Junior Digest

Bhubaneswar (Odisha), June 25,2021: The Odisha Government on Thursday said that it will launch Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) under the universal immunisation programme on June 30.
“The introduction of PCV in the routine immunization will benefit nearly 8 lakh young children annually in the State and it will help in reducing the risk of morbidity and mortality due to pneumonia and meningitis among children in the State”, said the additional Chief Secretary PK Mohapatra in a letter to district and municipal authorities.
On December 28, 2020, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had inaugurated India’s first Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) in a bid to prevent about 67,800 child mortality under 5 years of age in India from pneumococcal diseases every year. The vaccine has been developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII) in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Moscow, Jul 7,2021: The coronavirus incidence is growing in 82 of Russia’s 85 regions, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Wednesday.

“In 82 regions of the country, the incidence is growing, but we see a slight decrease only in Moscow,” Golikova said at a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with members of the Russian government.

The situation with the coronavirus in Russia remains quite tense, 162,400 cases of the disease were registered in a week, she said.

Nevertheless, the rate of increase in the incidence has slowed down somewhat, she noted.

“It was 17% more than last week. However, the rate of growth slowed down a little week-on-week, it was 24.2% in previous weeks,” she said.

The healthcare system in Russia is quite busy, but it works stably, the situation with the coronavirus is under control, the deputy prime minister added.

Washington [US], July 5 ,2021: Eating milk chocolate every day may sound like a recipe for weight gain, but a study of postmenopausal women has found that eating a concentrated amount of chocolate during a narrow window of time in the morning may help the body burn fat and decrease blood sugar levels.
The study was published in The FASEB Journal.
To find out about the effects of eating milk chocolate at different times of day, researchers from Brigham collaborated with investigators at the University of Murcia in Spain.
Together, they conducted a randomized, controlled, cross-over trial of 19 postmenopausal women who consumed either 100g of chocolate in the morning (within one hour after waking time) or at night (within one hour before bedtime). They compared weight gain and many other measures to no chocolate intake.
Researchers report that among the women studied:

1. Morning or nighttime chocolate intake did not lead to weight gain;
2. Eating chocolate in the morning or in the evening can influence hunger and appetite, microbiota composition, sleep and more;
3. A high intake of chocolate during the morning hours could help to burn fat and reduce blood glucose levels.
4. Evening/night chocolate altered next-morning resting and exercise metabolism.
Frank A. J. L. Scheer, PhD, MSc, Neuroscientist and Marta Garaulet, PhD, Visiting Scientist, both of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Departments of Medicine and Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Drs. Scheer and Garaulet are co-corresponding authors of the study.
“Our findings highlight that not only ‘what’ but also ‘when’ we eat can impact physiological mechanisms involved in the regulation of body weight,” said Scheer.
“Our volunteers did not gain weight despite increasing caloric intake. Our results show that chocolate reduced ad libitum energy intake, consistent with the observed reduction in hunger, appetite and the desire for sweets shown in previous studies,” said Garaulet.

Moscow, Jul 12,2021: Mixing diffirent COVID-19 vaccines is a “dangerous trend” and could lead to chaos, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said Monday.
“There are people who are thinking about mixing and matching. We receive a lot of queries who say they’ve taken one and they’re planning to take another one. It’s a little bit of a dangerous trend here where we’re in a data-free, evidence-free zone as far as mixing and matching,” Swaminathan told a press briefing.
Swaminathan noted the limited clinical data on mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines, citing the UK-based trial of a mixed dosing regimen using AstraZeneca and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines, but said that the issue could cause chaos in other countries.
“It will be a chaotic situation in countries if citizens start deciding when they should be taking a second, or a third, or a fourth dose,” the WHO’s chief scientist said.

Moscow, Jul 9,2021: The companies of Pfizer and BioNTech will provide the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) with the information about the third dose of its coronavirus vaccine viewed as a booster of their drug.

“[We] plan to submit the data to the FDA, EMA and other regulatory authorities in the coming weeks,” the companies said in a joint statement on late Thursday.

