News Analysis India

Tag: COVID19

  • COVID vaccine production ramped up to 40 lakh doses per day: MoS Health Dr Bharati Pawar

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: To vaccinate the entire eligible population against COVID-19 as soon as possible, the vaccine production in the country has been increased from 2.5 lakh doses per day to around 40 lakh doses per day, said Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, Minister of State (MoS) for Health on Friday.

    Speaking to ANI, the MoS informed that trials are underway for the COVID vaccine for children. “Initially, around 2.5 lakh vaccines were produced per day. Today it has increased to around 40 lakhs per day. I think with this rise in the production capacity, we will be able to vaccinate people in an even better manner,” said Pawar.

    She said that it is a matter of pride that vaccination numbers crossed the 50 crore mark in the country, and added that through (media), the government is spreading the message that vaccination is important in the fight against Corona.

    The Minister emphasised that the government has made continuous efforts to ensure that vaccines reach people and informed that trials of vaccines for children are underway. “Centre is making continuous efforts towards this. The vaccine is prepared on basis of efficacy, immunogenicity, and other parameters. Trials (of vaccines for Children) are underway keeping safety measures in mind. We’re trying to introduce it soon,” she added.

    Pawar appreciated the role of media during the COVID pandemic and said the Centre will always stand with media persons and their families for risking their lives while reporting from the ground.

  • COVID vaccination to be stepped up in four districts with high caseload: Maharashtra minister

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday said efforts are being taken to expedite vaccination in four districts, including Pune, where the COVID-19 positivity rate was high. He said that necessary directives in this regard have been issued to the administration of these four districts – Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara and Pune.

    The spike in COVID-19 cases in these districts was higher than the rest of the state, the minister said. “The health department is focusing on tracking, testing and treatment of patients. Nodal officers have been asked to expedite COVID-19 vaccination. We are pushing for uninterrupted vaccine supply from the central government,” he said.

    Positivity rate is the percentage of people who test positive for the virus out of those who have been tested. The minister said strict implementation of COVID-19 safety protocols was necessary to prevent a possible third wave of the pandemic.

    Data shows that countries which have vaccinated maximum percentage of their adult population have been able to contain the third wave of the pandemic, Tope said.

  • India may see another surge in COVID-19 cases in mid-August: Experts

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: India may see another rise in COVID-19 cases in mid of August with the third wave peaking, with less than 1,00,000 in the best cases scenario and nearly 1,50,000 infections a day in the worst scenario.

    A study by a group of researchers led by Mathukumalli Vidyasagar and Manindra Agrawal at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Hyderabad and Kanpur have predicted that India is likely to witness another rise in COVID-19 cases in August. However, they have also said that it is likely to be less brutal as the second wave where cases rose to 4 lakhs on a daily basis.

    Earlier, Dr Samiran Panda, Head of Epidemiology and infectious diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Speaking to ANI said that if the third wave of COVID-19 occurs, it will hit sometime around August-end. “There might be a third as it is not inevitable than the second wave. If the third wave happens, it will hit sometime around August end, it is not inevitable,” said Dr Panda.

    Dr Panda also said, “When will the third wave come and how severe it can be, all these questions are related to many factors which are not known to the full extent.” India reported 40,134 new cases of COVID-19 and 422 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry on Monday.

    The total number of cases currently stands at 3,16,95,958. The death toll has climbed to 4,24,773. The number of active cases of COVID-19 in the country is 4,13,718.

    A total of 36,946 patients recovered in the last 24 hours and 3,08,57,467 people have recovered from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. This constitutes an overall recovery rate of 97.35 per cent.

    Less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported since thirty-six continuous days. This is a result of sustained and collaborative efforts by the Centre, the States and UTs. The Centre has currently directed 10 states, including Kerala, Maharashtra, and northeastern regions to take steps to control the spread of the disease.

  • 40,134 fresh cases of COVID-19 reported in a day, active cases increase for sixth consecutive day

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India registered 40,134 fresh COVID-19 infections, pushing its virus tally to 3,16,95,958, while the number of active cases registered an increase for the sixth consecutive day, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

    The death toll from the pandemic climbed to 4,24,773 with 422 daily fatalities.

