In the ongoing winter session in the Parliament, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya updating on the COVID-19 situation in India, said there currently 161 Omicron cases and the government is monitoring the situation daily with experts.
The minister further assured that the Centre has arranged a buffer stock of important medicines holding its experience during the first and second waves. "With our experience during the 1st and 2nd waves, to ensure that we don't face problems when variant spreads, we've arranged a buffer stock of important medicines," the minister said.
Mandaviya further in the Rajya Sabha informed that today all states/UTs have adequate quantity of vaccines, 17 core doses available with them. "Our manufacturing capacity increased, today India has capacity to manufacture 31 crore doses of vaccine/month," he said and added that in next 2 months, it'll further rise to 45 crore doses per month."
"Under PM Modi's leadership, with the efforts of our healthcare workers, 88% of first doses of the COVID vaccine have been administered; 58% of second doses administered so far." he added.
"Majority of the population in India is vaccinated today," the minister said.
In July, as the country was easing out of the second wave of the pandemic and entering the mucormycosis epidemic, the portfolio of health and family welfare was handed over to Mandaviya following Harsh Vardhan’s resignation ahead of the cabinet shuffle. Prior to it, Mandaviya held the independent charge as Minister of State for chemicals and fertilizers from 2019, which he continues to hold.
Meanwhile, with 6,563 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,47,46,838, while the active cases declined to 82,267, the lowest in 572 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.
The death toll climbed to 4,77,554 with 132 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 53 days now.
