Indo-American News August 27 2021

Friday, August 27, 2021 | Vol. 40, No. 35

Indo American News

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August 27, 2021

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Bellbottom : Racy

Nikhil Jain : HGH Award Winner for Selfless Service

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Nikhil Jain building a greenhouse in Rosharon.

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August 27, 2021

COMMUNITY

Nikhil Jain to Receive Hindus of Greater Houston’s Akhil Chopra Memorial Award

By Manu Shah Houston: Sewa International’s Houston Chapter hit the ground running when Hurricane Harvey battered the city and the pandemic upended life. Sewa volunteer Nikhil Jain broke new ground in their relief efforts this year by launching mega food drives based on a self-scripted model. This Janmasthami, Nikhil is being honored with the prestigious Hindus of Greater Houston Akhil Chopra Memorial Award for his selfless service at the frontlines. He agreed to accept the award but on the condition that it would be on behalf of Sewa International’s Houston Chapter.

By mid-April 2020, the ripple effects of the pandemic had started taking its toll on large swathes of underserved communities. PPEs were in short supply and widespread layoffs had caused acute food shortages. On 9h May 2020, Nikhil led the first food drive at Sewa’s Houston office’s parking lot. Working off a different model than food banks, volunteers fanned out to different apartment complexes that had been hit the hardest and either delivered it directly to their doorstep or set up a food center in the leasing office. Images of distress and helplessness intrude

of service by observing his parents who were actively engaged in the Jain community in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh where he was born and raised. He completed his engineering degree from the Visvesvaraya Regional Engineering College, Nagpur and worked in India for a few years.

He moved to Houston in 2001 with his wife Ritu and two daughers Rashu and Suvi to join a Tech business (Applicantz) and serves as Director of Nilkhil Jain with his wife Ritu and daughters Suvi (left) and Rashu.

Solutions Delivery. on his thoughts even today – an The Sewa team would go on to Realizing the imporelderly couple who were too weak have 38 food drives and delivered tance of staying connected to his to lift the gallon of milk or the six a staggering total of one million roots, Nikhil and his friend started year old who came to collect the pounds of food. Nikhil took to the Madhya Pradesh Mitra Manfood by herself as her mother was Facebook to garner more support dal in 2001, which is a thriving at work. Nikhil helped carry the and the response, he says, was organization even today. Since food to her apartment and put the phenomenal.

2006, he is associated with JVB milk in the refrigerator for an elIn April 2021, Nikhil joined Preksha Meditation Center, and derly couple.

Sewa’s team in answering des- has served in various capacities The logistics of organizing food perate pleas for concentrators and including as president. from vendors across the country, other aid from India which was In 2016 Nikhil formally joined coordinating with organizations, reeling from a devastating second Sewa International’s team of volearmarking the communities that wave. Since June, Nikhil & the unteers. The notion of selfless needed food and more importantly Sewa team have channeled their service for all without boundarensuring that all volunteers ad- energies into assisting FEMA and ies of religion, working for the hered to safety precautions were organizing vaccination drives in community where one lived and challenges that kept him working underserved communities.

Sewa’s wider platform appealed. long hours for months at a stretch.

Nikhil, 50, cultivated this spirit Within a year, Nikhil’s organiza-

Indo-American News • Friday, AUGUST 27, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

tion and leadership skills would be sorely tested with Hurricane Harvey where Sewa helped organize grassroot support and help.

Nikhil’s wife and two daughters have been on countless food drives with him. His voice has a hint of parental pride when he shares how his younger daughter organized the distribution of 800 hot meals to the students of UT Austin three days after Uri hit. He is gratified at the way the entire Indian community and different organizations came together on one platform to serve. If the intent is good, he muses philosophically, things fall into place effortlessly and doors open magically - a fact he experienced time and again in his service to the community.

Nikhil turns to exercise and yoga to help him juggle work, service, and family life. The regular practice which he “will never compromise on” helps keep his diabetes under control. This has not only made him champion the cause of being physically fit but also take the lead in organizing the 10-day Sewa SDM yoga camp every year.

The virus put the brakes on his love for sightseeing and travel, but Nikhil is looking forward to the day he can plan his next vacation.

He’s clearly earned it.

August 27, 2021

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INDIA

August 27, 2021

Afghani Sikhs Evacuate 3 of 6 Swaroops to India

Kabul: With the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the history of the minuscule but important Sikh community in the country could be on the verge of its end. The World Punjabi Organisation along with the Delhi Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) have been coordinating with the government of India for the evacuation of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs.

