The government said the country’s strategies on public health response, including large-scale vaccination coverage, resulted in better management of omicron growth. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said India’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially the recent Omicron surge, has strongly demonstrated to the world the power of strong political will, self-reliance, technology-driven innovation and collaborative efforts. He was delivering the keynote address at a webinar titled ‘India’s Public Health Response to Manage COVID-19’ organized by NITI Aayog and over 200 NGOs and civil society organisations.
While many countries are still experiencing a surge in cases, which is higher than the previous surge, India experienced a much smaller peak and a very rapid decline in cases in just 24 days during the third surge, while Delta Compared to 68 days during the wave.
Average daily Covid cases in India fell sharply from 3.11 lakh during January 19-25 to 3536 during March 9-15. Mandaviya underlined that despite the large population combined with geographic and social diversities, India has set global standards for vaccination.
Mass vaccination campaigns helped to control omicron growth. But on the other hand, it has also created a mood of reckless abandon among many. The truth is that Kovid has been controlled, it has not been controlled. This is the message that the government should keep drilling at home.
More than 180 crore doses of Kovid jabs have been given across the country. India had already vaccinated 90.8% of the eligible population with the first dose and 65.4% with the second, when early signs of the third surge driven by Omicron began to emerge. Mandaviya said it proved crucial in saving lives during the third bounce.
Speaking about the challenges faced by India during the pandemic, he said that timely and prompt decisions for prevention, management, treatment and vaccination were taken by India under the leadership and guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mandaviya highlighted the important role played by technology and its benefits for increased access to health services during the pandemic through e-Sanjeevani, CoVin Portal for Immunization, Aarogya Setu App.