India continues to report a sustained slide in the daily new COVID cases. The country has reported 60,753 Daily New Cases in the last 24 hours.

Less than 1 lakh Daily New Caseshave been reported for 12 continuous days now. This is a result of sustained and collaborative efforts by the Centre and the States/UTs.

India has also been witnessing a continuous fall in the active caseload. The country’s Active Caseload today stands at 7,60,019. This is the lowest reported active cases after 74 days.

A net decline of 38,637 is witnessed in the last 24 hours and active cases are now only 2.55% of the country's total Positive Cases.

As more people are getting recovered from COVID-19 infection, India’s Daily Recoveries continue to outnumber the Daily New Cases for 37 consecutive days now. 97,743 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours.

Nearly 37 thousand (36,990) more recoveries were reported during the last 24 hours as compared to the daily new cases.

Out of the people infected since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,86,78,390 people have already recovered from COVID-19 & 97,743 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours. This constitutes an overall recovery rate of 96.16%, which is showing a sustained increasing trend.

With substantially ramped up testing capacity across the country, a total of 19,02,009tests were conducted in the last 24 hours in the country. Cumulatively, India has conducted over 38.92crore (38,92,07,637) tests so far.

While on one side testing has been enhanced across the country, a continued decline in weekly case positivity is noticed. Weekly Positivity Rate is currently at 3.58% while the Daily Positivity rate stands at 2.98% today. It has remained less than 5% for 12 consecutive days now.

India’s cumulative vaccination coverage exceeds 27.23 crore today. A total of 27,23,88,783 vaccine doses have been administered through 37,48,147sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today. 33,00,085 vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours.

These include:

In a significant development, India has reported less than 60,000 daily cases after 81 days. The country has reported 58,419 New Cases in the last 24 hours. India continues to report a sustained slide in the daily new COVID-19 cases.

Less than 1 lakh Daily New Cases have been reported for 13 continuous days now. This is a result of sustained and collaborative efforts by the Centre and the States/UTs.

India has also been witnessing a continuous fall in the active caseload. The country’s Active Caseload today stands at 7,29,243 today.

A net decline of 30,776 is witnessed in the last 24 hours and active cases are now only 2.44% of the country's total Positive Cases.

As more people are getting recovered from COVID-19 infection, India’s Daily Recoveries continue to outnumber the Daily New Cases for 38 consecutive days now. 87,619 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours.

Over 29 thousand (29,200) more recoveries were reported during the last 24 hours as compared to the daily new cases.

Out of the people infected since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,87,66,009 people have already recovered from COVID-19 and 87,619 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours. This constitutes an overall recovery rate of 96.27%, which is showing a sustained increasing trend.

With substantially ramped up testing capacity across the country, a total of 18,11,446tests were conducted in the last 24 hours in the country. Cumulatively, India has conducted over 39.10crore (39,10,19,083) tests so far.

While on one side testing has been enhanced across the country, a continued decline in weekly case positivity is noticed. Weekly Positivity Rate is currently at 3.43% while the Daily Positivity rate stands at 3.22% today. It has remained less than 5% for 13 consecutive days now.

A total of 27,66,93,572 vaccine doses have been administered through 37,91,686sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today. 38,10,554 vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours.

These include:

As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID Vaccines free of cost. In addition, the Govt. of India has also been facilitating direct procurement of vaccines by the States/UTs. Vaccination is an integral pillar of the comprehensive strategy of Government of India for containment and management of the pandemic, along with Test, Track, Treat and COVID Appropriate Behaviour.

Implementation of the Liberalized and Accelerated Phase-3 Strategy of Covid-19 Vaccination has started from 1st May 2021.

Under the Strategy, in every month 50% of the total Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) cleared vaccine doses of any manufacturer would be procured by Govt. of India. It would continue to make these doses available to the State Govts totally free of cost as was being done earlier.

More than 26.69 crore (26,69,14,930) vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far, through Government of India (free of cost channel) and through direct state procurement category.

