News Analysis India

Tag: Covid vaccination

  • Test-track-treat and vaccinate: Centre asks states to ensure lockdown opening up is ‘carefully calibrated’

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The easing of Covid-related lockdown norms has led to crowding in some markets and other places, the Centre said on Saturday, as it urged states to ensure the “extremely important” five-fold strategy of Covid-appropriate behaviour, test-track-treat and vaccination to prevent the spread of the disease.

    In a communication to all states and Union Territories (UTs), Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla also said that vaccination against COVID-19, in the present scenario, is critical to break the chain of transmission.

    Therefore, all state and UT governments should step up the pace of vaccination, to cover maximum number of people in an expeditious manner, he said.

    The home secretary said that during the second Covid wave, a significant surge in cases was witnessed in several states and UTs, and many of them imposed restrictions in order to contain the spread of the infection.

    “With a decline in the number of active cases, many states and UTs have started relaxing restrictions.

    I would like to highlight that the decision to impose or ease restrictions has to be taken, based on the assessment of the situation at the ground level,” he said.

    Bhalla said while the opening up of activities, after decline in cases is essential, states and UTs must ensure that the whole process is “carefully calibrated”.

    “While opening up, it would be extremely important to follow the five-fold strategy of Covid appropriate behaviour, test-track-treat and vaccination,” he said.

    The home secretary said regular monitoring of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour is required to prevent relapse.

    To reiterate, Covid appropriate behaviour includes mandatory use of masks, hand hygiene, social distancing and also proper ventilation of closed spaces, he said.

    “However, easing of restrictions in some states, have led to resumption of crowding of people in markets etc., without adherence to the norms of Covid appropriate behaviour,” he said.

    It is, therefore essential to ensure that complacency does not set in, and there is no let-up in adhering to Covid appropriate behaviour, while opening up activities, the home secretary said.

  • India records 60,753 fresh COVID-19 cases, active tally lowest in 74 days

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: With 60,753 new Covid cases being reported in a day, India’s total tally rose to 2,98,23,546, while the number of active cases stand at 7,60,019, the lowest in 74 days, according to Union health ministry data updated on Saturday.

    The death toll climbed to 3,85,137 with 1,647 fresh fatalities and active cases comprise 2.55 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 96.16 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    A total of 19,02,009 tests were conducted on Friday, taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 38,92,07,637, it said.

    The daily positivity rate was recorded 2.98 per cent.

    It has been less than five per cent for 12 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding that the weekly positivity rate has declined to 3.58 per cent.

    Recoveries continue to outnumber daily new cases for the 37th consecutive day.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease increased to 2,86,78,390, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.29 per cent, the data said.

    Cumulatively, 27,23,88,783 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19 last year.

    The tally crossed the 2-crore marck on May 4.

  • Vaccine efficiency high in studies by top institutions

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Citing first studies from India from healthcare workers, top officials on Friday underlined that Covid-19 vaccines offer substantial risk reduction against hospitalisation, ICU care and need for oxygen.  The studies have come from two prestigious healthcare institutions Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, and Christian Medical College of Vellore.

    In a press briefing by the Union health ministry on Covid-19 status, VK Paul, member (health), Niti Aayog who heads the national task force on Covid said that vaccination offered a 75-80% risk reduction against hospitalisation from infection in vaccinated individuals, as compared to those unvaccinated.

    “The possibility of such individuals (vaccinated) needing oxygen support is around 8% and the risk of ICU admission is only 6%,” he said. “Healthcare workers are very high-risk groups. They live and work exposed to high viral loads in ICUs and in coronavirus wards,” said Paul. “Studies show that if vaccination is done, then the need for hospitalisation decreases by 75 to 80%.

    Even if the infection takes place, hospitalisation chance falls to 20 to 25%… This is powerful data from reasonable sized studies. The risk of serious disease is low.” The CMC study, released on a preprint server for medical sciences last week, said one dose of Covid vaccine offered 61% protective effect against infection, while two doses offered 65%. Significantly, one dose reduced the risk of hospitalisation by 70% and two doses by 77%.

    Among the staff members who received vaccines, no deaths were reported and only one staff member of the medical institution has died. But he had had several comorbidities and did not receive the vaccine, the paper said.

    The study from PGI, Chandigarh, on the other hand showed that while there were 1.6% instances of breakthrough infections in vaccinated healthcare workers, vaccines offered significant protection against hospitalisation and death.

  • Maharashtra: Teachers seek govt nod to board local trains, priority in vaccination for attending schools

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government’s recent order directing teachers to attend schools has not gone down well with the teaching fraternity for the lack of any assurance on prioritising them for vaccination against COVID-19 and the permission to travel by suburban trains in Mumbai.

