- The only way to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic from further spreading havoc on the universe was to invent effective vaccines. The scientific and medical community are to be lauded for the speed with which several ground-breaking inventions vis-à-vis vaccine candidates were professionally undertaken to address the issue holistically. Now, there is any number of vaccines available that is not only providing a formidable shield against the marauding virus but also allowing the debilitating aftereffects of the stalled economic activities to take a backseat courtesy stringent lockdown.
PC: John Michael McGrath
- As reports emanating from across the globe confirm, millions of people administered with the vaccines are feeling confident enough to resume normal routine finally allowing some semblance of normalcy to return after a long wait. No wonder, there is an air of positive expectations and the mood prevalent everywhere appears to be conducive to kick-start activities full steam thereby ushering in much-needed relief to several stakeholders battered by the virus menace so far. As you are aware, the education sector so was one of the last few verticals which were allowed to resume on-campus teachings soon after the vaccination coverage for adults started gaining pace.
- We all know by now that the online teachings could only do that much with its restrictive abilities to reach out to nook and corner of the country. Mind you, online pedagogy has served its purpose in whatever little ways it possibly could under the circumstances. It’s time now to move ahead with conventional classroom pedagogy. Though higher grade schools, colleges, and universities are functioning for a few months now on the back of allowing 18 years and above adults to receive vaccines, the apprehensions surrounding allowing children below 18 years was always felt for the fear of the third Covid wave striking us is still around.
PC: IST
- Understandably, parents were deeply concerned and worried about allowing their respective children to visit school campuses for offline classes. Trust me, every single parent would have prayed fervently for vaccine invention catering to children below the age of 18 years. Most hearteningly, the collective prayers appear to have been answered with the announcement of the Covaxin vaccine for children aged 2 to 18 years. In a piece of welcome news, the Indian pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin has received conditional emergency user approval from the expert committee of the drug regulator for administering the vaccine to young children.
- The next steps will have to be a final approval and a clearance from the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation to be included in the national program. Once all required approvals are granted, there should be no delay whatsoever in commencing the inoculation drive on a war footing. The Covid containment strategy needs to bring this demographic category under a protective umbrella sooner than later much to the relief of all concerned. Further announcements on the matter would be eagerly awaited.
