RESUMO
Entire world was eagerly waiting for the vaccine against SARS-CoV2 ever since Covid19 pandemic started. India is the second largest populous nation and is among the very few nations who has developed a vaccine against SARS-CoV2. India is also a major vaccine producing hub supplying large quantum of vaccines to the rest of the world. Efficacy, advantages and comparison between various covid vaccine has been largely discussed by the scientific community. However, there are various other factors affecting the vaccine situation in a nation, may it be the plan, strategy, it抯 implementation, local context, health infrastructure etc. While there are many news and views related to covid-19 vaccine, one need to look beyond & into so many other aspects related to the factors affecting this situation. Through discussion of some of these key factors, we tried to draw an overall picture of the Covid19 vaccine situation in India. Keeping in line with our objective, we keep the focus of our discussion on vaccine development & manufacturing issues, diplomatic decisions on vaccine & the reasons behind the same, international factors etc. We have purposefully restricted our discussion to these factors and did not go in details of the national level policy and its implementation details in this article.
RESUMO
Background: Prematurity is one of the leading causes of neonatal and under-five mortalities globally and also in India. It is an important determinant of short- and long-term morbidities in infants and children. Unfortunately, risk factors of majority of preterm births (PTBs) remain unexplained which calls for appropriate action. There is a dearth of community-based research on PTB and its risk factors, especially in high burden countries like India. Objectives: The objective of the study was to explore different risk factors for PTB. Methods: A cohort of 1977 antenatal mothers was enrolled at household level by trained field investigators and was followed up in four districts of Gujarat, India, to document the outcome of pregnancy. Pretested and structured questionnaires were used to collect information. A hierarchical regression model was used to analyze the risk factors for PTB. Results: Proportion of PTB was 9% among the enrolled cohort. Risk factors which were found to be significant on applying the hierarchical model were periodontal disease, long sleep duration, and sex during any trimester. Conclusions: The study suggests an urgent need for strengthening of existing guidelines for effective, evidence-based, and culturally appropriate interventions for prevention of PTB. Maintenance of good oral hygiene should find a place in routine recommendations for pregnant women, and antenatal examinations should include screening for oral hygiene also.