COVID-19 is about to become endemic, but Indian scientists are carefully tracking each new variant and the government will continue to maintain a high alert, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandavya said, stressing that the virus has been controlled and will remain.
In an exclusive video interview with PTI, the minister said the scenario is now strong after more than 3 years of one of the worst pandemics to hit the world, but all measures will remain in place to guard against any variants that may emerge. mortal. .
The fatal virus was first detected in China in late 2019, while the first case in India was reported in late January 2020. Since then, about 4. 5 crore of positive cases have been reported in India and more than five lakhs have died in several waves. .
However, the number of instances has decreased in recent months and the number of active instances now hovers around 1800, with an overall cure rate of nearly 99% and a mortality rate of around 1%.
Only 36 new cases were reported on Tuesday, the lowest since March 2020 and minuscule to a record of more than 4 lakh of new cases reported in one day at the height of the pandemic in May 2021 and even more than 3 lakh in January 2022.
In addition, more than 220 crore doses of Covid vaccine doses have been administered in India, with around 90% of the eligible Indian population vaccinated.
“Covid is about to enter the endemic phase (ki kagaar pe hai endemic), but our team of scientists from the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) is intensively tracking the Covid variant. So far, more than 224 Covid variants have been detected in the country, non-stop genome sequencing is done for the variant,” he said.
The minister said that whenever a new variant is found, it is monitored and then tested for the effectiveness of the vaccine and also measures how fatal it is.
“This is all a step procedure and we are following it strictly so that we can protect ourselves and prepare in the long term for any variants that may cause destruction. The situation is solid right now around the world and, keeping the long term in mind, we are on alert, but I would say it is a virus and this virus is never going to happen because it has been controlled to survive.
“Just as (the) flu virus survived and every time a new variant appears, other people suffer from cough, fever, etc. , but they don’t harm other people much, something similar will happen with Covid and that is largely what has taken place now,” the minister said.
According to experts, a disease is said to be endemic when its presence becomes constant, according to established patterns, in a population of a certain geographical area, as is the case of seasonal influenza.
Globally, more than 76 crores of COVID-19 cases and nearly 69 lakh deaths have been reported so far, while 1340 crores of vaccine doses have been administered. Cases peaked in December 2022, nearly a year after the last peak in January. 2022. However, in terms of deaths, the worst was January 2021 and the scenario remained worried for almost a year.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced last month that Covid is now “an established and ongoing fitness challenge that no longer constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC),” but refrained from noting that it is endemic.
Telling the story of the fight against the pandemic, Mandaviya, who took over the Ministry of Health amid the coronavirus crisis in July 2021, said that managing covid was a great challenge for a vast and varied country like India, but his good fortune has now set an example for the whole world. He also holds the position of the pharmaceutical branch as Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, a position he has held for much longer.
He also dismissed suggestions that vaccine approvals had been rushed without considering long-term side effects and that the recent wave of central attacks were linked to that, saying the entire process, from vaccine studies to administration, followed all established foreign standards.
He said vaccine progression and approvals used to take much longer due to physical and manual procedures, however, the government and scientists have made full use of newer technologies, adding synthetic intelligence, this time and as a result, the total procedure can be accelerated. . .
Mandaviya, a leader of Gujarat’s BJP known to have long enjoyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s acceptance, said: “Let me tell you that Prime Minister Modi has followed clinical paths for all procedures from the beginning, from Covid management to research. “vaccinations until the vaccination campaign is approved. “” This was the prime minister’s leadership by which INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium) and several other execution teams and empowered teams were established for vaccine approvals and other protocols. Along the Covid path, we have followed the clinical means to fight this pandemic.
“Scientists told us when vaccines would be approved, and all knowledge and knowledge research was done according to foreign criteria. India has followed the same foreign criteria as global companies,” he said.
The minister said it all happened very temporarily in India, but those who question the speed will have to realize why the approvals came earlier.
“Times have changed. Previously, knowledge was collected, its physical research took position, and many procedures were performed manually, however, today we have synthetic intelligence, the newest modeling strategies, and virtual technology, and we have an idea of how we speed everything up. that,” he said.
“Regardless of foreign practice for vaccine studies and approval, India has followed suit. Indian vaccines are now known in the world as they not only stockpiled India, but also helped save the rest of the world. Not just one, but five vaccines studied and manufactured in India are on the market today. Our vaccination adventure has been based on clinical knowledge following all protocols and clinical methods, which I can guarantee,” he said.
Except for the title, this short story has not been edited through The Telegraph Online and has been published from a syndicated feed.