Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya hailed it as "Collective will of the country under the decisive and progressive leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which was demonstrated through Jan Bhagidari".
The Centre had launched 'COVID Vaccine Amrit Mahotsav' campaign on July 15 this year to give an impetus to 'Precaution Dose' as part of the national Covid vaccination drive.
Under the campaign, free precaution doses at all government COVID vaccination centres for people aged 18 years and above for 75 days, from July 15 to September 30, are being provided.
"Vaccination is an effective means to fight Covid-19. Today's Cabinet decision will further India's vaccination coverage and create a healthier nation," Modi said in a tweet when the campaign was launched.
As the campaign enters 42nd day today (Friday), a total of 14.7 crore precaution doses have been administered, so far.
This includes an additional 9.6 crore precaution doses which were administered during the campaign.
Further, the average daily doses administered has increased to 27.77 lakh doses per day from 11.4 lakh doses per day (of 15 days) prior to the launch of the campaign.
The average daily dose for precaution dose has crossed 22.7 lakh doses per day.
In another significant step, with the recommendation of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation -- NTAGI, Corbevax has been included as a heterologous precaution dose in the National Covid-19 Vaccination programme, which can be taken after the second dose of either Covaxin or Covishield.
Under the campaign, over 8,86,585 special vaccination camps have been organised so far by all the states and UTs.
This includes camps at railway stations (4,052), bus stations (8,776), airports (367), schools and colleges (1,11,700), on the way to religious places (4,654) and camps at other places (7,57,036).
Special vaccination camps have been organised on the routes of Char Dham Yatra (Uttarakhand), Amarnath Yatra (Jammu & Kashmir), Kanwar Yatra (all states/UTs of north India) as well as major melas and congregations, said the Health Ministry.
The minister said teleconsultation service e-Sanjeevani is providing affordable and accessible healthcare, especially in rural and remote areas, as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While 1,17,400 Ayushman Bharat -Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) have been made functional, the government said it is committed to establishing 1,50,000 such centres by December 2022. More than one lakh have registered successfully on e-Sanjeevani HWCs portal too.
"People in many states have been quick to recognise the benefits of e-Sanjeevani and this has led to an encouraging trend of widespread rapid adoption of this digital modality of seeking health services.
"Patients consult with doctors and specialists on a daily basis using this innovative digital medium to seek health services," Mandaviya said while chairing the 4th anniversary celebrations of Ayushman Bharat -Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) through a video conference.
The minister said some HWCs are also providing screening services for some serious diseases like oral, breast and cervical cancers.
This helps the country not only in early detection but also in providing early treatment to the patient. "Healthy citizens can only make a healthy society and a healthy society builds a healthy nation. AB-HWCs are a stepping stone towards this vision," he said.
Teleconsultation services, he said, are very crucial for people in remote areas and are helpful in making healthcare services accessible for all.
States and UTs should mobilise all stakeholders in providing services at the spokes and efficiently connecting them with the hubs, the minister stressed.
He advised states and UTs to proactively spread awareness regarding AB-HWCs health melas which will be organised under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav from April 18-22 in addition to the Yoga sessions to be organised on April 17 at all HWCs.
He also advised states to extensively do screening for TB, cervical cancer, diabetes and oral cancer during this Health Mela.
The minister also released four booklets Quarterly report on Ayushman Bharat on AB-HWCs, Guidelines on human resources for health, Public Health Management Cadre Guidance for implementation and Indian Public Health Standards Guidelines.
More than 1,17,440 HWCs are actively providing expanded health services across the country, which has minimised the distance of a person from a health centre to 30 minutes, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said.
"Be it pregnant mothers, newborn babies, our teens, teenagers or respected elders, all are availing the benefits of health services at the Health and Wellness Centres," she said.
Not only this, the health and wellness center infrastructure has also been designed keeping in view the needs of the specially-abled patients. These health centers are ensuring the delivery of health facilities in the health interest of the community and fulfilling the commitments of National Health Policy 2017, Pawar said.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan informed that the government is committed to the establishment of 1,50,000 Ayushman Bharat- Health and Wellness Centres by December 2022.
He said that already 1,17,400 AB-HWCs have been made functional in the country and more than one lakh have registered successfully on e-Sanjeevani HWCs portal too.
Reiterating the National Health policy's idea to achieve universal health coverage, Bhushan said that it is being proactively taken up by the government and these HWCs will help in bolstering efforts in achieving the same.
These HWCs provide free testing, diagnostic services, etc so the citizens can get quality care at their local HWCs.
Translating the intent of the National Health Policy 2017 to achieve universal health coverage into budgetary commitment, the government announced the establishment of 1,50,000 AB-HWCs in February 2018.
According to the Health ministry, existing Sub-Health Centres and Primary Health Centres in rural and urban areas are being transformed to deliver comprehensive primary health care, to all citizens, free of cost, closer to homes.
"Young India taking the world's largest vaccination drive to the next level! Over 2 crore youngsters between 15-18 age group are now fully vaccinated against #COVID19" Mandaviya tweeted.
Over 70 per cent of beneficiaries in the same age group have received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine so far, according to a health ministry data.
According to the Registrar General of India (RGI), the estimated population of beneficiaries in the age group of 15-18 years is 7.4 crores for 2021-22.
Vaccination of children in the age group of 15-18 years began on January 3 across the country.
With the administration of over 37.86 lakh doses (37,86,806) in a span of 24 hours, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 174.64 crore, according to provisional reports till 7 am.
Speaking on the sidelines of the foundation stone-laying ceremony of a satellite centre of Bhubaneswar AIIMS in Balasore, the Union Minister said, “It is not good that people of the State get deprived of the benefits of the scheme due to political differences.”
He further informed that a beneficiary from one State can avail treatment at an empanelled hospital located in another State without any hassles under Ayushman Bharat. People from both urban and rural areas can get the benefits under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, he added.
