News Analysis India

Tag: COVID19

  • Centre writes to five states, asks them to monitor spread of COVID infection amid surge in cases

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The central government has written to Delhi, Haryana, Mizoram, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh as COVID cases in these states show a rising trend and has asked them to test-track-treat-vaccinate and adhere to COVID appropriate behaviour with special emphasis on wearing of masks in crowded areas.

    In a letter to these states, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said a few states are reporting a higher contribution to India’s cases and higher positivity. He asked the states to “continue monitoring the spread of infection and undertake required steps for prompt and effective management of COVID-19”.

    Bhushan said that the states should monitor clusters of new COVID-19 cases and take containment efforts to cure the spread of infection. Apart from testing, they should also monitor influenza-like illnesses in all health facilities regularly to detect early warning signals of the spread of infection.

    “They should undertake genomic sequencing for prescribed samples of international passengers, collection of samples from sentinel sites (identified health facilities and sewage samples) and local clusters of cases,” it said.

    The ministry also asked the states to “maintain a strict watch and take pre-emptive action to control any emerging spread of infection”. The Centre had written to these five states on April 8 as well when COVID cases had started showing an upward surge.

    In the letter to Delhi’s principal secretary, Manisha Saxena, the union health secretary said it has reported an increase in weekly new cases from 998 new cases in the week ending April 12 to 2,671 new cases in the last week ending April 19. The positivity rate also increased from 1.42 per cent to 3.49 per cent in the previous week in Delhi.

    Haryana reported an increase in weekly new cases from 521 to 1,299. The state also saw a rise in positivity rate from 1.22 per cent to 2.86 per cent.

  • US FDA puts Covaxin’s second phase trials in US on hold after fallout on WHO’s observations

    By PTI

    HYDERABAD: The US Food and Drug Administration has put on hold the phase 2/3 clinical trials of Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, in USA.

    According to a press release by Ocugen Inc , Bharat Biotech’s partner for US and Canada for Covaxin, the FDA’s decision was based on the US firm’s decision to voluntarily implement a temporary pause in dosing participants of the jab, following the World Health Organisation’s observations on Covaxin manufacturing plants in India.

    “This is a result of the company’s decision to voluntarily implement a temporary pause in dosing participants of OCU-002 while it evaluates statements made by the World Health Organization following their inspection of Bharat Biotech International Limited’s (BBIL) manufacturing facility,” Ocugen said on April 12.

    WHO had earlier suspended the supply of Covaxin through US procurement agencies, after its inspectors identified GMP (good manufacturing practice) deficiencies in the Bharat Biotech’s manufacturing plants.

    Sources had said the city-based firm however, said it had not supplied the Covid vaccine to any UN agency and no impact of the suspension would be felt. OCU-002 is Ocugen’s Phase 3 immuno-bridging study of Covaxin.

    The company said it will work with the FDA to address any questions. The FDA, in February, lifted its clinical hold on Ocugen’s Investigational New Drug application (IND) to evaluate the Covaxin.

    After WHO inspection, Bharat Biotech had said it is temporarily slowing down production of Covaxin across its manufacturing units for facility optimisation as it has already completed its supply obligations to procurement agencies and foresees decrease in demand.

    The company further said after the recent WHO post Emergency Use Listing (EUL) inspection, it is working on further improvements and upgrades to ensure that the production of Covaxin continues to meet ever increasing global regulatory requirements.

  • Too early to do away with COVID face masks, but onus on public: Experts

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Even though some states have decided to stop penalising people for not wearing masks as COVID-19 cases continue to drop, healthcare experts are of the opinon that it is too early to completely do away with the restriction.

    They have advised people to voluntarily mask up in order to also stay protected from infections such as influenza and swine-flu, apart from coronavirus.

    The Maharashtra and Delhi governments recently decided to ease the restriction on the compulsory wearing of face masks in public, a norm that was in place for two years and its violation attracted a fine of Rs 2,000.

    Reacting to the development, renowned virologist T Jacob John said since the pandemic is “over” in India, the use of mask is no longer needed to reduce the SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The mask mandate has lived its time and there is no longer justification for its continuation as “mandate”.

    But it is a good idea to promote the voluntary wearing of masks in public places to reduce inhalation of dust and other respiratory transmitted agents, including TB bacilli, flu virus, other respiratory viruses like syncytial virus, adenovirus, common cold viruses etc, he said.

    “It is a habit that will reduce diseases. Currently, we see kidney transplant patients wearing masks; everyone will benefit — in buses, trains, aeroplanes etc,” John, the former director of the Indian Council for Medical Research’s Centre of Advanced Research in Virology, told PTI.

