(In the weekly Health Matters newsletter, Ramya Kannan writes about getting to good health, and staying there. You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox.)
As usual, you might have guessed, the health sector in the country has been abuzz all week, all manner of infectious diseases, vaccines and policy level decisions that are likely to impact care and support have taken centre stage. But this week, we’ll keep the focus on good news, as far as possible, and start with a key welfare aspect: The Union Cabinet approved health insurance cover for all aged 70 and above, Bindu Shajan Perappadan reported. This will benefit approximately 4.5 crore families, with six crore senior citizens, with ₹5 lakh free health insurance cover on a family basis, under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
The best part of the scheme is that there are no exceptions, eligible candidates who are covered under private heath insurance policies or ESI scheme can also avail the benefits under this AB PM – JAY. If implemented as promised, the scheme will cover all citizens over 70 years, under medical care. Additionally, senior citizens aged 70 and above and belonging to families already covered under AB PM-JAY will get an additional top-up cover up to ₹5 lakh per year for themselves (which they do not have to share with the other members of the family who are below the age of 70). All other senior citizens of 70 and above will get a cover up to ₹5 lakh per year on a family basis. Senior citizens aged 70 and above who are already availing of the benefits of other public health insurance schemes such as the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), Ayushman Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) may either choose their existing scheme or opt for AB PM-JAY.
Initially there would be a pilot launch to sort out any issues that might arise, a health ministry official said, adding that the Centre would roll out senior citizen health cover scheme within a week. “It is an application-based scheme. People will need to register on the portal. The facility of face authentication is available on the portal, which will have a designated link for senior citizens 70+ aged,” he said.
Naturally, the proof of any pudding is in the eating, so we will be keeping tabs on various processes up til and following the roll out of the AB PM-JAY, and further, it’s implementation as well, including the uptake of the card in the empaneled hospitals. For an explainer on how to apply for the senior citizen component of AB PM-JAY peep into our explainers section.
This past week has also been about unprecedented industry in the R&D section in medicine. A bunch of agreements were signed to advance medicare tech and vaccines, one instance of disciplinary action and many MoUs are on our list. N. Ravi Kumar reported that Bharat Biotech and Alopexx would collaborate for the anti-microbial vaccine AV0328. A proprietary broad-spectrum anti-microbial vaccine candidate of Alopexx, AV0328 is a synthetic vaccine designed to target poly N-acetyl glucosamine (PNAG) found on the surface of a wide range of bacterial, fungal and parasitic pathogens.
Meanwhile, Indian Immunologicals, Indian Council of Medical Research ink pact for Zika vaccine. IIL has partnered with Griffith University, Australia, to develop the codon de-optimised live attenuated Zika vaccine, which has completed extensive pre-clinical evaluations and received permission from Indian regulatory authority to produce GMP grade materials for clinical developmental work.
In addition to Zika, ICMR has inked agreements with industry, academic partners to advance first-in-human phase-1 clinical trials, for developing three other molecules. These are collaborative research over a small molecule for multiple myeloma with Aurigene Oncology Limited; coordinating a seasonal influenza virus vaccine trial with Mynvax Private Limited; and CAR-T cell therapy advancement study for a new indication of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia with ImmunoACT.
Indian Immunologicals was also in the news as it unveilled IVF media for bovine embryo transfer developed in partnership with NDDB. IIL launched an indigenous in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) media ‘Shashthi’, developed in collaboration with its parent — National Dairy Development Board.
On August 24, the Government of India announced the ‘BioE3’ policy to drive innovation in the biotechnology sector by establishing biomanufacturing facilities, bio-AI hubs, and bio-foundries. anjeera Gowravaram,Viraj Mehta write about how Organ-on-chip tech could boost BioE3 goal to personalise medicine. A key focus area of the policy is precision therapeutics, which involve developing and administering drugs according to the needs of individual patients. The policy also aims to boost the development of biologics such as gene therapy and cell therapy.
Since we are nearly done with the good news, here is a reality check. Last week, C. Maya and Zubeda Hamid reported that the Centre had suspended permission for manufacture and marketing of eye drops claiming to do away with reading glasses. A practical option for those with presbyopia or progressive loss of the near focusing ability of the eye due to ageing, was unveiled in August, a pilocarpine-based drops. However, thanks to the claims made by the company in the press release that followed the launch that the use of the eye drops would eliminate the need for glasses led to a backlash and eventually, for the clearance for Pres Vu eyedrops to be suspended. Do read the edit, here which argues that a possibly good measure has had to be suspended because of the exaggerated claims on the prowess of the product.