Pfizer and BioNTech pointed out that they had received “encouraging data” on the booster trial of the third dose of their vaccine.

“Initial data from the study demonstrate that a booster dose given 6 months after the second dose has a consistent tolerability profile while eliciting high neutralization titers against the wild type and the Beta variant, which are 5 to 10 times higher than after two primary doses,” the statement reads.

The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020. To date, more than 185.48 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 4 million fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Jun 30, 2021: Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), effectively neutralises both Alpha and Delta variants of coronavirus, revealed the studies recently conducted by the US’ National Institute of Health (NIH). Two studies were carried out wherein blood serum from people who had received Covaxin was collected and examined. The results suggest that the vaccine generates antibodies that effectively neutralise the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) and B.1.617 (Delta) variants of SARS-CoV-2, first identified in the UK and India, respectively, said NIH, the top American health research institute, in its press release.

New Delhi, Jul 2: Underlining the focus of the government on strengthening healthcare, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said during the ‘first wave’ about Rs 15 thousand crore were allocated for healthcare and this year, health sector budget has been doubled to more than Rs 2 lakh crore.

Addressing an event organised by Indian Medical Association (IMA) via video conference on the occasion of National Doctors’ Day, the Prime Minister said Rs 50 thousand crore have been allocated for credit guarantee scheme to develop health infrastructure in the under-served area.

He said new AIIMS, medical colleges are being established adding that work has been initiated on 15 AIIMS as opposed to total six AIIMS that existed in 2014.

Number of Medical colleges have increased one and half times, Mr Modi said.

Under graduate medical seats have increased one and half times and PG seats have grown by 80 per cent, the Prime Minister said.

Mr Modi reiterated the Government’s commitment for the safty of doctors.

He mentioned stringent laws that have been brought in for preventing violence against doctors. Along with this, a free insurance cover scheme has been brought for the Covid warriors.

The Prime Minister called upon the doctors to continue to inspire the people to get vaccinated and adopt Covid appropriate behavior. He also commended medical fraternity for spreading awareness about Yoga.

Work for propagating Yoga, that should have been done in the last century after Independence, is being done

now, the Prime Minister said. He praised the doctors for giving their time to the evidence-based studies on the benefits of yoga for dealing with post-Covid complications.

The Prime Minister asked if IMA can take up the evidence-based studies on yoga in a mission mode. He also suggested that studies on yoga could be published in international journals.

Acknowledging the doctor’s contribution, the Prime Minister recalled their heroic efforts during the pandemic and paid homage to those who laid down their lives in the service of humanity.

The Prime Minister said, ‘Our scientists and doctors have found solutions for all the challenges thrown by Corona. Our doctors are facing this new and fast mutating virus on the basis of their experience and expertise. Despite the limitations of long-neglected medical infrastructure and pressure of population, India’s per

lakh population rate of infection and death rate is still manageable compared to even developed countries.’

‘Loss of lives is always painful but many lives have been saved too. Credit goes to hard-working doctors, healthcare workers, frontline workers for saving many lives,’ the Prime Minister said.

Mr Modi greeted the doctor community on Doctors’ Day today. He said this day, celebrated in the memory of Doctor BC Roy, is the symbol of the highest ideals of ‘our medical fraternity’.

The Prime Minister thanked the Doctors on behalf of 130 crore Indians for their services during the difficult times in last one and half years of the pandemic.

The Doctors’ Day is observed in the honour of noted doctor and former West Bengal chief minister Bidhan Chandra Roy, whose birth and death anniversaries fall on July 1.

Washington, Jul 13,2021: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added a new warning on the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, saying the vaccine has been linked to a serious but rare side effect called Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Guillain Barre syndrome is a neurological disorder in which the body’s immune system damages nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis, the FDA said on Monday.

The syndrome has occurred in some people who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. In most of these people, symptoms began within 42 days following injections of the vaccine, said the FDA in a letter.

The chance of having this occur is very low, the agency said.

