Third Covid wave: Why is India not seeing severe illness, deaths? ICMR chief explains
PremiumThe govt has said that vaccination coverage will be expanded for those under 15 years of age based on scientific evidence
We have been able to prevent severe illnesses and deaths due to Covid-19 in the third wave due to the high vaccination coverage across the country, said the central government on Thursday.
It also informed that 94% of India's adults have been administered the first anti-Covid dose. In the 15-18 years age group, around 52% have received their first dose of the vaccine.
“Vaccines have remained beneficial in India. Deaths have considerably reduced due to vaccinations. In this third surge of Covid-19, we are currently not witnessing severe illness and deaths due to high vaccination uptake," said Dr Balram Bhargava, director-general of ICMR, during a press briefing.
Further, government officials said that vaccination coverage will be expanded for those under 15 years of age based on scientific evidence.
“As scientific evidence evolves, we will be expanding the coverage of vaccination. We will take a decision on the basis of scientific data," said Rajesh Bhushan, the Union health secretary.
Speaking about the coronavirus situation in the country, the officials said that 11 states and union territories have more than 50,000 active Covid-19 cases and 515 districts are reporting a weekly case positivity of over five per cent.
In addition to this, they informed that Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Delhi and Rajasthan are among the top ten states in terms of active cases.
Following these observations, Bhushan said that Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are among the "States of Concern".
"We have sent Central health teams to these States and are continuously reviewing the situation," he added.
Comparing the third wave of Covid-19 with the last surge, Bhushan said, "In the last surge of Covid-19, on 30 April 2021, there were 3,86,452 new cases, 3,059 deaths, and over 31 lakh active cases reported in India."
Speaking about an alarming rise in coronavirus infection cases, the Union health secretary asserted that Europe has been contributing around 38% of the total Covid-19 positive cases across the country.
"Asia is showing a sharp surge in global contribution from 7.9% to approximately 18.4 per cent in four weeks, out of which Europe has been contributing around 38%. A sharp surge is also seen in Covid-19 cases in India," Bhushan added.
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