Every year the world celebrates Breastfeeding Week from August 1 to August 7. It is celebrated in an effort to encourage breastfeeding and to deliver health, nutritional, and emotional benefits to both mothers and children. The week commemorates the Innocenti Declaration signed in August 1990 by government policymakers, WHO, UNICEF, and other organisations to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. The theme of World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) 2020 is “Support breastfeeding for a healthier planet”.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks have become a necessity. Masks of different kinds have already made their way onto the faces of millions of people around the globe. A slew of new studies confirm the effectiveness of face coverings against the novel coronavirus, however, there are still many misconceptions and mix-ups over the selection and use of face coverings, even among the medical community! Knowledge about specific characteristics of face masks and respirators is of utmost importance to select the proper type according to the clinical setting. Let’s look into it in detail. Myth-buster Alert!!

Currently, there are 23 coronavirus vaccines in the clinical trials around the world and another 140 in early-stage development, showing that the race to defeat the virus has started to take shape. One vaccine candidate, being developed by clinical research teams at Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group in collaboration with AstraZeneca seems to have taken an early lead in the race towards the discovery of a safe, effective and accessible vaccine against the novel coronavirus. Here’s everything you need to know about the vaccine, known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19.

The long-pending demand for Indian Medical Service (IMS), on the lines of IAS, IPS, and IFS has seen several escalations ever since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. A separate cadre for medical service will place the levers of the healthcare system in the hands of those who have a basic knowledge and understanding of medical science. This, in turn, could create a drastic change in the entire health administration.

The slum which recorded 491 cases in April, and 1216 cases with over 56 deaths in May, has only recorded 274 cases and six deaths by the third week of June, thanks to the mass testing, combined efforts, and ardent strategy of containment. Today, Dharavi has only 86 active cases, as 2057 patients had already been recovered and discharged from COVID-19 facilities. The region has not reported even a single COVID-19 death since the last month. How was the crisis managed so effectively in an area where maintaining physical and social distancing is literally impossible?

Anesthesiologists have been called to the frontlines of this COVID-19 war for a vital and dangerous job. From intubating ventilator tubes into Covid patients to treating the most critical cases admitted to intensive care units (ICUs), these lesser-known doctors have accepted this challenging assignment with a shortage of equipment and at the risk of their own health.

It was recently that the country came up with its first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine candidate, named ‘Covaxin’. The Drug Controller General of India’s approval to conduct human trials of Covaxin — developed jointly by Bharat Biotech, National Institute of Virology and the Indian Council of Medical Research ⁠— has sparked a glimmer of hope but then a circular last week turned that hope into fear of hasty approach.

With the novel coronavirus infection surging and vaccine a no-show, the panic-stricken people from various parts of the country are falling prey to quacks and occult practitioners. Cases of quacks milking the pandemic by peddling fake virus tests, mystery potions, and pills are on an alarming rise in the country. On one hand, we have a committed team of professional doctors and healthcare staff working day and night to ensure the well being of humanity and on the other hand, there are such fraudsters who are gambling with the lives of patients.

Irrespective of boundaries, the entire world is now looking up to the doctors. In the midst of the pandemic, their deeds can change the course of history. The very existence of mankind will be determined by their actions. Maybe one day, COVID-19 will be an afterthought. But long after that, this trauma will define a generation of doctors and healthcare workers.

Either way, when the alarm wakes me up I can feel the torment on my entire body. Irregular sleeping hours and sleep deprivation are now a constant companion. However, I’ll kick start the exhausted body and will be back to work without a second thought. All thanks to my circadian rhythm that has been doing a restless job for the past one month!