    According to the Union Health Ministry, India recorded 40,134 new #COVID19 cases, 36,946 discharges & 422 deaths in the last 24 hours.Express Photo | @Gsn_tnie pic.twitter.com/ucmnoIybqc
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) August 2, 2021

    The number of active coronavirus cases has increased to 4,13,718 and comprises 1.31 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.35 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    An increase of 2,766 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    Also, 14,28,984 tests were conducted on Sunday, taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 46,96,45,494, while the daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.81 per cent .

    The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.37 per cent, according to the Health Ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,08,57,467, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, the data stated.

    Cumulative vaccine doses administered so far has reached 47.22 crore under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7; 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 one crore on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore COVID-19 cases on May 4, and 3 crore on June 23.

    The 422 new fatalities include 157 from Maharashtra, 64 from Odisha and 56 from Kerala.

    A total of 4,24,773 deaths linked to the disease have been reported so far in the country, including 1,32,948 from Maharashtra, 36,587 from Karnataka, 34,102 from Tamil Nadu, 25,054 from Delhi, 22,763 from Uttar Pradesh, 18,149 from West Bengal and 16,794 from Punjab.

    The Health Ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

  • Himachal Pradesh among best states in COVID management: CM Jai Ram Thakur

    He said the Congress remained in power for about 50 years in Himachal as well as at the Centre, but there were only about 50 ventilators in the state when the pandemic started.

  • Production of Sputnik V COVID vaccine in India to go fully on stream in September: RDIF

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: The production of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V in India is expected to come fully on stream in September, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) informed on Saturday.

    “Production in India is expected to come fully onstream in September and RDIF expects India to become a major production hub for the Sputnik V vaccine with such companies as Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest vaccine producer, Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech and Morepen Laboratories working to produce the vaccine,” a statement issued by RDIF read.

    Regarding delay in manufacturing of second component batches, they said, “Reports about Sputnik V second component production delays in India based on anonymous sources are incorrect. A number of RDIF partners in India have already produced the second component batches, which are undergoing verification at the Gamaleya Center in Russia. Transfer of technology to partners in India is also in process and there is an active exchange between Russian and Indian vaccine production specialists.”

    Further explaining it said, “RDIF plans to accelerate deliveries of Sputnik V and Sputnik Light to India already in August.” Earlier, Dr Reddy’s said due to the spike of COVID-19 cases in Russia, the arrival of Sputnik V dose is getting delayed and the situation may ease by August end.

  • Districts with over 10 per cent COVID positivity need to consider strict curbs: Centre

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Districts reporting a COVID-19 positivity rate of over 10 per cent in the last few weeks need to consider strict restrictions to prevent or curtail people’s movement and crowding, the Centre told 10 states witnessing an upsurge in infections and positivity.

    Highlighting that 46 districts are showing more than 10 per cent positivity rate while another 53 are showing positivity between five and 10 per cent, the Centre has urged the states to ramp up their testing for detection of COVID-19.

    The Health Ministry said it was forcefully underlined that any laxity at this stage will result in the deterioration of the situation in these districts.

    ALSO READ| In-host mutations in COVID-19 virus reflecting in variants, finds study

    Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan chaired a high-level meeting on Saturday to review the COVID-19 situation in Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Manipur.

    The public health measures taken for surveillance, containment and management of COVID-19 by the health authorities in these states were also reviewed. These states are either reporting a rise in daily COVID cases or a rise in positivity.

    The Health Ministry, in a statement, said, “All districts reporting positivity rate of more than 10 per cent in the last few weeks need to consider strict restrictions to prevent/curtail the movement of people, formation of crowds and intermingling of people to prevent the spread of infection.”

    Noting that more than 80 per cent of active cases in these states are reported to be in home isolation, it said there is a need to effectively and strictly monitor these cases so that they do not meet other people and spread the infection.

    “The people in home isolation should be effectively monitored in such a manner to ensure that those who require hospitalization are seamlessly transferred for timely clinical treatment. Detailed standard operating procedure covering various facets of effective clinical management of COVID-19 patients in hospitals have been earlier shared with the states for prompt shifting and effective hospital management,” the Centre told states.

