New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday stated that an adverse event after vaccination for COVID-19 cannot be ruled out and states and union territories must prepare for these as part of the vaccination programme. Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary in the health ministry, told a regular press briefing that adverse effects in children and pregnant women have been seen in the past as well as part of other universal immunisation programmes.
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday stated that an adverse event after vaccination for COVID-19 cannot be ruled out and states and union territories must prepare for these as part of the vaccination programme. Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary in the health ministry, told a regular press briefing that adverse effects in children and pregnant women have been seen in the past as well as part of other universal immunisation programmes.
“Adverse events following immunisation are a critical issue. When we undertake a universal immunisation programme, which has been done for decades, then some adverse effects are seen in children and pregnant women after vaccination,” Bhushan said. “So, we can`t deny chances of an adverse event when COVID-19 vaccination begins. The countries where immunisation has already begun, especially in the UK, adverse events took place on the very first day. So, it is essential that states and UTs prepare for this too,” the official added. He informed that thousands of cold chain points and ice-lined refrigerators, as well as solar refrigerators, will be used as part of the COVID-19 vaccination drive.
“29,000 cold chain points, 240 walk-in coolers, 70 walk-in freezers, 45,000 ice-lined refrigerators, 41,000 deep freezers and 300 solar refrigerators will be used. All these equipment have already reached respective state governments,” Bhushan stated.
Large Indian population still susceptible to coronavirus
The government further said that COVID-19 deaths in the country are on the decline and as a nation, “we seem to be doing very well”. “We are saving lives but this cannot be taken for granted,” officials said, adding that an overwhelming proportion of our population continues to remain very susceptible to coronavirus. At the presser, Dr VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, lauded the Delhi government for the progress shown in tackling the recent COVID-19 surge. However, the official noted that several other states continue to remain a cause of concern.
“We are happy to note that Delhi has made progress. We congratulate the Government of Delhi as well as the other governments who have done so well in contributing towards such a significant control in the recent times,” Dr Paul stated. He, however, added: “There are states where we still have concerns. We request the Government and citizens of Uttarakhand, Nagaland and Himachal Pradesh that every effort should be made to bring the situation under control.” The Health Ministry said cumulative positivity rate in the country has declined to 6.37 per cent, with a total of over 15.55 crore COVID-19 tests conducted so far. “India`s present COVID-19 case fatality rate at 1.45 per cent is among the lowest in the world,” the ministry said. “The number of cases per million population in India continues to be amongst the lowest in the world. The number of cases in India is 7178 per million population, the global average is 9,000,” Bhushan informed.
Six vaccines undergoing trials in India
Dr Paul informed that the Drugs Controller General of India this week granted clearance for clinical trials for one more candidate vaccine from India. “Genoa company, with the help of the Government of India`s research agency, the Department of Biotechnology, has developed a vaccine,” he informed, adding that the technology used in this vaccine is the same as the Pfizer vaccine. “Unlike Pfizer vaccine or some others, this vaccine - if it comes into existence - will be maintainable at normal cold chain conditions, in a normal fridge,” he stated. The Niti Aayog official informed that six vaccines are undergoing clinical trials in India at present.
