Need to buy time till a majority of population is vaccinated: Centre

NEW DELHI: People will need to be particularly vigilant and states will have to be careful while lifting restrictions as long as India does not have adequate vaccine coverage, top government officials said on Friday, urging citizens and regional authorities to “buy time” in the fight against Covid-19.

The remarks, made by Niti Aayog member (health) Dr VK Paul come at a time when cities such as Delhi and Mumbai are considering lifting some restrictions after a devastating wave of infections that began in MarchApril before it eventually crushed the health care capacity.

“We need to buy time till we, at the soonest possible time, are able to vaccinate a large population, and in the meanwhile continue to enforce the tools: testing, tracking, isolation, self-discipline, wearing mask, avoiding gathering, avoiding parties, eating together in large groups, and so on,” said Paul, at a Covid-19 briefing on Friday.

“If we behave appropriately, we will be gradually pushing the wave away, and there is a good possibility that there will be no next wave. What I am trying to say is that we have to buy time; and we want to buy time particularly to ensure that we achieve a high coverage of our vaccination. That is the time we want to buy; and that is the duration of intense discipline that we want to exercise. And that is my appeal today,” he added.

Paul also said that globally, India was better placed in terms of Covid-19 numbers, and this was a result of strong actions taken by the people at every level. “Please appreciate what is working, which is that we are now back to wearing masks more diligently. What is working is that testing is more generous; we have imposed restrictions in many districts that has made it difficult for the virus to spread. There are no crowds, there are no large gatherings; this is the price we pay but this is what has resulted in containing the pandemic,” he said.

“The connotation is when we will reverse this process the situation can again become unacceptable, and that is something we have to keep in mind. If our discipline, and if our containment measures, our vaccination scale up; our preparedness slackens again then the situation can again lead to a difficult phase,” Paul added.

In terms of vaccinations, global data shows the number of people who received at least one dose of vaccine, India has administered 172 million (17.2 crore) doses, which is more than the US that has administered 169 million (16.9 crore) doses, and the UK has administered 39.5 million (3.95 crore), Paul said.

As for the 60 plus population, India has administered at least one dose of the vaccine to 43% of the target population, and it is 37% for those in the 45 years old and above category, he added.

Dr VK Paul