On Monday, the 46 evacuated Afghan Sikhs carried with them three of the six remaining swaroops of the Guru Granth Sahib to India. Paramjeet Singh Sarna, president of the SAD (Delhi), tweeted saying, “end of an era of Sikhi in Afghanistan”.

Between mid 18th to the mid 19th century is an important one in the history of Afghan Sikh relations.

For about 101 years the Afghans and Sikh empire were neighbours and mostly antagonists. By the early decades of the 19th century, the Sikh empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh had annexed large parts of the Durrani empire under the Afghans. During the Second Anglo-Sikh war of 1848-49, however, the Sikhs were supported by the Afghans, even though they lost out to the British.

The first major exodus of the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus happened during the reign of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan in the late 19th century. Khan’s rule in Afghanistan was termed by the British as the ‘reign of terror’. He is known to have judicially executed close to 100,000 people. Several Hindus and Sikhs had emigrated during this period and the Afghan Sikh community of Patiala in Punjab is known to have been established then.

Three members of the Afghan Sikh community holding the holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji (holy book of Sikh community) from different Gurudwaras in Afghanistan at the Kabul airport for their departure to India. (PTI Photo)

But it was in 1992 when the Mujahideen took over Afghanistan that the most extensive exodus of the Sikhs and Hindus started.

Before the Mujahideen took over, the Sikhs were affected by two instances of terrorist activities. In 1988, on the first day of Baisakhi, a man with an AK-47 stormed into a gurdwara and gunned down 13 Sikhs. The following year, Gurdwara Guru Teg Bahadur Singh in Jalalabad was attacked by rockets fired by the Mujahideen, leading to the death of 17 Sikhs. Singh in his work wrote that between March to October 1989 the Mujahideen attacked Jalalabad with the intention to capture the city. More than a hundred Afghan Sikhs died during the six month period when the Mujahideen targeted mainly the Sikh residential area of the city.

After the Mujahideen took over Kabul in 1992, a large number of Sikhs started leaving the country as they were subjected to several instances of kidnapping, extortion, and persecution. The troubles multiplied further when the Taliban swept to power in 1994. Singh wrote that while in the early 1990s over 60,000 Sikhs and Hindus lived

in Afghanistan, by 2019 it had reduced to about a thousand, mainly restricted to Kabul, Jalalabad and Ghazni. “Outside these cities, their gurudwaras and mandirs are now illegally occupied by locals of the majority community. Even within these cities, their houses were forcefully occupied during the turmoil of the civil war and most of them live in gurudwaras and mandirs,” he wrote.

“The tolerance of diversity which had hitherto been such a characteristic of Afghan Islam rapidly began to evaporate in the face of the hard-line jihadi and fundamentalist attitudes promoted by the Taliban,” wrote Ballard.

More recently, in 2018, a suicide bomb attack in Jalalabad killed at least 19 Sikhs and in March 2020 an attack on Gurdwara Guru Har Rai Sahib resulted in the death of 25 persons. Ever since, there has been a massive increase in the emigration of the Afghan Sikhs.

They are also hopeful that with the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act by the Indian government, it would be easier for them to get entry and citizenship in India. -- Indian Express

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August 27, 2021

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COMMUNITY

August 27, 2021

‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ Conference More about Dismantling Hinduism?

By Deepali Kulkarni

Houston: On September 10–12, a few dozen universities, mostly based in the United States, are supporting a conference titled “Dismantling Global Hindutva”.

In the words of the organizers this conference will “examine the historical development of Hindutva, the fascist dimensions of the ideology, and its perpetuation of violence against religious minorities and other marginalized communities.”

Based on their website, promotional materials, and their listed speakers’ past statements, this conference seems to be a calculated attempt to spread fear-mongering about Hinduism more than anything else.

As Hindu on Campus, a grassroots student movement, points out, conference speaker and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) member Kavita Krishnan attempted to link the killing of a Muslim woman by her brothers to the Hindu holiday of Raksha Bandhan, saying that the killing was in the spirit of the festival.

Also scheduled to speak is Neha Dixit, who tried to blame dead bodies floating in Indian rivers during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic to the prices Hindu priests charge for cremation rituals. Other panelists have said derogatory, hypersexualized things about Lord Rama and concocted baseless

theories that Lord Hanuman’s army in the Ramayana most truly represents the Dalit community being dehumanized and portrayed as monkeys.

