COVID-19: Use of masks before and after vaccination is a must, says ICMR

COVID-19: Use of masks before and after vaccination is a must, says ICMR

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Thursday, December 30, 2021, 05:53 PM IST
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AFP

While 90 percent of people have received first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 61 percent are fully vaccinated in India, fresh cases of COVD-19 are being registered in various parts of the country, the Union Health Ministry on Thursday advised that use of masks is must before and after vaccination.

ICMR DG Dr Balram Bhargava at a regular press briefing said that use of masks before and after vaccination is a must and mass gatherings should be avoided.

Dr Bhargava said that the treatment guidelines for the earlier and the currently circulating strains of coronavirus remain the same.

He also said that home isolation remains an important pillar to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

"All COVID vaccines, whether they are from India, Israel, US, Europe, UK or China, are primarily disease-modifying. They do not prevent infection. The precautionary dose is primarily to mitigate the severity of infection, hospitalization and death," he explained further.

With the administration of 63,91,282 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 143.83 crore (1,43,83,22,742) as per provisional reports till 7 am today, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday. As per the ministry, this has been achieved through 1,53,47,226 sessions.

Within the age group of 18 to 44 years, 49,76,01,405 1st doses have been administered along with the administration of 32,67,56,163 2nd doses to the people in the category. Within the age group of 45 to 59 years, as many as 19,40,91,039 people have been vaccinated with the 1st dose while 14,90,18,597 people have been administered with the 2nd dose.

As many as 12,11,54,096 elderly people, (above the age of 60 years) have been administered with the 1st dose of the vaccine while 9,43,50,863 doses of the 2nd dose have been administered.

Meanwhile, India reported 13,154 new COVID-19 cases and 268 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. With this, the country's COVID-19 tally has risen to 34,822,040 while the death toll has mounted to 4,80,860.

(With agency inputs)

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