He also denied concerns over mandatory Aadhaar card linking under Ayushman Bharat scheme, which will be launched by the Centre across the country from September 25. “As the benefits will be provided on the basis of the QR code given to beneficiaries, the Aadhaar card linking talks are baseless,” the minister added.
Earlier the ruling-BJD had stated that, after the Centre disagreed to a demand from Odisha government to include 70 lakh people of the State under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, the Naveen Patnaik-led government launched its own healthcare coverage scheme – ‘Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana – on August 15.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey informed that 13,004 MBBS seats have been added in the last three years to the 479 medical colleges in the country.
A one-time increase in PG seats was permitted this year after the revision of teacher student ratio. In all, over 5,800 PG seats have been added this year as a step to increase the availability of faculty and specialist doctors in the country.
Besides, the government is implementing a centrally-sponsored scheme for the establishment of new medical colleges. The colleges will be attached with district/referral hospitals in 58 under- served districts in 20 states and union territories, said the Minister
Also Read: CBSE Warns Schools Not To Sell Books From Private Publishers
There are other centrally sponsored schemes for increasing under-graduate seats and post-graduate seats in the existing government medical colleges, he added.
He also said ensuring the highest standards of medical education was a top priority for the government.
"Twenty-two new AIIMS are coming up across the country under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Surakhya Yojana to reduce regional imbalance in the healthcare and tertiary fields," Nadda said while addressing the first convocation of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar.
Admitting that there was a shortage of skilled human resources in the health sector at all levels, the health minister said the Centre has planned for a rapid expansion of medical education.
Nadda said as medical education forms the apex of the healthcare pyramid, it is the quality of graduating doctors and specialists that will determine the quality of services in the country for generations to come.
Many initiatives such as increasing the retirement age of doctors to 65 years, setting up of more medical and nursing schools, multi-skilling of doctors to overcome the shortage of specialists, have been taken by the Centre to improve medical education, he said.
To ensure better standards of medical education, the Centre has undertaken suitable amendments in the Graduate Medical Education Regulations and the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations for making common counselling for admission in medical colleges mandatory, Nadda said.
Since 2014-15, post-graduate seats have been increased by over 8,500 and under-graduate seats by over 16,000, Nadda said, adding that 70 existing medical colleges are being upgraded by setting up super speciality blocks.
"We are expanding the network of our medical colleges in a big way by upgrading 58 district hospitals to medical colleges.
"Twenty-four new medical colleges have been announced in this year's budget. Twenty state cancer institutes and 50 tertiary cancer care centres are also being set up," he said.
The health minister said the AIIMS will soon introduce campus recruitment in order to retain students passing out of the institutes.
He said AIIMS pass-outs are acquainted with the culture of the institute. The attempt is aimed at retaining the best brains of AIIMs in the institute, Nadda said.
"Dear students, young doctors and faculty, I invite you all to join my ministry in further building upon this commitment of our prime minister to upgrade the healthcare access of the common man, thus taking the well being of our nation to greater heights," the Union minister said.
Noting that it is a great challenge to produce high quality healthcare providers at all levels, Nadda said "We need the teachers and academicians to develop such human resources in health. In this regard, the country has a lot of expectation from all of you."
No patient should be denied treatment on account of being poor or belonging to lower strata of society, he said, adding that the Centre has recently launched the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Abhiyan' programme to provide assured universal healthcare to over 50 crore people from the vulnerable sections.
"My message to the graduating students on this occasion is that you should always keep in mind that medicine is not just a profession, but a vocation. Never forget your humanity, or that of your patients...," he said.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, addressing the gathering, urged the health minister to install a statute of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the premises of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, to which Nadda readily obliged.
Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal and Odisha's Health and Family Welfare Minister Pratap Jena also addressed the gathering.
Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Nadda laid the foundation stones for two buildings at the AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, campus.
One 560-bedded night shelter building (Rs 26 crore), funded by the National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco), will be constructed in the AIIMS premises for the requirement of patients and their attendants.
Similarly, a foundation stone was also laid for construction of a Burns Treatment Centre at the cost of Rs 14.82 crore funded by the NTPC. It will have comprehensive treatment for burns patients.
"Our focus till now has been on communicable diseases. But now, non-communicable diseases are on the rise and scientific research tells us that all these are lifestyle diseases," the minister told in a press conference here.
Nadda said the government had set up Ayush departments as tertiary care units in all hospitals to tackle lifestyle issues.
The camps would be organised by Bengaluru-based S. Vyasa Institute along with some other NGOs.
The United Nations General Assembly had in December 2014 declared June 21 to be observed as International Yoga Day.
"The morbidity and mortality associated with the influenza are matters of great concern for all of us," union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said in a statement made in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
He informed parliament that while declaring the pandemic to be over in 2010, the WHO had declared that the swine flu virus would circulate as a seasonal virus for some years now.
Nadda said that many of the deaths due to the virus this year are due to co-morbid conditions already present in patients like diabetes, heart conditions and cancer.
"Vaccination is not recommended for general public as of now," he said, adding his ministry has been closely monitoring the scene.
"States have been provided guidelines for screening and management of cases," he said.
The minister said that Oseltamivir, the drug which can cure the disease, preventive N-95 masks and other personal protection equipment are being given to state governments.
"We have already supplied 58,000 capsules of Oseltamivir," he added."Teams from the union health ministry have been sent to worst affected states like Telangana, Rajasthan and Gujarat," Nadda said.
While maintaining that there was no shortage of drugs, the health minister cautioned that the drugs cannot be used in an irresponsible manner which will create resistance to the medicine.
Assuring full support and cooperation to the states in aligning their own schemes with Ayushman Bharat, Vardhan, in his letter, said, "It is important that the benefits of a visionary scheme like Ayushman Bharat should reach all the deprived and vulnerable people in the country.
"I will make all efforts to convince the remaining states and the UT to bring the benefits of the scheme to their people and ensure that no eligible person is deprived of these benefits," Vardhan wrote in his letter.