    In a circular issued on Monday, the state government made it mandatory for 50 percent of teachers of class 1 to 9 to conduct online sessions for students from their schools.

    A 100 percent attendance is made compulsory for teachers of class 10 and lecturers of junior colleges.

    The teachers have been directed to attend schools so that results of class 10 can be released by June-end.

    This decision was implemented on June 15 barring the Vidarbha region where it will come into effect from June 26.

    Sanjay Daware, Mumbai unit president of the Maharashtra State Aided and Non-aided School Action Committee, said on Wednesday, “the government has issued its circular half-heartedly. We had demanded giving teachers priority in the vaccination drive, but there is no communication from the state government.”

    “Teachers in Mumbai had also demanded permission to travel by local trains but there is no clear instruction in the circular about this demand. How teachers are expected to reach schools if they are not allowed to board the trains?” he questioned.

    Daware said the government, on one hand, expects teachers to issue results on time so that students do not suffer but on the other hand it has not allowed them permission to travel in local trains.

  • Covid: Centre asks states to prepare plans for expediting second-dose coverage among healthcare workers

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Terming the low Covid vaccination coverage among the healthcare and frontline workers, especially for the second dose, a cause of “serious concern”, the Centre advised the states and Union territories on Thursday to sharpen their focus and prepare effective plans for expediting the second dose coverage among these priority groups.

    At a high-level meeting chaired by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan with the states to review the progress of vaccination, it was highlighted that while the national average for the first dose administration among the healthcare workers (HCWs) is 82 percent, for the second dose, it is only 56 percent, a statement issued by the health ministry said.

    Further, the coverage in 18 states and Union territories, including Punjab, Maharashtra, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Assam, is below the national average in this aspect.

    For the frontline workers (FLWs), the national average of first-dose coverage is 85 percent but for the second dose, it is only 47 percent, the statement said.

    Nineteen states and Union territories, including Bihar, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Telangana, Karnataka and Punjab, have reported a second-dose coverage of FLWs below the national average, it added.

    ALSO READ | Jharkhand tops in Covid vaccine wastage; Kerala, West Bengal report negative wastage

    The Union health secretary reiterated that universal coverage and full protection amongst this group is crucial to protect the healthcare response to the pandemic and a timely completion of the vaccination schedule is important for conferring full protection to the beneficiaries.

    The states were asked to sharpen their focus and prepare effective plans for expediting the second dose administration for the HCWs and FLWs, the statement said.

    The states were also asked to dedicate special time slots or sessions for the exercise, it added.

    Bhushan highlighted the less than adequate private sector participation in the Covid vaccination drive.

    According to the revised guidelines, 25 per cent of the vaccine stock can be procured by the private hospitals, which can set up Covid vaccination centres (CVCs) for supplementing the government’s efforts in further universalisation of the vaccination drive.

    The limited presence of private hospitals and their unequal spread were highlighted for Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam etc., the statement said.

    The states were alerted to the new features on the Co-WIN portal, which were incorporated in light of the new vaccination guidelines.

    They were informed that rectifications can be done in the personal information (name, year of birth, gender and photo ID number of the card used) by the citizens, requesting changes only in any of the two fields of the four mentioned.

    These changes are allowed only once.

    Once updated, the old certificate will be deleted and it will not be possible to reverse the changes.

    Change in vaccine type, date of vaccination, vaccination events not recorded on Co-WIN can be made with the help of the district immunisation officers (DIOs).

    These changes cannot be done by the users themselves, but they will have to request the DIOs, the statement said.

    A feature to tag the existing CVCs as urban and rural is also being provided. The states were informed of the vaccine utilisation feature.

    The DIOs are allowed to edit or update the vaccine utilisation reports (VURs) submitted by the vaccinators and make corrections, if needed.

    The states were asked to thoroughly train the vaccinators and DIOs to prevent data-entry errors.

    They were informed that the CoWIN platform is now available in 12 languages. The platform is equipped to register the UDID unique disability ID card as well.

    It was also pointed out that accounts now can be blocked for 24 hours if more than 1,000 searches are done in 50 log-in sessions of 15 minutes each.

    The states can offer walk-in registrations for the 45-plus age group if the on-site capacity is greater than zero, the statement said.

    Walk-in sessions for the 18-44 age group can also be organised if the “onsite-dose 2” capacity is greater than zero.

    The states were advised to widely publicise about this at the CVCs, the statement said.

  • ‘Serious concern’, says Centre as only half of healthcare and frontline workers fully vaccinated so far

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Less than 60 per cent healthcare workers in India have been fully vaccinated against Covid so far, nearly five months after a nationwide inoculation drive was started for them in mid-January.  

