New Delhi: Amidst the decreasing speed of Coronavirus and the fear of the third wave, the Health Ministry organized a press conference. In this conversation held on Monday, Additional Health Secretary Lav Agrawal said, “In the second wave of the corona, 11.5 percent of children have been infected, which includes children from 1 to 18 years. At the same time, after 75 days, the lowest number of cases have been registered in a day.
Nine lakh active cases
The Health Ministry said, “There are close to 9 lakh active cases in the country. There are less than 5,000 active cases in 20 states. Active cases are also decreasing in other states. The recovery rate is also increasing. There have been 1,17,525 recoveries in the country in the last 24 hours.
He said, “The daily cases have seen a drop of around 85% since the highest reported peak. We are seeing this situation after 75 days, thus indicating an overall decline in the infection rate.”
Children more infected in the second wave
Lav Agarwal said, “In the age group of 1-10 years, 3.28% children contracted the COVID19 infection in the first wave, while 3.05% during the second wave. Whereas in the first wave, 8.03% in the age group of 11-20 years and 8.5% in the second wave have been affected by the infection.
Vaccine an additional tool in the fight
The Health Ministry said, “Vaccination is an additional tool in the fight against coronavirus. I urge everyone to prioritize hygiene and follow COVID-appropriate behavior including wearing masks and social distancing. Avoid traveling as much as possible.”
Novavax’s results promising
Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, NITI Aayog said, “The results of Novavax are promising. We are learning from the data available in the public domain that this vaccine is very safe and highly effective. It will be produced in India. Clinical trials are being conducted and are in advanced stage of completion.”
He said, “There will be some lag in production (of Novavax vaccine) for some time. I also hope that they (US company Novavax) will start testing on children as well.”
The main cause of the second wave is delta
Dr. VK Paul said, “Delta variant played a major role in the second wave. An additional mutation of this variant, known as delta plus, has been detected and submitted to the global data system. It has been observed in Europe since March and was brought into the public domain on June 13.”
He said, “It (Delta Plus) is kind of interesting. It is not yet classified as a type of anxiety. According to data available in the public domain, this version eliminates the use of monoclonal antibodies. We will study and learn more about this edition.”
