Apart from Kerala, the rising ‘R’ factor in eight states including Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Mizoram continues to be a matter of concern for the health administration.
The ‘R’, or reproductive factor, must be below 1, representing the number of people a person can infect.
NITI Aayog member-health VK Paul cautioned at a health ministry briefing on Tuesday, “It is still around 1 and is increasing in some states (and) is really a cause for concern…”.
A new wave is coming to the forecaster predicting India’s Covid peak
delta concern
“The Delta variant has spread across the country and is a major problem. This variant has also become a matter of global concern. This variant has led to a 30 percent increase in cases. The pandemic is still raging,” Paul said.
Health Ministry’s Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said that 18 districts are showing an increasing trend; Of these, 10 are in Kerala. The other eight are in Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. These 18 districts, especially the 10 districts of Kerala, account for 47.5 per cent of all cases. He said the high-level team deputed to Kerala has seen an increasing trend in Malappuram, and urged the state government to increase proactive surveillance there.
On the progress of vaccines for children, Paul said the center has allowed Novavax to conduct local trials. The vaccine is being brought to India by the Serum Institute, which is already conducting bridging trials.
Covaxin Supply Issue
Regarding the delay in Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin supply, he said the standardization process is being rectified at its Bengaluru facility. He said that soon another unit at Ankleshwar (Gujarat) would add 60 lakh doses. He said that the target of 51 crore jobs had been achieved by the end of July, adding that the target of 135 crore jobs would also be met by the end of the year.
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