Despite the opposition scheming and despite the media junkies criticizing the govt and spreading false information, India is rolling out the local manufacture Moderna vaccine today for Covid 19 all across the nation. The frontline warriors in health sector and those serving the community such as the police service will be receiving the first batch of shots. Later on, the vaccination will be available to public on demand. I don’t need media guys telling me what to do and when to do. These are the least fit na-layaks to certify anything good and/or worthwhile. My friend who is a experienced medico practising in the US took two shots of Pfizer vaccine and developed (expected) symptoms after the second doze administered after a 28 day gap. She is asking me to go for both dozes that are modified for both the strains of covid-19, and I need no other prescription than this to go for the vaccination. Will do it as and when time permits. Whether we have co-morbid health conditions or not, once you cross 45 or 50 years, I feel we are in a vulnerable age already. Some of us attract infections easily. Women especially have a weaker immune in my thinking. I may or may not be right. I am taking Kabasura kudineer on weekly basis, lemon-ginger-tulsi-garlic-amla concoctions everything which I have been taking all my life, not just because of corona scare. Only now all this is suddenly projected so much as immunity builder to us Indian families. We are doing it for ages. Turmeric, cinnamon, cloves – can’t imagine life without these.
Hopefully we leave 2020 psych totally behind with the vaccine and start fresh life once again. Heartening to read our Vice President Shri Venkaiah Naidu’s address to the nation on the launch of the vaccine to Indian public. I will do a copy-paste job.
“COVID Vaccination DriveToday is a red-letter day for the people of the country. India has scripted history by touching a new milestone in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic with the Prime Minister, Shri Narendrabhai Modi launching the world’s largest vaccination drive. Two Indian manufactured vaccines, cleared for emergency use, will inoculate an estimated 3,00,000 healthcare workers with the first dose today. This is a proud moment for every Indian and I would like to convey my deepest appreciation to all the scientists for the remarkable speed with which the vaccines were developed in a record time. It is pertinent to point out here that it takes several years before a vaccine rolls out to reach people at large, after the successful completion of all trials at all the stages.In recent memory, there was no other medicine or vaccine for which the entire world waited with such anxiety and restlessness as it did for the vaccines for Sars-Cov2, which are being rolled out in some countries.I am happy that the Union Government and all the States are coordinating this immunization programme in a truly ‘Team India’ spirit as more than 1.65 crore doses of #Covishield and #Covaxin have been allocated to the States and Union Territories in accordance with their requirements. The Centre and the States worked in a mission mode to complete the dry runs and take care of the logistics and the required infrastructure.The Centre and States deserve our compliments and appreciation for this synergy and for working in sync to ensure smooth completion of this mammoth task. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, India like the rest of the world had faced massive disruption to the economy and the livelihoods of people, even as the novel coronavirus claimed thousands of lives and stretched healthcare systems of the most developed countries, as also ours, to their limits. Hopefully, the days of uncertainty and anxiety will end soon. Motivated by the ‘Atma Nirbhar’ Bharat call given by the Prime Minister, our scientists have risen to the occasion. Their efforts were ably complemented by our frontline COVID warriors- healthcare workers, sanitation workers, police and others who never gave up and walked the extra mile to protect all of us. Today, their patience and hard work have paid off. The country, as a whole, will soon reap the benefits of the efforts of these patriotic men and women. Around 3 crore health and other frontline workers will be covered in this phase—they include doctors, nurses, paramedics and other support staff. Apart from them, police personnel and paramilitary personnel, Home Guards, Disaster Management volunteers, municipal workers, Revenue Officials and other Jawans involved in the containment of the virus will be vaccinated. The same vaccine will be given as the second dose after 28 days. In the second phase, people above the age of 50 and those with co-morbidities will be vaccinated. Apart from them, people living in areas with high infection rates will be vaccinated in this phase. While the launch of the immunization drive is a big morale booster, I would like to appeal to the people, including those vaccinated, to not lower the guard in the fight against COVID-19. Everyone must continue with the ‘social vaccine’- of wearing masks, washing hands regularly, and maintaining a safe distance from others.I would also like to urge all the officials involved in the administration of the vaccine to strictly follow the comprehensive list of do’s and don’ts to avoid any untoward incident. The instructions include specifications regarding dosage, cold chain storage requirements, contra-indications and minor AEFIs (Adverse event following immunisation). As mentioned earlier, vaccine development entails a prolonged scientific process as it has to pass through all the stages of clinical and human trials involving thousands of volunteers. It is truly a feat worthy of our appreciation that the government acted with remarkable speed in completing various aspects like prioritizing the target groups, conducting dry runs, preparing the database of healthcare workers, training the vaccinators, delivering the vaccinations to the final administering sites safely, storing the vaccines in cold storages, and evaluating and monitoring the situation on a real-time basis through the Co-WIN network and central helpline. Undoubtedly, tireless efforts have gone into ensuring smooth operations till the last mile. My heartfelt regards to the field workers, health professionals, scientists, volunteers and the officials for their indefatigable efforts in fast-tracking the entire process and bringing to fruition the two Indian manufactured vaccines.India has developed a reputation as a world leader when it comes to immunization. The latest experience in developing a vaccine in record time only adds to that legacy. We have already done a fantastic job in the export of medical equipment to fight COVID-19- from PPE kits, N-95 masks and ventilators to other countries. It is not just the developing world, but the developed world too which looks up to us now as the ‘Pharmacy of the World’.We must build on this momentum and become the vaccinators for the world too in the true Indian spirit of treating the entire world as one family—‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. We have already offered support to our neighbouring countries with COVID-19 vaccine. Soon, as the domestic demand is met and with ramping up of production, we can match and deliver to the global demand too. I am sure that today’s drive will serve as a successful template for immunization of the larger population in the coming months. My best wishes to all the people involved in the drive today.”
I trust the Indian physicians/scientists/health workers/community service workers one hundred percent completely. They are by far the best.
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