About 100 preliminary reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome have been detected in vaccine recipients after the administration of 12.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the United States, The Washington Post quoted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as saying in a statement.

Of these reports, 95 were serious and required hospitalization, and one was dead.

The cases have largely been reported about two weeks after vaccination and mostly in men, many aged 50 and older, according to the CDC.

Johnson & Johnson said Monday it has been in discussions with the FDA and other regulators about rare cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome.

The chance of having this occur is very low, and the rate of reported cases exceeds the background rate by a small degree, the company said in a statement.

New Delhi, May 2,2021: India reported 3,92,488 COVID-19 cases and 3,689 deaths in the past 24 hours, pushing the overall infections to 1,95,57,457 and death toll to 2,15,542, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said on Sunday.

The active caseload, which crossed the three-million-mark on Thursday, also surged by 80,934 and currently stands at 3,349,644. This accounts for 17.06 per cent of the total confirmed cases in the country.

According to the Health Ministry, as many as 3,07,865 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours and so far, 1,59,92,271 people have recovered from the viral disease. With this, the country’s recovery rate stands at 81.84 per cent, the data also showed.

Meanwhile, a total of 15,68,16,031 people have been administered the coronavirus vaccine since the drive started in India in January.

The Union ministry of health and family welfare on Sunday said 84,599 people in the age group of 18-44 have been administered the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. The data said a total of 16,48,192 people have been vaccinated across the country against covid-19 on Saturday. Among them, 9,89,700 people were given the first dose and the remaining 6.85 lakh beneficiaries received their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

Total 29,01,42,339 samples tested up to May 1, 2021 for COVID-19. Of these, 18,04,954 samples were tested yesterday by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Jun 23,2021: AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine is effective against the highly transmissible Delta Covid-19 variant, first identified in India, an official from the company said on Tuesday. The drug’s efficacy against Kappa, another variant found in India, has also been proven, the official said.
A study by Oxford University investigated the ability of monoclonal antibodies in Sera from recovered people and from vaccinated people to neutralize the Delta and Kappa variants, a statement from the company said.

Drugmakers across the world are rushing to test the efficacy of drugs against the emerging variants of Covid-19 which are proving to be deadlier than the first strain of virus found to have infected humans.

An analysis by the Public Health England (PHE) showed that vaccines made by Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca offer high protection of more than 90% against hospitalization from the Delta variant.

The latest Oxford study results are built on the recent analysis by PHE, the company said.

The Delta variant is becoming the globally dominant version of the disease, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist said on Friday.

New Delhi, May 1,2021: As many as eight patients in Batra hospital of Delhi died on Saturday due to a shortage of Liquid Medical Oxygen, hospital’s managing director said.

In a video doing rounds, the Managing Director Dr SCL Gupta, can be heard saying that the hospital had alerted the Delhi government regarding it. The facility had to manage with oxygen cylinders he said, adding in the process, eight lives were lost as the supply failed to reach on time.

Dr R K Himthani, serving gastroenterologist of the hospital, was among the dead, he said. Out of eight, six patients were in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital.

The MD said the hospital has to raise an alarm again-and-again and it cannot work like this. “The government has to do something. And if there is a problem in supply, the new admission should be closed,” Dr Gupta said.

The Executive Director of the hospital, Dr Sudhanshu Bankata, raised an SOS call over Twitter saying the hospital has run out of medical oxygen and surviving on oxygen cylinders, which will also be empty soon.

He said that the Delhi government is in touch with the hospital and has rushed an oxygen tanker.

“Our SOS cryogenic tanker carrying Liquid Medical Oxygen is reaching Batra Hospital within 5 minutes. Their regular supplier of oxygen has defaulted yet again due to alleged ‘lack of oxygen supplies’ and is being pulled up (sic),” ruling Aam Aadmi Party MLA Raghav Chadha wrote on his official Twitter handle.

The Supreme Court on Friday noted that around 500 lives have been lost due to oxygen shortage and asked both the central and state government to maintain the supply chain.

