The center has also warned against downsizing amid reports of a steady rise in Covid-19 cases in some districts.
“Mass meetings should be discouraged, especially in the next festival season … Full vaccination should be a prerequisite if it is absolutely essential or it becomes essential to have a meeting of some people,” said the general manager. of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), Balram Bhargava. he said Thursday.
The government aims to cover the majority of the adult population with at least one dose of Covid vaccine before October, when the chances of spreading the infection are highest in the midst of the holidays. The average daily vaccination was increased to more than 80 lakh in the last week of August with the help of a better supply of punctures, while more than a million doses were administered twice during the week.
The monthly average of daily doses also jumped to 59.29 lakh in August, 36.5% more than the daily average of 43.41 lakh in July and more than 200% of the average of 19.69 lakh in day given in May.
With vaccination gaining momentum in the last week of August, many smaller states and Union territories have achieved or are about to cover 100% of the adult population with the first dose. While Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Dadar and Nagar Haveli have already covered 100% of the population more than 18 people with the first dose, others like Tripura, Ladakh, Daman and Diu, Lakshdweep and Mizoram have covered more than 85%, as reported by officials.
Bearing in mind the upcoming festival season, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said: “We have not seen the conclusion of the second wave in the country and therefore we need to be vigilant. We need to behave appropriately in Covid ”.
Although the trajectory of new cases is declining in most states, some districts continue to report an upward trend. Around 42 districts, mainly concentrated in Kerala and Maharashtra, along with some in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, continue to report more than 100 cases daily. Kerala, with more than 2.30 lakh of active cases, accounted for only 69% of the total new cases registered last week.
Although the spread is limited to certain geographies, the Center is concerned that the rapid transmission of the virus could lead to a new mutation that could lead to a wider spread among other states.
“The risk of mutants will remain in the future. The tools to avoid this, such as wearing a mask, avoiding large meetings, testing and vaccination, are in our hands, ”said Dr. VK Paul, a member of NITI Aayog.
“We need to be careful, especially in the context of the holiday season and the change in weather … While we are accelerating our vaccination program, our precautions against the virus must continue,” he added.
The government also urged people to adopt vaccination as it can protect against serious infections and death, and also continue to wear masks even after vaccination. In August, a total of 18.38 million doses were given, compared to 13.45 million in July.
“This is a huge success and would not have been possible without the very effective and optimal participation of all health workers, state governments and administrations of the territory of the Union,” the health secretary said.
In all, 66.95 doses of Covid vaccines have been administered in the country through Thursday at 8 p.m.
While the country’s overall weekly positivity rate is showing a decline, 39 districts, mainly in Kerala and some northeastern states, reported more than a 10% weekly covida positivity rate in the week ending August 31, while in 38 districts it was between 5 and 10%.