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between December 25 and December 31, around 50 per cent (433) carried Omicron, while 34 per cent (293) had the Delta variant.
Across India, Omicron accounted for 75 per cent of the total samples sequenced in January, according to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Delhi had reported the first case of Omicron on December 5 — a 37-year-old fully vaccinated man who had arrived from Tanzania.
According to experts, mild symptoms, faster recovery and fewer fatalities typified the Omicron-driven third wave of the pandemic in the country and fewer patients needed medical care in hospitals. Also, unlike the Delta-driven second wave, Covid has not been the primary reason for most of the deaths this time.
Meanwhile, ninety five per cent of India’s eligible adult population has been administered the first dose of Covid vaccine while 74 per cent are fully inoculated, the Union health ministry said on Thursday as the total vaccine doses administered has crossed 164.35 crore. Till 7 pm, 49,69,805 vaccine doses have been administered. As many as 1,03,04,847 precaution doses have been administered to healthcare and frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities.
Also 44281254 adolescents in the 15-18 years age group have been given the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late tonight. Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya congratulated the nation for the remarkable achievement.
In a tweet, he said that India has achieved the record of administering the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to more than 95 per cent of its eligible population. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hard work of health workers and public participation, the country is continuously moving forward in this campaign, he said. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase.
India began administering precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine to healthcare workers, frontline workers including personnel deployed for election duty and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10 amid the country witnessing a spike in coronavirus infections fuelled by Omicron variant of the virus.
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Source: News18