Expert panel to mull sourcing, delivery of Russian Covid vaccine today

Prioritising groups to be given vaccine, logistics and cold chain will be dwelt on by national expert group headed by V K Paul of NITI Aayog

As Russia launches the world's first Covid vaccine, Sputnik V, India’s expert group on vaccine administration will meet on Wednesday to discuss suitable selection, delivery, procurement of the coronavirus vaccine, the health ministry said on Tuesday. 

“The committee will advise the government on these terms of reference such as procurement, logistics, selection which is their main mandate...There are laid out procedures for vaccine or drug procurement in the country,” said Rajesh Bhushan, health secretary. 

He did not comment on whether India will tie-up with Russia to access the vaccine but said various issues such as prioritising the groups that would be given vaccine, logistics and cold chain will be deliberated by the national expert group headed by V K Paul, member health, NITI Aayog. 

Vaccine candidates from Zydus Cadilla, Bharat Biotech and Oxford-Astra Zeneca are undergoing trials at different stages in India, Bhushan said

The health ministry also said that it is deliberating the issue of the requirement of vaccine and modalities of funding the procurement. “There have been internal consultations. We have talked to several stakeholders and we have made some projections. It is premature to share them,” Bhushan added. 

 

Health ministry is also preparing guidelines of the complications that can afflict those who have recovered from Covid-19. “Our joint monitoring group is seized with this issue and will provide a guidance note soon,” Bhushan said. 

The recovery rate of covid cases has improved to nearly 70 per cent while the case fatality rate has fallen below 2 per cent, health ministry said.

India has conducted 25 million tests till now, reaching the record of more than 700,000 tests in a single day. Government has advised states to increase testing if the positivity rate is higher because it indicates a lot of cases are going undetected.

On why we did not expand testing more aggressively in the initial phase of the pandemic, the health secretary said, “In the last seven months the pandemic has grown and so has our understanding...when it started we had only one lab and today we have 1,400 labs.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met with ten states which account for 80 per cent of active covid cases and deaths to take an assessment of covid situation on Tuesday. 

India's Covid-19 caseload reached 2,268,675 while the fatalities climbed to 45,257, according to the Health ministry data updated at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.

“With a consistent and sustained increase in recoveries, the gap between recovered patients and active Covid-19 cases has reached nearly 950,000. India's test, track and treat strategy is showing the desired result - the gap between percentage of recoveries and percentage of active cases of Covid-19 is growing every day,” the health secretary said.