New Delhi Feb 18 PTI Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said major foreign pharmaceutical companies manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines were demanding indemnity and sovereign immunity waiver to supply their vaccines in India but the government made it clear that these firms are welcome to do business here but on our termsHe was speaking at the launch of a book titled A Nation To Protect - Leading India Through The Covid Crisis and authored by Priyam Gandhi ModyOn foreign pharma companies wanting to supply vaccines in India he said From the very beginning we had clarity that foreign vaccine manufacturing companies are welcome to do business in the country but it has to be on Indias terms the minister assertedHe further said the terms and conditions put forth by such foreign companies strengthened the concept and determination of developing indigenous vaccines and increasing the productionIndia already had the manpower and brand power the need was to identify the potential Prime Minister Narendra Modi was determined and kept on encouraging and motivating scientists and companies he statedMandaviya also said that the world is astonished by Indias vaccination coverage which has reached almost 175 crore adding that the third COVID-19 wave is on the declineHe said there have been fewer deaths during the third wave due to large-scale vaccination except those who died due to co-morbidities and the elderlyTalking about the criticism faced by the Centre over the vaccination drive the health minister said opposition leaders like Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav had questioned the effectiveness of India-made vaccines and refused to take them after terming them BJP vaccinesA political personality has followers who get influenced by their comments And a recent study showed how those pockets where the vaccination rate is slow or where it began late were impacted by Covid he saidMandaviya also referred to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioning the availability of COVID-19 vaccines in the country He said the prime minister had asked them not to indulge in politics and stay committed to ensuring that each and every citizen gets vaccinatedPTI PLB SRY

New Delhi Dec 28 PTI Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday held a meeting with a delegation of protesting resident doctors and urged them to call off their strike over delay in NEET PG counselling in the larger interest of the public Following the detailed meeting with the delegation of the Federation of Resident Doctors Association FORDA he said all requisite steps are being taken by the government and a suitable reply with respect to the EWS report will be submitted to Supreme Court before the scheduled date of hearing on January 6 Our resident doctors have been protesting for the last few days over the delay in NEET PG counselling I held a meeting with a delegation of the protesting doctors at Nirman Bhawan to resolve the issue the minister told PTI We are not able to do the counselling because the matter is sub judice before the Supreme Court The government of India will submit a reply to the apex court before the scheduled date of hearing on January 6 We request the court to expedite the issue so that the counselling can be started at the earliest he noted Mandaviya also expressed gratitude to the resident doctors and health care workers over the exemplary work done by them during the Covid crisis Intensifying their stir over the delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling a large number of resident doctors on Tuesday protested on the premises of Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital even as police personnel were deployed to ensure maintenance of law and order The protest a day earlier had taken a dramatic turn as medics and police personnel had faced off in streets with both sides claiming several persons suffered injury in the ensuing melee PTI PLB SRY

New Delhi Oct 31 PTI Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will hold a meeting with the Delhi government on Monday to review the dengue situation in the national capital and discuss ways on how the Centre can assist in curbing the surge in cases Dengue has witnessed a surge in dengue cases and Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will review the situation with the Delhi government and also provide assistance in curbing the rise in cases an official source said Officials from the National Centre for Disease Control and National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme will also be present in the meeting The national capital has seen a surge in dengue cases Delhi has reported over 1000 cases of dengue this year with more than 280 cases logged in the last week according to a civic report released on Monday last week Of the total number of dengue cases this season 665 were recorded in the first 23 days of this month alone The city recorded its first death due to the vector-borne disease this season on October 18 PTI PLB ANB ANB ANB