There is no oxygen plant in Delhi as it is an industry-free zone and completely dependent on other states and the Centre for Liquid Medical Oxygen supply.

The virulent second wave of Covid-19 has hit Delhi hard leading to a manifold increase in hospitalisation and the dearth of life-saving oxygen.

London [UK], June 29,2021: Amid the global shortage of the COVID-19 vaccines, a study conducted by Oxford University has found out that alternating doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines generate robust immune responses against the coronavirus.
According to the study, ‘mixed’ schedules of these vaccines induced high concentrations of antibodies against the SARS-CoV2 spike IgG protein when doses were administered four weeks apart.
This study, published on the Lancet pre-print server, means all possible vaccination schedules involving the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines could potentially be used against COVID-19.
“The Com-COV study has evaluated ‘mix and match’ combinations of the Oxford and Pfizer vaccines to see to what extent these vaccines can be used interchangeably, potentially allowing flexibility in the UK and global vaccine roll-out,” said Professor Matthew Snape, Associate Professor in Paediatrics and Vaccinology at the University of Oxford, and Chief Investigator on the trial.
“The results show that when given at a four-week interval both mixed schedules induce an immune response that is above the threshold set by the standard schedule of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.”
Professor Snape said these results are an invaluable guide to the use of mixed dose schedules, but the interval of four weeks studied here is shorter than the eight to 12-week schedule most commonly used for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Meanwhile, UK Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said: ‘Today’s data are a vital step forward, showing a mixed schedule gives people protective immunity against COVID-19 after four weeks.”
“Our non-mixed (homologous) vaccination programme has already saved tens of thousands of lives across the UK but we now know mixing doses could provide us with even greater flexibility for a booster programme, while also supporting countries which have further to go with their vaccine rollouts and who may be experiencing supply difficulties.”
The University of Oxford is leading the Com-COV study, run by the National Immunisation Schedule Evaluation Consortium (NISEC).
This UK government funding study aims to evaluate the feasibility of using a different vaccine for the initial ‘prime’ vaccination to the follow-up ‘booster’ vaccination.

New Delhi, July 1 (ANI): Pharmaceutical major Zydus Cadila on Thursday applied for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) seeking approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for the launch of their ZyCoV-D vaccine for 12 years and above, sources said on Thursday.
The vaccine has completed the third phase trial, they added.
ZyCoV-D is a DNA Covid vaccine, which carries the genetic code for that part of a virus that triggers the immune system of the body.
, It will be the second indigenous COVID-19 vaccine to apply for such authorisation as well as the world’s first DNA vaccine against coronavirus.
Earlier, a government source had said: “Zydus Cadila has told the government that it could apply for emergency use authorisation for ZyCoV-D vaccine in the next seven-eight days.”
Earlier on July 18, Niti Aayog Member (Health) Dr VK Paul had told ANI that Cydus Cadila has enrolled more than 28,000 volunteers for their phase three study.
“We are hoping that they will apply in near future. Most of their study is complete. They have enrolled more than 28,000 volunteers in their phase 3 study. We expect they will submit the results very soon. We are hopeful of this vaccine because it would be the world’s first DNA vaccine. We are very proud of their work,” he had said.

The vaccine is being developed with support from the Centre’s National Biopharma Mission as part of the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, Department of Biotechnology.
India has approved three vaccines against COVID-19 — Covaxin (Bharat Biotech), Covishield (Serum Institute), and the Russian Sputnik V.
Covishield has been developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
ZyCoV-D, the second indigenous vaccine after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, is a three-dose vaccine — to be administered at day 0, day 28, and day 56. The company has said it is also working on a two-dose regimen of this vaccine.
The stability data of the vaccine candidate showed that ZyCoV-D can be stored at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius for long-term use and 25 degrees Celsius for the short term.

New Delhi , June 25,2021: Over 30.54 crore vaccine doses have been provided by the Centre to States/Union Territories (UTs) so far, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday.
A total of 1,50,28,186 balance and unutilised COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered, it added.
According to the ministry, 30,54,32,450 vaccine doses have been provided by Centre to States/UTs so far, through the Government of India (free of cost channel) and through direct state procurement category.

