Amid concerns over the detection of highly-infectious new sub-variants of Omicron ahead of the festival season like Diwali and Chatth, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday chaired a meeting and reviewed the Covid-19 situation and the ongoing vaccination drive in the country.
NITI Aayog member (Health) VK Paul, chairman of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) NK Arora, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and other senior health officials attended the meeting, said a senior official from the Ministry.
For its part, the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) is planning to issue a bulletin on the new sub-variants of Omicron.
The meeting concluded with the decision to continue the mask mandate and COVID-19-appropriate behaviour across the country. The Minister was informed that 219.37 crore doses of vaccines against Covid have been administered in the country under the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive. The meeting comes amid growing concern over Omicron's new sub-variants BA.5.1.7, BF.7 and BQ.1.
As per reports, Gujarat recently reported the first case of BF.7 sub-variant of Omicron, which was first detected in China and now reached the United States, the UK, Australia, and Belgium.
The first case of BF.7 was reportedly detected by the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre.
Pune has also reported its first case of Omicron sub-variant BQ.1, a descendant of BA.5. The Maharashtra health department on Monday cautioned that the COVID-19 cases could rise especially during winters and the festive season.
Department of Biotechnology Secretary Rajesh S Gokhale and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Rajiv Bahl were also present at the meeting.