New Delhi: As India prepares to open up its COVID-19 vaccination drive to people above 45 from April 1, the Centre on Wednesday asked states and Union Territories to identify low vaccine-coverage pockets, particularly in districts reporting a surge in new infections, and take corrective action.
India reported as many as 53,480 fresh infections pushing the tally to 1,21,49,335, while 354 new fatalities, the highest single-day spike so far this year, took the death toll to 1,62,468, according to Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday. The country had recorded 355 deaths on December 17.
The active caseload increased to 5,52,566 and accounts for 4.55 per cent of the total infections. The recovery rate further dropped to 94.11 per cent, the ministry data updated at 8 am showed.
Five states cumulatively account for over 79 per cent of the total Covid active cases in the country with Maharashtra alone accounting for more than 61 per cent of the active caseload, the ministry said on Wednesday.
Apart from Maharashtra, the four other states accounting for the majority of the active cases are Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab and Chhattisgarh.
National Health Authority CEO and Empowered Group on COVID Vaccination chairperson Dr R S Sharma and Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan chaired a high-level meeting with health secretaries, mission directors of NHM and immunisation officers of all states and UTs during the day, a statement said.
The status and pace of the inoculation drive across the country were reviewed at the meeting held through video-conferencing, as were the preparations for April 2021, when vaccination would be extended to cover everybody above the age of 45, the ministry said.
"A key theme underlying the meet was the identification of low vaccine coverage pockets particularly in districts showing COVID-19 surge and for taking corrective actions there," it said in the statement.
On vaccination coverage of healthcare workers (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs), the states and the UTs were advised to ensure that only eligible beneficiaries were registered and inoculated under the respective categories.
They were also advised to archive incorrect and duplicate entries on the Co-WIN platform, identify pockets of low vaccination coverage health facility, professional association, blocks, districts for taking corrective action and ensure saturation of vaccination of these groups on priority.
States and UTs were asked to conduct regular reviews of capacity utilisation at private COVID Vaccination Centres (CVCs). They were also asked to undertake GIS analysis of CVCs to identify the need for more such facilities, and address apprehensions of private CVCs regarding vaccine supply and guidelines, the statement said. The states and UTs were also advised to ensure that there was no sedimentation of vaccine stocks at any level of storage and that their distribution was based on consumption to avoid overstocking or under-stocking at cold chain points and CVCs. They were asked to conduct regular reviews of vaccine stocks and consumption to identify gap areas and address the same, the ministry said in its statement.
More than 6.43 crore vaccine doses have been administered with 13.04 lakh being given till 7 pm on Wednesday. India's drug regulator DCGI has extended the shelf life of Covishield, the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, from six to nine months from its manufacturing date.
In a letter to the Serum Institute of India, Drugs Controller General of India V G Somani said the SII is permitted to apply the shelf life of nine months to unlabelled vials available on hand. Shelf life is the length of time for which an item remains fit for use. Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday said people should be ready for stringent measures in the coming days to curb the spread of Covid in the state.
Talking to reporters, Tope said saving lives is the government's priority. The Rajasthan government on Wednesday decided to increase the night curfew timings by one hour in eight worst-affected districts in view of the rising number of cases in the state. Also, markets in urban areas across the state will close by 9 pm instead of 10 pm, according to an official release.