As many as 3,05,938 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered to pregnant women till August 4, out of which 3,05,482 lakh beneficiaries have received first dose and 456 have received both doses, the Rajya Sabha was told on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question, Minister of State for Health Bharat Pravin Pawar said about 91,104 doses have been administered to transgenders, out of which a total of 77,457 beneficiaries have received one dose and 13,647 beneficiaries have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
The figures have been quoted from the Co-Win portal. In response to a separate question on how long it would take to completely vaccinate citizens with both the doses, Pawar said COVID-19 vaccination is an ongoing and dynamic process, which is being guided by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) on the basis of concurrent scientific evidence.
It is expected that eligible beneficiaries aged 18 years and above will be vaccinated by December 2021, the minister said. A total of 50,91,84,770 COVID-19 vaccines have been made available from January till August 5 under the National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.
In response to specific measures being taken to protect people from possible third wave, Pawar said the Union Health Ministry continues to monitor COVID-19 trajectory right up to the district level. The guiding principle to minimise and avert the risk of future resurgence of cases is the five-fold strategy of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate and COVID Appropriate Behaviour.
Besides this, states are also being provided requisite technical and financial support by the Centre to prepare for and respond to any exigencies arising out of surge in COVID-19. The Centre has supported the states and UTs by providing them ventilators, oxygen cylinders, PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) plants,drugs and diagnostics as well as financial assistance for augmentation of hospital infrastructure, the reply stated.
The isolation bed capacity and ICU bed capacity which was only 10,180 and 2,168 as on March 23, 2020 in being enhanced continuously and is currently at 1,803,266 isolation beds and 124,598 ICU beds. In addition, a new scheme ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package: Phase-II (ERCP-II)’ amounting to Rs 23,123 crore has been approved for 2021-22 that aims to prevent, detect and respond to the continuing threat posed by COVID-19 and strengthen national health systems for preparedness.
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