Commentary strategy to be clear
At a time when the country is grappling with the second frightening wave of the Corona crisis, the controversy over the vaccine that became a silver lining in the crisis is disturbing. Talk of closing vaccination centers in many states including Delhi, reports of not being able to start vaccination on time for the youth on lack of adequate vaccine suggest that a new phase may have been started without preparation. It seems that despite finding our vaccine and starting production of Kovishield in India in time, we have fallen behind in this campaign due to short-sightedness. A second change in the timing of the second dose of Kovishield suggests that we lack adequate vaccines. This will not only hamper the vaccination campaign in the country, but we will be lagging behind in the world market. Undoubtedly many states in the country are struggling with vaccine shortages. Actually, we are not able to provide vaccines to a large number of people in the age group of 18 to 44. Somewhere this deficiency weakens the ongoing fight against our second wave. It is also a reality that in the second wave, half the population of the infected are working and young population of the country, for which time is needed to intensify the vaccination campaign. In such a situation, to meet the shortage of vaccines, it is necessary to import other vaccines from indigenous companies as well as from abroad so that the vaccination campaign can gain momentum. Due to this, many states are giving global tenders to vaccinate themselves. There are no instances of vaccines being invoked by different states in a country to counter such a disaster on a nation. It is obvious that when states negotiate separately with a company, they will have to pay a higher price. On the other hand, if the vaccine is purchased together, the cost can be affected by the purchase of a large quantity.
Some states are also saying that the purchase of vaccine is the responsibility of the central government. At the same time, the Center argues that states had talked about autonomy in vaccine procurement. At a time when the country is going through a big crisis, no compromise can be made on the health security of the countrymen. The central government has recently taken some steps regarding the vaccine and has also released a new guide line. If the Center decides to import the vaccine, it will also benefit the country financially. Due to which the vaccination campaign is being affected due to the lack of vaccine again, it will gain momentum. The youth class is not only our big class, but it is also the working population of the country. It also has more social activism, which is also more sensitive from the point of view of infection. Giving it a protective cover is to provide security to the entire country. Only then will we be able to achieve the goals of vaccination in time. The Center should also fulfill the promise made to the apex court, in which it was said to remove the anomaly in the scheme of providing vaccine to the states. In fact, after the second wave of corona crisis, people have realized that vaccination is necessary to prevent corona infection. That is why people who were unable to vaccinate in the first phase are now coming forward to vaccinate.
Awareness is necessary for the success of vaccination campaign. Until the seventy-eighty percent population of the country is vaccinated, it will be our destiny to face new waves. In this sense, the central government should come forward with a pragmatic, liberal and sensitive vaccine policy. There is a need to encourage Indian companies to increase vaccine production and increase positive competition in the state.
COVID will stop with vaccine and precautions
The second wave of Kovid-19 in India has created a furore at the moment. Nearly half of the global daily positive cases and one-fourth of the mortality are being reported only in India. It is a matter of concern that the positive rate in the tests is about 20 percent, in some states it is up to 30 percent. The second wave is more aggressive than the first one, because then the number of positive cases that came in a day was more than a little over 97000.
After the global epidemic that started in January last year, many countries have suffered many waves. In the US, two waves occurred in April and July last year, one in January 2021, the third deadliest. Two in England, in April and October-November last year, one came in January this year, here too the last one was more deadly.
The virus tends to make many mutations and variants by constantly changing its biological structure. This poses a risk of decreasing the infection rate, intensity and effectiveness of the drug. The US Department of Contagious Disease Control (CDC) classifies variants of the virus into three main categories. These are Variety of Interest, Variant of Concern, Variant of High Consequences. COVID-19 adaptations that have been identified so far: B1.1.7 (US), B1.3.351 (South Africa), P.1 (Brazil) and B1.427 and B1.429 (California) . The Indian SARS-Cove-2 Genomic Consortium has found in its study that a new dual-variant virus has formed in India by combining two worrying adaptations, one of its parents, which was first identified in California. So the other one is found in South Africa and Brazil. The American Institute has named the Indian version as B.1.617 in the ‘Concern category’, with 3 sub-variations ahead. In Punjab, the UK has a dual Indian variant in Maharashtra-Karnataka, while the South African variety is more prevalent in Telangana. Now the fear is that the vaccine may not have any special effect on the new version. However, it is a compliment that the available vaccine has also been found to be effective on the variants so far identified.
Treating the affected people with continuous efforts and at the same time by vaccinating about 60-70 parts of the population will have to dissolve the disease and infection link. The Indian Council of Medical Research has recently issued guidelines for treatment accordingly by dividing the disease into low, medium and high grade according to intensity. It clearly defined that patients with fewer symptoms should be cured from home confinement, and medical advice is needed only when blood oxygen levels fall below 94 percent. The various components of the treatment such as when to apply oxygen and when to use a drug such as Remadesivir are clearly outlined. If treatment leaks are strictly followed, we can achieve best results from our limited resources and the percentage of patients recovering will improve. There is an urgent need to convey the correct code of treatment, especially to the doctors of small hospitals. At the same time, awakening should be made that patients do not panic unnecessarily or do not hoard the medicine-oxygen at home.
The most effective weapon in the prevention of corona, in addition to anti-cavid measures (masks, personal hygiene, social distance), is vaccination. The Spanish flu pandemic had caused a worldwide furore as there was no effective treatment or vaccine available at that time. Today, we have a variety of vaccines for Kovid-19, each with an effectiveness of between 80 and 95 percent. Experience from all over the world suggests that comprehensive vaccination is the only effective way to make trade, economic and tourism activities normal. A recent article from Israel in the journal, The Lancet, states that after applying both doses of the Fiz Hospital-BioNotech vaccine, the person’s infection with COVID -19 has been found to be more than 95 percent reduction in hospitalization, death probability. It is only due to the effectiveness of the vaccine that life is becoming normal again in America, England, Israel and many Europeans.
Actually, it takes at least two weeks for the vaccine to become fully effective after the second vaccine. However, some people reduce their level of caution after the first vaccination.
According to statistical studies, there is speculation that the second wave of corona in India will be in the highest ebb in mid-May, expect it to decrease after that. However, the possibility of a third wave will hang on the head until mass immunity is achieved due to adequate vaccination. So we have to make proper social distance and apply mask to prevent person-to-person infection transfer. The US Center for Disease Control reported in its February 19, 2021 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report that double folding masks are more effective than single folding. It should be noted that the cloth masks are washed continuously and the surgical and N-95 masks are not reused after every use. Loose handkerchiefs or a sapphire mask are not a substitute for masks at all. Caution and vaccine will also help reduce the intensity of a possible third wave.
