Terms of unlock: positivity beneath 5%, 70% of weak teams vaccinated

Positivity fee of lower than 5 per cent for per week, vaccination of 70 per cent of the weak inhabitants, and group possession of Covid-appropriate behaviour and care — the Centre on Tuesday laid down key un-lockdown standards for districts to chase away a doable third wave.
On Tuesday, Dr Balram Bhargava, ICMR Director General and a member of India’s Covid-19 process pressure, underlined that whereas “gradual lifting [of restrictions] will not witness a massive surge”, districts need to “ensure that vaccination has to be prioritised…”
“In terms of preventing the third wave, it is very simple that districts with less than 5 per cent positivity should open up a little bit… they should open very gradually. They should ensure that the vulnerable population should achieve at least 70 per cent vaccination… if that has not been achieved, they should vaccinate them and then open up,” Bhargava stated.
Bhargava’s assertion comes within the backdrop of 344 districts — practically half of India’s 718 districts — now reporting seven-day positivity of lower than 5 per cent. That’s an enchancment from the week ending May 7, when solely 92 districts reported a positivity fee of beneath 5 per cent, the Ministry stated.
According to the Health Ministry’s vaccination knowledge, as of May 13, 32 per cent of these within the 45+ age group have gotten their first dose.
“We are in the midst of a ferocious second wave, although it has been abating now. If we look at the data, in the first week of April, we had less than 200 districts that had more than 10 per cent positivity. And in the last week of April, we had nearly 600 districts with more than 10 per cent positivity… Today, there are 239 districts in the country which have more than 10 per cent positivity; 145 districts are between 5 per cent-10 per cent positivity; and 350 districts, which is nearly half of India, have less than 5 per cent positivity. Therefore, we are moving in the right direction,” Bhargava stated.

He stated that whereas district-level containment has labored, it’s “not a sustainable solution” and thus, a mechanism to ease lockdowns must be labored out. “It has to be done very gradually and very slowly. Basically, the opening up revolves around three pillars: one, the test positivity rate in that particular district has to be less than 5 per cent over one week… so seven-day average has to be less than 5 per cent. Second, vulnerable individuals, that is elderly more than 60 years and more than 45 years with comorbidities, should be vaccinated. Their vaccination rate should reach up to 70 per cent… Third, community ownership for Covid-appropriate behaviour and care should be taken up… in a big way… We have to remember our vaccination is being ramped up. By December, we hope to have the whole country vaccinated…,” Bhargava stated.
On Tuesday, the pinnacle of India’s Covid-19 process pressure, Dr V Ok Paul, stated India will stick with the two-dose schedule for Covishield and Covaxin, and clarified that mixing of vaccines shouldn’t be a part of the nation’s vaccine technique.

“I want to make it clear that Covishield and Covaxin schedule in India is a two-dose schedule, there is absolutely no change. There should be no doubts about it. We have to compulsorily take two doses,” Paul stated.
“Similarly, on mixing of vaccines… there is one possibility that the body can show adverse reaction with the second vaccine. This is a scientific consideration, especially when the other vaccine is built on a different platform. The other science also indicates that if the first dose is of one vaccine and the second dose is of another, there could be an increase in immunity. The possibility of a positive effect is also plausible… there is research going on in other countries. It is an unresolved scientific question… there is no change in the vaccination strategy and there is no mixing of vaccines,” Paul stated.
Dr N Ok Arora, chairman of the Covid-19 working group beneath the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), had earlier instructed The Indian Express that work on testing the feasibility of a routine that mixes two Covid vaccines may start quickly. “We are looking for a combination of vaccines that provide better protection. At the moment, the vaccines used are providing protection against severe disease, but they are not providing protection from infection and transmission of the virus to the extent that we would have liked,” he stated.