Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday admitted that India is in the community transmission stage.
He, however, emphasised that it was limited only to certain districts and states. The Health Minister’s statement, which came during his weekly webinar, ‘Sunday Samvaad’, gains significance as it has come in the backdrop of West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s recent admission that the community transmission of Covid-19 has started in the state.
“In different pockets across various states, including West Bengal, community transmission is expected to occur, especially in dense areas. However, this is not happening across the country. It is limited to certain districts occurring in limited states,” Dr Harsh Vardhan said. This is the first time that the Health Minister has acknowledged the community transmission.
Dr Harsh Vardhan appeared on the sixth episode of Sunday Samvaad to answer more questions.
Offering heartfelt wishes for Navratri, he exhorted his followers to honour the Prime Minister’s call for a ‘Jan Andolan’ and religiously follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and become ambassadors for the same for others. He reiterated his request to everyone to celebrate at home with loved ones in traditional ways. “This festive season, charity must take precedence over celebration. My own celebrations too shall remain subdued due to the heart-rending impact of Covid-19 on the lakhs of corona warriors across the world who are battling for us,” he stated.
Dr Harsh Vardhan also shared his views on the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in Kerala. Noting that between 30 January and 3 May, Kerala had reported just 499 Covid-19 cases and two deaths, he expressed regret over Kerala’s gross negligence during the Onam festivities when the unlocking of services, along with an increase in inter and intrastate travel for trade and tourism, led to the spreading of Covid-19 across various districts in the state. “The epi curve of Kerala changed completely due to the Onam festivities across the state, and the daily number of new cases nearly doubled,” said the minister. He also said that this ought to serve as a good lesson for all the state governments which are being negligent while planning for the festival season.
On China’s claim about the novel coronavirus breaking out simultaneously in several countries last year, Dr Harsh Vardhan shared, “There is no evidence that can validate the claims on global multiple focal points for the novel coronavirus outbreak.” He stated that Wuhan remains as the location of the first report worldwide.
Responding to another question on the market being flooded with oximeters made in China, Dr Harsh Vardhan observed that “consumers should look for FDA/ CE approved products with ISO/ IEC specifications while purchasing a pulse oximeter from the market or from online retailers”. However, he made it clear that a dip in oxygen saturation level is not a COVID-19 symptom, as it may happen due to other underlying medical conditions as well.
Dr Harsh Vardhan also assured his audience that no mutation of the coronavirus has been detected in India yet, which is either more transmission efficient or more pathogenic. He further assured a respondent that there is no scientific evidence that proves that the novel coronavirus can be transmitted via newspapers. He shared that reading newspapers is completely safe even during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a follow-up to a question from the last episode, he was asked about Phase II of the Covid-19 grants to states. Dr Harsh Vardhan shared that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has already released the Phase II of the Covid package to 33 States and Union Territories. The total amount released in the second package amounts to a total of Rs 1,352 crores. This Phase II grant has been released in tranches during the months of August, September and October 2020.
Dr Harsh Vardhan also expressed satisfaction for his ministry not being far behind in the shift to online education in the midst of the pandemic. Medical colleges and institutions in India are conducting online classes for MBBS students which have been approved by the National Medical Commission. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has also issued Standard Operating Procedures on professional training for postgraduate medical students in the context of Covid-19.
Answering a question on the discrepancy in the number of Cpvid-19 deaths across India, Dr Harsh Vardhan shared that the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has taken up the issue of the correct certification of Covid-19 deaths with all States and UTs on multiple instances and has also shared the proper modality of reporting deaths with them to ensure consistency in reporting pandemic-related deaths across India.
Besides this, the Health Minister assured that there is no shortage in medical oxygen. He said that the current oxygen production capacity of India is around 6400 MT/ Day, and that the government is ready to scale up the production capacity in order to meet any further increase in demand arising due to the pandemic. The Empowered Group constituted by MHA is monitoring the requirement of medical oxygen across India and the Ministry of Health is also monitoring the availability and supply of medical oxygen at the field level through regular VC with State Nodal officers for oxygen as well as with Principal Secretaries or mission directors, he said. He also stated that 1,02,400 medical oxygen cylinders have been delivered to the states and UTs, and that the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has fixed the price of liquid medical oxygen, while guidelines on ‘rational use of oxygen for management of Covid-19’ have been issued.
Dr Harsh Vardhan further remarked that although there are no intranasal Covid-19 vaccines under trial in India at the moment, Serum India and Bharat Biotech are expected to pursue clinical trials of such vaccines in India in the coming months on the receipt of regulatory approval. He clarified that Phase III clinical trials generally have thousands of participants, sometimes even close to 30,000 to 40,000 participants. It is possible that from a specific city or hospital, a couple of hundred participants are selected at a given time, but in general, the overall Phase III participant pool is much larger, he informed.
He also shared details on the special drive for adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting and monitoring of drugs used in Covid-19. Dr Harsh Vardhan clarified that this special drive is not because of an adverse reaction reported with an existing drug, but is part of a proactive corona preparedness programme.