Ministry of Science and Technology with WHO striving to develop vaccine for COVID-19: Dr Harsh Vardhan

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Friday said the Ministry of Science and Technology with the World Health Organisation (WHO) is striving to develop the vaccine to treat COVID-19 patients.

"We are also in the race with the world to develop the vaccine. Ministry of Science and Technology with the WHO is striving to produce the vaccine," Dr Vardhan told state Health Ministers via video conferencing while reviewing actions on COVID-19 management.

"I believe that we need to maintain social distancing and follow the lockdown provisions until we develop the vaccine. These are 'social vaccines'. We need to adhere to protection measures," added Dr Vardhan.

The Union Health Minister complained that in various States people are not following the spirit of lockdown.

"We are seeing visuals from many States where people are not following the lockdown provisions. I request Health Ministers of all States to ensure that lockdown is followed 100 per cent in your respective States. If we lag behind in this, it will be difficult for us to win this fight against COVID-19," he said.

He said the Centre has announced a Rs 15,000 crore package to deal with the coronavirus crisis and Rs 4,100 have been disbursed to all States.

"The Centre has announced Rs 15,000 crore for 'India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package' and Rs 4,100 crore have been disbursed to all states. Our aim is that there should not be a problem due to a lack of money," he said.

Dr Vardhan said that we need to fight against COVID-19 together and we will win. "Each State should follow the good practices of other States too. I advise all the State health officials to keep visiting the MoHFW website regularly for the latest guidelines and suggestions," he said.

He added that hotspots have been identified and the containment zone has been implemented in various parts of the country.

He said that pregnant women and newborns must not suffer during the lockdown.

"We need to notify dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in the affected districts. Voluntary blood donations must not be affected. We have issued guidelines for this," he said.

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC) has put in place a set of national guidance norms to ensure adequacy and safety of blood, given the restrained gathering and social distancing norm in force currently.