He said it was due to the transparent processes, ease of access and benefits to a large section of the poor population that 32 states and UTs had accepted the scheme, which was running successfully and providing financial protection to crores of people.
Urging the states to join the scheme, the minister said they would gain in terms of resources, national portability, state-of-the-art technological platforms, implementation systems and world-class analytics systems at no additional cost.
They would also benefit from a well-proven fraud monitoring-and-control system and the exchange of key learnings and best practices of other states towards equitable healthcare, he added.
The Union Minister made it clear that financial resources would be made available to the states with adequate flexibility in the spirit of cooperative federalism.
Earlier on Tuesday, a meeting on seamless convergence of both PMJAY and State-implemented Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) was held between a central team led by Ayushman Bharat CEO and delegates of the Odisha government represented by the Health Minister, Chief Secretary, Health Secretary and other officials.
The AB-PMJAY scheme aims to provide a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually, benefitting more than 10.74 crore poor families for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation through a network of empanelled healthcare providers.
(With agency inputs)
The Union Health Minister has asked law enforcement agencies to ensure that doctors and clinical establishments discharge their duties professionally without any fear of violence.
In a letter to Chief Ministers, Vardhan cited recommendations of an inter-ministerial committee in 2017 that suggested the state governments to enact legislation to protect doctors and healthcare professionals.
He also forwarded them the draft of the Protection of Medical Service Persons and Medical Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss of Property) Act, 2017, provided by the Indian Medical Association (IMA).
"In case, a state already has a legislation, it should enforce the IPC/Cr.PC provisions with vigour," the Minister said in the letter.
Expressing concern over recent acts of violence against doctors in different parts of the country, Vardhan said they had led to strike by doctors, gravely affecting the healthcare services.
The Minister said doctors were an important pillar of the society and often worked under stressful and difficult conditions. "Our doctors rank among the best in the world and work for long hours under stressful conditions, grappling with a huge load of patients. It's the duty of state to ensure their safety and security," he said.
"Assuming 80 per cent availability, it is estimated that around 9.27 lakh doctors may be actually available for active service," Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan told the Lok Sabha.
"It gives a doctor-population ratio of 1:1456 per current population estimate of 1.35 billion, which is lower than the WHO (World Health Organisation) norm of 1:1000," he added.
He said there were 7.88 lakh Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy (AUH) doctors in the country and assuming 80 per cent availability, the number of doctors available for service would be around 6.30 lakh.
"... considered together with allopathic doctors, it gives a doctor-population ratio of 1:867, which is better than the WHO norm," the minister noted.
Together, there were a total of 19,47,309 doctors.
Khan said during the Question Hour that as on July 23, a total of 16,039 hospitals (8,059 private hospitals and 7,980 public hospitals) have been empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
"The total number of beneficiary families under AB-PMJAY are around 10.74 crore. Under AB- PMJAY, states are free to add additional families at their own cost," he said.
Vardhan said under the scheme, states have the flexibility to choose the mode of implementation.
They can either implement it in insurance mode, or through a trust or in a mixed mode i.e. both the insurance and trust mode, he said.
The minister said the states implementing scheme through insurance mode select insurance companies through open tender process.
Her topping the popularity charts in Odisha is evident from this very fact that the BJP's campaign here against the Naveen-led BJD was kicked off by this petite but giant leader Sushma Swaraj at a mega rally in the State. This was when the BJD-BJP had parted ways post 2009. She was BJP's biggest crowd puller in Odisha in 2009 elections, even a notch higher than her mentor and BJP patriarch L K Advani.
Her unique characteristic is, like Atal ji, she had few enemies in the country's political circles. Even in case of Odisha CM, Sushma used to fondly address him as Naveen Bhai.
When the BJP - BJD alliance existed, both parties loved to pitch Sushma Swaraj to address poll bound constituencies. Such was the magnetic personality of Sushma Swaraj in Odisha.
Though Sushma had held a range of portfolios in her illustrated career, her tenure as Union Health Minister will be etched in the memory of people of Odisha. Because, it is during her tenure the AIIMS at Bhubaneswar and at five other places were conceptualised. And the foundation stone was laid by the then PM Atal Behari Vajpayee in the presence of Sushma Swaraj. She as health minister then had promised to revamp the moribund health infra and services in Odisha, which is yet to be completely achieved till date.
However, though the affable BJP leader donned the mantle of EAM (External Affairs Minister) in the Modi1.0, her contribution towards the cause of people in Odisha in no way stood limited.
She again lived upto her dynamic nature. It's under her regime that nearly half a dozen post offices in Odisha started functioning as Passport Seva Kendras. Passport Seva Kendras have come up in places like Bhawanipatna, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Balasore. Significantly, such centres in Odisha bear the maximum load of migrant workers in the State. Earlier, these workers had to rely on Bhubaneswar Passport Office. And reports then suggested how touts made a rich haul in arranging visas for these gullible migrant workers.
Under her dynamism as the country's EAM accessible, she became a voice for the voiceless migrant workers in the country. Her words "Even if you are stuck in Mars, Indian Embassy there will help you" sums up quite majestically about her dedication and vigour. A simple distress tweet tagging her twitter handle was enough to draw the attention of all concerned even in distant land.
Rescue of scores of Odia workers struck in middle east countries endeared her more to the poor families in Odisha, who had lost all hopes of returning to homeland.
Odisha will always remember you Sushmaji!
The separated conjoined twins will reach Cuttack tomorrow following which they will be admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack while their treatment would be carried out under the supervision of a 6-member team of doctors inside a special cabin set up in the hospital.
A team of doctors from AIIMS as well as SCB, parents of the twins and officials of Odisha Bhawan in Delhi are accompanying Jaga and Kalia to Odisha. The State government has made extensive arrangements for their safe return, further ensuring that it will oversee complete treatment of the twins in Cuttack SCB till they grow fit, sources said.
