Heath Bulletin 8/February/2022

Here are Top health stories of the day

Schools, colleges reopen in Delhi, 4 other states as covid cases drop

Kerala based Hepatologist lands in soup for defaming Ayurveda and stating it as pseudoscience

A Kochi-based hepatologist came under the radar of the Kerala State Medical Council for Indian Systems Of Medicine after he gave a controversial interview where he allegedly claimed that the use of certain herbs such as Giloy (chittamruthu) can be harmful to the liver. The doctor also allegedly called the traditional branch of medicine called Ayurveda, a 'pseudoscience'.

This came after the doctor gave an interview to a Malayalam YouTube channel and talked about Herb-Induced Liver Injuries in June of last year. During his interview, he explained how the use of certain herbs such as Giloy (chittamruthu), which is also used as a treatment measure, can be harmful to the liver. Speaking to TNM, he said that he did not make illogical claims and has given examples of published evidence regarding all pseudoscientific practices and specifically some herbal drugs which are toxic to the liver. "I specifically spoke about Giloy, which is very liver toxic, based on a paper from Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Bombay," he said.

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Kerala Based Hepatologist Lands In Soup For Defaming Ayurveda And Stating It As Pseudoscience

Cannot claim sub quota as a right: HC to NEET PG in-service candidates

While considering the plea filed by NEET-PG candidates who were working for the Government in rural and difficult areas, the Kerala High Court made it clear that the candidates cannot claim an exclusive sub-quota as a matter of right.

Such an observation came from the High Court bench comprising of Justice N. Nagaresh after it took note of the fact that in the Prospectus for PG Degree courses for 2021-2022, the Government had provided for 2% service weightage for Rural Area service and 5% for Difficult Rural Area service.

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Cannot Claim Sub Quota As A Right: HC To NEET PG In-Service Candidates

Fee structure of 50 % seats in private medical institutions will now be at par with Govt Institutions : NMC

The fees of 50 per cent seats in private medical colleges will now be at par with government medical colleges of that particular State/UT, said the National Medical Commission on Saturday.

Fee Structure Of 50 Per Cent Seats In Private Medical Institutions Will Now Be At Par With Govt Institutions : NMC

SII proposal to manufacture omicron vaccine for analysis gets DCGI nod

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved Serum Institute of India's proposal to manufacture a vaccine against omicron variant of coronavirus for examination, test and analysis, official sources said on Monday.

"With reference to your application, please find herewith the permission to manufacture SARS-CoV-2 rS Protein (COVID-19) recombinant spike protein nanoparticle vaccine (omicron variant) for examination, test and analysis under the provisions of New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 to manufacture the test batches of the drug/drugs mentioned therein," an approval order issued on February 4 stated.

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SII Proposal To Manufacture Omicron Vaccine For Analysis Gets DCGI Nod