New Delhi: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said Thursday the government is aiming to bring down India’s COVID-19 mortality rate. The target is to bring it down to less than one per cent. India’s current mortality rate of 1.64 per cent is the lowest in the world.
The health minister also gave some hope when he said that there is a strong possibility of India getting a vaccine by early next year. However, till then it was necessary for people to follow social distancing and wear masks.
Harsh Vardhan was taking part in a debate in the Rajya Sabha. He said India’s recovery rate of 78-79 per cent is one of the highest in the world. He added that total cases may have crossed 50 million, active cases are less than 20 per cent.
Deaths in India due to coronavirus pandemic are less than many nations in Europe. The government is determined to better the testing rate of the US, he said.
The minister said that despite the number of cases, the mortality rate in India remained one of the lowest in the world. He said steps like testing and isolation of infected persons have contributed to this lower mortality rate. Citing the examples of Spain and Brazil, he said the mortality rate in those countries was over 11 times that of India.
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“We want to bring it (mortality rate) to less than one per cent. We have 50 lakh cases right now but out of these, only 10 lakh are active cases India right now,” Vardhan informed.
“In a country of 135 crore people, we are doing 11 lakh tests now and are second to the US only. It has been possible only due to the united fight against the disease,” asserted Vardhan.
Vardhan also spoke on development of a vaccine. He stated that the Science and Technology Ministry, ICMR and drug companies have come together for a solution. Even this matter is also being personally monitored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added.
“Vaccines can come in future. Extensive planning is underway to execute how to manage the scenario,” Vardhan said. He informed there are three vaccine candidates which have reached phase one, two or phase three level.
“Under the prime minister, an expert group is studying this. We expect by the beginning of next year we can have a vaccine in India. In this regard we are also coordinating with WHO and global organisations,” he said.
India is among few countries globally which has been able to isolate the virus, Vardhan noted.
