet is not available, the location will be received through SMS and it also allows the quarantined persons to upload geotagged images. Additionally, an alert is set off if the application is shut down. Prof. Kamal Jain says that this app will allow for ‘state of the art’ surveillance of COVID-19 suspects.

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Drones Being Used By Police In Telangana & Gujarat To Enforce Lockdown And Track Violators

Drones are now being used by the Hyderabad Police & Ahmedabad Police to assist in the implementation of the Coronavirus lockdown and to track violators. The technology is also enabling police to make lockdown-related announcements and direct ground forces in congested areas as well.

The drones being employed by the Hyderabad Police have a powerful 4k zoom camera with 30x optical and 6x digital zoom with 180x magnification. They also have a thermal imaging sensor and a speaker megaphone for announcements.

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Indian Railways Develops Low-Cost Ventilator Prototype in a Week

Indian Railways’ Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala has developed a prototype of a ventilator named ‘Jeevan’ to be used in isolation wards or quarantine facilities on train coaches across India.

This holds particular significance as it is the first such development to come from a manufacturing unit directly and was developed in a week’s time.

The ICMR is to begin testing the device soon. Ravinder Gupta, General Manager of RCF says that the cost without the compressor should be under 10,000 Rupees, a fraction of the price of a standard ventilator.

[Via]