COVID-19 herd immunity not an option for country like India: Govt

Even as COVID19 cases continue to surge in India the health ministry on Thursday said that India cannot count on herd immunity to stop the pandemic given its demography and scale and the country will have to rely on a vaccine to beat the deadly virusHerd immunity is an indirect protection from a disease This saves a population from a disease But it develops when a vaccine is developed or when a population has already suffered and recovered from it Herd immunity in India is not an option It can only happen after a vaccine has been developed said Rajesh Bhushan Secretary Ministry of Health at a press conference in New DelhiHerd immunity is a situation when the spread of a disease is stopped naturally when enough of the population becomes resistant to the virus and not enough people are able to transmit itWATCH live from Delhi Union Health Ministry briefs the media over COVID19 situation 30th July httpstcopJcD5Rdt2nmdash ANI ANI July 30 2020India is the third worsthit nation by the pandemic The total number of COVID19 cases reported till date is 1583792 and the number of people who recovered from the virus stands at 1020582A total of 52123 cases of COVID19 infection across India was reported in the last 24 hours stated the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday pointing out that more than 70 per cent of deaths are due to comorbiditiesAt 36 per cent Indias rate of increase in cases is double than the United States Till date a total 34968 people have lost their lives to the virus that originated from Chinas Wuhan and gripped the entire worldBhushan further said that more than 1 million people have recovered and discharged till now More than 1 million people have recovered from COVID19 in the country This landmark recovery has been achieved because of the selfless work and dedication of our doctors nurses and frontline workers he saidGiving the number of cured persons Bhushan said More than 1020000 patients have recovered They have been discharged It is a great achievementHe said The recovery rate has shown positive trends It was 785 per cent in April and today it is 644 per cent which is another heartening news which tells us that whatever battle is put by the Union government in collaboration with state governments is showing resultsHe said effective clinical management lead to a decrease in case fatality rate In June it was 333 per cent and now 221 per cent Bhushan said the case fatality rate in India today is 221 per cent and its among the lowest in the world Twentyfour states and Union Territories have lesser fatality rate than that of the countryOver 18190000 tests have been conducted in the country including RTPCR and rapid antigen tests There has been a weekonweek increase in average tests per day India is conducting 324 test per 10 lakhs population per day Bhushan saidHe added three vaccine candidates are in phase 3 clinical trial These three are in the US UK and China In India two indigenously developed vaccine candidates are in phase I and II of clinical trials Trial of the first vaccine involves 1150 subjects at eight sites second on 1000 subjects at five sitesHe further said that India has not signed any agreement with any vaccine manufacturing company We have had discussions on vaccine distribution There are various stakeholders within government and outside and the ministry has started actively engaging with themHe said that whenever the Covid19 vaccine will come it will be administered on a much larger scale compared to the existing vaccines This is something on which there is near unanimity the Health Secretary saidOn Wednesday the Home Ministry issued guidelines for the Unlock 30 which will come into effect from August 1According to the guidelines restrictions on movement of individuals during night have been scrapped and yoga institutes and gymnasiums have been allowed to open from August 5With inputs from agenciesKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news