COVID-19 UPDATES AS ON 26.3.2021

 

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

More than 5.5 cr vaccine doses administered across the country

Over 23 Lakh doses administered in the last 24 hours

Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat continue to report surge in Daily New Cases

Posted On: 26 MAR 2021 11:35AM by PIB Delhi

 

India’s vaccination drive gains further momentum as over 5.5 cr (5,55,04,440) vaccine doses have been administered through 9,01,887 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today. These include 80,34,547 HCWs (1st dose), 51,04,398 HCWs (2nd dose), 85,99,981 FLWs (1^st dose) and 33,98,570 FLWs (2^nd Dose), 55,99,772 beneficiaries aged more than 45 years with specific co-morbidities (1^st Dose) and 2,47,67,172 beneficiaries aged more than 60 years.

HCWs		FLWs		45 to <60 years with Co-morbidities	Over 60 years	Total
1st Dose	2nd Dose	1st Dose	2nd Dose	1st Dose	1st Dose
80,34,547	51,04,398	85,99,981	33,98,570	55,99,772	2,47,67,172	5,55,04,440

 

Eight states account for 60% of the cumulative vaccination coverage across the country.

As on Day-69 of the vaccination drive (25^th March, 2021), more than 23 Lakh (23,58,731) vaccine doses were given. Of which, 21,54,934 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 40,595 sessions for 1^st dose and 2,03,797HCWs and FLWs received 2^nd dose of vaccine.

Date: 25th March, 2021
HCWs		FLWs		45to<60 years with Co-morbidities				Over 60years			Total Achievement
1stDose	2ndDose	1stDose	2nd Dose	1stDose			1stDose	1stDose					2ndDose
53,698	42,608	1,21,503	1,61,189	4,67,823			15,11,910	21,54,934					2,03,797

 

Ten States account for nearly 70% of the vaccine doses were given during the last 24 hours.

Five States, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat have reported a surge in daily new cases.

59,118 new daily cases reported in last 24 hours.

Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 35,952. It is followed by Punjab with 2,661 while Karnataka reported 2,523 new cases. 

Ten states, as highlighted, are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases. 

India’s total Active Caseload continues to rise after touching its lowest mark in mid-February. It stands at 4.21 lakh (4,21,066) today. A net incline of 25,874 cases recorded from the total active caseload in the last 24 hours.

Three States, Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab together account for 73.64% of the total active cases in the country.

India’s cumulative recoveries stand at 1,12,64,637 today. The national Recovery Rate is 95.09%.

32,987 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours.

257 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

Six States account for 78.6% of the new deaths. Maharashtra reported 111 casualties. Punjab follows with 43 daily deaths.

Fourteen States/UTs have not reported any COVID19 deaths in the last 24 hours. These are Rajasthan, J&K (UT), Jharkhand, Odisha, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Sikkim, D&D & D&N, Ladakh (UT), Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, A&N Islands and Arunachal Pradesh.

                                                                                                                                               

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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

“India is better prepared now to tackle any challenges that it throws our way”, says Dr Harsh Vardhan at‘India Economic Conclave’

“Our communication strategy is adequately prepared to sustain vaccine confidence and address any vaccine hesitancy among population”

“Government is ensuring supplies of vaccines to the states as per their per day vaccination capacities”

Posted On: 26 MAR 2021 5:29PM by PIB Delhi

 

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare was interviewed today at the ‘India Economic Conclave’ organized by The Times Now.

Commenting on the COVID19 trajectory in India and the recentsurge in cases, Dr Harsh Vardhan noted, “The detailed concerted efforts of Central and State Governments and India’s investment in the “Test, Track and Treat” strategy have resulted in India recording one of the lowest cases and deaths per million population. In the initial part of the pandemic, we had to establish everything from scratch, be it the surveillance, the laboratory capacity, the dedicated hospital infrastructure for COVID19, the logistics of therapeutics and vaccine and not to forget creation of the public movement for COVID appropriate behavior. We have amply demonstrated that our policy of test, track and treat effectively contains the transmission.”

“Now that the systems are in place, we are better prepared to tackle any challenges that it throws our way. The situation of recent surge in cases is being closely monitored. Decisive steps, which include strict enforcement of COVID protocols as well as creating micro-containment zones wherever needed, will be used to keep a check on the rise in number of cases,” he added.