Of this, the total consumption, including wastages is 25,67,21,069 doses (as per data available at 8 AM today).

More than 1.05 crore (1,05,61,861) COVID Vaccine doses are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.

Furthermore, more than 47,43,580 vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the States/UTs within the next 3 days.

Pre-registration for vaccination through online registration and prior booking of appointment is not mandatory to avail of vaccination services.

Anyone, aged 18 years or more, can directly go to the nearest vaccination Center where vaccinator performs the on-site registration and provides vaccination in the same visit.This is also popularly known as “walk-ins”.

The facilitated registration through the Common Service Centers (CSCs) on Co-WIN, is just one of the many modes of registration on Co-WIN. The facilitators such as health workers or ASHAs, also mobilize beneficiaries in rural areas and those residing in urban slums, for on-site registration and vaccination directly at the nearest vaccination centers. The facility for assisted registrations through the 1075 Help Line has also been operationalized.

That, all the above modes, specifically operationalised for rural areas, are functional and enabling equitable access to vaccination in rural areas, is evident from the fact that, as on 13.06.2021, out of the 28.36 crore beneficiaries registered on Co-WIN, 16.45 crore (58%) beneficiaries have been registered in the on-site mode. Also, out of the the total 24.84 crore vaccine doses recorded on Co-WIN as on 13th June 2021, 19.84 crore doses (nearly 80% of all vaccine doses) have been administered through onsite/ walk-in vaccination.

From 01.05.21 till 12.06.21, out of the total 1,03,585 COVID Vaccination Centers [CVCs] providing vaccination services, 26,114 are operated at the Sub-Health Centers, 26,287 at the Primary Health Centers and 9,441 at the Community Health Centers, amounting to 59.7% of the total vaccination centers. All of these CVCs at the Sub-Health Centers, the Primary Health Centers and the Community Health Centers are in rural areas where people can directly walk-in for on-site registration and vaccination.

Out of the total 69,995 vaccination centers so far classified by states on Co-WIN as rural or urban, 49,883 vaccination centers, i.e. 71%, are located in rural areas.

The coverage of vaccination in tribal area – As per the data available on Co-WIN as on 3rd June, 2021 –

Vaccination per million population in tribal districts is higher than the National average. 128 out of 176 Tribal Districts are performing better than all India vaccination coverage. More walk-in vaccinations are happening in Tribal Districts as compared to National average. Gender ratio for people vaccinated is also better in the tribal districts.

Above statistics bust the myth/misconception about the rural-urban divide as the Co-WIN system offers a completely flexible and inclusive framework for facilitating vaccination recording in rural areas, and especially in the remotest parts of the Country.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare addressed the inaugural ceremony of Global Yoga Conference2021 in the presence of Shri Shripad Yesso Nayak, Minister of State for Defence. The event was organised by 'MokshayatanYogSansthan' along with the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India &Indian Council for Cultural Relations to mark the occasion of 7thInternational Day of Yoga which falls on 21st June 2021.

At the outset, the Union Health Minister emphasized that when the world speaks about holistic health and well-being for humankind,ourancientwisdomofYoga is invariably mentioned. “Increasing acceptance of the practice of Yoga across the world is an evidence of its wide popularity. Yoga’s uptake as a part of daily lifestyle is observed even in the western world. Even during the present times of pandemic, when physical and mental fitness have been stressed upon, many people have turned to Yoga for the same,” he stated.

Accentuating the importance of the central message for observing Yoga Day this year, (‘Be with Yoga, Be at Home’), he said, “In light of this global health emergency, congregational activities in the run up to International Yoga Day have been muted. This message is most relevant in times of COVID-19, when it is necessary for all of us to maintain all possible precautions while also looking out for our overall wellness. Considering the immense and well- documented rewards of Yoga for holistic health and well-being of the population, it is our government’s objective to take Yoga to every citizen.”

