He was answering questions posed by his social media interactives on the Sunday Samvaad platform. These questions covered a multitude of queries related not only to the current Covid situation but also to the government’s approach to it.
Speaking about the concrete measures that have been planned to handle such public health emergencies in the future, he said that ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ will strengthen the nation to the point where we will be able to overcome any eventuality, including another pandemic. Vardhan emphasized that ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ underscores the government’s commitment to increasing investments in public health and other health reforms to prepare India for future pandemics.
He added that an important proposal that is being considered at the Expense Financing Committee level includes the following components:
· Strengthening surveillance of infectious diseases and response to outbreaks, including at points of entry.
· Establishment of hospital blocks dedicated to the management of infectious diseases in district hospitals.
· Establishment of Integrated Public Health Laboratories, etc.
Vardhan added that India’s handling of outbreaks in the past such as SARS, Ebola and the plague will play an important role in containing COVID. India (available from GISAID, global database), until now. He reported that ICMR has been conducting large-scale sequencing of nationally representative strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus collected over the past few months at different time points and that detailed results on mutations and virus evolution will be available. available in early October.
In the recent saliva-based test for Covid-19, Dr. Harsh Vardhan noted that ICMR has validated some tests, but no reliable test has been found and companies with tests approved by the US FDA have yet to be found. they have brought the government of India closer. He added that ICMR is actively exploring this test method and will report back as soon as reliable options are available.
The Covid-19 case count in India on Sunday crossed the 54 lakh mark with an increase of 92,605 new cases and 1,133 deaths in the past 24 hours.
The total case count stands at 54,00,620, including 10,10,824 active cases, 43,03,044 cured / discharged / migrated, and 86,752 deaths.
India has tested a record 12 lakh of coronavirus samples in the past 24 hours, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported on Sunday.
So far, samples of up to Rs 6.37 million have been analyzed across the country.
Being a doctor himself, the Minister answered questions about the clinical management of Covid-19 in great detail. It dispelled the myths surrounding the use of hydroxychloroquine and plasma therapy in the treatment of Covid-19. He also explained to his audience how the coronavirus turns fatal to the elderly and the comorbid. “Scientific evidence points towards a high viral load and the development of cytokine storms among the elderly, perhaps due to certain genetic polymorphism in the Toll-like receptors in the cells prominent among them. During the course of COVID-19, older patients may reduce their viral titers, only to rapidly descend into a state of shock involving hyperactivation of the immune system and hypercoagulation in small blood vessels, “he said.
However, Vardhan cautioned that this does not mean that a younger person cannot die from COVID-19, although the risk of death is much lower in this case for younger people.
On the issue of the availability of medical oxygen in the country, Dr. Harsh Vardhan assured that enough oxygen is being produced in the country and that the Ministry of Health is closely monitoring the situation. He took the opportunity to remind everyone that the Ministry of Health had sent oxygen concentrators to rural areas of the country specifically to prevent logistical problems from coming to light.
He allayed fears caused by the Oxford vaccine candidate AstraZeneca, saying that developing the vaccine is a complex process and that trials have been restarted only after an independent research expert committee gave them permission to move forward. . He explained the difference between various vaccines in clinical trial in India and that since the formulations, doses and routes of administration of the vaccine are different for the vaccines, their mechanisms of action are also different. However, the desirable outcome of each vaccine is very similar, ie. ensuring healthy individuals with immunity against the new coronavirus.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan also spoke about the role of traditional medicine in today’s context. He said that the AYUSH Ministry along with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) have developed research protocols to validate the claims of various Ayush practitioners for Covid-19 solutions, although not formulations have been validated. as a specific drug to treat Covid-19 so far. He added that the Central Organization for Standard Control of Medicines has enabled Ayush practitioners to conduct research on Covid-19 and generate evidence towards the development of Ayurvedic medicines for Covid-19.
He assured that he would do his best to highlight the best practices of India, including Ayurveda, in his capacity as Chairman of the WHO Executive Board. He said the work that has been done in Dharavi for the control and mitigation of COVID-19 is already there on the WHO website for the world to see.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan shared that a total of 155 families of COVID warriors have claimed relief under Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Yojana. These include 64 physicians, 32 auxiliary nurse midwives and multi-purpose healthcare workers, 14 ASHA workers and 45 other frontline workers who lost their lives.
Vardhan acknowledged that the current COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant impact on everyone’s mental health, especially older people who are aware that they are at higher risk. During Sunday Samvaad, he shared various tips for older people for their mental well-being.
He also noted that it would take a long time for herd immunity to develop to be able to cover about 70% of the population. Therefore, the focus of the Government of India is primarily to develop a strategy that combines containment and hospital management.
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