COVID-19 Pandemic Not Over, Be Vigilant: Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya To States

New Delhi: With some states witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya asserted on Monday (June 13), that the pandemic was not over yet and stressed being vigilant and observing Covid-appropriate behaviour. The minister appealed to states and union territories to continue and strengthen surveillance and focus on genome sequencing for identifying new variants in the country. The minister held a meeting with health ministers and senior officials of states and union territories via video conference to review the progress of the vaccination exercise under the Har Ghar Dastak 2.0 campaign, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Highlighting increased case positivity rate in some districts and states and reduced COVID-19 testing, Mandaviya stated that increased and timely testing will enable early identification of cases and help curb spread of the infection in the community.

The minister stated that the five-fold strategy of test, track, treat, vaccination and adherence to COVID-19-appropriate behaviour needs to be continued and monitored by states and UTs. States were also urged to focus on implementing the Operational Guidelines for Revised Surveillance. Strategy for COVID-19 which focuses on surveillance of incoming international travellers and surveillance through health facilities, labs, community, etc.

Also Read: Mumbai Records 1000 Per Cent Rise In Daily COVID Cases In Less Than A Month

Stressing on the importance of COVID-19 vaccination among the vulnerable age groups, he urged the state health ministers to personally review the status and progress of the special month-long drive Har Ghar Dastak 2.0 campaign which started on June 1.

Let us accelerate our efforts to identify all beneficiaries in the 12-17 age group for the first and second doses, so they can attend schools with the protection of the vaccine.

He urged states for focussed coverage of the 12-17 age group through school-based campaigns, along with targeted coverage of non-school going children during the summer vacation, he added saying that the population group of above 60 years of age is a vulnerable category and needs to be protected with the precaution dose.

Our healthcare workers are going from door-to-door to ensure that the vulnerable population is administered the precaution dose.

The health ministers of states were urged to also review the administration of precaution dose to the 18-59 age group with the private hospitals on a regular basis, in a statement he said,

We can utilise the learning from the first Har Ghar Dastak campaign to aim for achieving 100 per cent coverage among eligible population for ensuring extended protection against COVID-19. Adequate vaccine doses are available across the country. Let us ensure accelerated coverage of Covid vaccination during the second phase of Har Ghar Dastak campaign.

The states were also strongly advised to ensure that there is no wastage of COVID-19 vaccines at any cost. This must be ensured through active monitoring and on basis of “first expiry, first out” principle, where doses that expire earlier should be used for vaccination first, according to the statement.

State health ministers Sapam Ranjan Singh (Manipur), Alo Libang (Arunachal Pradesh), Thanneeru Harish Rao (Telangana), Anil Vij (Haryana), Rushikesh Ganeshbhai Patel (Gujarat), Banna Gupta (Jharkhand), Mangal Pandey (Bihar), Rajesh Tope (Maharashtra), Prabhuram Choudhary (Madhya Pradesh) and K Sudhakar (Karnataka) were present in the meeting.

Also Read: Amid Rising COVID Cases, Top Scientist Calls For Ramping Up Genome Sequencing

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.