Responding to a question on the second wave of COVID in India, Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “India followed a graded, pre-emptive, proactive, whole of Government and society approach in tackling COVID pandemic in the country. The graded opening up of economy and commercial activities followed a sustained decline in COVID-19 epi-curve in the country. This was essential to negate the economic impact that COVID-19 has had globally, including India. Historically, the pandemics of the past have come in waves and COVID is no exception. This was amply witnessed when the second wave hit Europe and Americas. It still eludes the scientific community why pandemics behave in this way.”

He continued, “Physical distancing is an established non-pharmaceutical intervention to suppress/contain the transmission of the COVID virus. The modality for ensuring such physical distancing measures have to be evidence based. In this context, partial lockdowns such as night curfews or weekend lockdowns would not have much impact on the transmission cycle. As for vaccine, there are still many critical unknowns, especially with regards to the impact on transmission and duration of protection these vaccines offer. Further what is clear is it reduces severity of disease and hence impacts the mortality. ”

Commenting on dynamic nature of the virus and its impact, Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “The history of this coronavirus is unknown, the disease COVID19 is very dynamic in its behaviour, so from day one we are only relying on evolving scientific evidence to drive our decision making to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.Our containment strategies to check the spread of the virus that have been praised the world over were based on such scientific inputs.We are carrying out genome sequencing of the virus to keep a track of any changes in its propensity or nature.The vaccination drive is being conducted in accordance with emerging science-based data analyzed through scientific algorithms. Around 6 vaccines are in different stage of trial, and will be granted permission as and when they complete all statutory requirements. DCGI is looking on this matter as already emphasized, this is a dynamic process.”

Responding to the concerns regarding low coverage of eligible beneficiaries and vaccine hesitancy, he said, “Ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive has a crucial role in India’s pandemic response by protecting those at highest risk of mortality due to COVID-19. The coverage of 2nd dose among Health Care Workers is 76.88% and Front Line Workers is 71.94% against eligible beneficiaries which is adequate.Other Healthcare workers and Frontline workers will eventually be getting vaccinated as per their schedule. Further, the time interval between two doses of Covishield vaccine has also been increased to 4-8 weeks, which could give a false impression of low 2nd dose coverage, which is not true. Vaccination of priority age group above 60 years and above 45 years with specified co morbidities started from 1st March and their second dose will be due in month of April, this may again give a false impression of low second dose coverage. Government is keeping a close watch on the number of beneficiaries being vaccinated each day and number of people in the prioritized age group vaccinated till date. We are also ensuring supplies of vaccines to the states as per their per day vaccination capacities.”

Responding to the growing concerns surrounding COVISHIELD after some reports emerged of the vaccine causing blood clots, Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “Such cases are being examined by the respective government of the countries where they have emerged. In India, all cases of Adverse Events Following Immunization are monitored through a well-structured & robust surveillance system. Causality Assessment of all serious and severe AEFIs are done by the designated AEFI committee to determine if event is related to vaccine or vaccination process or otherwise. Till date as per current evidence, no significant adverse event following immunization has been reported in India. "

"Our National Regulators have examined the efficacy and safety data from Clinical trials of Covishield and Covaxin. I would like to re-iterate that both the vaccines being used in our country are completely safe and immunogenic. Presently, there are no concerns about the safety of vaccines being used in India," he added.

He highlighted, “Our communication strategy is adequately prepared to sustain vaccine confidence and address any vaccine hesitancy among population. The same is being implemented across States and UTs. Communications National Media Rapid Response cell has been established at the Union Health Ministry for early identification of any misinformation or rumour and countering the same with correct information. FAQs for general public and healthcare & frontline workers have been developed and widely disseminated; experts have been identified for op-eds and articles to build vaccine confidence. Fact check videos by key experts have also been prepared and disseminated to provide correct & factual information for general public”.

Reiterating the clarion call of Prime Minister in making the vaccination drive a ‘Jan Andolan’, the Union Minister said, “The ongoing vaccination drive is being strengthened on a daily basis to increase the number of vaccinations administered each day.All stakeholders are involved in this drive to make it a ‘Jan Andolan’.”

On the subject of vaccine related side effects, Dr Harsh Vardhan replied, “The percentage of serious Adverse Events Following Immunization is 0.0002% of the total number of beneficiaries vaccinated, which is very less. Thus select few cases is not a generalisation and their cause and effect needs to be established. We are taking cognisance of all scientific evidences while undertaking the causality assessment of AEFIs.”

Dr Harsh Vardhan reassured that the present vaccines are effective against the SARS-CoV-2 and the current variants and that the government is keeping a watch on the evolving scenario. As per available scientific evidence, the program will be strengthened further, he said.