Sadly, the conference organizers don’t even believe that Hinduphobia is a thing.

The conference website links to the South Asia Scholar Collective’s Hindutva Harassment Field Manual, which states that Hinduphobia is a “recently coined term popularized by the Hindu right.” (As a point of fact, the term itself has been used for more than 100 years, even if it has increased in use in the past two decades.)

The organizers go on to say that Hinduphobia “rests on the false notion that Hindus have faced systematic oppression throughout history and in present times […] anti-Hindu bias […] cannot be easily linked to casualties on such horrific scales.”

Tell that to the 10 million people displaced and the 3 million killed in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, most of whom were Hindu, targeted for their supposed communal identity. Tell that to the last

remaining 400 or so Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan attempting to flee religious persecution under resurging Taliban rule.

These are just contemporary examples of the violence that Hindus have faced because of their religious identity that run directly counter to the Marxist calculations of academic, journalistic, and activists that Hindus are always the perpetrators of violence in South Asia and never the victms.

Why are Hindus told they are “muscular” or fascist for standing up for accurate portrayal of their religious beliefs? Why are Hindus around the world too often

expected to answer for politics in India even if they don’t live there or don’t pay attention to foreign politics at all?

Imagine if a conference was held during which Christians from all over the world were essentially accused of believing that the United States should be a Christian nationstate where other faiths are properly suppressed and non-American.

Although some Christians in the US do believe (wrongly) that the country was founded as a Christian nation or ought to be officially made one, all Christians in the US nor those all over the world are not held accountable for it. They

are not generally criticized for their practice of Christianity, nor if they point out when Christian beliefs are mischaracterized.

Such accusations leveled at Hindus are clearly rooted in some form of Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu implicit bias.

To the event organizers and attendees I say this: Please see Hindus as people. In attempting to silence your Hindu critics and lessen the humanity of others, you lessen your own humanity as well.

There is no reason to fear or hate Hindus, especially those of us who stand up for the human rights of Hindus when we face attacks and those of us who speak out when our beliefs are misrepresented or denigrated.

We come from a variety of backgrounds and political affiliations.

Just like all other religious groups, we are complex and diverse.

We are friends and neighbors and not the monolithic threat you portray us as.

Although if stereotypes are necessary, consider us the friend or neighbor that can make a particularly good cup of chai. -- Hindu American Foundation

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August 27, 2021

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ENTERTAINMENT

August 27, 2021

BellBottom: Akshay’s Racy, Pacy Entertainer Catch IAN Radio on FM98.7

By Shubhra Gupta

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Adil Hussain, Zain Khan Durrani, Vaani Kapoor, Huma Qureshi, Lara Dutta, Denzil Smith, Dolly Ahluwalia, Sunit Tandon Director: Ranjit M Tewari Rating: 3 stars Remember the faintly ridiculous bell bottoms, those massively flared trousers sported by fashionistas and plebs alike in the 70s and 80s? Akshay Kumar’s RAW agent, Code Name Bell Bottom, carries them off with cheerful comic book flair. That’s exactly the tone of the film, which doesn’t make the mistake of taking itself too seriously, despite the seriousness of its subject. It is fashioned as a racy, pacy entertainer from start to finish, and never loses sight of its objective, exaggerated situations and characters happily to the fore.

This loosely fictionalised actioner, based on a clutch of reallife hijackings of Indian Airlines planes in the 80s, has Akshay Kumar fronting it, with a bunch of supporting acts — Adil Hussain is tops — managing to grab their bit of the limelight. It is a let-our-hairdown-caper which embraces its upbeat, silly spirit, and turns into a worthy outing for the big screen in these Covid times.

A good patriotic Indian hero’s

love for his motherland knows no bounds. It is only the love for his ‘bebe’ (Dolly Ahluwalia) that can give it competition. Our BellBottom is given a loving mother, who meets a sorry fate in one hijack: it is in another that our hero gets a chance to avenge both. Two for the price of one Pakistani hijacker: what can be better? A ramshackle plot that headlines our hero’s exploits, with the actual hijack scrunched into a small but energetic section, that’s what.