    ALSO READ| India sailed through Omicron wave because of vaccination: Mansukh Mandaviya

    “My personal opinion is that there ought to be active promotion of mask-wearing in all hospital premises, in outpatient clinics and all queues and waiting areas. There I am not averse to even a mandate. For staff and patients, relatives, visitors etc,” John added.

    Dr Ravi Shekhar Jha, Additional Director and Head of the Department – Pulmonology, Fortis Escorts Hospital, Faridabad, said mask should continue to be mandatory and it is premature to give up this habit completely.

    “The disastrous second wave, that took many young lives across the world, was something that the modern world had not seen before. People had become a little complacent after the first wave and that probably lead to an unchecked rise in fatal cases. Though it is true that majority of susceptible Indians are vaccinated, what we must keep in mind is that vaccine doesn’t protect us against infection. Even if the infection is not fatal, it keeps you weak for many months,” he said.

    “We all know about the long COVID. Therefore, it is best to not get infected. So far, science has proved that masks are the only major contributors to preventing infection,” Jha told PTI.

    Another important consideration here is that though COVID-19 has probably weakened, the country saw a reduction in the number of swine flu cases due to masks and sanitation practices. “Swine flu is more fatal than Covid and the combination called flurona can also be prevented by this. Therefore, in my opinion, masks must not be taken out of fashion…too early,” he noted.

    Dr Akshay Budhraja, senior pulmonologist, Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital, said it is time to stop swinging between restriction and normalcy. “We must learn to live with coronavirus like the same way we live with other viruses such as influenza and adenovirus among others. Masks should not be mandatory for the general population, but recommended for those who are sick or who have any kind of immunosuppressive illness, visiting crowded closed places with poor ventilation or when visiting a healthcare facility like hospitals or clinics,” he said.

    ALSO READ| Nagaland government lifts all COVID restrictions, face masks rule to continue

    “At the same time, we need to stay cautious and follow the latest recommendations which may change from time to time in the coming months, as per the statistics. Now that everyone is aware enough on when to wear a mask, we must take responsibility ourselves in coming times,” he said.

    Dr Arunesh Kumar, HOD & Senior Consultant, Pulmonology, Paras Hospitals, Gurugram, said there has been a rise in COVID-19 cases in west as well as in China.

    “Masking is the second-most effective intervention after vaccination when it comes to preventing new COVID infection. We are still not there with our double vaccine recipient numbers where herd immunity will be attained. New infections invite virus mutation. With a population as large as ours, it may prove a costly move as people will definitely find a reason not to put a mask on as a major deterrent has been removed,” he said.

    Advocating for unlocking but not unmasking, Kumar said the mask has also proved useful in preventing other infections like tuberculosis as well as allergic problems from dust and pollen, “which is a big problem in Delhi-National Capital Region”.

    “I urge people to consider masking up on a voluntary basis when out and about to help the country fight COVID infection effectively,” he added.

  • Nagaland government lifts all COVID-19 restrictions, face masks rule to continue

    By PTI

    KOHIMA: In view of the weekly COVID test positivity remaining below two per cent for the past one month in Nagaland and the advisory issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the state government has announced that all COVID-19 restrictions stand withdrawn from Friday.

    There will be no restriction on the number of people who can attend any event, Nagaland Chief Secretary J Alam said. The COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for travellers or tourists entering Nagaland will also stand withdrawn, he said.

    The curbs were lifted two years after they were imposed for preventing the spread of coronavirus.

    However, people have been advised to continue adhering to COVID-19 appropriate behaviour like wearing of face masks in public places, following hand hygiene and maintaining physical distancing at all times, he said.

    Nagaland had first detected the COVID-19 infection among three Chennai returnees on May 25, 2020.

    Those above 12 years of age have been advised to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and people whose precautionary dose is due, have been asked to get themselves vaccinated at the earliest, a circular said.

    In another circular, the state government said the average number of daily new hospital admissions due to coronavirus has remained below five for the last three weeks. The number of active cases has also declined steeply and remained only at 15 as on March 31, it said.

    In view of the developments, the state government has decided that there will not be any further extension of the order imposing restrictions for containment of COVID-19 in the state under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 beyond March 31, the circular issued by Home Commissioner Abhijit Sinha said.

    However, the Health and Family Welfare Department will continue focusing on five-fold strategy of Test-Tract-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, and will closely monitor the situation and shall take prompt and necessary action at the local level, whenever any upsurge of cases is noticed in any part of the state, Sinha said.

    Nagaland has detected a total of 35,476 COVID-19 cases, of which 33,217 people have recovered, 759 have died, and 1,484 patients have migrated to other states. In view of the continuous dip in coronavirus cases, the Union Home Ministry had decided to end all COVID-19 containment measures from March 31.

    The Central Government had on March 24, 2020 issued for the first time orders and guidelines, under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, for the containment of COVID-19 in the country which were modified from time to time.

