The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will conduct the fourth phase national sero survey to assess the spread of Covid-19 in the country. the Union Health Ministry has appealed to all the states and union territories to encourage it so that information can be collected from all geographical areas. In a press conference, VK Paul, Member (Health) of NITI Aayog, said that due to the decreasing number of daily cases and treated patients, it seems that the situation of Covid in the country is stabilizing and the infection rate has now come down to about five percent. Has gone. However, he expected people to continue following the rules of Covid-19 friendly behavior and social distancing.
Paul said, “ICMR will conduct the next phase sero survey from this month which will help in assessing the spread of Covid-19. But if we want to save our geographical areas, we will not have to rely on a national sero survey alone. According to ICMR, sero survey will be conducted in 70 districts of 21 states and children above six years of age will also be included in it.
On the status of Covid-19, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Luv Agarwal said that on May 7, the infection had reached its peak. Since then, the daily new cases of Covid-19 have decreased by 78 percent. At the same time, the weekly infection rate has also come down by 74 percent from April 30 to May 6, against the highest level of 21.6 percent. He clarified that after the peak of May 10, there has been a decline of about 70 percent in the number of patients treated, which is more than 26.2 lakh. Paul cautioned, “There should be no negligence. People should avoid gathering or crowding at one place because till now normalcy has not come.
On the question of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refusing to grant Emergency Use Approval (EUA) to Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine ‘Covaccine’, the ministry said, “We respect the regulatory system of each country but This will not affect India’s immunization program.” USFDA’s refusal may delay the use of covaccine in the US. The USFDA has ‘recommended’ the US partner of the Indian vaccine maker, OcuGen Inc., to go through the Biologics License Application (BLA). Commenting on the developments, Paul said that each country has its own regulatory system which India respects and expects the producers to meet the qualifications which are required there.