New Delhi Oct 29 PTI Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday launched the nationwide expansion of the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine PCV and said it will help reduce childhood mortality by around 60 per cent The Union minister also released communication and awareness packages on the vaccine which will be shared with all states and union territoriesSpeaking on the occasion he said it is for the first time in the country that the PCV will be available for universal use Noting that pneumonia is a leading cause of death among children under the age of five globally and in India he said Pneumonia caused by pneumococcus is the most common cause of severe pneumonia in children In India around 16 per cent of deaths in children occur due to pneumonia The nationwide roll out of PCV will reduce child mortality by around 60 per centHighlighting the importance of healthy children in any countrys growth productivity and development Mandaviya said Children are the future of our country and it is our responsibility to provide them a healthy life Mission Indradhanush which was launched by the prime minister is one such endeavour in this regard The vision of Sabko vaccine muft vaccine by the prime minister guiding the COVID-19 vaccination programme has ensured that the eligible population gets access to COVID-19 vaccines across the country he saidThe launch of PCV will further ensure healthy growth and development of our children apart from reducing child mortality he said while congratulating all the immunisation staff health care workers and the officials for their efforts in the roll out of this life-saving vaccine While releasing the communication package for the vaccine Mandaviya exhorted that creating awareness regarding the vaccine is a vital componentThe objective of the vaccine is to save the lives of our children and this would be possible if we run a successful awareness campaign across the country he saidUniversal Immunisation Programme UIP is one of the largest public health programmes targeting close to 267 million newborns and 29 million pregnant women annually the ministry said One million is equal to 10 lakhUnder UIP immunisation is being provided free of cost against 12 vaccine preventable diseases Nationally it is against 10 diseases - Diphtheria Pertussis Tetanus Polio Measles Rubella severe form of Childhood Tuberculosis Rotavirus diarrhea Hepatitis B and Meningitis Pneumonia caused by Haemophilus Influenzae type B Sub-nationally against two diseases - Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Japanese Encephalitis of which Pneumococcal Conjugate vaccine is nationally expanded on Friday while JE vaccine is provided only in endemic districts the ministry saidPTI PLB DV DV

New Delhi Oct 28 PTI Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday launched the sixth edition of the National Formulary of India published by Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission IPC to promote rational use of medicines in the countryHe congratulated IPC for coming up with the new edition of National Formulary of India NFI and appreciated the efforts of all experts doctors and researchers who contributed in the compilation of the new edition a health ministry statement saidMandaviya said that the NFI 2021 would act as a guidance document for all the healthcare professionals such as clinicians pharmacists nurses dentists It will play a crucial role in daily clinical practicesHe said that medicines behave differently in different bodies It is important to know about the content impact and side-effects of medicines The NFI is published to promote rational use of medicines in the country It will be very beneficial for clinicians and healthcare professionals while prescribing the medicines to the patients the statement saidThe sixth edition of NFI 2021 has been drafted by adopting the principle do not miss critical and do not overload the information by revising the appendices chapters and drug monographsThe chapters such as analgesics antipyretics and anti-inflammatory drugs antiepileptics antacids and antiulcer drugs antiallergics and drugs used in anaphylaxis antidiarrhoeals and laxatives antidotes and substances used in poisoning antimigraine drugs basics of medical emergencies dermatological drugs and Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs DMARDs were revised thoroughly by involving subject-specific experts or specialists in the countryOther chapters include drugs for gout diuretics drugs in osteoporosis drugs for inflammatory bowel disease drugs for respiratory diseases ophthalmological preparations and psychotherapeuticsAccording to the salient features of this edition34 therapeutic categories chapters including 591 drug monographs and 23 appendices are included in this edition and the NFI is aligned with the National Health Programmes and National List of Essential Medicines NLEM Important weblinks related to the NLEM drugs banned in India National Health Portal drugs banned in sports immunisation schedule wherever necessary are provided for information to readers and a special note on How to use NFI and salient features of the NFI are added in this edition according to the statementOnly indications approved by the Indian drug regulator Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation CDSCO clinically relevant and as per standard care are included the term availability is now replaced with dosage forms and usual strength and only the clinically relevant precautions and contraindications are included The common or the serious and clinically relevant adverse effects are included and storage conditions for medicines are included for special cases onlyBesides chapter on medicines banned in sports in previous edition has been considered under appendices in this editionConsidering the prevalence of diabetes in the country a separate chapter on management of diabetes is included after revising completely the statement said New appendix on good distribution practices is incorporated and appendix on National Immunisation Schedule and IAP Immunisation Schedule is revised as per current schedule it added PTI PLB KJ

New Delhi Oct 17 PTI Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya visited Delhis Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital RML Hospital and interacted with patients and their familiesMandaviya said OPD services are now being given at the RML even on Sundays so that shop workers drivers labourers and other poor people are be able to get treatment on holidays thereby not affecting their livelihoodToday I went to RML Hospital in Delhi and interacted with the patients and their families doctors there OPD has been started in RML even on Sundays so that shop workers drivers laborers and other poor people will be able to get treatment on holidays which will not affect their livelihood Mandaviya tweeted PTI UZM TIR TIR