The action moves between Delhi, London, Lahore, Islamabad, and Dubai, as RAW chief (Adil Hussain, stealing every scene) tells an emergency cabinet meeting headed by the PM Indira Gandhi (Lara Dutta in a jaw-dropping

doppelganger avatar. The artists responsible for this makeover must be lauded), that the only guy who can save the Indian hostages is their ‘star analyst’ BellBottom.

Cue Akshay, file under arm, camera trained on his billowing trouser bottoms, striding into the PM’s office, and taking it from there. Dutta not only looks but sounds a bit like Mrs G, all thunderous control.

The film reserves a tiny sting in its tail for its leading lady, rescuing her at the very last minute from being consigned to a decorative prop. Saving grace, but ohso-slight. You wish that there was more to that strand. Huma Qureshi also gets a bit part, where ‘bit’ is the operative word: how do you insert interesting women into an all-boys club?

‘BellBottom’ works on its stated metrics of see, no complexities, everything easy. Fun and games and rata-tat action, and no hostages lost, just as they didn’t in real life after the rescue operation was pulled off successfully. We get the flag, but no strident flag waving.

We get Bad Pakistani Terrorists who brainwash Hapless Indians, but no loud jingoism. Bad guys lose. Good guys win. Jai Hind. -- Indian Express

Here was the guest line-up for Sat, Aug 21, 2021 from 4 to 6pm CST on Indo American News Radio (www.

IndoAmericannews.com) on 98.7 FM and available also on the masalaradio app (www.masalaradio.com) You can also hear the Podcast of the recorded show uploaded by Monday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Radio Public and Breaker.

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4:20 pm With the Medicare Open Enrollment period just around the corner in October, it’s important to know what to look forward to when signing up. Kaushi Shah has spent many years handling Medicare policies with Clutch City Insurance and she joins us today to explain the different choices available.

4:40 pm Ft Bend County Judge KP George has been a vocal critic of state policies that restrict mask usage in fighting COVID, especially now with the delta variant running rampant. After Gov Abbot turned up positive with the virus, we got George’s reaction to what

more to expect.

5:00 pm Krisha Rath is a 14 yearold prodigy both in vocal musical talent as well as academics. She has been taught by Vinita Arora of Alankar Music Academy and gave an amazing performance at the Asia Society last Saturday. And she will join the University of Houston this Fall.

She joined us to share how she balances her two passions.

5:20 pm Rotary International is over 116 years old and has 1.2 million members in over 206 countries. nest year, Rotary will hold its worldwide convention in Houston at the George Brown Convention Center. Its current President is Shekhar Mehta, who is visiting Houston this weekend to help organize the event. He joined us by phone along with District Governor Sunil Sharma to explain what will happen at the convention.

Also stay tuned in for news roundup, views, sports and movie reviews.

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LETTERS

August 27, 2021

Mental Health of Teens during Pandemic Dear Editor: Through the columns of your esteemed daily, I would like to spread awareness about the mental health of teenagers, specifically during the pandemic. I would request you to publish my article to help spread awareness and to let people know that they are not alone.

The pandemic that began in the early months of 2020 has resulted in people of all age groups feeling isolated, and left many struggling to cope with daily routines and finding some sense of normalcy in their lives. Teenagers, who are in the stage of transition into adulthood are more prone to mental, emotional, hormonal and physical changes. Brittany LeMonda, PhD, senior neurologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York has observed that teenagers are more susceptible to decline in psychological health over the past year and a half. American Academy of Paediatrics has reported that loss of parents due to COVID19, financial instability, lack of social support from peers or family and disrupted medical services has impacted mental health among other factors. The fear of missing out and decreased physical meetings has led to teenagers spending more time on social media which in turn has led to an increase in their stress levels. Although many have participated in surveys related to mental health and vocalised their experiences, some are still scared to come forward.

A survey taken by the parents of teenagers yielded the following results- out of the 997 teenagers between the ages of 13 to 18, it was noted that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys were experiencing anxiety. Accord-

ing to a UNICEF report by over 8440 participants, 27% reported anxiety and 15% reported to experiencing depression in a week. 1 out of 2 teenagers were feeling less motivated to perform tasks and only 1 out of 3 were able to ask for help when needed.

Despite community support groups, media pages, blogs, advocacy groups and numerous posts on mental health, it has been commonly perceived that teenagers tend to deny or repress their feelings.