With a big smile on her face, Jaga-Kalia's mother thanked everyone and said "Both of them are fine and we are finally returning to Cuttack. We are extremely happy."
Earlier today, during a press conference at Delhi AIIMS presided over by Union Health Minister Dr Harshvardhan, the doctors expressed how joyful everyone was. "Today AIIMS is going to send the first successfully separated Craniopagus twins of India - Jaga & Kalia home. It is a glorious moment of pride for all of us," they said.
Congratulating the team, Harshvardhan said, "The doctors did an excellent job over the last 2 years and two months. Despite multiple complications, the surgeries were successful. I still believe picture is not over yet. It's just the beginning. The twins still have a long journey to cover. They will be rehabilitated, and the time is also ripe for them to go to school. I think they have the blessings of Lord Jagannath and He will take care of them."
Born to Bhuan Kanhar and Puspanjali Kanhar of Milipada in Kandhamal district, the twins, suffering from a rare craniopagus disorder, were admitted for treatment to Delhi AIIMS on July 13, 2017 with the help of Odisha government. A special team of doctors performed two phases of marathon cranial separation surgeries- one on August 28 and the second on October 25, 2019 to separate the conjoined twins.
Currently, admissions to all medical colleges except AIIMS and JIPMER (Jawaharlal Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research) are done through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
"The common national entrance test -- NEET -- applicable to institutes of national importance like AIIMS and JIPMER and common counselling for MBBS, as per the National Medical Commission Act, will come into force from the next academic year (2020).
"This will help set common standards in medical education sector in the country," Vardhan said.
The National Medical Commission Act, 2019 provides for common national entrance test - NEET - along with common counselling for MBBS, and a common final year MBBS exam which will be applicable to all institutes including those of national importance like AIIMS.
AIIMS and JIPMER which function under the Union Health Ministry conduct their own admission tests at present.
According to the NMC Act, the NEXT results would be the base for admission to PG courses and to obtain licence to practice. It would also act as a screening test for foreign medical graduates.
Regulations for operationalising the NEXT would be made in due course keeping in mind importance of both theoretical as well as clinical skill sets required at the level of UG after consultation with all stakeholders.
There is a three-year window before NEXT becomes operational and the modalities of the exam would be finalised by the NMC, Vardhan said.
"This provision will eliminate the need for students to approach multiple colleges and take part in multiple counselling processes for admission. This will save students and their families unnecessary physical and financial trauma," Vardhan had said earlier.
"Once a candidate clears NEXT, he can register himself and obtain a licence to practice. The Act does not impose any restriction on the number of attempts at NEXT for improving the rank for admission to PG courses," he had said.
The NMC Act that seeks to usher in mega reforms in the medical education sector received the assent of the President on August 8.
The Act provides for setting up of NMC in place of the Medical Council of India for development and regulation of all aspects of medical education, profession and institutions.
Several relevant sections of the Act came into force on September 2 after which the Union Health Ministry on August 9 wrote to to all chief secretaries, home secretaries of UTs and state medical councils seeking nominations for selection of members of the NMC.
"A draw of lots will be held on October 14 for selecting members of the NMC from the nominees of states and UTs and state medical councils," Vardhan said.
Inaugurating the 13th Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW), Vardhan said, "From the first CCHFW meeting to today, we together have achieved several health milestones, especially India being certified Polio-free. This has been possible because of our collaborative efforts. If all health ministers come together for a cause, no task can be impossible."
Health Ministers from 13 states attended the conference.
Vardhan stated that the purpose of the CCHFW meeting is to build a consensus on the national health priorities like Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through Ayushman Bharat, eliminating tuberculosis and other priority agenda such as strengthening medical infrastructure.
"This can be achieved by the collective increase in healthcare spending by the states/UTs to meet the goals of healthcare spending of National Health Policy 2017---2.5 pc of GDP by 2025," he said.
"Health needs to become a social movement in across India and the 'Eat Right and Fit India' movements need to be taken up by states and UTs in a synergised manner to ensure a healthy and robust India," Vardhan said.
The Minister also urged the Health Minister of Uttar Pradesh, who is also the Finance Minister of the state, to increase the health budget of the state and set an example for the rest to emulate.
Union Health secretary Preeti Sudan said that the Health Ministry is dedicated to the cause of effective, affordable, quality and accessible healthcare.
"Without the political leadership and commitment of the states and UTs, healthcare cannot be effective," she stated.
She added that the CCHFW is integral to the achievement of the health goals of the country.
At the inaugural session, Vardhan along with the other ministers launched a new initiative Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN)' for zero preventable maternal and newborn deaths, its website, and the grievance redressal portal.
The minister reviewed the preparedness of states for rollout of Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0.
Vardhan said the IMI 2.0 aims to achieve full immunization by targeting each and every child below the age of two years and all pregnant women still uncovered or partially covered in 271 districts of the country and 652 blocks of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
According to a government data, 260 lakh children are born every year and an estimated 31 lakh out of them would not receive complete rounds of vaccination in the first year of their life due to various reasons.
Interacting with state principal secretaries, National Health Mission directors and immunization officers of states during a video-conference, Vardhan emphasised the importance of immunisation of children and pregnant women as part of the IMI 2.0 and the high priority bring accorded by the Health Ministry for achieving full immunisation coverage targets.
"While we are required to achieve 90 per cent immunisation coverage target, we should all aim to ensure that not even one child dies of vaccine-preventable diseases, especially, when we have a basket of vaccines as part of our routine Universal Immunisation Program (UIP)," Vardhan said.
Health ministers from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha also attended the meeting.
"With the launch of IMI 2.0, India has the opportunity to achieve further reductions in deaths among children under five years of age, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of ending preventable child deaths by 2030," the minister said.
The health minister asked state representatives to take lessons from the experience of the polio campaign in which besides efforts from the states, various non-state partners and stakeholders had joined hands to achieve set targets.
