BD has received an order from the UK Government for the delivery of 65 million needles and syringes by mid-September to aid the country’s efforts for vaccination against Covid-19. The first shipments arrived in the country on 18 June.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Nagpur, India has received the delivery of the Biofire FilmArray Torch which is a multiplex assay capable of detecting 22 respiratory pathogens that cause Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI). This technology is expected to aid in SARI patients who are not infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus. The Times of India reported that this equipment is only present at AIIMS, Nagpur in the entire state of Maharashtra.

Led by Indian scientist Manu Prakash, a group of researchers have developed a low-cost centrifuge that can operate without electricity to isolate components in saliva samples to detect Covid-19. This invention is expected to boost the availability of Covid-19 diagnostics in poorer parts of the world. BloombergQuint quoted the Stanford University scientists as saying that the ‘Handyfuge’ can be assembled at a cost of around $5 per unit, with easily available components.

NHS England has launched an on-demand recovery service for patients who are suffering from the long-term effects of Covid-19. The patients will have access to nurses and physiotherapists either as an online or over-the-phone service. The new ‘Your COVID Recovery’ service will aid those who have recovered from the virus, but still experience issues with breathing, mental health problems or other side-effects.