As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the Centre has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID Vaccines free of cost.
“Of this, the total consumption, including wastages is 29,04,04,264 doses (as per data available at 8 am today).
Furthermore, more than 47,00,000 vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the States/UTs within the next three days.
In the new phase of the universalisation of the COVID19 vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply (free of cost) 75 per cent of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to States and UTs.
The Union Health Ministry has informed that the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered under the nationwide vaccination drive has reached 30,79,48,744.

Washington [US], July 7,2021: All it takes is three consecutive nights of sleep loss to cause your mental and physical well-being to greatly deteriorate.
A new study, published in Annals of Behavioral Medicine, looked at the consequences of sleeping fewer than six hours for eight consecutive nights – the minimum duration of sleep that experts say is necessary to support optimal health in average adults.
Lead author Soomi Lee, assistant professor in the School of Aging Studies at the University of South Florida, found the biggest jump in symptoms appeared after just one night of sleep loss.
The number of mental and physical problems steadily got worse, peaking on day three. At that point, research shows the human body got relatively used to repeated sleep loss. But that all changed on day six when participants reported that the severity of physical symptoms was at its worst.
“Many of us think that we can pay our sleep debt on weekends and be more productive on weekdays,” Lee said. “However, results from this study show that having just one night of sleep loss can significantly impair your daily functioning.”

Data provided by the Midlife in the United States study included nearly 2,000 middle-aged adults who were relatively healthy and well-educated.
Among them, 42 per cent had at least one night of sleep loss, sleeping 1.5 fewer hours than their typical routines. They recorded their mental and physical behaviors in a diary for eight consecutive days, allowing researchers to review how sleep loss causes wear and tear on the body.
Participants reported a pile-up of angry, nervous, lonely, irritable and frustrated feelings as a result of sleep loss. They also experienced more physical symptoms, such as upper respiratory issues, aches, gastrointestinal problems and other health concerns.
These negative feelings and symptoms were continuously elevated throughout consecutive sleep loss days and didn’t return to baseline levels unless they had a night sleep of more than six hours.
About one-third of U.S. adults sleep less than six hours per night. Lee says once that becomes a habit, it’s increasingly difficult for your body to fully recover from lack of sleep, continuing the vicious cycle of worsening daily well-being, which could impact one professionally.
A previous study led by Lee found losing just 16 minutes of sleep could impact job performance. Her previous findings also show that minor sleep loss can decrease daily mindfulness, which is a critical recourse for managing stress and maintaining healthy routines.
Lee says the best way to maintain a strong daily performance is to set aside more than six hours to sleep every night.

New Delhi, May 1,2021: India has set a grim, global record with 401,993 new COVID-19 cases within the past 24 hours, marking the largest daily increase since the start of the outbreak, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said on Saturday.

The total number of those who tested positive for the coronavirus in India has reached 19,164,969, according to the ministry.

Within the same period of time, the death toll has risen by 3,523 to 211,853 people. More than 15.68 million patients have recovered since the start of the epidemic.

According to experts’ estimation based on a mathematical model, India’s coronavirus cases may peak next week between May 3 and 5. “Our belief is that by next week, the daily new cases nationwide would have peaked,” M Vidyasagar, head of a government-appointed group of scientists modelling the trajectory of infections, told media.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) data: 28,83,37,385 samples tested up to April 30 for COVID-19. Of these, 19,45,299 samples were tested yesterday.

Since January 16, 2021, a total of 15,49,89,635 people have been administered COVID-19 vaccines across the nation with 27,44,485 doses being given in the last 24 hrs.

The third phase of vaccination for those in the age group of 18-44 years starts today even as several states – Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh – have said they’re running low on stocks. The government, however, has countered them saying 1 crore doses are still available with the states.

New Delhi, Apr 30,2021: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said all arms of the Government

are working unitedly and rapidly to deal with the Covid situation.