"Let us learn from the best practices of the states, their experience of earlier rounds of Mission Indradhnush (MI) and share this knowledge for achieving last mile goals during IMI 2.0 rounds," he stressed.
During the video conference, states informed that they have completed the preparedness activities for rollout of IMI 2.0 from December 2. Micro plans and due-lists are ready, and intense IEC activities have been implemented in the select 272 districts in 29 states where IMI 2.0 is to be rolled out, they said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the ambitious IMI, in October 2017, aimed at achieving 90 per cent full immunisation coverage with focus towards districts and urban areas with persistently low levels.
Now, the government is poised to launch IMI 2.0 between December 2019 March 2020 seeking to escalate efforts to achieve 100 per cent national immunization coverage across India.
Several ministries, including the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Panchayati Raj, Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Youth Affairs, among others, will come together to make the mission a resounding success and support the central government in ensuring the benefits of vaccines reach the last mile, he said.
The immunisation activity will be in four rounds over seven working days excluding the RI days, Sundays and holidays and there will be enhanced focus on left-outs, dropouts, and resistant families and hard to reach areas.
The Bill, which will replace the ordinance promulgated in September, has already received the Lok Sabha's approval.
Moving the Bill in the Upper House, the Health Minister said it would also ban online sales and advertising of e-cigarettes.
"The Bill is about prohibiting all commercial operations for the trade of e-cigarettes, which includes manufacturing, production, import, export, distribution, sale and advertising including online sales and advertising," he said.
Clarifying that e-cigarettes are not tobacco products, the Minister said it had significant harmful effects on health.
"E-cigarettes are not tobacco products and any comparison about their adverse health impacts with tobacco is misplaced. There is also no conclusive evidence to suggest that e-cigarettes are less harmful than conventional cigarettes. On the other hand, there is definitely emerging evidence all over the world that e-cigarettes have significant harmful effects on health," Vardhan said.
The release said "Today, on 19 April 2020, till 9 pm, 27,824 samples have been reported. Of these, 1,135 were positive for SARS-CoV-2."
Also Read: Odisha Fights Coronavirus: 13 Teams Formed For COVID-19 Sample Collection In Bhubaneswar
As per ICMR a "total of 4,01,586 samples from 3,83,985 individuals have been tested as on 19 April 2020, till 9 PM. 17,615 individuals have been confirmed positive among suspected cases and contacts of known."
ICMR #COVID19 testing update
Total samples tested : 4,01,586
Samples tested on April 19 : 27,824#coronavirusinindia #IndiaFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/9aSt4jWy02— OTV (@otvnews) April 19, 2020
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday asserted that doubling rate of Covid-19 cases has increased from three days before the imposition of lockdown in March to 9.7 days now.
"The rate of growth of new cases has been steadying for a while. As per the data received today by 8 a.m., over the past seven days, the doubling rate is 7.2 days, for the past 14 days it is 6.2, and over past 3 days it stands at 9.7. Before the lockdown, India's doubling rate was about 3 days," Harsh Vardhan said.
Also Read: COVID-19 Sample Tests: Odisha At 10th, Delhi Tops Per Million Chart!
The Health Minister said that the doubling rate is lower despite the fact that number of tests done every day have increased by almost 14 times.
The minister, who reviewed the status of COVID-19 in the northeastern states along with the measures taken for its containment and management, also stressed on the need to take concrete action to check the use of non-smoking tobacco and prohibit spitting in public places which shall help in preventing the spread of the infection, according to a statement.
During the high-level meeting with Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim, Vardhan appreciated the dedication of all the states in combating COVID-19.
"It is a huge relief and very encouraging to see green zones in most northeastern states. As of date, only Assam and Tripura have active COVID-19 cases. Other states are all in the green zone. Let us focus and work together by converting the orange zones to green zones and maintain the protective status across the states," Vardhan was quoted as saying in the statement.
He flagged the large prevalence of non-smoking tobacco usage in some of the states and the problem of spitting in public places.
"Strong reforms are needed in this direction," Vardhan said while appreciating the effort of states that have banned the use of chewing tobacco and ordered imposition of fine for spitting in public places.
During the detailed interaction, the states highlighted various issues related to testing facilities, health infrastructure, surveillance, contact tracing etc. and also shared their best practices, the statement stated.
Vardhan said, The testing capacity has increased in the country and it is 95,000 tests per day with 332 government laboratories and 121 private laboratories. Cumulatively, 15,25,631 tests have been done so far for COVID-19.
Tripura has reported 118 cases, Assam 59, Meghalaya 12 cases, Manipur two while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported a case each till Saturday morning 8 AM.
Meghalaya and Assam have also reported one fatality each so far.
To maintain the positive status of COVID-19 management in the Northeast, the Union Minister advised them to ensure that the returning migrant labourers, students and those from abroad are screened and quarantined as per the guidelines and protocol laid down by the by ministries of Health and External Affairs, the statement said.
For the states that have international borders, the minister stated that they need to take adequate measures in the border areas to prevent exposure by conducting screening of all individuals at entry points and following quarantine protocol as per the guidelines, it said.
Vardhan said while some states have worked in this direction, others need to focus on more effective surveillance, contact tracing, house to house survey and early diagnosis.
(PTI)
Vardhan, who succeeded Dr Hiroki Nakatani from Japan, offered his condolences at the loss of lives due to the coronavirus pandemic across the globe.
In his remarks after being elected as the chairman of the WHO executive board, he also said a strengthening of global partnerships and a shared response was needed to deal with the current crisis caused by the pandemic.
The proposal to appoint India's nominee to the executive board was signed by the 194-nation World Health Assembly on Tuesday.
Last year, WHO's South-East Asia group had unanimously decided to elect India's nominee to the executive board for a three-year term beginning May.
The chairman's post is held by rotation for one year among regional groups and it was decided last year that India's nominee would be the Executive Board chairman for the first year starting Friday.
It is not a full-time assignment and the minister will just be required to chair the Executive Board's meetings, an official said.
