'Fatality rate witnessing downward trend': Union health minister Harsh Vardhan

Talking about the fatality rate in the country, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan informed that the rate has been witnessing a downward trend and currently stands at 1.28 per cent.

Amid the second coronavirus disease (Covid-19) wave in the country, Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Friday that the fatality rate in the country has been witnessing a downward trend and currently stands at 1.28 per cent.

Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan (ANI)

“Right now 0.46 per cent of the active critical patients are on ventilators, 2.31 per cent are in ICU and 4.51 per cent are on oxygen-supported beds,” Dr Vardhan said.

Health minister Vardhan also informed that 94,334,262 vaccine doses have been administered in the country so far, of which 3,691,511 doses were administered in the past 24 hours.

“Last week we even gave 43 lakh doses one day, probably the highest given anywhere in the whole world. As far as healthcare workers are concerned, over 89 lakh have got first dose & over 54 lakh have got the second dose. As far as frontline or field level workers are concerned, over 98 lakh have got the first dose & over 45 lakh have got the second dose,” Vardhan said at a meeting of the high-level group of ministers on Covid-19.

“For those between 45 & 59 years of age, first dose has been received by over 2.61 crore people & second dose has been received by 523,268 people. For those above 60 yrs of age, over 3.75 crore people have received first dose & over 13 lakh people have received second dose,” Vardhan added.

Watch: ‘780 deaths due to Covid in last 24 hours’: Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

Referring to the country’s vaccine diplomacy policy, health minister Vardhan apprised that India has exported vaccines to 84 countries so far. “Till now we have exported 6.45 crore doses to 84 countries, which includes 1.05 crores to 44 countries as grants, 3.58 crores to 25 countries as commercial contracts & 1.82 crores to 39 countries through the Covax facility of WHO” Vardhan said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday questioned the government’s export of Covid-19 vaccines and said the vaccine shortage is a very serious problem which must be addressed by the central government.

"Shortage of vaccine in view of the rise in Corona cases is a very serious problem and not a celebration," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

"Is it right to export the vaccine and put our countrymen at risk. The central government should help all states without any bias. We all have to fight this pandemic together and defeat it," Gandhi added.

India on Friday reported 131,968 new Covid-19 cases and 780 related deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the Union health ministry dashboard. The infection tally in the country stood at 13,060,542, while the number of active cases stood at 979,608. Single-day recoveries in the country also increased as 61,899 patients were discharged in the past 24 hours which took the total number of recoveries to 11,913,292.