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.
Government of India has so far provided, both through the free of cost category and through direct state procurement category, more than 22crore vaccine doses (22,16,11,940) to States/UTs.
Of this, the total consumption, including wastages is 20,17,59,768 doses (as per data available at 8 AM today).
More than 1.84 crore COVID Vaccine doses (1,84,90,522) are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.
Furthermore, 11lakh (11,42,630) vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the States/UTs within the next 3 days.
Active Caseload further declines to 24,19,907
Active Cases decrease by 75,684 in last 24 hours
At 2.11 Lakh Cases, declining trend in new cases is maintained
2,46,33,951 total Recoveries across the country so far. 2,83,135patients recovered during last 24 hours.
Recoveries continue to outnumber the Daily New Cases for the 14th consecutive day
Recovery Rate increases to 90.01%
Weekly Positivity Rate currently at 10.93%
Daily positivity rate at 9.79%, less than 10% for 3 consecutive days.
20.27 Cr. Vaccine Doses administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
After the USA, India is the 2nd country to achieve the 20 cr Vaccination doses landmark
Testing capacity substantially ramped up- 21.57 lakh tests conducted in last 24 hours
The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) has recommended the proposal by a Technical Expert Committee of the Union Ministry on the guidelines for Near to Home COVID Vaccination Centres (NHCVC) for Elderly & Differently Abled Citizens. These recommendations have also been accepted by the Union Ministry of Health. NHCVC for Elderly & Differently-abled citizens would follow a community-based, flexible and people-centric approach, bringing the COVID Vaccination Centres nearer to homes.
The Technical Expert Committee’s recommendations are aimed to ensure vaccination of Senior Citizens and Differently Abled population having limited mobility due to their physical condition. The recommendations are in response to the need to increase access by bringing vaccination services closer to the community while maintaining all necessary precautions and safety measures, as per the Operational Guidelines and Advisories issued from time to time.
These Near to Home COVID Vaccination Centres will be organized specially for the below mentioned eligible population while vaccination for all other age groups will continue at the existing CVCs.
Eligible population for COVID-19 vaccination at NHCVC will include:
All individuals above 60 years age with no vaccination or first dose vaccination.
All individuals below 60 years with disability due to physical or medical conditions.
Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has communicated the detailed guidelines to all the States and UTs.
These guidelines include:
A community-based approach to be followed where sessions can be conducted in non-health facility based settings and are nearer to home, e.g. in a community centre, RWA centre/office, panchayat ghar, school buildings, old age homes etc.
Based on the cohort of eligible population, District Task Force (DTF) / Urban Task Force (UTF) will decide the location of NHCVC to maximize the reach of services to the target population, reduce vaccine wastage along with causing minimal impact on the existing health services.
NHCVC will be linked to an existing CVC for vaccination purpose; the CVC in-charge will be responsible to provide vaccine, logistics and human resources required for vaccination.
The site for NHCVC will be pre-identified in collaboration with community groups and RWAs. Such sites could be at Panchayat Bhawan, Sub-Health Centres and Health & Wellness Centres with availability of adequate space, Community Halls, RWA Premises, Polling Booths, Schools etc. and should to have a Vaccination Room and a Waiting Area with appropriate access for the target group, for example ramp for wheel chair access and Observation Room to ensure waiting for 30 minutes post vaccination as per MoHFW Operational Guidelines.
Once identified and verified for meeting CVC criteria, all such sites will be registered on the CoWIN portal as NHCVC.
DTF /UTF will be responsible for planning and implementation of vaccination at the NHCVC, with full flexibility to adjust the proposed plan as per local circumstances and need.
Each team at NHCVC will comprise of five members – Team Leader (necessarily a Doctor), Vaccinator, Vaccination Officer 1 for Co-WIN registration and/or verification of beneficiary, and Vaccination Officer-2 and 3 for crowd control, assistance to vaccinator, ensuring 30 minutes observation of beneficiaries following vaccination for any AEFI and any other support.
In a scenario where there is a group of target beneficiaries under one roof like Old Age Home etc., the NHCVC can be organized at that site as per the Operational Guidelines.
The guidelines also include details regarding:
Registration & appointment of beneficiaries - either in advance, on-site or Facilitated Cohort Registration process on Co-WIN
Line listing of Beneficiaries
Identification of NHCVC Site and linkage with existing CVC
Micro planning for vaccination sessions at NHCVC
Facilitate travel of elderly and persons with special needs to Session Site wherever needed
Making the Vaccination Center friendly to the elderly and persons with special needs
The Union Health Ministry has advised all States and UTs to direct the concerned officials to take note of these recommendations and undertake prompt necessary action for their detailed planning and effective implementation under the ongoing National COVID-19 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.
