vaccine

With Phase-II of COVID-19 vaccination having begun from March 1st, India’s fight against the pandemic is picking up pace. The first phase, which commenced on January 16th, saw healthcare workers (HCWs) and other categories of frontline workers (FLWs) eligible for vaccination. The second phase targets two categories: 1. Persons aged 60 and above   2. Persons between 45 to 59 years of age who have a specified comorbidity (scroll down for list of comorbidities). For monitoring and streamlining the vaccination process throughout the country, the government has created a digital platform, CoWIN (COVID-19 Vaccine Intelligence Network). CoWIN is designed to help…

After 10 months, Delhi reported zero COVID-related deaths on January 9th. A few days earlier, the latest and the biggest serological surgery conducted by the Delhi government had shown that about 56% of the over 28,000 people whose blood samples were collected in January developed antibodies against COVID-19.   The sharp decline in COVID-19 cases across India, except a few states including Kerala and  Maharashtra is a clear indication that India has succeeded in controlling COVID-19 to a great extent. But are we really moving towards herd immunity, and can we afford to lower our guard? “No, the virus is unpredictable and may stage a…

Will Covid-19 vaccination be administered to all at the same time? The Government has identified those who are most vulnerable to the infection and priority will be given to them.  Firstly to the healthcare workers and then to the frontline workers.In the second phase, the vaccine will be administered to those above 50 years and those below 50 years with a history of high blood pressure, heart ailments, diabetes and other comorbid conditions.Later, depending on the need, Covid-19 vaccination will be administered to others in a phased manner. The vaccine has been developed  in a very short time, is it…

Even as the UK, US and other countries have started vaccinating their citizens, India is yet to start immunising its massive population, as the final human trials are not yet over. The task is difficult and poses unique challenges. Citizen Matters spoke to four eminent experts on their views on the vaccine and the various challenges of a mass vaccination drive: Dr Satyajit Rath: Visiting Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune.Dr Shahid Jameel: Director, Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana.Dr Rakesh Mishra: Director, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad.Prof Nirmal Kumar Ganguly:…