In poll preparation, Nadda to address UP BJP executive meet
Lucknow, (TIE) The Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold its state executive meeting on Friday to chart out its political roadmap for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, due early next year.
Covid vaccination leads to reduced ICU stay, treatment cost
New Delhi, (TIE) A cohort study on the impact of vaccination among Covid-19 patients by Star Health and Allied Insurance has unveiled the significant impacts of vaccination among individuals 45 years and above, IndiaMedToday reported.
The study concluded that there was a marked reduction in the total hospitalisation expenses by approximately 24 per cent, the average length of stay (ALOS) by a mean of 2.1 days, ICU requirement by 66 per cent and a reduction of approximately 81 per cent in mortality among patients who had completed two doses of vaccination.
The report said the study was conducted during the second wave (March and April 2021) and considered a sample size of 3,820 hospitalised patients from across India who were 45 years and above.
The cohort study revealed that the average cost of hospitalisation of the unvaccinated group was Rs 2.77 lakh while the vaccinated group recorded an average cost of Rs 2.1 lakh.
The cost reduction was due to factors like reduced need of ICU requirement and reduction in the length of hospital stay from an average of seven days among unvaccinated to an average of 4.9 days for the vaccinated group, the report said.
Speaking on the study, S Prakash, MD, Star Health and Allied Insurance said, “The beginning of 2021 saw a breakthrough in vaccine discovery against COVID-19 making it the fastest vaccine discovery till date. We aimed to measure and understand in exact terms the impact of Covid-19 vaccination in patients who contracted the illness 14 days after the second dose versus unvaccinated patients, thus making it unique research in its own right.”
The cohort study surveyed customers of Star Health and Allied Insurance Company who were admitted for COVID-19 treatment in 1,104 hospitals across the country and found that the ALOS, need for ICU and reduction in costs holds for patients with comorbidities as well. While the need for ICU for patients with comorbidities fell from a whopping 9.4 per cent to 5 per cent amongst those vaccinated, the treatment cost also reduced by nearly 15 per cent.
“However, the study also revealed that over 57 per cent of patients among the unvaccinated group were hesitant to take the vaccine due to fear, ignorance or more worryingly, social factors and disinterest! There is an urgent need to address this and we hope that through this study we will be able to highlight the benefits of the vaccine, educate and motivate the public to get vaccinated soon,” added Prakash.
Conducted and concluded during the early stages of vaccination drive, the study noted that nearly 86 per cent of those surveyed had not taken the vaccination and amongst these 43 per cent did not have any valid reason for not taking the jab.
IBM to digitise Bengaluru airport operations
Bengaluru,(TIE) Global software major IBM would digitise Bengaluru international airport operations to transform fliers experience, said its operator on Wednesday.
“We have entered into a 10-year partnership with IBM’s ‘s global business services arm to digitise our IT network for operating the Kempegowda airport,” said Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), a public-private consortium that operates the country’s third largest airport, in a statement here.
Red Hat automation and Kyndryl, an entity of IBM’s managed infrastructure services business, will partner with the US-based IT behemoth to create an airport in a box platform to transform the travel experience of passengers.
“As one of the fastest-growing airports, we needed a nimble, scalable and cost-competitive technology to handle growth in passenger traffic in the future, with operational flexibility,” said the operator.
The new platform is expected to improve the operator’s employee productivity, better utilisation of its IT assets, reduce costs through inventory control and improved incident management.
“The IBM platform will support the operator’s business growth and generate AI (artificial intelligence)-powered insights from IBM Maximo enterprise asset management technology to optimise inventory management and the cost of ownership,” said BIAL in the statement.
When the platform goes operational and enhances travel experience of fliers, the twin partners plan to advance the platform for the transformation of global travel and transportation industry.
“The partnership with IBM is part of our vision to make the airport smart, digitised, connected and intuitive,” said BIAL chief executive Hari Marar on the occasion.
IBM works with about 150 airports worldwide and has a history of helping airports, airlines and the aviation industry to innovate and transform.
“The project capitalises on our ability to deliver advanced technologies and services that enable airport operators to transform their business,” said IBM services Vice President Mark Foster in the statement.
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