- It is amply clear by now that the pandemic raging across the universe can be tamed or subdued to a great extent by aggressively ramping up the process of vaccination drive. Showing any signs of laxity, ambiguity, lack of all-encompassing strategies to inoculate, ham-handed approach to push ahead, and continued hesitancy to receive a jab will only empower the extremely fast mutating coronavirus. The entire universe is hamstrung by devastation will be an understatement. Few of the developed countries were smart enough to realize the futility of dilly-dallying on the action by ensuring their respective nation’s interests are well secured.
PC: Narayana Health
- Worthy proactive measures like contractual agreements with the vaccine producers, booking and stocking the jabs, mass immunization program to cover as many people as possible are par for the course. As the vaccine data being sourced and reported from around the universe suggest that vaccination alone reserves the potency to curb the severity of the dreaded disease from overwhelming. A new UK government study has found that two doses from either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or the Pfizer vaccine are over 80% effective in preventing infection from highly infectious B.1.617.2 variant of Covid-19 first discovered in India.
- It is mentioned that the findings are based on data from Public Health England and are pertinent for India since the B.1.617 variant, of which B.1.617.2 is a subtype, is playing a big role in the ongoing second wave ravaging the country. It is not lost on the comprehending lot that the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab continues to be the mainstay of India’s stuttering vaccination program for being manufactured as Covishield by the Serum Institute of India. Continuing to ramp up the production and timely delivery of vaccines is of utmost importance to not just bring the current surge under some semblance of control, but also to provide protection against anticipated subsequent waves.
PC: IANS
- People observing closely would have realized how the Union Government’s flip-flops have resulted in widespread confusion as well as uncertainty not knowing when an adequate quantity of vaccines will be provisioned to carry forward the drive. More importantly, why vaccination drive is even more urgently needed to pick up speed is the worrying death rate from the pandemic which has risen sharply this month. Note that Delhi registered the highest case fatality rate (CFR) among bigger states at 2.54%. Over the same period, the national CFR has risen to 1.17% from 0.73% recorded in April.
- It is a no-brainer that the combination of the latest efficacy data from the UK, and the increasingly proven fact that vaccination is found to be preventing severe illness and mortality all around, the immunization drive should be our topmost tool to fight the pandemic. Therefore, it is most welcome that the government has reversed its earlier policy and allowed private and state entities to vaccinate not just employees but also their dependent family members. This move to allow family members of staff may boost workplace vaccination as companies can now scale up vaccine orders by making such delivery pipelines more robust. Embracing measures like intermittent lockdowns interspersed with slow-paced inoculation drive is proving to be counterproductive. Since viruses are known to mutate faster, even more, faster rolling out of vaccination measures can curb the pandemic and also keep economic growth afloat.
