India prepared to fight any Covid rise: Health Minister
India’s intra-nasal Covid vaccine got approval in December 2022 for emergency use for adults
India’s Minister of Health and Family, Mansukh Mandaviya, has said that India remains prepared to tackle any Covid situation amid growing concerns over a spike in a new Covid variant BF7 in several countries. The new variant is reportedly more infectious and could bypass previous immunity more easily.
The radar is mainly on China, where about 10 lakh people are likely severely affected. India’s active case load was below 20,000 in the first week of December 2022 with average daily cases falling to 158 in week ending 19 December, while China reported over 20-30,000 cases daily in December 2022 to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Lockdowns and massive forced testing in China last month led to riots in the country. Since then, China’s hospitals seem to be full like its crematoriums. Certain leaked videos show that the situation in the China due to BF7 could be actually worse than Covid-19 that spread in 2019-20. Last time, there was a lag of about six months between the cases reported in China and the rest of the world.
Significantly, the US, South Korea, Brazil, France and Japan have also reported a surge in Covid cases. This has led to a growing demand for ban on air travel in India with affected countries.
After an unplanned review meeting today, Mandaviya mentioned, “In view of the rising cases of #Covid19 in some countries, reviewed the situation with experts and officials today.”
While he did not mention anything about a travel ban or lockdowns, he warned, “COVID is not over yet. I have directed all concerned to be alert and strengthen surveillance. We are prepared to manage any situation.”
The government is reportedly planning to hold review meetings every week, and has in some places asked affected people to be placed under strict quarantine. Samples have also been sought to identify the variants and the efficacy of vaccines and medicines.
The Ministry has asked States and Union Territories to increase genome sequencing of positive samples on a daily basis. Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the step could help identify newer variants if any and facilitate required measures.
Masks may soon be made mandatory again across India or at least in the metros and some states, said experts.
Earlier this month, the government said the world’s first intra-nasal vaccine for COVID developed by India received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for restricted use in emergency situations in the age group of 18 and above.
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