  • India logs 1,233 fresh cases of COVID-19, 31 deaths reported

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: With 1,233 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,30,23,215, while the active cases dipped to 14,704, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

    The death toll climbed to 5,21,101 with 31 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said.

    A reduction of 674 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded as 0.20 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded as 0.25 per cent, according to the ministry.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 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.

    The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

  • Centre to end all COVID-19 containment measures except face mask rule from March 31

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: In view of the continuous dip in coronavirus cases, the home ministry has decided to end its all COVID-19 containment measures from March 31, two years after their implementation following the outbreak of the pandemic.

    However, wearing of face mask and maintaining social distancing norms will continue as earlier.

    The Central government had on March 24, 2020 issued for the first time orders and guidelines under the Disaster Management Act, (DM Act) 2005 for the containment of COVID-19 in the country and these have been modified on various occasions.

    In a communication to the chief secretaries of all states, Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla said that over the last 24 months, significant capacities have been developed for various aspects of management of the pandemic, such as diagnostics, surveillance, contact tracing, treatment, vaccination, hospital infrastructure.

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    Also, the general public now has much higher level of awareness on the COVID-appropriate behavior, he said.

    The states and Union Territories have also developed their own capacities and systems and implemented their detailed specific plans for managing the pandemic, he said, adding over the last seven weeks or so there has been a steep decline in the number of cases.

    The total caseload in the country stands at 23,913 only (on March 22) and the daily positivity rate has declined to 0.28 per cent, he said. It is also worth mentioning that with the combined efforts, a total of 181.56 crore vaccine doses have been administered, he said.

    “After taking into consideration the overall improvement in the situation and preparedness of the Government to deal with the pandemic, National Disaster Management Authority has taken a decision that there may not be any further need to invoke the provisions of the DM Act for COVID containment measures,” the communication said.

    Accordingly, Bhalla said, after the expiry of the existing order on March 31, no further order will be issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

    However, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare advisories on COVID containment measures, including on the use of face mask and hand hygiene, will continue to guide the overall national response to the pandemic, he said.

    However, the Home Secretary said that in view of the nature of the disease, people still need to remain watchful of the situation.

    ALSO READ| Karnataka well-prepared to handle any future COVID wave: Dr K Sudhakar

    He said that whenever any surge in the number of cases is observed, states and UTs may consider taking prompt and proactive action at local level, as advised by the Ministry of Health from time to time. “I would, therefore, advise all the States and UTs to consider appropriately discontinuing issue of orders and guidelines under the DM Act, 2005 for COVID containment measures,” Bhalla said.

    The states and UTs may continue to follow the Standard Operating Measures and advisories that have been or are being issued by the Ministry of Health from time to time for containment measures, vaccination and other related aspects, he said.

  • India reports 1,778 fresh cases of COVID-19, 62 deaths recorded

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: With 1,778 new coronavirus infections, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,30,12,749, while the number of active cases declined by over 800 to 23,087, according to the government data updated on Wednesday.

    The death toll has climbed to 5,16,605 with 62 new fatalities being reported in the last 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed. The active cases constitute 0.05 per cent of the total infections, while the country’s COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.75 per cent, the health ministry said.

    A reduction of 826 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in the last 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.26 per cent and weekly positivity rate was also recorded at 0.36 per cent, according to the health ministry.

    The latest 24 hours saw a total of 6,77,218 COVID-19 tests being conducted. India has so far cumulatively conducted over 78.42 crore tests. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease rose to 4,24,73,057, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.20 per cent.

    The cumulative doses of in the country so far under the nationwide Covid vaccination drive has exceeded 181.89 crore.

  • Second Covishield dose can be given between 8-16 weeks after first: NTAGI

    The NTAGI has not yet suggested any change in the schedule of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, whose second dose is administered 28 days after the first dose.

  • Future COVID waves unlikely to have serious impact in India: Experts

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Amid a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia and parts of Europe, experts in India feel that given the high vaccination coverage and immunity due to natural infection, any future waves are unlikely to have a major impact in the country.

    Some of them even said that the government should consider relaxing the mask mandate as the daily COVID-19 cases and deaths have remained low for a while. India on Sunday recorded 1,761 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest in around 688 days, and 127 deaths. The active cases also declined further to 26,240, according to government data.

    Dr Sanjay Rai, senior epidemiologist at AIIMS and the principal investigator of Covaxin trials for both adults and children at the institute, said that SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus and mutations are bound to occur.

    ALSO READ| China under pressure amid countrywide COVID resurgence as local businesses face heat

    Already more than 1,000 mutations have occurred, although there are only five variants of concern. “India experienced a very devastating second wave last year, which was very unfortunate, but currently this is our main strength as natural infection provides better and longer duration of protection. Also, there is high vaccination coverage. Hence, severe impact of any future wave is unlikely,” Rai, professor at the Centre for Community Medicine at AIIMS, said.