The Executive Board comprises 34 individuals, technically qualified in the field of health, each one designated by a member-state elected to do so by the World Health Assembly. Member States are elected for three-year terms.
The board meets at least twice a year and the main meeting is normally in January, with a second shorter meeting in May, immediately after the Health Assembly.
The main functions of the executive board are to give effect to the decisions and policies of the Health Assembly, to advise it and generally to facilitate its work.
Addressing the 73rd World Health Assembly via video conferencing on Monday, Vardhan had said India took all necessary steps well in time to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
He had asserted that the country has done well in dealing with the disease and is confident of doing better in the months to come.
Towards the end of his speech, Vardhan also initiated a standing ovation by the board for all the 'Covid warriors' across the globe.
India takes over the chairmanship of the Executive Board amid growing calls, including by US President Donald Trump, to investigate how the coronavirus originated in China's Wuhan city and subsequent action by Beijing.
(PTI)
More Related Topics:
India Joins 61 Countries Call To Review WHO COVID-19 Timeline Of Actions
Using All Resources To Prevent Coronavirus: Harsh Vardhan
"The battle against tobacco is a personal fight for me. As an ENT surgeon, I've been the first-hand witness to how it destroys not just the user, but the entire family. I am a votary for a complete ban on tobacco and its products on the World No Tobacco Day to nip the evil in the bud," he tweeted.
The battle against tobacco is a personal fight for me ‼️
As an ENT surgeon,I’ve been first-hand witness to how it destroys not just the user,but entire family
I‘m a votary for complete ban on tobacco & its products
On #WorldNoTobaccoDay resolve to nip the evil in the bud. STOP 🛑 pic.twitter.com/uLjZEhWSqW— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) May 31, 2020
According to the World Health Organisation, every year the tobacco industry spends over $9 billion to advertise its products. Increasingly, it's targeting youth with nicotine and tobacco products to replace the 8 million people that its products kill every year.
This year's World No Tobacco Day campaign focuses on protecting children and young people from exploitation by the tobacco and related industry.
The WHO said even during the global pandemic, the tobacco and nicotine industry persisted by pushing products that limited people's ability to fight coronavirus and recover from the disease.
The industry offered free branded masks and doorstep delivery during quarantine and lobbied for their products to be listed as 'essential'. Over 40 million young people, aged 13-15 years, had started to use tobacco, it added.
Meanwhile, a preventive healthcare company reported that tobacco consumption behaviour has changed amid the enforced lockdown. As the world has changed following the coronavirus pandemic, so has the tobacco consumption behaviour. It is interesting to know, especially on World No-Tobacco Day on Sunday, that 37 per cent of people in India considered lockdown as an opportunity to quit smoking.
In a survey conducted by Indus Health Plus, a preventive healthcare company headquartered in Pune, it was found that 37 per cent of the respondents mentioned that lockdown is a good opportunity to quit smoking, while 42 per cent said that it helped them to reduce consumption.
It was a three-week consumer survey to understand the smoking behaviour and patterns of the people during the lockdown. Out of the total respondents, 39 per cent were females and 61 per cent males between the age group of 30-45 years. The sample size of the survey was 837 and the time-frame was May 8 to May 29.
The respondents of the survey were from metros along with tier-II cities of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.
The survey revealed that 68 per cent of smokers reduced consumption due to increased cost of cigarettes by the retailers and shopkeepers. Also, smokers found cigarettes unavailable. While 39 per cent of males and 25 per cent of females succeeded in reducing tobacco consumption in any form. However, the survey also revealed that 32 per cent of smokers increased smoking due to the stress of managing work from home and household chores, social distancing, and for a few people, it was due to free time.
(IANS)
Related Stories:
Union Health Min Harsh Vardhan Takes Charge As WHO Executive Board Chairman
Tobacco smoking potential risk factor for coronavirus: Study
His remarks come as the country is inching towards the grim mark of two million cases. It has already logged over 40,000 deaths and is recording more than 50,000 daily cases since the past few days.
Speaking at a virtual meeting of WHO's Regional Director, South East Asia, Poonam Khetrapal Singh with Health Ministers from the region on maintaining essential health services and public health programmes in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, Harsh Vardhan alluded to the efficacy of the government's containment strategy.
"The strategy has been successful in that 50 per cent of the cases are from three states and 32 per cent of the rest are from seven states. The spread of the virus thus has been contained."
The Minister said that the lockdown was effective in slowing down the rate of growth of cases and gave the government time to augment the health infrastructure and testing facilities.
"From one lab in January, India has 1,370 labs today. Indians anywhere can access a lab within three hours travel time. 33 of the 36 states and UTs (Union Territories) exceed WHO's recommendation of testing 140 people per million per day."
Harsh Vardhan also said that the country was "preparing for the pandemic as soon as China informed the World Health Organisation on January 7", over three weeks before the first case emerged.
India had reported its first coronavirus case on January 30 when a student from Kerala, who was studying in China's Wuhan University, came back to India and tested positive for the deadly virus.
Harsh Vardhan also stressed that earlier viral outbreaks like the Avian Influenza, H1N1, Zika and Nipah had provided institutional memory in designing containment and management strategies.
"India's proactive and graded multi-level institutional response to Covid-19 made it possible to have very low cases per million and deaths per million in spite of having a high population density, and low fractional GDP spending, per capita doctor, and hospital bed availability as compared to other developed countries," he contended.
(IANS)
Stories You May Like:
Coronavirus Update: Centre Releases Rs 890 Crore As Second Installment To Fight Pandemic
India Reports More Than 900 Covid19 Deaths In A Day, Total Cases Over 19.6 Lakh
"The guidelines by the Ministry of Home Affairs state students may attend school only with the written consent of parents and that attendance will not be enforced upon the students," he said during his weekly online interaction "Sunday Samvaad".
Related Story: Unlock 5.0: Cinemas, Theatres, Multiplexes Allowed To Open In Restricted Manner
The Minister also said that it would be mandatory for schools that are allowed to open to follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) set by the government.
