The Union Health Minister said that right now India has just around three lakh active cases and its recovery rate is 95 to 96 percent which is significantly higher than many developed countries.
NEW DELHI: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said that the worst is over concerning coronavirus in the country but people still need to follow Covid appropriate behaviour to stay safe.
“At a personal level, I think that the worst is over concerning the Covid-19 situation. I have been following this situation right from the time when we had our first case on January 30, 2020. Since then, I have watched everything from the closest of quarters with meticulous precision. If we look at the things in the last three-four months then things are in a declining phase,
“But we need to strictly follow Covid appropriate behaviour and cannot afford to relax on that front,” he added.
Substantiating his point, the Union Health Minister said that right now India has just around three lakh active cases and its recovery rate is 95 to 96 percent which is significantly higher than many developed countries.
“Right now, we have just about three lakh active cases in the country. A few months ago, we had almost 10 lakh cases. Out of over one crore cases that have happened, around 95 lakh persons have already recovered and gone back home,” he said.
“We have the highest recovery rates in the world: between 95 and 96 percent. Compared to some of the developed countries of the world like the USA, Russia, or Brazil whose recovery rate ranges between 60 and 80 percent, we are better placed,” he added.
Dr Vardhan said: “Our fatality rate is also significantly low at 1.45 percent now. I feel the worse may probably be over but with a note of caution.”
“The major tool against Covid-19 will ultimately be masks, hand hygiene and physical distancing that we all need to follow. The troubles that we had to face as a country due to Covid-19 are on the decline. In the coming year, the research of the scientists in the direction of developing a vaccine will also be successful,” he added.
India may begin vaccinating people against coronavirus in January and the government’s first priority has been safety and efficacy of the vaccine, Dr Vardhan said.
“I personally feel that maybe in January in any stage or any week, there can be a time when are in a position to give the first Covid vaccine shot to people of India,” .
The vaccine cannot be forced upon anyone but the government will educate and give the right information to people about it, Vardhan said.
“Vaccine hesitancy issues will be addressed through education. The government will spread awareness and educate people about the vaccine that this is for their own good and benefit,
He also said that the government had prioritised who will get the vaccines after observing international trends and keeping in mind the guidelines of the World Health Organisation.
“The ideal time would be when we reach a point where everyone can be vaccinated. But if there is a limited number of vaccines, it is important to prioritise how who will be the first to get it. Before taking a decision, the government consulted experts, those in the ministries, people in the state governments, and those involved in making vaccines. These decisions have been made while observing international trends and WHO guidelines,” the Union Minister said.
He said the first one crore people to be vaccinated will be the health workers in the private and public sector, while the next two crores to be vaccinated will be frontline workers, sanitation staff, police, and other frontline workers, followed by people over the age of 50.
“Over 80 percent of the people who died due to Covid-19 have been over 50 years. There are about 26 crore people in this category. After that, people below 50 with health issues like BP, heart and kidney problems will be vaccinated,” he said.
“The government will reach out to people to get their vaccines but if someone does not want to take the vaccine, they cannot be forced,” he added.
Earlier, the Union Health Minister had said that India may begin vaccinating people for Covid-19 by January, with the first priority being the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
On Saturday, the minister had said that the country’s scientists and health experts have worked on the development of an indigenous vaccine and in the upcoming six to seven months India will have the capacity to inoculate about 30 crore people.
There are currently nine Covid-19 vaccine candidates in different phases of clinical trials in India — six are under clinical trials and three in the pre-clinical phase.