    The number of healthcare workers in the country is about 1 crore and they are considered the most vulnerable to the infectious disease. 

    Union Health Ministry, in a review meeting on Covid vaccination in the country on Thursday underlined that while the national average for the first dose administration among for this category 82%, it is only 56% for the second dose. 

    Worryingly, in 18 states and Union Territories including Punjab, Maharashtra, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Assam, the full vaccination coverage among healthcare workers is even lower than the national average. 

    Apart from low full vaccination coverage among this crucial category, less than half of the frontline workers in the country — numbering about 2 crores –have received two complete doses of vaccine yet. 

    For this priority group, while the national average of first dose coverage is 85%, it is only 47% for the second dose, with 19 states and UTs reporting even lower figures than this. Among them are Bihar, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Telangana, Karnataka, and Punjab. 

    ALSO READ | Jharkhand tops in Covid vaccine wastage; Kerala, West Bengal report negative wastage

    Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that the low full vaccination coverage for these two priority groups was a “serious concern”. 

    The universal vaccination coverage and full protection for these groups is crucial to protect healthcare response to pandemic, Bhushan told states, asking them to sharpen their focus and prepare effective plans for expediting the second dose administration. 

    States were also instructed to dedicate special time slots or sessions for the exercise. 

    Another worry for the Centre in the ongoing Covid vaccination drive is less than adequate private sector participation. 

    As per the government’s coronavirus vaccination policy, 25% of the vaccine stock can be procured by the private hospitals but in several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Assam, their participation has been negligible owing to the limited presence and their unequal spread. 

    In the review meeting, states were alerted to the new features in the CoWIN portal which were incorporated in light of the new vaccination guidelines. Now, rectifications can be done in the personal information such as name, year of birth, gender and photo id number of the card.   

    The amendments also allow change in vaccine type, date of vaccination, vaccination events particularly not recorded in CoWIN for which users however will have to take the help of district immunization officers. 

    The government said that a feature to tag the existing Covid vaccination centres as urban and rural is also being provided.

  • Chhattisgarh’s excellent performance in all categories in terms of Kovid vaccination

    A total of 72 lakh one thousand 826 vaccines have been administered so far in the state to prevent corona infection. Chhattisgarh is performing excellently in all categories in terms of covid vaccination. The state ranks among the first two states in immunization of health workers. Chhattisgarh ranks in the first ten states among the largest states to vaccinate citizens above 45 years of age.

    90 percent health workers, 100 percent frontline workers and 77 percent citizens above 45 years of age have been given the first dose to prevent corona infection. Both doses of vaccine have been given to 68 percent health workers, frontline workers and 12 percent citizens above 45 years of age. More than 9 lakh in the age group of 18 years+ were also vaccinated against corona first.

    Priyanka Shukla, State Nodal for Kovid 19 Vaccination of the State and Director of National Health Mission, said that all persons in the age group of 18+ should come forward and vaccinate, giving the introduction of a responsible citizen, without paying attention to any kind of rumours, so that the upcoming Possible infection can also be avoided and the family can also be saved. Persons in the age group of 18 to 44 are being vaccinated as per availability of the vaccine.

  • Bihar to vaccinate all teachers, students and their kin against COVID-19 on mission mode

    Express News Service
    PATNA: The Bihar government after lifting the day-time lockdown in the state has decided to vaccinate the teachers of private and government-run school and their family members apart from vaccinating the students of both private and government schools along with their family members on mission mode.

    Following the direction of chief minister Nitish Kumar, additional chief secretary (Education) Sanjay Kumar on Wednesday issued an order to all district magistrates and respective civil surgeons to carry on the vaccination of teachers from both private and government schools along with their family members on a mission mode in the first phase.

    “After the successful completion of vaccination of teachers and their family members in the first phase, the vaccination for the students of both private and government schools along with their family members will be done in the second phase on a mission mode,” Sanjay Kumar said.

    He said that the vaccination of all students and teachers of private and government schools and their family members will be done in next three months. “At least 300 beneficiaries would be vaccinated at every vaccination site created at schools everyday,” Kumar said, adding that nearly 4.5 lakh teachers are in government schools in the state.

    This would be one of the tough tasks of ensuring vaccination to more than 2 crore students enrolled in both private and government schools besides their family members.

    Meanwhile, Shyamal Ahamad – national president of private schools association said that there are 25000 private schools with 5 lakh teachers and approximately 75 lakh students in the state. He welcomed the decision of government for starting vaccination in private schools also.

