We Have To Get The Vaccination Right
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2021-01-02 05:54:09
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
Two developments on the first two days of the New Year have instilled hope in the minds of the people that 2021 will be safer and things will return to normal in a few months. In the first, the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) appointed by the government approved the Oxford Institute-Astra Zeneca Covid (made in India by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India) vaccine for emergency use in India, subject to certain conditions. In the second, vaccination dry runs are happening at thousands of centres in all states across India today to test the protocols and the level of preparation.
With the SEC approval of the Oxford vaccine, it is hoped that the first shots will be administered to those whose names are on the priority list within 10 days. This has been made possible because Serum Institute had taken a huge business risk to produce and stock the vaccine at on-risk basis even before the mandatory approvals and is ready to supply these stocks to India as per order. Although the Oxford vaccine is reported to have only 70 percent efficacy, that is higher than the 50 percent prescribed by WHO and other experts. The best thing about the Oxford vaccine is that it does not need special storage provisions (like the Pfizer vaccine which needs to be stored at minus 70 degrees) and is best for the logistics nightmare in India.
The dry run that is happening today is like a trailer before the main movie. Although the Centre and the state governments have worked overtime to identify and specify vaccination centres and have trained nearly 1 lakh medical professionals to administer the doses to the people, the dry runs for two days would be helpful in identifying the possible glitches that might crop up and take corrective measures before the actual roll out.
As of now, everything looks hunky dory on paper. But since things go haywire in India despite our best efforts and intentions, it is required that the Centre and the state governments keep a close watch on the process. This is going to be the largest vaccination program in the world (even if India vaccinates just 60 percent of its population in the next 6 to 9 months) and it is absolutely necessary for us to get it right. The fight against the virus has been going on for long and at huge costs. It is time to provide a protective shield to the population so that the country can move ahead.