New Delhi Sep 23 PTI Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Thursday released guidelines on dealing with post-Covid health challenges which will help doctors and healthcare workers to deal with long-term effects of the coronavirus infection among patientsAccording to a Health Ministry statement the minister said these post-COVID Sequelae modules will help in building the capacity of doctors nurses paramedics and community health workers across the countryIn medical parlance sequelae refer to a condition caused by a previous disease or injuryThe minister said it is important to tackle the perceptions related to post-Covid situation such as fears and mental health issues according to a Health Ministry statementHe said that proactive and comprehensive treatment of COVID-19 is required to ensure minimum side-effects and no negative effect of the treatmentWe have witnessed the consequences of post-Covid effect in patients due to taking higher doses of steroids like cases of Mucormycosis It is important to take medicines with less or negligible side effects If we are alert beforehand it will be fruitful in tackling the future consequences of Covid he was quoted as saying in the statementThe perceptions related to post-Covid that are perpetuating in our society like fears mental health issues resulting due to Covid are important to be tackled So its important to understand these post-Covid issues and resolve them Mandaviya statedEfforts have been made by the resource persons across the country for the management of these post-COVID-19 complications to prepare the sequelae modules he said They are specialised modules prepared keeping in mind various fields of healthcare professionals Speaking on the occasion Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar emphasised on the need to tackle mental health issues and to reach the last mile the statement saidThis pandemic has put an unprecedented challenge on our health and healthcare system Mental health care is a big challenge for a country with such a large population We need to build our capacity to tackle this challenge of mental health Pawar was quoted as saying in the statementIf the frontline workers are equipped with proper knowledge and training they can become a valuable resource in the fight against these post-COVID-19 challenges she saidWhen we are trying to equip ourselves to fight against post-Covid consequences its also important to take these to the last mile The training modules for mental health and other issues have been prepared based on the needs expressed by state health experts she said adding that all should work together to ensure that COVID-19 becomes the last human pandemicIndia added 31923 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 33563421 while the active cases declined to 301640 the lowest in 187 days according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on ThursdayThe death toll climbed to 446050 with 282 fresh fatalities according to the data updated at 8 am PTI PLB TIR TIR

New Delhi Sep 23 PTI Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday released guidelines on the treatment of sequelae of COVID-19 which will help in building the capacity of doctors nurses paramedics and community health workers across India to deal with long-term effects of the coronavirus infection The minister said that the modules have been prepared to provide guidance to doctors and healthcare workers to deal with the issue of long-term effects of COVID-19 the Health Ministry said in a statement He said that proactive and comprehensive treatment of COVID-19 is required to ensure minimum side effects and no negative effect of the treatment We have witnessed the consequences of post-Covid effect in patients due to taking higher doses of steroids like cases of Mucormycosis It is important to take medicines with less or negligible side effects If we are alert beforehand it will be fruitful in tackling the future consequences of Covid he was quoted as saying in the statement The perceptions related to post-Covid that are perpetuating in our society like fears mental health issues resulting due to Covid are important to be tackled So its important to understand these post-Covid issues and resolve them Mandaviya stated Efforts have been made by the resource persons across the country for the management of these post-COVID-19 complications to prepare the sequelae modules These are very specialised modules prepared keeping in mind various fields of healthcare professionals he said Speaking on the occasion Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar emphasised on the need to tackle mental health issues and to reach the last mile the statement said This pandemic has put an unprecedented challenge on our health and healthcare system Mental health care is a big challenge for a country with such a large population We need to build our capacity to tackle this challenge of mental health Pawar was quoted as saying in the statement If the frontline workers are equipped with proper knowledge and training they can become a valuable resource in the fight against these post-COVID-19 challenges When we are trying to equip ourselves to fight against post-Covid consequences its also important to take these to the last mile The training modules for mental health and other issues have been prepared based on the needs expressed by state health experts she said adding that all should work together to ensure that COVID-19 becomes the last human pandemic PTI PLB SMN SMN

New Delhi Aug 24 PTI Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said that COVID-19 vaccine slots can now be booked via WhatsAppElaborating on the process he said one needs to send Book Slot to MyGovIndia Corona Helpdesk on WhatsApp verify and then follow the requisite stepsPaving a new era of citizen convenience Now book COVID19 vaccine slots easily on your phone within minutes Send Book Slot to MyGovIndia Corona Helpdesk on WhatsApp Verify OTP and follow the stepsBook today wame919013151515 Mandaviya tweeted PTI UZM DV DV