Reviewing the COVID-19 situation during the Council of Ministers meeting, Mr Modi urged the Ministers to stay in touch with people of their respective regions, help them and keep taking their feedback.

He stressed upon the need to ensure that issues at the local level are promptly identified and addressed.

The Council of Ministers met to discuss the situation arising out of the second wave of COVID in the country, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a statement here.

In the meeting, it was noted that the present pandemic crisis is ‘once in a century crisis’ and has thrown a big challenge for the world.

Government of India’s Team India approach to fight COVID, based on the collective efforts of the Centre, State Governments and people of India was highlighted, the statement said.

The Council also reviewed all the efforts made in the last 14 months by the Central and State Governments and the people of India.

The efforts by the Central Government in coordination with the states towards building up infrastructure in the form of ramping up hospital beds, PSA oxygen facilities etc, resolving issues in production, storage and transport of Oxygen, tackling matters relating to availability of essential medicines were briefed. The measures being taken to further ramp up their supply and availability were also pointed out. The support measures to the vulnerable population in the form of provision of food-grains and financial support to Jan Dhan account holders were also pointed out.

It was also noted that India could successfully produce two vaccines and there are many candidates at the various stages of approval and induction. More than 15 crore vaccinations have been done as on date.

The Council of Ministers also stressed the importance of Covid appropriate behaviour– wearing a mask, keeping physical distance of 6 feet and washing hands frequently.

The Council reiterated that the participation of society is a key aspect to accomplish the gigantic task ahead and expressed confidence that the country will rise to the occasion and defeat the virus.

The meeting, held through video conferencing, was chaired by the Prime Minister and attended by Ministers as well Principal Secretary to PM, Cabinet Secretary. Member (Health) NITI Aayog Dr V K Paul made a presentation on Management of Covid-19 pandemic.

SHANGHAI, June 25,2021: The virus that causes COVID-19 could have started spreading in China as early as October 2019, two months before the first case was identified in the central city of Wuhan, a new study showed on Friday.

Researchers from Britain’s University of Kent used methods from conservation science to estimate that SARS-CoV-2 first appeared from early October to mid-November 2019, according to a paper published in the PLOS Pathogens journal.

The most likely date for the virus’s emergence was Nov. 17, 2019, and it had probably already spread globally by January 2020, they estimated.

China’s first official COVID-19 case was in December 2019 and was linked to Wuhan’s Huanan seafood market.

However, some early cases had no known connection with Huanan, implying that SARS-CoV-2 was already circulating before it reached the market.

A joint study published by China and the World Health Organization at the end of March acknowledged there could have been sporadic human infections before the Wuhan outbreak.

In a paper released in preprintform this week, Jesse Bloom of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle recovered deleted sequencing data from early COVID-19 cases in China.

The data showed that samples taken from the Huanan market were “not representative” of SARS-CoV-2 as a whole, and were a variant of a progenitor sequence circulating earlier, which spread to other parts of China.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health confirmed to Reuters that the samples used in the study were submitted to the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) in March 2020 and later deleted at the request of Chinese investigators, who said they would be updated and submitted to another archive.

Critics said the deletion was further evidence that China was trying to cover up the origins of COVID-19.

“Why would scientists ask international databases to delete key data that informs us about how COVID-19 began in Wuhan?” said Alina Chan, a researcher with Harvard’s Broad Institute, writing on Twitter.

Another study by Australian scientists, published on Thursday in the Scientific Reports journal, used genomic data to show SARS-CoV-2 binds to human receptors far more easily than other species, suggesting it was already adapted to humans when it first emerged.

It said it was possible there was another unidentified animal with even stronger affinity that served as an intermediary species, but the hypothesis that it leaked from the lab could not be ruled out.

“While it is clear early viruses had a high propensity for human receptors, that doesn’t mean they were ‘man-made’,” said Dominic Dwyer, infectious disease expert at Australia’s Westmead Hospital who was part of the WHO team investigating COVID-19 in Wuhan this year.