Government of India has so far provided, both through the free of cost category and through direct state procurement category, more than 21.89 crore vaccine doses (21,89,69,250) to States/UTs.
Of this, the total consumption,including wastages is 19,93,39,750 doses (as per data available at 8 AM today).
More than 1.77 crore COVID Vaccine doses (1,77,67,850) are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.
Furthermore, 7 lakh (7,00,000) vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the States/UTs within the next 3 days.
Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare virtually participated in a High-Level Panel Discussion on “Continuity on Health Services during COVID-19 Crisis”, today. Shri Nikhil Seth, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director, United Nations Institute for Training and Research, Dr David Nabarro, Co-Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation and Special Envoy of WHO Director-General on COVID-19, Shri Mukul Bhola, CEO, The Defeat-NCD Partnership, UNITAR, Mr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, Health Minister of The Gambia, Mr Daniel Ngamije, Health Minister, Rwanda, Lyonpo Dechen Wangmo, Health Minister of Royal Government. of Bhutan, Mr Bandar M.H. Hajjar, President, Islamic Development Bank and Mr Menassie Taddese, President of Emerging Markets, Viatris participated in the panel discussion.
The Union Health Minister appreciated “Defeat-NCD Partnership at United Nations Institute for Training and Research” for organising a CALL FOR ACTION session for countries on “Uninterrupted Health Services for NCDs during the COVID-19 Crisis”. The meeting was organised to ensure the continuity of health services to Non-Communicable disease patients during the current humanitarian crisis. The Defeat-NCD Partnership was born from the recognition that NCDs are now the major contributor to the global burden of disease, leading to mortality of at least 41 million people each year, the equivalent to 70% of all deaths globally.
Dr Harsh Vardhan reminded the world of the present existential crisis, the global threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to over 3.46 million deaths across the world. India too is facing the brunt of the second wave of the pandemic, he stated.
Highlighting the importance of providing essential health services and the major impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the capacity of global health systems to continue the uninterrupted delivery of these services, the Union Health Minister said, “While health systems around the world are being challenged by increasing demand for care of COVID-19 patients, the COVID-19 outbreak has placed unprecedented demands on our health systems. Our health facilities and workforce are currently inundated by a plethora of activities related to controlling the pandemic. In doing so, essential health services which communities expect from the health system, do get compromised. However, focusing on COVID-19 related activities, and continuing to provide essential services, is important not only to maintain people’s trust in the health system to deliver essential health services but also to minimize any increase in morbidity and mortality from other health conditions.”
Dr Harsh Vardhan observed that to achieve Universal Health Coverage and to reduce premature NCD deaths by one-third, health care systems need to radically transform. He said, “The Sustainable Development Goal mantra to, “leave no one behind”, underscores a broad public health approach and a call for action by all stakeholders. It is for this reason that world leaders, governments and stakeholders across all sectors of society are keenly viewing this High-Level Meeting on continuing NCD care during challenging times such as the present. In this very context, the meeting today represents a unique opportunity for all of us to come together and scale up action to prevent suffering and avoidable deaths from NCDs during the pandemic.”
Accentuating the achievement of India’s efforts on NCD front and the robust and aligned political force guiding these interventions, as conveyed in the High-level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases at the United Nations General Assembly in 2011 and 2014, the Union Health Minister said, “While 70% of global deaths are attributable to NCDs, in India this figure is estimated to be lower, around 63%. We have been able to reduce premature NCD related mortalities from 503 to 490 per 100,000 population from 2015 to 2019. Various investments by the government have led to these reduced figures. Primary care NCDs is now being provided in 76,102 newly established Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres. Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) have expanded the scope of primary healthcare to include screening and diagnosis of NCDs, and eliminated out-of-pocket expenses related to NCDs for 100 million vulnerable people. India has been one of the first countries to launch a multi-sectoral action plan to reduce underlying NCD risk factors related to tobacco, salt and sugar, and uniquely targeted reduction of household pollution by replacing solid cooking fuel. This reduced chronic respiratory ailments among women, for example, through the provision of cooking gas to millions of rural households.”
Underscoring the need to apply innovative Telemedicine technologies and how India has adopted it in the tough times of COVID-19, Dr Harsh Vardhan highlighted, “India, with its huge IT private sector, has a distinct advantage. Artificial Intelligence, paired with Telemedicine, is powerful. India is targeting to reduce premature deaths by 25% by 2025, for which COVID-19 responses are being integrated with NCD screening and care, and IT and AI potential are being maximised. Government allocations for COVID-19 and other investments are being smartly dovetailed with our National NCD Action Plan. NCD diagnostics are being established alongside Covid screening, and NCD care services are being augmented into health and wellness centres.”
