Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya bats for vaccinating kids, senior citizens at the earliest

“As the new academic year is set to begin, let us try and ensure our children are vaccinated before they go to schools,” the Union health minister appealed on Friday.

Mission mode vaccination efforts have aided in Covid management and as on June 3, a total of 193.83 crore covid vaccine doses have been administered in the country, the union health minister said during a virtual media interaction. Fifty per cent children in the 12-14 age group have been fully vaccinated (1.72 crore) while 62 per cent youngsters (4.60 crore) in the 15-18 age group have got both doses.

Responding to a question from The Indian Express on rise in Covid cases due to the Omicron subvariant BA.4 and BA.5, likelihood of waning immunity coupled with challenges in encouraging citizens to take precaution doses, Mandaviya said that they were trying their best to motivate more vaccinations via Har Ghar Dastak 2.0 campaign.

“Those who are above 60 years and among others with co morbid conditions should take precaution doses. Schools should also conduct vaccination drives. Hence when we start our academic year the children are vaccinated when they attend schools. I took a review on Friday morning and as many as 15 crore vaccine doses are lying with states. Yesterday, however, only 12 lakh doses were administered. We need to administered at least a minimum of 20-25 lakh doses,” he said

There has been a sustained decline in the number of Covid 19 cases in the past three months. However an upsurge has been noted with 15708 cases reported in the week ending May 27,this year rising to 21,055 cases reported in the week ending on June 3. There has also been a rise in weekly positivity from 0.52 % in the week ending May 27 to 0.73 % in the week ending on June 3. Few states are reporting a higher contribution to India’s cases indicating the possibility of a localized spread of infection and advisories are being issued for stepping up public health responses so that gains made so far in the fight against the pandemic are not lost.

He also spoke of new initiatives that will impact the health sector that mainly include making India TB free and stepping up cataract surgeries. “There are 20-25 lakh TB patients in the country one of the largest in the world and we are actively working towards making India TB free – This effort also needs society’s support,” he said urging people, NGOs , elected representatives and others to support this new initiative by taking measures like `adopting’ any TB patient in a village, block or district, ensure his medication is taken and also help in providing nutritious food. Due to Covid crises there was a drop in the number of cataract operations . Usually 60-65 lakh people get operated every year but in two years there is a pendency of more than one crore who were unable to undergo cataract surgeries. “We are taking up a large campaign to address this issue,” he said.

A presentation was made on challenges faced in various surges due to Covid 19 and how India adopted a comprehensive approach towards the management of coronavirus disease. The Ayushman Bharat health infrastructure mission with an outlay of Rs 64,180 crore is one of the largest schemes to upgrade infrastructure to manage Covid 19 and future health challenges, Lav Agarwal, joint secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said during the presentation.

On World Bicycle Day, Union Health Minister speaks about his passion for cycling

The Union health minister spoke of his love for cycling on the occasion. “Today is World Bicycle Day. On the occasion I want to share that I have been cycling to the parliament for the last ten years. Earlier they used to laugh at me. But six months later I met the then Speaker Meira Kumar to allocate a cycle stand for a group of MP’s who wanted to cycle. I remember she had joked and said that posing near a cycle stand would be a good photo opportunity. I told her then that I was genuinely interested in improving the health of citizens. It’s my passion. So much so that whenever I travel to any city among the several people who come to meet me there is always a cycling club. Cycling is the best exercise and citizens can not just be healthy but also tackle pollution,” he said.