It is essential to identify the symptoms at an early stage, provide intervention in terms of counselling, therapy or medication. All those confronting negative repetitive thoughts must hesitate to reach out to hotlines, peers, trusted adults. Pursuing a hobby or a new sport, engaging in physical activity and tracking your feelings in a journal could be helpful. Eating nutritious meals, and maintaining a consistent sleep pattern will keep the mind and body healthy and also help one perform better. Introspection from time to time will help you get back on the right track and will ensure that you work towards your goals.

Mental health is as essential as physical health. Demi Lovato said, “You don’t have to struggle in silence.” One person speaking up can give someone else the courage to do the same. And always remember, you are not alone. Let’s together eliminate this stigma around mental health and accept ourselves the way we are.

Nitya Ravikant is a first-year student at Christ University, Central Campus, Bangalore.

Indo-American News • Friday, AUGUST 27, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

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CRICKET

August 27, 2021

Test 3, Day 1: England’s Dominance is Disastrous for India at Headingley

By Andrew Fidel Fernando Leeds: (ESPN Cricinfo): England 120 for 0 (Hameed 60*, Burns 52*) lead India 78 (Rohit 19, Anderson 3-6, Overton 3-14) by 42 runs Almost as if to make up for their horror final day at Lord’s, England had the first day of their fantasies at Headingley. James Anderson cast a swing-bowling spell over the top order, reducing India to 21 for 3 in the 11th over, to immediately send the opposition into defence mode. Although Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane threatened, briefly, to rebuild, the supporting England seamers then came in and wiped out the last seven India wickets for 22 runs, to have them 78 all out - the third-lowest total India have ever made after choosing to bat first.

When England bowled, conditions seemed exceedingly seamerfriendly, the pitch and the atmosphere allowing the ball to move just enough and late enough to get new batters nicking, rather than missing. But then when India’s quicks had the ball, the surface appeared half-decent - even good - to bat on. Rohit - India’s top-scorer - batted out 105 balls for his 19; Haseeb Hameed needed only 43 deliveries to get to the same score.

Hameed later progressed to a halfcentury off his 110th delivery, before finishing on 60 not out. Rory

After lunch, Burns made an India careened unbeaten 52. into a chasm.

England finished Pant was out the day with the to Robinson match firmly in again nicking their grip. They behind (this was had ten firstJos Buttler’s innings wickets fifth catch out still in hand, and of five). A few were 42 runs overs later, Roahead. hit’s patience Although ran out and he Craig Overton, tried to pull a Ollie Robinson, short ball from Sam Curran, and Overton over the two England the leg side, but openers, imposed managed only themselves at various points in James Anderson is pumped up after dismissing Virat Kohli Getty to bunt it to a catching midthe day, it was Images on. Next ball, the maestro, AnFor Kohli, Anderson plugged Mohammed Shami was squared derson, who set the tone. A dusting of grey hairs at his temple, and away in the channel, and then de- up, and he sent a catch to third yet evermore skilful, he laid traps livered a wobble-seam ball that slip.

The following over, bowled by for KL Rahul and Cheteshwar pitched just outside off and moved Pujara, which both batters could away - Kohli venturing a big drive Curran, brought another double not resist. He bowled a string of only to also be caught by Jos But- strike - Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit inswingers at Rahul, all slightly tler. He was out for 7 off 17, leav- Bumrah both out lbw, both pretty short of a length, to get the batter ing India reeling while Rohit was plumb. India lost four wickets playing back slightly, defending attempting his best cave hermit while the score was 67, and were balls in front of his stumps. Then impression - leaving, blocking, all out soon after, having slipped from 56 for 3. he snuck in a full delivery outside and dead-batting.

Perhaps India felt their bowlers Rohit and Rahane then threatoff, which seamed slightly away off the seam, to take Rahul’s edge ened to right India’s innings, bat- would be able to replicate Engas he reached for it. A similar ploy ting out 15 overs together and land’s success in such conditions, worked for Pujara too. Although putting on 35, but Rahane edging particularly after their heroics on Pujara’s was a poke rather than a Robinson behind on the penulti- the final day at Lord’s, but they big drive, the dismissal - edging an mate ball before lunch ended what began with far less discipline than awayseamer to the wicketkeeper - turned out to be India’s best part- the England attack had shown.

Ishant Sharma, who opened the nership by far. was the same.

bowling ahead of Mohammed Siraj and Shami, was especially wayward, frequently straying into the batters’ pads, and rarely finding movement on a line outside off stump. Jasprit Bumrah was much better, and even drew an edge at one point that fell short, but was not especially menacing either.