Dr Harsh Vardhan stressed the need to adjust governance and coordination mechanisms to support timely action and prioritizing essential health services to adapt to changing contexts and needs in the time. Showing way further to augment effective NCDs prevention and control, the Union Health Minister said, “As public health leaders, we need to make a renewed commitment to fund public health and remove financial barriers to access as well as reprioritize and reprogram existing budgetary resources. I’m sure that the Defeat-NCD Partnership is bringing together governments, the private sector and civil society, to drive action in all countries. The world has enough knowledge, capacity and even resources available to reverse the tide of NCDs, but collaboration will be crucial with shared idealism.”
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Shri D.V Sadananda Gowda announced that the additional 19,420 vials of Amphotericin- B have been allocated to all States/UTs and Central Institutions on 24th May, 2021.
Besides this, 23680 vials of Amphotericin- B were allocated across country on 21st May.
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.
Government of India has so far provided, both through the free of cost category and through direct state procurement category, more than 21.80 crore vaccine doses (21,80,51,890) to States/UTs.
Of this, the total consumption, calculated based on average up to 23rd May, 2021, including wastages is 20,00,08,875 doses (as per data available at 8 AM today).
More than 1.80 crore COVID Vaccine doses (1,80,43,015) are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.
Furthermore, more than 48 lakh (48,00,650) vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the States/UTs within the next 3 days.
The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level. A graded, pre-emptive and pro-active approach has allowed for the exercise to be modified to suit present circumstances in wide consultation with all stakeholders.
With launch of phase II of the National Vaccination Drive on 1st March 2021, facility for only online registration and appointment of citizens aged 45 years or more was offered on CoWIN digital platform. The feature for on-site registration and appointment was introduced later for these priority groups. Subsequently, the coverage of vaccination was expanded to people in the age group of 18 to 44 years on 1st May 2021 with implementation of the Liberalised Pricing & Accelerated National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy. The facility of only online appointment mode initially to people in the age group of 18 to 44 years helped to avoid overcrowding at the vaccinationcentres.
In this context, based on the various representations given by the States and inputs received by Union Health Ministry for the vaccination of 18-44 years age group, the Union Government has now decided to provide facility of on-site registration/facilitated cohort registration on CoWINdigital platform for 18-44 years age group considering the following points:
(i) In case of sessions exclusively organized with online slots, towards the end of the day, some doses may still be left unutilized in case the online appointee beneficiaries do not turn up on day of vaccination due to any reason. In such cases, on-site registration of a few beneficiaries may be necessary to minimizethe vaccine wastage.
(ii) Even thoughCoWIN provides for features such as registration of up to 4 beneficiaries with a mobile number, facilitated registration and appointments through applications, such as ArogyaSetu and Umang and through the Common Service Centres etc., people requiring facilitated cohort’s facility and those without access to internet or smart phones or mobile phones may still have limited access for vaccination.
Therefore, the feature for on-site registration and appointment is now being enabled for 18-44 years age group on CoWIN.
However, this feature is being enabled only for Government COVID Vaccination Centers (CVCs), at the present moment in time.
This feature will not be available for Private CVCs, presently and the Private CVCs will have to publish their vaccination schedules exclusively with slots for online appointments.
This feature will be used only upon decision of the respective State/UT Government to do so. State/UT must decide on opening of on-site registrations/facilitated cohorts’ registration and appointments for 18-44 years age group based on the local contextjust as an additional measure to minimize vaccine wastage and for facilitating vaccination of eligible beneficiaries in the age group 18-44 years.
The Union Health Ministry has advised the States and UTs to issue clear instructionsto all District Immunization Officers to strictly adhere to decision of respective State/UT Government regarding the extent and manner of using the on-site registration and appointment feature for 18 to 44 years age group.
Fully reserved sessions can also be organized for providing vaccination services to the beneficiaries belonging to facilitated cohorts. Wherever such fully reserved sessions are organized, all efforts must also be made to mobilize such beneficiaries in sufficient numbers.
Union Health Ministry has further advised States/UTs that abundant caution should be exercised and extreme due care should be taken while opening up of on-site registration and appointment for 18-44 years age group, in order to avoid overcrowding at vaccination centres.
