India / Govt aware of studies saying COVID-19 can affect heart: Harsh Vardhan

New Delhi: The Centre is aware of the emerging studies that claim Covid-19 is not only a respiratory disease, but affects several other organs, including the heart, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday, addressing his weekly programme ‘Sunday Samvad’.

Answering a question from a social media user who asked about Centre’s action plan to deal with the impact of Coronavirus on life expectancy and on general public health, the Union minister said, “We are well aware that there is recent emerging evidence that Covid-19 may not be just an acute respiratory disease. It not only impacts our lungs, but also cardiovascular and renal systems.”

“These studies are useful to draw our attention to the non-respiratory impacts of Covid-19, most of these studies are on a small scale, involving a small sample of people. Therefore, any generalisation of the results from these studies, especially in the context of our population, may be inaccurate. Anyway, the issue could always escalate and become serious. Therefore, we have an expert committee to look into these facets of Covid-19. We have urged our institutions like ICMR to actively study these issues.”

India is seriously examining every emerging aspect of the novel coronavirus, which has affected nearly 60 lakh people in the country so far, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said today, while stressing on the cases of re-infection.

Health Minister explained about the cases of re-infection across the world, which have emerged as a serious worry amid the pandemic. "There are several cases of re-infection from across the world, not just in India. At the moment, the subject is still under serious investigation and doesn't appear to be a serious issue. However, in the health ministry, each and every aspect of COVID-19 that is emerging is being studied," Dr Harsh Vardhan said.

"You can be assured that these reports of re-infection are also being examined. Expert panels working under the ICMR are examining the issue. Although the number of re-infection cases are negligible at the moment, we have completely seized the issue." He made the remarks during an online interaction -"Sunday Samvad"