Reminding everyone the call made by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to the UN General Assembly in September 2014, Dr Harsh Vardhan observed, “It is well-known that the origin of International of International Yoga Day can be traced back to a call made by our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji to the UN General Assembly in September 2014, where he put forth the idea to mark June 21 each year as a day for celebrating and promoting Yoga and all its benefits.”

Dr Harsh Vardhan highlighted how Yoga has helped people during COVID restrictions on public activities and said, “It is indeed a matter of pride for every Indian that this precious inheritance of our country has found global acceptance. The benefits of Yoga in immunity building and management of stress are well documented with evidence. With programmes like this Global Yoga Conference, more people shall be drawn into the fold of practicing Yoga and related activities. Since the onset of the pandemic last year, many people have been working from home and the impact of being quarantined has been felt by many. With several restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19, other popular methods of maintaining physical fitness, such as public places, parks, sports and gyms have shut down. A spike in stress levels has also been observed with increased time being spent in confined spaces along with added workload as people adapt to new realities. Yoga offers a solution for maintaining physical fitness as well as contributing towards one’s mental peace, even in the midst of such restrictions.”

Dr. Harsh Vardhan noted that there is a widespread realization today that health is of foremost importance for everyone. Countries around the globe have recognized the potential benefits that humankind can enjoy by embracing Yoga. He thanked participants from different fields and expertise who joined to promulgate the benefits of Yoga. He also extended his sincere gratitude to Swami Dr Bharat Bhushan and Mokshyatan Sansthan for organizing this conference and spreading awareness of healthy living among common people. Swami Dr Bharat Bhushan has over decades put in untiring efforts in promoting Yoga and Indian culture.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan concluded his speech by expressing his confidence that this conference will further spread awareness among people about the practice of Yoga and the benefits it can bring in their lives.

India has reported 80,834 Daily New Cases in the last 24 hours. The country has recorded less than 1 lakh Daily New Cases for 6 continuous days now. This is a result of sustained and collaborative efforts by the Centre and the States/UTs.

ndia has been witnessing a continuous fall in the active caseload. The country’s Active Caseload today stands at 10,26,159. The Caseload has been below 20 lakhs for thirteen successive days.

A net decline of 54,531 is witnessed in the last 24 hours and active cases are now only 3.49% of the country's total Positive Cases.

As more people are getting recovered from COVID-19 infection, India’s Daily Recoveries continue to outnumber the Daily New Cases for 31 consecutive days now. 1,32,062 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours. 51,228 more recoveries were reported during the last 24 hours as compared to the daily new cases.

Out of the people infected since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,80,43,446 people have already recovered from COVID-19 & 1,32,062 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours. This constitutes an overall recovery rate of 95.26%, which is showing a sustained increasing trend.

With substantially ramped up testing capacity across the country, a total of 19,00,312 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours in the country. Cumulatively India has conducted over 37.81 crore (37,81,32,474) tests so far.

While on one side testing has been enhanced across the country, a continued decline in weekly case positivity is noticed. Weekly Positivity Rate is currently at 4.74% while the Daily Positivity rate stands at 4.25% today. It has remained less than 10% for 20 consecutive days now.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country exceeded the 25 Cr mark yesterday under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive. 34,84,239 vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours.

A total of 25,31,95,048 vaccine doses have been administered through 35,05,535 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today.

These include:

India's Active Caseload further declines to 11,21,671

Net decrease of46,281 in Active Casesin last 24 hours

Less than 1 lakh cases for the 4th Day

India reports91,702 newcases in last 24 hours

2,77,90,073total Recoveries across the country so far

1,34,580patients recovered during last 24 hours

Recoveries continue to outnumber the Daily New Cases for the 29th consecutive day

Recovery Rate increases to 94.93%

Weekly Positivity Rate currently at 5.14%

Daily positivity rate at 4.49%, less than 10% for 18 consecutive days.