India has crossed a significant landmark in its fight against COVID19 pandemic today. The country has administered more than 1 Cr (1,06,21,235) Vaccine Doses for 18-44 age group under Phase-3 of Vaccination Drive. 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.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country exceeded 19.60 Cr today under the Phase-3 of the nationwide Vaccination Drive.
A total of 19,60,51,962 vaccine doses have been administered through 28,16,725 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today. These include 97,60,444 HCWs who have taken the 1st dose and 67,06,890 HCWs who have taken the 2nddose, 1,49,91,357 FLWs (1stdose), 83,33,774 FLWs (2nddose), 1,06,21,235 beneficiaries under 18-44 age group (1stdose), 6,09,11,756 (1stdose) and 98,18,384 (2nd dose) beneficiaries aged 45 to 60 years. 5,66,45,457 1stdose beneficiaries and 1,82,62,665 2nd dose beneficiaries of more than 60 years old.
Ten states account for 66.30% of the total doses given so far in the country.
India’s Daily Recoveries continue to outnumber the Daily New Cases for the 11th consecutive day. 3,02,544 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours.
India’s cumulative recoveries have reached 2,37,28,011 today. The National Recovery Rate has grown further to touch 88.69%.
Ten states account for 72.23% of the new recoveries.
In another positive development, India has recorded less than 3 lakh Daily New Cases for eight consecutive days now. The gap between Daily New Cases and Daily Recovered Cases has reduced to 80,229 today.
India’s Daily New cases and recovered cases trajectory is shown below.
2,22,315 Daily New Cases were registered in the last 24 hours.
Ten States reported 81.08% of the new cases in last 24 hours. Tamil Nadu has reported the highest daily new cases at 35,483, followed by Maharashtra with 26,672 new cases.
India’s active caseload trajectory is shown below. Active Cases have decreased since its last peak on 10th May 2021.
India’s total Active Caseload has decreased to 27,20,716 today.
A net decline of 84,683 is witnessed in the last 24 hours. It now comprises 10.17% of the country's total Positive Cases.
8 States cumulatively account for 71.62% of India’s total Active Cases.
A total of 19,28,127 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours in the country and cumulatively 33,05,36,064 tests have been done so far. The Cumulative Positivity rate stands at 8.09% today. Weekly Positivity Rate has also declined to 12.66%.
The National Mortality Rate currently stands at 1.14%.
4,454 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
Ten States account for 79.52% of the new deaths in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (1,320). Karnataka follows with 624 daily deaths.
18 states/UTs have a Case Fatality Rate less than the national average (1.14%)
18 states/UTs have a Case Fatality Rate more than the national average.
With more than 20.66 Lakh tests conducted in the last 24 hours, India has again set a new record of highest tests conducted in a day. This is also the fourth successive day of more than 20 lakh tests in India.
The daily positivity rate has declined to 12.45%.
Cumulatively, 20,66,285 tests conducted in the last 24 hours in the country.
India’s Daily Recoveries continue to outnumberthe Daily New Cases for the ninth consecutive day. 3,57,630recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours.
India’s cumulative recoveries have reached 2,30,70,365today. The National Recovery Rate has grown further to touch 87.76%.
Ten states account for 73.46% of the new recoveries.
In another positive development, India has recordedless than 3 lakh Daily New cases for six consecutive days now.
2,57,299DailyNew Cases were registered in the last 24 hours.
Ten States reported 78.12% of thenew cases in last 24 hours.Tamil Naduhas reported the highest daily new cases at 36,184, followed by Karnataka with 32,218new cases.
On the other hand, India’s total Active Caseload has decreased to 29,23,400today.
A net decline of 1,04,525is witnessed in the last 24 hours.
It now comprises 11.12% of the country's total Positive Cases.
8States cumulatively account for 69.94% of India’s total Active Cases.
The graph below highlights the change in active cases for states in the last 24 hours.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country exceeded 19.33 Crtoday under the Phase-3 of the nationwide Vaccination Drive.
A total of 19,33,72,819vaccine doses have been administered through 27,76,936sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today. These include 97,38,148HCWs who have taken the 1st dose and 66,91,350HCWs who have taken the 2nddose, 1,48,70,081FLWs (1stdose), 83,06,020FLWs (2nddose), 92,97,532beneficiaries under 18-44 age group (1stdose),6,02,11,957(1stdose) and 96,84,295(2nd dose) beneficiaries aged 45 to 60 years.5,63,83,7601stdose beneficiaries and 1,81,89,6762nd dose beneficiaries of more than 60 years old.
Ten states account for 66.30% of the total doses given so far in the country.