    “It is also time that the Indian government may consider relaxing the mask mandate,” he said, adding that senior citizens and those at a higher risk of contracting the infection should continue wearing masks as a precautionary measure.

    Having said that, Rai emphasised, the government should continue with the SARS-CoV-2 surveillance, including genomic sequencing, to monitor the emergence of any future variant. According to Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, an epidemiologist and public health specialist, the possibility of a fresh surge in India is low even with a new variant.

    “If we analyse data on seroprevalence, vaccination coverage and evidence on the spread of Omicron, it is logical to conclude that the COVID-19 epidemic in India is over. For India, the possibility of a fresh surge for many months and even with a new variant is low,” he said.

    The reason is that because of the hybrid immunity after three waves of natural infection and a large proportion of adults receiving both doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the susceptible pool has come down drastically, Lahariya said.

    “We know that antibody level declines over a period of time but hybrid immunity continues to provide protection. Moreover, at this stage of the pandemic, infections and new COVID-19 cases are not a concern. The outcome of those infections should be the criteria to assess the situation,” he said.

    ALSO READ| COVID menace ending finally? India adds 1,761 cases, lowest single-day rise in nearly two years

    Lahariya, however, stressed the need for the government to continue tracking situations in other countries, experts to analyse the situation in India, continue genomic surveillance and citizens to get the recommended vaccine shots. “It is also a time that as a society, we prepare for living with COVID,” he said.

    Lahariya further said the time is right to do away with the mask mandate for the majority of the population. “It is also time that the Indian government reviews and revises the face mask-related regulation. The time has come that the mask requirement for the majority of the population can be done away with. It can be done in a graded manner,” he stated.

    Dr Jugal Kishore, head of Community Medicine at Safdarjung Hospital, said due to high prevalence of seropositivity, which indicates that more than 80-90 per cent of the population has been infected by coronavirus, measures like wearing masks can be done away with. He also pointed out that due to high natural infection, people are unlikely to have severe symptoms if a new wave of coronavirus comes.

    Dr NK Arora, chairman of the COVID-19 working group of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), said given the high vaccination coverage and the wide spread of the disease, the possibility of India being hit by a severe wave is less likely.

    But that should not lead to the lowering of guard as there is always the risk of new variants emerging. The current understanding is that most of these outbreaks are due to Omicron and its sublineages, he said.

    Arora said that data from other countries shows that the risk of severe disease and death is primarily for those who are either unvaccinated or partially immunised. “So, I would strongly request all those adults who have still not received their second dose and are due for their precaution dose to take it. Also, they should ensure that children aged 12 to 18 also complete the Covid vaccination as recommended under the national programme,” he said.

    Last week, the Union health ministry had asked all states and union territories to ensure an adequate number of samples are submitted to the INSACOG network for timely detection of new COVID-19 variants, continue testing according to protocols and not to let the guard down while resuming economic and social activities.

    It also asked them to restart monitoring influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infections so that no early warning signals are missed and COVID-19 is controlled.

    Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had chaired a high-level meeting on March 16 during which states were advised to focus on aggressive genome sequencing, intensified surveillance and overall vigil on the COVID-19 situation.

  • Equal distribution of COVID vaccines is need of the hour: AIIMS director Randeep Guleria

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Randeep Guleria on Monday called for an equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the globe, saying “nobody is safe until everyone is safe”. He highlighted that if it does not happen, coronavirus will continue to mutate.

    Speaking at the inaugural session of a two-day lecture series organised by the JNU’s Centre for Canadian, US, and Latin American Studies, Guleria lauded the country’s vaccination programme. “India has done remarkably well as far as our vaccine programme is concerned… It is something that we should be proud of. Almost 97 per cent of Indians aged 18 and above have received the first dose of vaccine. This is a remarkable achievement,” he said.

    He added, “It is important that there should be an equitable distribution of vaccines all around the world. No one is safe unless everyone is safe.” The two-day lecture series on ‘COVID-19 and the engaged democracies with special reference to Canada and India’ has been funded by Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI).

    The event was also attended by JNU Vice Chancellor Santishree D Pandit and SICI Director Prachi Kaul. Addressing the event, the AIIMS director noted that the virus, which has raged on for 26 months and claimed 6 million lives worldwide, will gradually become an endemic.

    He also pointed out that the pandemic has impacted every sphere of life – healthcare, economy, education, tourism among others. “After the first COVID-19 case, it has been a roller coaster ride.  We know sooner or later that this pandemic will end,” he said. 

    Asserting that the World Health Organisation has deemed vaccine hesitancy as one of the top ten global health threats, Guleria said that data from various studies shows that compared to the western countries, there is not much vaccine hesitancy in India.