India Coronavirus Dispatch: Under 30% health workers get jabs in 11 states

Malfunctions with Co-Win, the need for more genome sequencing, the threat of a second wave, and more-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

IN NUMBERS: 12,293 new coronavirus infections reported

As many as 12,293 new coronavirus infections were recorded in the last 24 hours nationwide, taking the cumulative caseload to 1,08,71,294, the Scroll reported. As many as 108 deaths were reported, taking the total death toll to 1,55,360, according to central health ministry data updated on Thursday. The active caseload is at 1,42,562. The total recoveries have surged to 10.5 million. The national recovery rate has climbed to 97.26 per cent. About 7 million million healthcare workers have been inoculated since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Read more here 

Malfunctions with CoWin force vaccine administrators to rely on simpler methods

Problems with Co-Win, India's digital platform to monitor and administer the Covid-19 vaccination programme, have compelled vaccine givers to switch to simpler methods of distribution, according to a report in MIT Technology Review. For instance, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, health workers were missing messages about getting their shots. The hospital had to resort to asking beneficiaries to get in line. AIIMS said the health workers could visit the hospital and if their name was registered and shots were available, they could get vaccinated. Read more here

11 states and UTs have vaccinated less than 30% of health workers

11 states and union territories (UTs) have managed to vaccinate less than 30% of their health workers so far, according to a report in ThePrint. The states and UTs cited vaccine hesitancy, erratic internet connectivity leading to glitches in Co-WIN, hilly terrain, snowfall as some of the reasons for the low coverage. The Centre will be "hand-holding" these provinces during the ongoing nationwide vaccination programme. The 11 states and UTs are Assam, Chandigarh, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Read more here

 

India lagging in genome sequences: Expert

Dr Amit Dutt, a scientist at the Advanced Centre for Treatment Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) at the Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai, believes India is lagging behind in genome sequencing of coronavirus, according to a report in The Indian Express. India should have performed hundreds of thousands of genome sequences by now given the size of the population and the high caseload. However, the country has managed to do just about 6,000. To look out for Covid-19 mutants it is critical to ramp up genomic surveillance, Dutt said. Read more here 

Threat of a second wave still persists: Experts

While the country has been witnessing a marked decline in fresh Covid-19 cases for several months, experts cautioned that it is too early to celebrate or let our guard down, according to a report in The Hindu. The experts said the threat of a second wave of still persists and how the pandemic plays out in the next four weeks is crucial. However, the second wave, if there is one, may not be as severe as the initial outbreak, they said. Read more here