India reported 44,059 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally in the country to 91,39,866. The death toll increased by 511 to 1,33,738.

According to the Union Health Ministry data The number of active COVID-19 cases remained below 5 lakh for the thirteenth consecutive day in the country. There are 4,43,486 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country as on date, which comprises 4.85 percent of the total caseload, the health ministry data stated. The national recovery rate was recorded 93.68 percent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.46 percent.

Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya has tested positive for COVID-19. In a tweet last evening, Maurya said, “My corona report has come out positive. I am asymptomatic and have no problems. I have isolated myself under the supervision of doctors. I request everyone who came in contact with me over the last few days to get themselves tested.” A press release from the Raj Bhawan said the Uttarakhand governor had returned here from Agra on Friday after a week-long vacation.

five worst-affected states till now

Maharashtra – 17,80,208 cases
Karnataka – 8,73,046 cases
Andhra Pradesh – 8,62,213 cases
Tamil Nadu – 7,69,995 cases
Kerala – 5,62,695 cases

Meanwhile Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said a locally-developed Covid-19 vaccine candidate could complete its final trials in a month or two, raising hopes for a rapid roll-out in a country with the world’s second highest number of infections.

The state-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and privately-held Bharat Biotech this month started third-stage trials of COVAXIN, in a process that would involve 26,000 volunteers. It is the most advanced Indian experimental vaccine.

“We are in the process of developing our indigenous vaccines, in the process of completing our third-phase trials in the next one or two months,” Harsh Vardhan told a web conference on the pandemic.

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Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare said The Centre is also working on plans for building capacities in HR, training, supervision etc on a massive scale and roughly estimates to receive and utilise 400-500 million doses covering approximately 20-25 crore people by July 2021.

Dr Harsh Vardhan  responded to questions posed by his social media interactors on the fourth episode of Sunday Samvaad. The COVID Vaccine seems to have been a dominant theme in the mind of those who chose to submit questions for the episode. He also patiently explained related topics like the use of Plasma Therapy in COVID, the eradication of TB by 2025 in light of the COVID pandemic and the opening up of India’s schools.

On the questions of prioritising the distribution of vaccines, Dr. Harsh Vardhan answered that the Health Ministry is currently preparing a format in which States will submit lists of priority population groups to receive vaccine, especially health workers engaged in the management of COVID19. The list of frontline health workers will include both government as well as private sector doctors, nurses, paramedics, sanitary staff, ASHA workers, surveillance officers and many other occupational categories who are involved in tracing, testing and treatment of patients. This exercise is targeted to be completed by the end of this October and the States are being closely guided to also submit details about cold chain facilities and other related infrastructure which will be required down to the block level. The Centre is also working on plans for building capacities in HR, training, supervision etc on a massive scale and roughly estimates to receive and utilise 400-500 million doses covering approximately 20-25 crore people by July 2021. He further informed that the Government is also keeping an eye on immunity data with regard to COVID-19 disease while finalizing these plans.

He stated that there is a high level committee under the chairmanship of Niti Aayog Member (Health)  Shri VK Paul which is drawing up the entire process. Vaccine procurement is being done centrally and each consignment will be tracked real time until delivery to ensure it reaches those who need it most. He added that these Committees are working on understanding the timelines of availability of various vaccines in the country, obtaining commitments from vaccine manufacturers to make available maximum number of doses for India inventory & supply chain management and also on prioritisation of high-risk groups. This is work in progress which will be completed by the time the vaccines are ready to ensure the swift roll-out of the immunisation program.

Clearing glaring misconceptions that seem to have captured the imagination of rumour mongers in pockets of Punjab, Dr. Harsh Vardhan strongly rebutted allegations that the COVID-19 pandemic was a government conspiracy to enable organ harvesting of healthy individuals. He stated that the Government is not tied to fiscal considerations from financing agencies for implementation of the COVID-19 emergency response in light of the recent loan from the World Bank- Asian Infrastructural Investment Bank and the Asian Development Bank to the tune of Rs 15,000 Crores for managing COVID.

The Minister assured another respondent that there would be no diversion or black-marketing, “Vaccines will be distributed as per pre-decided priority and in a programmed manner. To ensure transparency and accountability, details of the entire process will be shared in the coming months.” He stressed the need to prioritize health care workers and adults or those have underlying health conditions.

Answering similar questions, he said that it is not possible to comment on the superiority of one vaccine over the other although he would ensure “that even if we have multiple vaccines available, they will all be safe and will elicit the requisite immune response against novel coronavirus”. He said that all vaccines that have proven to be safe, immunogenic and efficacious in clinical trials outside India need to undergo bridging studies to prove their safety and immunogenicity in the Indian population as well although these studies can be conducted with much smaller sample size and end quickly.

While tackling a question on the level playing field for various clinical trials, Dr Harsh Vardhan shared that all proposed clinical trials in India are designed using set principles and are stringently reviewed by the Subject Expert Committee set up by the Drug Controller General of India. Recently, the DCGI has also formulated draft guidelines on regulatory requirements for licensure of COVID-19 vaccines in India. On a question regarding Phase 3 Clinical Trial of Russia’s “Sputnik-V” vaccine in India, Dr Harsh Vardhan clarified that the matter is still under consideration, and no decision has been taken as yet on the Phase 3 trials.

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