  • COVID-19: As India reports ess than one lakh cases for the second successive day, this is what it means to national recovery rate

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: As the country records less than one lakh cases for the second successive days, the daily positivity rate of India has declined to 4.66 per cent, informed to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Wednesday.

    “The weekly positivity rate is currently at 5.66 per cent while the daily positivity rate stands at 4.66 per cent today. It has remained less than 10 per cent for 16th consecutive days now,” the health ministry said.

    India has been witnessing a continuous fall in the active caseload and is below 20 lakhs for nine successive days. The country’s active caseload today stands at 12,31,415.

    “A net decline of 72,287 is witnessed in the last 24 hours and active cases are now only 4.23 per cent of the country’s total positive cases,” it said.

    Meanwhile, India reported 92,596 daily new cases in the last 24 hours.

    The Union Health Ministry informed that India’s daily recoveries continue to outnumber the daily new cases for the 27th consecutive day.

    “As many as 1,62,664 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours. India’s cumulative recoveries have reached 2,75,04,126 today. The National Recovery Rate has grown further to touch 94.55 per cent,” the ministry said.

    The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has exceeded 23.90 crore today under the nationwide vaccination drive. 27,76,096 vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours.

    A total of 23,90,58,360 vaccine doses have been administered through 33,44,533 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today.

    “The total of 23,88,40,635 include 99,96,113 Healthcare Workers (HCWs) have taken the first dose and 68,94,206 HCWs have taken the second dose, 1,63,86,094 Frontline Workers (FLWs) (first dose), 87,28,340 FLWs (second dose),” it said.

    These include 3,18,51,951 people in the age group of 18-44 years (first dose), 3,18,313 in the same age group (2nd dose), 7,26,04,407 people in the age group of 45 to 60 years (first dose), 1,15,39,053 in the same age group (2nd dose), 6,12,98,568 aged above 60 years (1st Dose) and 1,94,41,315 in the same age group (2nd Dose). 

  • 45+ population group will be given priority for Covid vaccines, says Centre

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Starting June 21, when the revised Covid vaccination policy comes into effect, all adults in India will be entitled for walk-in inoculations against coronavirus at vaccination centres in both the government and private sectors.

    As of now, people in 18–44-year age group can receive jabs only after booking appointments in advance through the CoWIN portal, except for some rural pockets where on site registration for this population group has been permitted.

    A day after announcing a significant change in Covid vaccination policy under which 75% of the total vaccines in India will now be directly procured by the Centre and supplied to states, the Union government on Tuesday also said that it will, however, continue to prefer high priority population groups for inoculations.

    But states, as per the latest guidelines, will be free to decide their own prioritisation within 18–44-year age group, factoring in the vaccine supply schedule.

    The revised policy says that while all citizens irrespective of their income status are entitled to free vaccination, those “who have the ability to pay are encouraged to use private hospital’s vaccination centres”.

    The guidelines say that to promote the spirit of “Lok Kalyan”, use of non-transferable electronic vouchers which can be redeemed at private vaccination centers, will be encouraged.

    “This would enable people to financially support vaccination of economically weaker sections at private vaccination centres,” the government said.

    For the Centre, the priority population groups include healthcare and front-line workers, those above 45 years and those whose second dose is due.  

    ALSO READ | Jab allocation based on population, disease burden, progress of vaccination and wastage: Centre on new guidelines

    Also, coronavirus vaccine doses provided by the Centre to states will be based on criteria such as population, disease burden and the progress of vaccination with a warning that wastage of vaccine will affect the allocation negatively.

    Some experts, while pointing out that the document by the Union Health Ministry, without explicitly saying it, hints that vaccines in government hospitals should continue to be given to the high priority population till their full vaccination coverage is achieved.

    “And that I think is a pragmatic thing to do,” said health systems specialist Chandrakant Lahariya.

    “In fact I would have preferred it if the vaccination for the 18-44 age group would have been put on hold till vaccination for the rest of the adult population is completed and vaccine supply issue is fixed. That would have really streamlined the Covid inoculation process.”

    Meanwhile, the Centre also defended its decision to allow private hospitals to keep procuring 25% of the total Covid vaccines available in the country.

    “In order to incentivize production by vaccine manufacturers and encourage new vaccines, domestic vaccine manufacturers are given the option to also provide vaccines directly to private hospitals,” it said.

    It added that states would aggregate the demand of private hospitals keeping in view equitable distribution between large and small private hospitals and regional balance, based on which the Union government will facilitate supply of these vaccines to the private hospitals and their payment through the National Health Authority’s electronic platform.

    “This would enable the smaller and remote private hospitals to obtain timely supply of vaccines, and further equitable access and regional balance,” the government said.