Testing capacity substantially ramped up–37.42 cr tests total conducted

24.6 Cr. Vaccine Doses administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive

As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID Vaccines free of cost. In addition, the Govt. of India has also been facilitating direct procurement of vaccines by the States/UTs. Vaccination is an integral pillar of the comprehensive strategy of Government of India for containment and management of the pandemic, along with Test, Track, Treat and COVID Appropriate Behaviour.

Implementation of the Liberalized and Accelerated Phase-3 Strategy of Covid-19 Vaccination has started from 1st May 2021.

Under the Strategy, in every month 50% of the total Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) cleared vaccine doses of any manufacturer would be procured by Govt. of India. It would continue to make these doses available to the State Govts totally free of cost as was being done earlier.

More than 25.60 crore (25,60,08,080) vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far, through Government of India (free of cost channel) and through direct state procurement category.

Of this, the total consumption, including wastages is 24,44,06,096 doses (as per data available at 8 AM today).

More than 1.17 crore (1,17,56,911) COVID Vaccine doses are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.

Furthermore, more than 38 lakh (38,21,170) vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the States/UTs within the next 3 days.

The Government of India has been proactively trying to curb the wastage of COVID-19 vaccines and has been guiding the States and UTs in effectively using the doses in order to fight the pandemic.

There were some media reports stating that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s insistence in keeping vaccine wastage below 1% is unrealistic and undesirable.

It is submitted that COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented event in global health in the last century, which has resulted in changing the way the world interacted and behaved. Vaccination against COVID-19 is important in protecting the people from COVID-19 infection and associated mortality and morbidity. Equitable access to safe and effective vaccines is critical in ending the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccine development takes a lot of time and demand for these vaccines exceeds the supply many times. Thus, it is important to monitor and ensure that this precious tool to address the pandemic should be used optimally and judiciously. COVID-19 vaccine is an essential public health commodity with global scarcity. Therefore, vaccine wastage must be reduced and kept to a minimum level which will further help vaccinate many people. In fact, Hon’ble Prime Minister has also time and again emphasised on ensuring minimum Vaccine Wastage, to ensure that the vaccine reaches the maximum number of people.

Any reduction in wastage means inoculating more people and leads to strengthening the fight against COVID-19. Each dose saved means vaccinating one more person. India is using the COVID-19 Vaccine Intelligence Network(Co-WIN) with the inbuilteVIN (Electronic Vaccine intelligence network) system, a digital platform, which not only registers the beneficiaries but also tracks the vaccines and facilitates real-time monitoring of storage temperatures across 29,000 cold chain points at the National, State, and District level. The current COVID-19 vaccines being used do not have an ‘open vial policy’ i.e., it has to be used within a stipulated time once the vial has been opened. The vaccinator is advised to mark the date and time of opening each vial and all open vaccine vials need to be used/discarded within 4 hours of opening. Several states have organized COVID-19 Vaccination in such a way, that not only there is no wastage but they are able to extract more doses from the vial and thus show a negative wastage. Hence,the expectation that vaccine wastage should be 1% or less is not at all unreasonable. It is reasonable, desirable and achievable. Further, all States/ UTs have also been advised that each vaccination session is expected to cater to a atleast of 100 beneficiaries, however, in the case of remote and sparsely populated areas, the State could organize a session for a lesser number of beneficiarieswhile ensuring that there is no vaccine wastage. A session may be planned only when adequate beneficiaries are available.

The post vaccination observation time is optimally utilized to guide the beneficiaries on COVID Appropriate Behaviour, any possible Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI), and where they could reach out in case of an adverse event. Under any immunization programme, proper micro-planning is essential to ensure that we not only optimally use the available resources but also vaccinate as many beneficiaries to improve coverage. The states/ UTs are regularly being guided on it. Additionally, a regular review of the COVID-19 Vaccination drive across all levels is being conducted to include analysis of vaccine wastage with a focus on identifying areas where such wastage is high so that prompt corrective measures are undertaken. Directions have also been given to the concerned officials and COVID-19 Vaccination Centre (CVC) managers to efficiently plan vaccination sessions so as to keep the vaccine wastage rates at a minimum.

