New Delhi, December 8: Coronavirus cases India dipped in India in the past few days. The COVID-19 active cases in India are less than four percent of the total number of cases. According to the Union Health Ministry, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, West Bengal and Delhi contribute 54 percent of the total active cases in India. Health Ministry secretary Rajesh Bhushan, said, "Today the active cases in the country are less than 4 lakh. It is less than 4% of the total number of cases. Case positivity rate is decreasing."

Speaking on the vaccine development, Bhushan stated that some of the vaccine candidates might get licensed in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also interacted with all vaccine manufactures and scientists. According to the Health Ministry, six vaccine candidates in clinical trial stage in India. Notably, Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech have already applied to Emergency Use Approval.

The Health Secretary said, "National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID19 constituted in August this year. It provides guidance on prioritisation of population groups, procurement and inventory management, vaccine selection and vaccine delivery and tracking mechanism." COVID-19 Vaccine Latest Update: Bharat Biotech Seeks Emergency Use Authorisation For Covaxin.

Health Ministry's Press Briefing:

Meanwhile, preparatory activities for the rollout of the vaccine being carried the Central government in collaboration with states and union territories. The Health Ministry said, "Vaccination cannot just be a State's or the Centre's responsibility, it has to be people's participation." The government has also started the process of collecting database of health workers has started. The data collected will be uploaded on CO-WIN software.

Coronavirus cases in India crossed 97 lakh-mark on Tuesday after the country reported 26,567 COVID-19 cases in the 24-hour time period since Monday morning. Till now, 97,03,770 people have contracted coronavirus. A total of 1,40,958 lost their lives due to COVID-19.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 08, 2020 04:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).