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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Dr. Harsh Vardhan addresses 7th annual summit of NATHEALTH focusing on ‘Indian Health system expansion in post-COVID era’

“My motto has always been, to provide ‘Health to those without Wealth”

“The ultimate goal of providing ‘Health for All’ cannot be achieved without the active participation of the public as well as private sector”

Posted On: 26 MAR 2021 5:15PM by PIB Delhi

 

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare addressed the 7^th annual summit of NATHEALTH focusing on ‘Indian Health system expansion in post-COVID era’ through a video conference today.

Reiterating the commitments of the government towards fulfilling the goal of Health for all, the Union Minister noted, “It is a top priority for the Government led by Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji. To institutionalize the approach towards our goal, we launched the National Health Policy in 2017.The vision behind the policy-framework has been to attain the highest possible level of health and well-being for all, across all age groups by emphasizing on preventive and promotive aspects of health and providing universal access to good quality healthcare services without any one having to face financial hardship as a consequence. Ayushman Bharat is yet another ambitious program of the Government with the objective of providing Universal Free Access to comprehensive primary health care, promoting health and wellbeing.”

“Health has also been identified in Budget 2021-22 as one of the six main pillars to drive growth. A holistic approach towards health and wellbeing has been adopted with an enormous financial allocation of Rs 2,23,846 crore in 2021-22 which is a mammoth 137% increase over the previous year. In order to meet our objectives under the policy, we are striving to increase health expenditure as a percentage of GDP to 2.5 % by 2025. We are also encouraging State Governments to increase State sector health spending to more than 8% of State’s GDP.”

He elaborated on how Pradhan Mantri Aatma Nirbhar Swaasthya Yojana will strengthen the healthcare system to meet challenges of current and future pandemics. “The main objective of Pradhan Mantri Aatma Nirbhar Swaasthya Yojana is to strengthen health systems across continuum of care to meet challenges of current and future pandemics along with expanding & building robust IT enabled surveillance systems to track and contain the spread of diseases.” He added that there are various other components of the Yojana which cater to the needs for emergency response like Critical Care Blocks for advanced treatment, training and mentoring, strengthening the network of public health labs, establishing new Regional Centres for Disease Control etc.

Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “Good Governance, transparency & reform to transform have been the hallmarks of this government. The National Medical Commission Act paved the way for implementing long needed reforms in medical education. Similarly, National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions has also been passed which will enable standardization of education. The cabinet has approved expansion of the network of AIIMS, taking their total strength to 22, more than half of which are already operational. District Hospitals are being upgraded as Medical Colleges while existing Government Medical Colleges are being up-graded under the Pradhan Mantri Swaasthya Suraksha Yojana.

The Union Minister underscored importance of strengthening the role of private sector in India’s healthcare system. “If India has to attain highest standards of healthcare system across the world, it cannot be without the support of the Private sector. The provision of health care facilities can be made more broad-based with the active participation of private sector.” He added, “Currently apart from running private healthcare facilities in various cities and towns, private enterprises are also actively engaged in supporting government led public health programs such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, Prime Minister National Dialysis Programme, Mobile Medical Units & Bio Medical Waste Management System to name a few.One of the primary objectives of National Health Policy 2017 is to align the growth of the private health care sector with public health goals. It will enable private sector contribution to making health care systems more effective, efficient, rational, safe, affordable and ethical.”

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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Centre rushes high level Central multi-disciplinary teams to Chhattisgarh and Chandigarh to assist the State/UT Government in COVID-19 Control and Containment measures

Posted On: 26 MAR 2021 4:09PM by PIB Delhi

 

Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has rushed two High Level multidisciplinary teams to Chhattisgarh & Chandigarh in view of surge in number of COVID-19 cases being reported from the State and UT. These teams shall work with the respective State/UT Government to ascertain the reason/s for surge, assist in undertaking gap analysis and recommend requisite COVID-19 control and containment measures.

The team to Chhattisgarh is headed by Dr. S K Singh, Director, National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and has experts from AIIMS, Raipur and All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health. The team to Chandigarh is led by Shri Vijoy Kumar Singh, Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of Textiles with experts drawn from Dr. RML Hospital, New Delhi and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi.

Chhattisgarh has recently witnessed a significant spurt in fresh COVID cases as well as new deaths every day. Chandigarh has also seen a significant surge in new cases. The deployed teams shall visit the most affected districts/hotspots in the State/UT to take a stock of on-ground implementation of public health interventions. They will share the key findings, recommendations and remedial measures to be taken up with the Chief Secretary/Chief Administrator.

