Coronavirus pandemic infections in India rose to the highest level in nearly six months, with the Delhi reporting 3,016 new cases in India on Thursday.
The South Asian country is fighting 13,509 active coronavirus cases meanwhile the death toll hit 530,863 after 14 fatalities were recorded in the last 24 hours, according to information shared by the Indian Ministry of Health.
Home to 1.4 billion people, active cases now comprise 0.03 percent of total infections. The nation has administered over two billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Amid the spike in cases, Saurabh Bharadwaj, the Health Minister called for a high-level meeting of health department officials, medical directors, and stakeholders, the Times of India reported. The uptick is thought to be generated by the omicron variant called XBB 1.16, which is said to mostly impact vulnerable groups.
The World Health Organization (WHO) tailored its COVID-19 vaccination recommendations on Tuesday for a new phase of the pandemic, recommending that healthy children and adolescents may not necessarily need a shot but older, high-risk groups should get a booster between 6 to 12 months after their last vaccine.
The UN agency said the purpose was to focus efforts on vaccinating those encountering the greatest threat of severe disease and death from COVID-19, regarding the high-level population immunity worldwide due to across-the-board infection and vaccination.
The health agency defined high-risk populations as older adults, as well as younger people with other significant risk factors. For this group, the agency suggests a further shot of the vaccine either 6 or 12 months after the latest dose, based on factors such as age and immunocompromising conditions.
