1 Covid jab 96% effective in preventing death: Govt
A single dose of the Covid vaccine is 96.6 per cent effective in preventing death and two jabs reduce the risk of mortality by 97.5 per cent, the health ministry said. The data analysed is for the period between April and August and does not distinguish between the different Covid vaccines being given. “The data has shown the same effectiveness across all age groups in preventing mortality,” said Balram Bhargava, director general, ICMR.
A single dose of the coronavirus vaccine is 96.6 per cent effective in preventing death and two jabs reduce the risk of mortality by 97.5 per cent, the health ministry said on Thursday.
The data analysed is for the period between April and August and does not distinguish between the different Covid vaccines currently being administered in the country.
“The data so far has shown the same effectiveness across all age groups in preventing mortality,” said Balram Bhargava, director general, Indian Council of Medical Research.
The health ministry reiterated its appeal that people must take the second jab.
Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan sounded caution ahead of the upcoming festive season, urging people to take precautions and avoid crowds. “We are still in the second wave,” he stressed.
Bhushan also said that the pace of vaccination across the country has picked up in September with an average of 7.8 million doses administered daily so far. “The total number of doses given in the last nine days were more than 60 million, higher than the total doses given in the entire month of May,” he said.
On the timelines of availability of vaccines such as Moderna and Johnson & Johnson,v K Paul, chairman, National Covid Task Force, and member-health Niti Aayog said, “There are issues around which we have to find common ground with manufacturers.”
Paul also said that the trials of the children's vaccine for Covaxin are almost at the stage of completion. “We are still working on the scientific validation of our vaccines for potential use in children. Only a limited number of nations have introduced it for children,” he said.