The Union Government has been leading the fight against the Covid pandemic with a ‘Whole of Government’ approach. As an ongoing effort to strengthen efforts of various State/UT Governments for COVID management, the Central Government has been deputing Central teams from time to time to visit various States/UTs. These teams interact with the State/UT authorities and get a first hand understanding of the challenges and issues being faced by them so as to strengthen their ongoing activities and remove bottlenecks, if any. The reports of Central Teams are shared with the states for further follow up action. The follow up and compliance on part of states is monitored by the Union Ministry of Health. This deployment is latest in a series of teams that Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has deputed over the last couple of months in view of reports of resurgence in number of cases currently being reported by many States.

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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Dr Harsh Vardhan delivers Keynote Address on The Economic Times’s ‘Reshape Tomorrow Summit’

“People have Embraced our ‘Made in India’ vaccines, and it is due to this Enthusiasm & Trust we crossed our Last 1 Crore vaccinations in Just under 4 days”

The vaccination drive is a ‘Jan Bhagidari Aandolan’: Dr. Harsh Vardhan

Posted On: 26 MAR 2021 12:32PM by PIB Delhi

 

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare virtually delivered the keynote address on ‘Reshape Tomorrow Summit’ organised by The Economic Times. 

Reminding of the turmoil faced by the world in the last year and how it resulted in India’s stronger, wiser, more united and resilient emergence, Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “I have often called 2020 the year of science. A vaccine development process that used to take many years, often decades, has been condensed to about 11 months. Just last January, research started with a previously unknown virus and we now have not just one, but several vaccines that will be administered to millions of people before year-end with several other types of COVID-19 vaccines also on the way.” He noted that although both vaccines are being manufactured in India, Covaxin by Bharat Biotech has been developed in India under the ambit of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” showcasing our remarkable scientific acumen and vaccine development capability to the world. “People have embraced our ‘Made in India” vaccines, and it is due to this enthusiasm & trust, we crossed our last 1 Crore vaccinations in just under 4 days”, he added. 

Dr Harsh Vardhan detailed India’s investment in the “Test, Track and Treat” strategy along with its fruitful Behavioral Change campaign as the bedrock of India’s highest recovery rate and miniscule fatality rate. He praised Minister of Finance, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman’s decision to allocate ₹35,000 crores for the COVID-19 vaccination drive in 2021-22 budget. He also shared the wisdom behind the designing of the priority cascade of different groups of beneficiaries proposed by National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC). 

The Union Minister informed the audience on India’s tryst with COVID-19 vaccination: “On 16 January 2021, India started its national vaccination programme against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This day of the programme witnessed the vaccination of the highest number of beneficiaries covered anywhere in the world on the first day. Back then, our first and foremost priority was to use the COVID-19 vaccine as a shield to protect our Healthcare Workers & Frontline Workers. Within the first 34 Days, we touched 1 Crore vaccination, and in the subsequent weeks, we have opened the vaccination to other priority groups. Throughout this vaccination drive, our focus has been on keeping the services as citizen friendly as possible. Since 1st March 2021, Private Health Facilities have been permitted to function as COVID-19 Vaccination Centers while being allowed to charge a maximum amount of Rs 250/- for the same. To speed up the pace of vaccination, the Government has lifted the time restriction. People can now get vaccinated 24x7 according to their convenience across India. Just a few days back, the Government announced that from April 1, all citizens aged 45yrs and above, whether having any comorbidity or not, will be eligible to get vaccinated across India. The Government is already planning to widen the umbrella of COVID-19 vaccine beneficiaries soon to cover other sections of our population.”

Applauding the collaborative approach followed by India used for planning and execution of the vaccination drive, he propounded the exercise as an excellent example of how the federal system can work in synergy to maximize the reach of a programme. He added that the vaccination drive is being coordinated as a ‘Jan Bhagidari Aandolan’ involving many stakeholders like ministries, departments, professional bodies, medical colleges, NGOs, CSOs, media houses, private sector, youth & women volunteer groups.

Dr Harsh Vardhan concluded by explaining how the India’s contribution to Global COVID Vaccination through the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative is reshaping the post COVID era along with India’s footprint in it: “In these trying times when clamorous for ‘Vaccine Nationalism’ is on the rise, our beloved PM Sh Narendra Modi Ji, being a champion of global cooperation & humanity has led the way by example. His decision to extend help to our global family not only resonates well with our age-old virtues of ‘Vasudhaiva kutumbakam’, exalting the entire world as one family, but has also further cemented India’s stature as a true leader in the comity of nations.”

 

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HFW/HFM Reshape Tomorrow Summit/26^th March2021/2

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