Hameed and Burns did not have to be particularly patient through the early overs, getting frequent enough deliveries that could be scored off, but were nevertheless solid when the good balls came as well. They were not beaten as often as India’s batters were with the new ball. And they were more confident with their scoring strokes. Hameed was particularly severe on errors of line, dusting off an excellent cut shot repeatedly.

Later, burns hit the most memorable shot, however, thumping Siraj over deep square leg for the day’s only six. Hameed got to his half-century with an edge through the outstretched hand of Rohit at second slip - the fielder getting some flesh to the tough chance, but unable to hold on. Burns, got to the milestone in the penultimate over of the day, punching the 123rd ball he faced through mid-on.

Such was England’s dominance on day one, India will probably need a dramatic session or several to get themselves back into the match.

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August 27, 2021

11

Explained: India’s Zydus Cadila ZyCoV-D Mumbai: Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D, is the first Covid19 vaccine built on a DNA platform, to have received an Emergency Use Authorisation by a regulator. Significantly, the intradermal vaccine will be applied using a needle-free system.

Zydus will be using a needle-free system manufactured

by Colorado-based firm Pharma Jet. The Gujarat-based firm will be using a specific model called the ‘Tropis’, which received regulatory approval in Europe in 2017.

Tropis delivers vaccines intradermally; technology that propels liquid at high pressure to deliver vaccines through the skin without utilising needles. There are three components: the injector, the needle-free syringe, and a filling adapter.

The vaccine is administered is using a simple four-step process: prepare the injector; fill the syringe; load the injector, and give the injection at the Deltoid region.

A needle-free injector is said to be more accurate and requires little training. It reduces the infection-associated anxiety for the beneficiary and the vaccinator.

It also does not give rise to any needlestick injuries to the health care workers. Each needle-free syringe is sterile, auto disabling, and cannot be reused.

Therefore, there is no opportunity for accidental or intentional reuse of the disposable syringes in this technology.

ZyCov-D is a “plasmid DNA” vaccine — or a vaccine that uses a genetically engineered, non-replicating version of a type of DNA molecule known as a ‘plasmid’.

The plasmids in this case are coded with the instructions to make the

spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

Vaccination gives the code to cells in the recipient’s body, so they can begin making the spiky outer layer of the virus. The immune system is expected to recognize this as a threat and develop antibodies in response.

Most Covid-19 vaccines currently are given in two doses, with a couple of single-shot ones also available. ZyCov-D by contrast, will be given in three doses, with an interval of 28 days between the first and second and second and third shots.

ZyCov-D has been developed with the support of the central government’s Department of Biotechnology and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

ZyCov-D has been tested in phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trials involving over 28,000 participants in all. A thousand of these participants were of ages between 12 and 18 years.

In December 2020, Zydus Group chairman Pankaj R Patel had said that the first two phases of the trial showed that the vaccine was “safe and immunogenic”.

According to trial data so far, the vaccine has been able to bring down symptomatic cases of Covid19 in those who received doses by nearly 67 per cent compared with

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those who did not get a vaccine. This is based on 79 to 90 RTPCR confirmed cases of Covid-19 from those vaccinated in the phase 3 trials, Zydus Cadila managing director Dr Sharvil Patel said.

Two doses of the vaccine seem to be enough to prevent people from developing severe symptoms of Covid-19 and to prevent death, while three doses keep even moderate symptoms at bay, according to trial data.

The large-scale phase 3 trial of ZyCov-D was conducted at 50 clinical trial sites across the country “during the peak of the second wave of Covid-19”, and the company believes that this “reaffirms” the vaccine’s effectiveness against the Delta variant of the coronavirus.

“You know that 99 per cent of all strains that have been found in sero (surveillance) tests have been the Delta variant… Our data was in the peak of April, May, and June,” Dr Patel said.

He said the company can “upgrade” ZyCov-D “if needed” to target other variants of concern and variants of interest that become more infectious or virulent in nature. The company is currently “making the constructs” to study the current effectiveness of the vaccine in neutralizing these variants.

According to Dr Patel, the company has submitted data from phase 1 clinical trials of ZyCov-D, and this is “almost” ready to be published on a preprint server for peer review. It is preparing the phase 2 data for publication as well — but data from the phase 3 trial, which is still underway, will take another four to six months. -Indian Express

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