Addressing a routine press conference on Covid-19 on Tuesday, Joint Secretary (MoHFW) Lav Agarwal said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is taking note of an upward trajectory in terms of new cases of infection in limited areas.
“The Delta variant [of SARS-CoV-2] is a dominant problem… the pandemic is still raging and the second wave is still persisting in our country,” NITI Aayog member (health) Dr VK Paul said. Dr VK Paul added that a mixed picture is emerging in terms of Covid-19 data.
Kerala is now the only state with more than 1 lakh active cases, followed by Maharashtra with 78,000 and Karnataka with 24,000 active cases. Sixty per cent of active cases are being reported in limited geography, Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said.
He went on to add that the national weekly positivity rate had dropped below 2 per cent for the first time in three months.
However, 44 districts in 12 states continue to report a positivity rate of more than 10 per cent.
18 districts reporting surge in cases
Eighteen districts in the country have been reporting an increasing trend in cases over the last four weeks and now account for 47.5 per cent of all new cases. These include 10 districts in Kerala, three in Maharashtra and the remaining in northeastern states.
— PIB India (@PIB_India) August 3, 2021
Lav Agarwal added that only 57 districts in the country are now reporting more than 100 new cases of infection each day, compared to 279 districts on June 1.
States must pursue contact tracing and set up containment zones wherever clusters are identified, Dr VK Paul said. He added, “If we localise, suppress the chain of transmission, the virus will not spread.”
Vaccinations pick up pace
According to the Health Ministry, a total of 47.85 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered across the country to date. These include 37.26 crore first doses and 10.59 crore second doses.
Lav Agarwal told the media that it took 85 days to administer the first 10 crore doses. Emphasising how the pace of vaccination picked up between May and July, Agarwal said the country was able to cover the gap between 40 crore doses and 45 crore doses in a mere 11 days.
Responding to a question, Dr VK Paul said a “quantum jump” will be seen in the supply of Covaxin doses once Bharat Biotech’s facility in Bengaluru is activated. The vaccine maker has also set up an additional facility at Ankleshwar that will supply another six million doses, added Paul.
“To an extent, from Indian Immunological Limited (ILL), we will start getting about two million doses by September,” Dr Paul told the media.
Continued increase in pace of vaccination with the help of states
The first 10 cr doses was achieved in 85 days
10- 20 cr doses achieved in 55 days
20- 30 cr doses achieved in 29 days
30- 40 cr doses in 24 days
40- 45 cr doses in 11 days: @MoHFW_INDIA pic.twitter.com/ptIT3prVef
— PIB India (@PIB_India) August 3, 2021
Bharat Biotech, Zydus Cadila Novavax have already begun trials of Covid-19 vaccines for children and Bio-E has submitted a proposal for the same, Dr Paul stated.
Dr Paul also said that the Government of India is in talks with Moderna to bring its Covid-19 vaccine to India. He went on to add that Johnson & Johnson did not apply for emergency use approval (EUA) for its Covid-19 vaccine and has only withdrawn the application for bridging trials.
“There is no discussion on reduction in the allocation of vaccines to private hospitals right now,” Dr VK Paul said.
