oppn parties Gap Reduction For Booster Dose Is Welcome

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  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
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  • Re goes down to 84.76 against the USD but ends flat after RBI intervenes
  • Sin goods like tobacco, cigarettes and soft drinks likely to face 35% GST in the post-compensation cess era
  • Bank credit growth slows to 11% (20.6% last year) with retail oans also showing a slowdown
  • Stock markets continue their winning streak on Tuesday: Sensex jumps 597 points to 80845 and Nifty gains 181 points to 24457
  • Asian junior hockey: Defending champions India enter the finals by beating Malaysia 3-1, to play Pakistan for the title
  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
D Gukesh is the new chess world champion at 18, the first teen to wear the crown. Capitalizes on an error by Ding Liren to snatch the crown by winning the final game g
oppn parties
Gap Reduction For Booster Dose Is Welcome

By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2022-07-09 07:30:34

About the Author

Sunil Garodia The India Commentary view

It is good that the Union health ministry has reduced the gap between the second and third (booster) dose of the Covid vaccine to 60 days from 90 days. This is in line with emerging evidence that the effects of the vaccine start waning after 60 days. But just reducing the gap, apart from making more people eligible to take the booster dose, will achieve little in the absence of a concerted drive to administer the booster dose to eligible citizens. There has been inexplicable laxity in giving the booster dose. The government must also look at mix-and-match booster doses and start planning for the fourth dose. This assumes greater importance now as Covid has started rearing its head once again in several parts of the country. Low vaccination, coupled with the complete absence of following Covid norms, will be dangerous. Vaccines are available in abundance, the price has been reduced substantially and senior citizens are being given the dose free. But since both the Centre and the states have shown a lack of urgency, the vaccination drive has petered out.

Statistics show that less than 31 percent of senior citizens have received the booster dose and, alarmingly, less than 1 percent in the age group of 18-59 has received it nationally. It seems that the people have already forgotten the horrors of the second wave and complacency has set in. Already, there has been an alarming upsurge in fresh Covid cases in some states. More alarmingly, the positivity rate is also creeping up. People need to be made aware that despite the fact that the virus is known to penetrate the vaccine shield it still prevents serious illness due to Covid.  They also need to be made aware that masking up in public, sanitizing their hands frequently, staying at home if they have any Covid symptoms (preferably isolating themselves for a week and getting tested for Covid) and avoiding crowded places are things they should still be doing. The pandemic has receded; it has not gone away completely. Any complacency is going to once again put undue pressure on the health infrastructure of the country and a large number of citizens will suffer. 

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