    ALSO READ| Over 2.27 lakh pregnant women inoculated against COVID-19; Tamil Nadu tops chart

    The ministry also asked states to focus on those districts where the positivity rate is less than 10 per cent, so as to protect these districts and the populations by focusing on saturation of vaccination there. “States were again informed that this quantum of vaccine doses indicates the minimum possible allocation by the Centre to the states; quantum more than this is usually delivered by the Union Health Ministry to states based on their consumption,” the statement said.

    The ministry said the states were advised to direct private hospitals to put up hospital-based PSA plants. “States have been earlier advised regarding this in the past two months. Provisions under the Clinical Establishment Act enable states to issue such direction to private hospitals. For states which have already issued such directions, they were advised to review the status and facilitate the private hospitals further,” it said.

    The Health Ministry also asked states to conduct their own serosurveys for district-wise disease prevalence data, as such a survey at the national level was heterogeneous in nature.

    Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Dr Balram Bhargava advised states to ramp up vaccination in the senior citizens and the 45-60 year categories as evidence show near 80 per cent of the mortalities are from these vulnerable age groups.

    About enforcement measures, he advised states to avoid all non-essential travel and discourage large gatherings.

    Granular analysis of the highly affected districts in these states, COVID-19 vaccination coverage, the status of ventilators, PSA plants, oxygen cylinders and concentrators along with some key statistics was presented at the meeting.

    The Centre also asked states were asked to use the INSACOG laboratory network for genomic surveillance to screen international travellers, monitor ongoing surveillance through sentinel sites (RT-PCR labs or secondary and tertiary care hospitals managing COVID cases) and surge surveillance.

    States were advised to undertake intensive containment and active surveillance in clusters reporting higher cases, define containment zones based on mapping of cases and contacts traced and undertake regular reviews and follow-up.

    ALSO WATCH | 

  • Easing of lockdown, non-adherence to COVID norms behind surge in infections: Centre

    MoS Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said that although health is a state subject, the Union government has provided the required technical support and also provided logistic and financial support.

  • COVID Severity Score algorithm developed for use by frontline health workers: Jitendra Singh

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Department of Science and Technology (DST), supported project by the Foundation For Innovations In Health, Kolkata has developed an algorithm that measures COVID Severity Score (CSS) which is suitable for use by frontline health workers and other health personnel, Science and Technology minister Jitendra Singh said on Friday.

    The software generates a CSS based on personal information, symptoms, vital parameters and laboratory test reports.

    The software dynamically monitors the clinical status of the patient so that informed and timely decision can be taken regarding clinical management plan of COVID affected patients like the requirement of ICU admission, ventilator support, discharge.

    “Science for Equity Empowerment & Development (SEED) Division of Department of Science and Technology (DST), under a project supported for sustainable public health and primary care by the Foundation For Innovations In Health, Kolkata has developed an algorithm that measures Covid Severity Score (CSS),” Singh said in a written response to a question in Lok Sabha.

    The software application is suitable for use by frontline health workers and other health personnel.

    The algorithm has been expanded, to measure different parameters of a COVID-19 positive patient (symptoms, vital parameters, test reports and comorbidities) and it scores each patient against a pre-set dynamic algorithm and allocates a Covid Severity Score (CSS), he said.

    In this initiative, the organisation has collaborated with IIT, Guwahati, University of Edinburgh and World Health Organisation (WHO) (South East Asia Regional Office). “This technology has been made available at primary care e-Health clinics in resource poor settings through the project supported by the SEED division,” he said.

    Certified frontline health workers received additional training from healthcare sector skill council as Covid Warrior. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the training centre at IIT Guwahati for training of ‘Customised Crash Course Programme for COVID Warriors, Singh said.

  • Can’t quash FIRs on behest of 3rd party for posters critical of PM over COVID vaccine drive: SC

    The court allowed petitioner-in-person, advocate Pradeep Kumar Yadav, to withdraw the plea but clarified that the dismissal of the petition will not come in the way of a genuinely aggrieved person.