Covid-19 Entering Endemic Stage In India, Cases Likely To Subside After Two Weeks

New Delhi: Covid-19 in India is moving towards the endemic stage, so the cases may keep rising for the next 10-12 days after which they will subside, official sources said on Wednesday. Even though the cases are increasing, hospitalisation is low and expected to remain low, the sources added.

XBB.1.16 Behind Covid-19 Spike  

 

The current rise in Covid cases is being driven by XBB.1.16, which is a sub-variant of Omicron, they added. While Omicron and its sub-lineages continue to be the dominant variant, most of the assigned variants have little or no significant transmissibility, disease severity or immune escape.

The prevalence of XBB.1.16 increased from 21.6 per cent in February this year to 35.8 per cent in March. However, no evidence of an increase in hospitalisation or mortality has been reported, official sources said.

India Logs 7,830 New Cases, Active Caseload Tops 40k

In the last 24 hours, India reported 7,830 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the country`s overall caseload to 40,215, according to the latest Union Health Ministry data released on Wednesday. The data revealed that the daily and weekly positivity rates currently stood at 3.65 per cent and 3.83 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, 4,692 recoveries in the last 24 hours increased the total recoveries to 4,42,04,771.

In the same period, 2,14,242 tests were conducted taking the total number to 92.32 crore. Also in the last 24 hours, 441 doses were administered. The country has so far administered 220.66 crore vaccine doses. The active cases stand at 0.09 per cent and the recovery rate is 98.72 per cent.

SII Restarts Manufacturing Covid Vaccine Covishield

 

Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Wednesday said it has restarted manufacturing of the Covid-19 vaccine Covishield amid rising numbers of cases of the virus infection. He said the company already has six million booster doses of the Covovax vaccine available and adults must take the booster shot.

Reacting to reports of Covid-19 vaccine shortage, he said manufacturers are ready but there has been no demand. "Just as a precaution, at risk, we have done it so that people have a Covishield as a choice if they want it," Poonawalla was quoted as saying by PTI.

The company stopped manufacturing of Covishield in December 2021. On Covovax which has been approved as a booster dose for 18 years and above, he said, "We have six million doses ready but the demand is exactly zero." Covovax booster is now on the CoWin app, he said.