India fared better than others in managing Omicron-driven Covid surge, claims health ministry

Global Covid case surge due to the Omicron variant led to a peak six times the previous waves but India managed to control its spread causing lower hospitalisation and fewer deaths than earlier surges, the government said on Thursday. With 3,536 cases reported on an average in the week ending March 15, India contributed to only 0.21 per cent of global cases, the Union health ministry said.

It pointed out that many countries are still experiencing a rise in cases which is higher than their previous surges. “Not only the reported peak in India was much lower, the consistent efforts also led to a decreasing trajectory soon. “The country managed the Omicron surge much better than others,” a health ministry official said during a presentation at a webinar on India’s Public Health Response to Manage COVID-19.

Expedited vaccination drive compounded by effective containment measures and early identification of cases contributed to lower hospitalisation and fewer deaths during the third surge in India, officials said. They said that by December 31, 2021, when the first signs of the third wave emerged, India had already vaccinated 90.8 per cent of the eligible population with the first dose and 65.4 per cent with the second dose, which proved pivotal in saving lives.