The first two days of the new year have turned out to be momentous so far as India’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts are concerned. If on day one, the country’s drug regulatory expert panel cleared decks for emergency use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, on the following day, the big news was that for 3 crore healthcare and frontline workers, it will come free. While these are all energising factors for the country indeed with the latter one coming as a tweet from the Union Health Minister himself, for common citizens, the waiting to know whether the free shots will be applicable for them also, however, still remains. It seems the Central government is still undecided on this and is thus taking time and it can be presumed more deliberations will take place. But, from the national health welfare standpoint, it goes without saying that people in general expect this egalitarian approach.
Since the above two developments have taken place in quick succession, it can be inferred that the country’s countdown for COVID vaccination has really started now. From the very beginning of the vaccine selection procedure by the Union Health Ministry and drug regulatory bodies there was a strong hint that the AstraZeneca-Oxford version which is going to be nicknamed as Covishield in India will be most acceptable under Indian circumstances. And with the necessary parameters relating to efficacy, cold storage requirements and others being found to be satisfactory, the nod came finally on Friday, although a decision for the other two in the race namely the ones being prepared by Pfizer and Bharat Biotech has been deferred due to non-arrival/insufficiency of data. Even if these are in the waiting, it can be anticipated that necessary approvals will arrive at appropriate time and in the long run this will arm the country’s quest for making the vaccination a success. If simultaneous arrival of the all the vaccines, at least three in number takes place, a major headache which is supply crunch can be taken care of and this is the necessity of the hour keeping in view the fact that the recipients of doses, reportedly to be in tune of more than 100 crore need to be covered within the shortest possible time. The nation-wide dry run to assess at what stage the preparedness stands was also conducted across the country in state capitals including Itanagar, marking the arrival of the moment of real action.
Hope-filled news are all coming and will multiply in the coming days. But, the important decision whether it will be made free for all is still pending. It will be a news of elation for all citizens if the Union Health Ministry makes an early and positive announcement in this regard. 

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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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