The Union Education Ministry on Saturday released guidelines for reopening of educational institutions, holding that schools, colleges and other institutions can open outside containment zones after October 15. However, the decision on reopening educational institutions has been left in the hands of states/UTs concerned.
The Ministry has also asked schools and coaching centres to encourage online learning, if the students decide not to come to schools due to the fear of Covid-19.
Harsh Vardhan also urged the parents to ensure well-lit rooms for the children who are taking online classes, to prevent strain on their eyes while using devices like laptops, mobiles or computers, while noting that a limit has been set for the screen time of online classes.
The limit of screen time set for the nursery level is 30 minutes, 90 minutes for students of Classes 1 to 8 and 3 hours for students from Classes 9 to 12, he said.
You May Like: Centre To Procure COVID-19 Vaccine By July To Cover 25 Crore People: Union Health Min
"For nursery level, parents will be guided to assist the kids and this class will be of 30 minutes; students from Class 1 to 8 will be allowed to take two sessions of not more than 45 minutes each, and four sessions not more than 45 minutes each for students from class 9 to 12," he said.
(IANS)
The minister said that the Hyderabad-based drugs and vaccine research and manufacturing company has entered into an agreement with Washington University and St. Louis University for the trials of the nasal vaccine candidate.
"It (Bharat Biotech) has entered into an agreement with Washington University's School of Medicine under which the company will conduct trials, produce and market an intranasal vaccine for the COVID-19," Vardhan told his social media audience at his weekly webinar, Sunday Samvaad.
Related Story: Sputnik V Covid-19 Vaccine Gets Nod For Clinical Trials In India
The minister also informed that the Phase 1 trials of the vaccine candidate will take place in St Louis University's vaccine and treatment evaluation unit while further stages of the trials will be conducted in India.
"Bharat Biotech on receipt of regulatory approval will pursue further stages of clinical trials in India," he added.
Vardhan also informed about the development of another intranasal vaccine by the US-based biotech company Codagenix along with Serum Institute of India.
"Codagenix is collaborating with the Serum Institute of India to develop CDX-005, which is the company's intranasal, live-attenuated vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2. The preclinical animal studies have been successfully completed, and Codagenix expects to initiate a Phase 1 first-in-human clinical trial in the UK by the end of 2020," he said.
CDX-005 is a single dose intranasal vaccine made with a live attenuated version of the virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has cataloged 169 candidate vaccines for the COVID-19.
Read More: Healthy Young People May Not Get Covid Vaccine Until 2022: WHO Chief Scientist
The vast majority of these use a dead virus, genetic material from the virus, or components of the virus, such as the spike protein. Only Codagenix and two other developers have used a live attenuated version of the virus.
(IANS)
The second nationwide mock drill on the Covid19 vaccination will be held at three session sites of 736 districts across all 33 states and UTs.
Its objective is to simulate the actual vaccine administration event. The entire planning of the vaccination drive including beneficiary registration, microplanning and vaccination at the planned session site, will be tested under the leadership of District Collector/District Magistrate.
The dry run will also familiarise the state, district, block and hospital level officers on all aspects of the vaccine roll out. This activity will help administrators in strengthening the linkages between planning, implementation and reporting mechanisms, identification of any residual challenges prior to the actual implementation and to provide confidence to the programme managers at all levels to carry out a smooth implementation of the vaccination drive.
Seeking their personal indulgence, leadership and keen oversight for the national dry run, Dr Harsh Vardhan requested the Health Ministers to be vigilant against rumours and disinformation campaigns regarding the safety and efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Rubbishing the rumours being propagated on social media which are raising doubts in the mind of the public regarding the vaccine side effects, he said: "These miscreants might derail the whole exercise, set the clock back by years."
He urged the state health authorities to work with the multiple stakeholders and the youth to spread the right information and dispel rumours and mistruths being spread about the Covid-19 vaccine.
Harsh Vardhan started by reminding everyone that the country has completed a year of successfully battling the pandemic with the first meeting of the Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) of MoHFW on Covid being held on January 8.
He appreciated the tireless efforts being made by the multiple stakeholders, including the Central and state government officials and the medical community who have worked proactively in the last few months to compose and disseminate detailed guidelines on the upcoming vaccination drive, train the vaccine administrators.
He also expressed gratitude to the scientific community who have worked tirelessly to bring the country two vaccines which have recently received the Emergency Use Authorisation few days back.
The Health Minister highlighted the unique digital platform, Co-WIN, repurposed from the e-VIN platform that will provide real time information of vaccine stocks, their storage temperature and individualized tracking of beneficiaries of the Covid-19 vaccine.
This platform will assist the programme managers across all levels through automated session allocation for pre-registered beneficiaries, their verification and for generating a digital certificate upon successful completion of the vaccine schedule. More than 78 lakh beneficiaries have been already registered on the platform, he stated.
The Minister reassured all his State counterparts that the country's cold chain infrastructure has been sufficiently upgraded to ensure last mile delivery and that adequate supplies of syringes and other logistics have also been provided for. "India has unparalleled experience in dealing with immunisation and runs one of the largest universal immunisation programmes in the world which has been applauded by the world for its robustness."
He referred to India's several successful immunisation drives with respect to polio, rubella and measles and also narrated his personal experience from the early nineties of having galvanised efforts of millions of Indians which eventually led to the eradication of polio from the country.
"The rich experience of the country from the UIP and the anti-polio campaign are being used to strengthen the processes of Covid-19 vaccination," he said.
Following this, he reminded his state counterparts to also ensure that the National Immunisation Day (NID) scheduled on January 17 is also given due importance.
He also requested the state and UT Health ministers to ensure that non-Covid essential services are not adversely impacted.