Government of India has been supporting the efforts of States and UTs for an effective Vaccination drive under the ‘Whole of Government” approach since 16th January this year. With the aim to universalize the Vaccination drive, the Government has opened vaccination for all adults above 18 years of age with the onset of Liberalized Phase III of India’s vaccination strategy from 1st May 2021.

It has been a constant endeavour of the Union Government to streamline the vaccination process to increase coverage of all segments of the population. In this regard, taking note of the several representations received by Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for allowing administration of second dose of Covishield for such persons who have only taken first dose of Covishield and are seeking to undertake international travel for educational purposes or employment opportunities or as part of India's contingent for Tokyo Olympic games, but whose planned travel dates fall prior to completion of the currently mandated minimum interval of 84 days from the date of first dose, Union Health Ministry has written to States/UTs to facilitate vaccination of such persons.

The Ministry has issued SOPs in this regard which have been conveyed to States/UTs. States/UTs have been advised to widely publicize and take all necessary measures to immediately implement these SOPs.

The SOPs are as follows:

At present, based on the recommendations by National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC), the schedule of Covishield vaccine under National Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy is to administer the 2nd dose at 12-16 weeks interval (i.e. after 84 days), after administration of 1st dose.

With the receipt of several representations for allowing administration of dose of Covishield for such persons who have only taken first dose of Covishield and are seeking to undertake international travel for educational purposes or employment opportunities or for participation in India's Contingent for Tokyo Olympic games, but whose planned travel dates fall prior to completion of the currently mandated minimum interval of 84 days from the date of first dose, the issue was discussed in Empowered Group 5 (EG-5) and appropriate recommendations have been received in this context.

With a view to providing full coverage of vaccination and facilitating international travel for such genuine reasons, the following procedure shall be followed for administration of second dose of Covishield vaccine for such beneficiaries.

This special dispensation will be available to —

Students who have to undertake foreign travel for the purposes of education.

Persons who have to take up jobs in foreign countries

Athletes, Sportspersons and accompanying staff of Indian contingent attending International Olympic Games be held in Tokyo

States/UT governments shall designate a competent authority in each district for according permission for such administration of second dose of Covishield.

The competent authority shall check the following before according a permission for administration of second dose before the period of 84 days after date of first dose —

Whether a period of 28 days has elapsed after the date of first dose.

Genuineness of the purpose of travel based on documents related to —

Admission Offers or associated formal communications for the of education.

Whether a person is already studying a foreign educational institution and has to return to that institution for continuing their education.

Interview calls for a job or offer letters for taking up employment.

Nomination to participate in the Tokyo Olympic games.

It is advised that vaccination may be availed in cases through Passport which is one of the permissible ID documents as per the current guidelines so that the passport number is printed in the Certificate. If Passport was not used at the time of administration of first dose, the details of the photo ID Card used for vaccination will printed in the vaccination certificate and mention of the Passport in the vaccination certificate is not to be insisted upon. Wherever necessary, the competent authority may issue another certificate linking the vaccination certificate with the passport number of the beneficiary.

This facility shall be available to those who need to undertake international travel for these specified purposes in the period up to 31st August, 2021.

All technical protocols as prescribed in the Guidelines of the Ministry regarding COVID Vaccination Centres and AEFI management etc. shall have be followed.

It is clarified that Covishield, produced by the Serum Institute of India and approved by the DCGI is one of the vaccines by the WHO for use as on 3rd June 2021. The relevant entry is at serial number 4 of the WHO EUL is available at: https://extranet.who.int/pqweb/sites/default/files/documents/Status%20of%20COVID-19%20Vaccines%20within%20WHO%20EUL-PQ%20evaluation%20process%20-%203%20June%202021.pdf

Mention of vaccine type as “Covishield” is sufficient and no other qualifying entries are required in the vaccination certificates.

The CoWIN system will soon provide the facility for administration of 2nd dose in such exceptional cases.