In yet another solid proof that Covid vaccine crunch in the country has reached a monumental proportion and is here to stay, the Delhi government on Thursday officially made it public that nearly half of its vaccination sites meant for the 18-44 age group are likely to be shut from Friday as the existing stock of Covishield is not going to last even for a full day. The situation is almost the same for all states and even after 20 days since the 18-44 age group vaccination kicked off, the lengths of queues haven’t shortened a little. Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari’s remark that came on Tuesday that more pharma companies in the country should be allowed to manufacture Covishield and Covaxin and his subsequent ‘self-correction’ of the statement may have incited a political slugfest. Keeping in mind the prevailing Covid exigencies the ‘quarrel’ should not supersede the central  issue which is acute shortage of vaccines. Wasn’t it (Gadkari’s observation) exactly the same as what former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh suggested to the government a few weeks back and for which he was bombarded with a vitriolic backlash?

Why Covid vaccination is of paramount importance for the entire nation will not need a detailed exposition. Not just for the 2^nd wave, for shielding the people from a third one, expediting vaccination is most essential. A scientist from IIT, Hyderabad involved in the Sutra Model which uses Mathematics to project the trajectory of COVID-19 in India has expressed concern that if the ongoing Covid vaccination drive is not accelerated there is a possibility of a third wave within 6-8 months. The reasons explaining the fear are actually the basics of Immunology taught in Biology classes of schools- the antibodies generated in a COVID patient’s body post-recovery normally remain for at least eight months and the latest sero-survey conducted by CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi also concluded that neutralising antibodies start declining significantly after five to six months, making people prone to Covid reinfections. It’s necessary also to remember what the Principal Scientific Adviser K Vijay Raghavan said in the first week of May. His warning was that as the virus mutates further (the current strain ravaging India is a product of this periodic mutating behaviour of the original Covid virus), a third wave is inevitable and as such ‘preparations’ are necessary. Increasing vaccine production and inoculating the bulk of the population within the quickest possible time must be the backbone of these preparations.

Enough suggestions in this regard from the scientific community have arrived and it’s up to the government now to decide the best option- issuing compulsory licenses or through import or by any other way.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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