Bhubaneswar: The state has entered the endemic stage of Coronavirus and there is a need for booster dose of COVID vaccine, a top health department official said Monday. Director Health Service (DHS), Bijay Mohapatra said there are around 500 new cases daily in the state.
“Odisha is now in endemic stage of Coronavirus. The study report of a technical committee formed by the government on administration on booster dose is awaited,” he said. The DHS said that in th capital city of Bhubaneswar COVID-19 transmission has reached a plateau phase with fluctuation in daily cases. “The city may not witness staggering situation caused by the virus in the coming days,” he told reporters.
Mohapatra said as the state continues to report around 500 new cases and Bhubaneswar accounted for nearly 50 per cent of the cases, health experts have proposed booster dose of vaccines amidst apprehensions of more COVID-19 transmission due to a new Delta Plus variant in the country. The final decision will, however, be taken by the technical committee of the state.
The chief of the directorate of medical education and training, Prof CBK Mohanty said the mutant of the Delta variant of COVID-19 has been found in some states like Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The new variant may infect 10 times more people than the previous ones and as the mutant has been just detected it has been tagged as under investigation, Mohanty said.
The director of health services said 425 people tested positive for the contagion during the day taking the caseload in the pandemic in the state to 10,38,836.
PNN