C. Aravinda chimes in with a note of caution about using AI in health care. Essentially, he argues that delivering health care demands a human-centric approach of empathy and cultural understanding. Consciousness — the awareness and understanding of the real-world environment — underpins human decision-making, distinguishing human intelligence from AI. AI cannot replicate the moral and ethical reasoning that comes from conscious experience. Unlike other domains, health-care data is scattered, incomplete and often inaccessible for AI training, making it difficult to train a model.
Training our guns on cancer, let’s look at Joel P. Joseph’s story first. If their ancestors help, weak cancer cells can form tough tumours, the author says. In a study, when cultured alone, drug-resistant cells grew more slowly than the cells from which they were ‘descended’. But when these cells and their ancestors were cultured together, the former grew much faster. Exciting frontiers up ahead, for sure.
Some people believe that the holy grail of health care would be to understand cancer, and find a cure for it. But equally important would be to sort the infectious diseases paradigm, particularly being exacerbated by the excesses brought on by climate change.
The Centre has set up a surveillance mechanism in the wake of ‘undiagnosed fever’ that claimed 15 lives in Gujarat’s Kutch region. Samples of the infected patients have been sent to the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) in Gandhinagar and at the National Institute of Virology in Pune to identify the exact cause of the fever and the subsequent deaths.
Malappuram in Kerala, remains a hot spot for the Nipah virus, after it’s earlier encounter with Nipah. One death was confirmed there this past week. And, further, after Nipah, one suspected Mpox case surfaces in Malappuram.
I write about the resurgence of cholera epidemics, globally, exacerbated by the effects of climate change: Panic in the time of cholera: addressing issues critical to managing a resurgence. V. Geetanath writes about concerns expressed by experts: a long COVID impact study is missing in country. To round up with some positive news, ICMR has confirmed that it would develop evidence-based guidelines for antibiotic use in respiratory infections, pneumonia.
Do read Rajeev Jayadevan’s article on Diabetes drug may lower death rate in obese people. Yes, he’s talking about semaglutide, which is being bandied about as a “wondrous weight-loss drug”, but in a large scale study among diabetics.
Following up on a hot subject from the past weeks, when the National Medical Commission was criticised robustly for its new MBBS guidelines which it had to drop, now experts say the NMC’s re-revised CBME guidelines are no better, and demand another round of review and correction.
Here’s following up another key issue that continues to rock Kolkata’s medical scene, the RG Kar rape and murder case.
Chief Minister Mamata drops officials and urges doctors to come back
Shrabana Chatterjee and Moyurie Som provide an update: Kolkata rape and murder case: Doctors continue protests, reject Bengal government call for talks
Kolkata doctors set fresh conditions, continue stir
Senior doctors in West Bengal warn of ‘adverse steps’ against government action on junior medics
We accepted all demands, but CM refused to hold meeting, say protesting doctors
Serena Josephine M. reports on the perception of the female health workforce in Tamil Nadu on how safe their workplaces are for them: Demanding a minimum guarantee: safety for women in health workforce in Tamil Nadu
Our explainers for the week are:
With Dhananjay Vaidyanathan Rohini and Gautam Dongre’s article, you are all set to understand India’s sickle cell challenge
Anup Rawool and Vid Karmarkar provide a primer on Understanding ovarian cancer: its causes, symptoms, and screening methods
Ayushman Bharat health insurance: How to apply for senior citizen’s health cover?
If you have a few moments, also read: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar meets WHO chief, discusses India’s role in global health initiatives
Gastro problems could heighten Parkinson’s disease risk by 76 per cent, study finds
Rasha Al-Lami Endometriosis pain leads to missed school and work in two-thirds of women with the condition, new study finds
Moyurie Som on the injustice of a cataract surgeryZubeda Hamid asks why drowning, despite the large number of deaths it causes, is not considered a public health issue yet.Tailpiece Siddharth Kumar Singh Doctor fights firms peddling ‘sugary’ ORSL as WHO-recommended ORS
Dinesh S. Thakur,Prashant Reddy T. Regulatory reform stuck in a loop in Health Ministry
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Published – September 17, 2024 05:15 pm IST
