PUNE: The COVID mortality rate in Maharashtra came down to a three-month low of 1.92% in the month of October, thanks to increased vaccination, early case detection and timely treatment.

The fatality rate in Maharashtra stood at 2.07% in September while it was 2.83% in August. Dr Avinash Supe, who is in charge of the state COVID death committee, said that the cumulative fatality rate for the state was 2.12%. When the pandemic began in March 2020, the fatality rate was around 10% and gradually declined to 0.92% in March, but rose to 1.68% in April during the second wave.

According to the health department data, the highest fatality rate, of 7.41%, has been reported in the 81 to 90 years age group, followed by those in the age group of 71 to 80 years (6.37%). Dr Supe said that even if there has been easing of restrictions, there hasn’t been a steep rise in the infections or deaths. He added that the overall situation looks better and if the trend continues, the disease may soon become endemic.

Dr Supe said that there has been a considerable decline in the number of patients and deaths in October, considering the fact that there hasn’t been a major decline in testing. He mentioned that the disease is prevalent only in a few districts now. However, vaccination is still not up to the mark in slums and some other areas. He added that there is a need for booster dose for those who have completed 10 months of vaccination. 

Talking about the efforts by the health department, Dr Supe stated that during the early phase of the first wave, nearly 21,000 patients got admitted after 3-6 days of symptom onset. As a result, around 50% of them died within 48 hours of admission. He emphasized that the formula is ‘Test, Trace and Treat’, which helped in early detection and treatment, followed by vaccination. He further stated that stress should now be on any sudden surge and genome sequencing for novel variants.

State task force member, Dr Shashank Joshi, confirmed the trend and stated that several factors have been responsible for the decline in deaths, including vaccination, early treatment and easy access to monoclonal antibodies.

The state’s aim is to reduce the CFR further and report zero COVID deaths.

Source: ET Healthworld