VK Paul: Keeping an eye on Delta variant, vaccination to scale up from next week

The Delta Plus variant is being kept an eye on, and the vaccination process in India is expected to scale-up in the coming week with renewed energy, NITI Aayog member VK Paul said in a Health Ministry briefing on Tuesday.

However, Paul warned that amid unlocking and the opening up of markets, people should maintain social distancing. “Responsibility and discipline are two important things for unlocking,” he said.

Talking about the Delta+ variant of the coronavirus, he said it had been around since March. “This is a variant of interest but not yet one of concern. We have to assess it’s presence through INSACOG,” he said.

“Virus transmission is very low right now. Cluster cases should be contained. We are dealing with a highly transmissible variant this year than we were in 2020, hence we need to exercise greater caution and strictly abide by COVID appropriate behaviour,” he said.

Turning to vaccines, Paul said that Serum Institute of India is preparing to manufacture Novavax’s Covid-19 jab in India and its results are very promising.

Meanwhile, Joint Secretary (Health) Lav Agrawal said in the press briefing that India has seen a decline in active cases, which are now below 10 lakh after 65 days. “A consistent decline in active cases is being seen, infections are currently at 9.13 lakh, a decrease in active cases by more than 28.3 lakhs,” he said.