New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday has said that airborne transmission of the Covid-19 virus can occur in health care settings where specific medical procedures, called aerosol-generating procedures, generate very small droplets called aerosols.
The statement given by Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Chaubey in the Parliament would definitely clear the picture over the wider suspicion connected to the Covid-19 airborne issue.
He said that India has reported large outbreaks in certain districts indicating the spread of infection in those districts.
"Only 10 states are currently contributing to 77 percent of active cases in the country," he said.
Maharastra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhatisgarh, Telangana, Odisha, Assam, and Kerala are counting maximum active cases.
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Referring to the Covid19 vaccine, Chaubey said that the central government and industry are trying their best to make available a safe and effective vaccine for the diseases at the earliest.
"However, it is difficult to give an exact timeline in view of various complex pathways involved in vaccine development," said Chaubey.
Significantly, the central drugs standard control organisation (CDSCO) has granted test license permission for the manufacture of Covid19 vaccine for preclinical tests, examination, and analysis to 7 drug manufacturers in India including Bharat Biotech, Cadila Healthcare Limited, Serum Institute of India, Biological E Limited, Reliance Life Science, Aurbindo Pharma Limited and Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd.
Significantly, ICMR has allocated Rs 25.00 crore for various studies and other research activities pertaining to vaccine development.
In another related development, as per government records, two states namely Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have registered fire incidents in Covid19 hospitals and hotel turned COVID hospitals (both private) killing 15 people.
Eight casualties were reported from Gujarat on August 6 and 7 casualties were reported from Andhra Pradesh on August 9.
Although another private hospital in Vadodara engulfed into the fire, there was no report of any casualty.
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