"It is with the collaborative efforts of the states and UTs and multiple partners that India and 11 other countries of the South East Asia region of WHO have been declared polio free. It should be our endeavour to sustain India's polio-free status," he said. Drawing attention to some neighbours still having cases of wild polio, he said that it is important that the NIDs are effectively rolled out.
Harsh Vardhan stated that to strengthen the capacity of human resource for Covid-19 vaccine introduction and roll-out, detailed training modules have been developed for different categories of vaccine handlers and administrators including medical officers, vaccinators, alternate vaccinators, cold chain handlers, supervisors, data managers, ASHA coordinators and all others involved in the implementation process at different levels.
He said the entire operational planning and IT platform has been field tested on several occasions before the second national dry run of Friday. The earlier national mock drill of January 2 helped to iron out any glitches in the final execution and further refinement of the operational procedures. The feedback from most of the States and UTs was satisfactory conduct of the dry run.
A presentation was put forth detailing the meticulously planned end-to-end operations for carrying out the vaccination drive.
We are fully prepared with an expansive number of people trained & a robust supply chain infra in place.@PMOIndia @MoHFW_INDIA pic.twitter.com/S5KEbGd8EQ
— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) January 7, 2021
The State and UT ministers shared their feedback and experience from the past dry run exercises and the preparedness for Friday's exercise.
They informed about the training sessions held for vaccinators, updation of the database of beneficiaries, cold chain management, session allocation, reporting of Adverse Event Following Immunisation (AEFI) etc.
The Union Minister was also apprised that the meeting on the state level, district level and block level are being conducted regularly. Effective communication is being carried out in the States to disseminate the correct information about vaccines.
(With IANS Inputs)
The Health Minister said since the drive for the second phase to cover over 2 crore frontline workers is under progress, it is difficult to announce any fixed date right now but it is expected that the third phase of the vaccination drive will start in the second, third or fourth week of March.
Replying to a question during Question Hour session of Lok Sabha, the Minister made the announcement saying "The third phase drive will cover the most vulnerable people over the age of 50".
Vardhan said that the first phase of the world's biggest vaccination drive, which was rolled out on January 16 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, had aimed to inoculate around 1 crore healthcare workers and the second phase targeted 2 crore frontline workers.
Currently, India is inoculating indigenously made Covid-19 vaccines Covishield and Covaxin.
The Minister further said that seven more vaccines are under process and India has so far administered vaccines to 5 million people across the country.
Vardhan also mentioned that 22 countries including the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan have so far requested India to supply Covid-19 vaccines and 15 of them have been provided 161 lakh doses.
"Three weeks from now, the government will start giving doses of coronavirus vaccines to 27 crore persons above the age of 50," he said at a press briefing here. An expert group on vaccination will discuss how to pay for the doses for those above 50, he added.
The vaccination for frontline workers began earlier this month.
Commenting on the private healthcare sector's role in the vaccination process, he said that such facilities and workers were already a part of the drive.
"During emergency use authorisations (EUA), it is the government's responsibility to keep things under control; open market sales are not part of the EUA," he added.
The Minister said that no new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in 188 districts of the country in the past seven days.
Vardhan emphasised the importance of social distance and appropriate healthcare behaviour amid the pandemic despite falling number of corona cases in the country.
"It is crucial that people continue to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour which I had called a social vaccine, along with the real vaccine," he quipped.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry said that a new flagship programme -- Prime Minister Atmanirbhar Swastha Bharat Yojana -- has been announced in the Union Budget 2021-22. "The Budget refers to a holistic approach toward health and healthcare. Allocation to the health sector for 2020-21 is 1.8 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product," the Ministry added.
The Union government has prioritised vaccination of 30 crore Indians, dividing them into three categories -- one crore healthcare workers, 2 crore frontline workers, and 27 crore general populace above the age of 50.
Union Health Ministry, Joint Secretary Mandeep Bhandari said, "Total vaccination carried out is of 85,16,385 beneficiaries. 61,54,894 healthcare workers vaccinated. Of which, first dose of vaccine has been given to 60,57,162 while second dose has been given to 97,732 beneficiaries."
"It includes 34 lakh of those who were registered on Monday while the last I checked in the morning, more than 5 lakh people had registered themselves on the portal," he informed.
However, the minister said that the actual number of registration could be higher. "As you know that from a single number, a person can register as many as four beneficiaries. Even if we reduce it to two, the number of actual registration may have gone beyond 70 lakh," he guessed.
Vardhan revealed the information after interacting with the media after taking his vaccine shot at the Delhi Heart and Lung Institute. He came along with his wife who also received the shot.
The couple chose the private hospital where they paid Rs 250 each for the doses received. By choosing a private facility over a public, Vardhan sent out a clear message which he reiterated that a person having the capacity to afford the costs of the vaccine, must get inoculated in a private facility.
"I want to appeal to everyone that those who can afford the vaccine, should get it from the private hospital nearest to the home," he said.
Meanwhile the minister also spoke about the "vaccine maitri" programme of India in which the country has sent and continues to deliver lakhs of Covid vaccine doses to other nations.
"We have sent our vaccines to around 40 countries and about three to four dozens of nations will receive them shorty as well," Vardhan informed.
Earlier, in an exclusive interaction with IANS, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar had told IANS that the ministry will dispatch Covid vaccines to 36 nations scattered across the globe.
"It includes our neighbouring countries, South Asian nations, countries in the Gulf region, small islands near Australia, and South American countries. So I'll say that we are reaching out to nations across the globe," Jaishankar had informed IANS.
Vaccines are being provided free of charge at the government health facilities and on a payment basis in the private health facilities. All private hospitals can charge Rs 150 for vaccines and Rs 100 for service charges fixed by the central government.
Around 10,000 hospitals empanelled under Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY and 687 hospitals under CGHS can be used by states as Covid Vaccination Centres (CVCs).
Phase three of Covid vaccination covering 27 crore of population above aged above 60 and those above 45 with comorbidities started from Monday. The previous two phases were started with vaccination of around three crore of healthcare and frontline workers in India.