Doctors are warning residents against social media posts doing the rounds that state women should not take the Covid-19 vaccine five days before and after their monthly cycle.  The posts — that they have labelled as fake — state, “Don’t take the vaccine before and after five days of your periods because immunity will be very less during periods”.  Medics say the spread of misinformation, rumours, and unscientific information has increased during the pandemic and people should be careful when reading such information that often goes viral online. Dr Maisaa Al Sulaiman, Specialist Family Medicine, Burjeel Specialty Hospital, Sharjah said, “Misinformation itself is a pandemic... The rumours linking vaccinations and women's menstrual cycles are ... Read More..

For more than a week, more than 2,000 Indians have been dying every day because of Covid-19 and on Wednesday, the country faced the grim reality of recording over 200,000 virus deaths.  Indian doctors in the UAE, who are keeping a close watch on the crisis back home, have looked into the coronavirus variants in the country, shedding light on why Covid is spreading fast.  India’s Health Ministry announced last month that it had detected 771 variants of concern (VOCs) of the coronavirus in India. These include viruses of the UK (B.1.1.7) lineage, South African (B.1.351) lineage, Brazilian (P.1) lineage, N440K variant, etc. The country’s mutant covid viruses are ‘double mutant’ and ‘triple mutant’, said Dr Sandeep Pargi, pulmonology and res ... Read More..

With close to four million UAE residents fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the country is registering a massive decline in deaths and critical cases caused by the virus. The UAE’s mortality rate from the virus is 0.3 per cent — which is much below the global average of 2.1 per cent. In April so far, the UAE has, on average, reported under three deaths daily. This is a significant dip from the average 13 daily deaths reported in February; and nine in March.   In January, the country was reporting an average of six deaths per day.   The highest number of daily deaths caused by complications from the virus this year was on February 19, when 20 residents succumbed to the disease.   This month, however, deaths from the virus have dipped as the countr ... Read More..

Dubai: A Filipina expat with early stage of breast cancer has received help from a hospital based in Dubai, following news of her medical condition in Gulf News.Burjeel Hospital in Dubai has come forward to help the financially burdened cancer patient. Joylyn Hantig Reano, 40, who has lived here in the UAE for six years was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer last July. She underwent a mastectomy on March 18 at the New Medical Centre hospital in Al Nahda. The hospital bill amounted to Dh24,000. After asking for a discount from the hospital, the amount has been reduced to Dh19,000. Besides, Joylyn has been advised to take 14 chemotherapy sessions, the cost of which amounts to Dh142,000.  Assistant teacherJoylyn, who works as assistant teacher earning a monthly salary of Dh2,500, ... Read More..

People who refuse the vaccine are not only increasing their risk of contracting the Covid virus — they could also be ‘prolonging’ the pandemic, UAE doctors have warned.  Medics have reiterated the reminder, supporting the country’s stance against naysayers. On Tuesday, a top official said the UAE is now considering the possibility of imposing movement restrictions on residents who have not taken the jab despite being eligible to do so.  Dr Osama Ahmed El Gharib, medical director at Burjeel Specialty Hospital, Sharjah, said: “The real danger is that, sometimes, in the first five to seven days, the patient could develop Covid-19 but they may be unaware of it while it continues to be infectious.” The only people who are NOT eligible for the vac ... Read More..