Before vaccination, govt must allay fears of people

Open House: What are your apprehensions regarding the vaccination programme?

Check on pvt healthcare providers a must

The world’s largest vaccination drive started in the country this week. The first case of Covid-19 was reported in the country on January 30 last year, and almost after one year the vaccine for the deadly disease is now available for us. To control the spread of the virus, the vaccine was first introduced in the UK in December 2020 followed by many other countries. In our country, preparations are going on a war footing for this vaccination programme. As planned, 3 crore healthcare frontline workers are to be vaccinated in the first phase. The whole exercise of vaccination — be it vaccine stocks, vaccine storage temperature, tracking of every individual beneficiary of vaccination, etc — is to be controlled through digital platform. In the country, 61,000 programme managers, 2 lakh vaccinators and 3.7 lakh other team members have been trained for the purpose. In Punjab alone, 4,000 teams have been deployed. Each team would administer the vaccine to 100 health workers. Thus, 4 lakh people would be vaccinated per day. People should also extend their full cooperation to make the drive a success. On its part, the state government should also be vigilant otherwise private healthcare providers would make money at this critical juncture. With the arrival of the vaccine, people should not become complacent because this health crisis is not over yet. The news of new strains of the virus in the UK and other European countries is disturbing. So, follow the age-old advice — prevention is better than cure.

Harsh N Johar

People are scared of side-effects

There are a lot of apprehensions about the Covaxin vaccine to be administered to health workers. People are scared of the side-effects of the vaccine. I, myself, am very scared of vaccination as I suffer from needle phobia. Also, two dry runs of the vaccination have been successful. But the apprehensions must stay with people as it is a matter of their health. I feel we must trust the Serum Institute of India for this indigenous vaccine and pray to the Lord and hope for the best.

Izleen

Addressing scepticism a prerequisite

The world’s largest inoculation drive against Covid-19 is going to be a daunting and unprecedented challenge. In the 1970s, a campaign to inoculate Americans against the swine flu started, but it had to be dropped as those who were vaccinated faced side-effects. Moreover, scepticism prevails in people’s mind as there were reports of anaphylaxis deaths and side-effects and allergies in some cases. Its efficacy against the mutated versions of the virus is not known yet. The unprecedented speed of vaccine development has generated misconceptions. The exclusion of pharmacists, medicine traders and support staff from the preference list of the Covid-19 vaccination programme is questionable as these people are equally vulnerable to the infection while dispensing medicines. The development of the vaccines against flu has been tardy with partial success, hence the scepticism over the Covid-19 vaccines needs to be addressed. It will be a tough job to boost public confidence amid concerns about side-effects. The development of smallpox, measles and polio vaccines have been great success stories in the past.

Anil Sharma

Illusions about efficacy prevail

People are apprehensive about Covid vaccination announced by the government recently. The two vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, have reached hospitals. Most of the people raise a question: “Is this vaccine safe?” There are many illusions about the vaccine and that is why people are not ready for it. Certain studies have shown that the vaccine has an adverse impact on the human body. In such a situation, one should not go for vaccination in haste. Human life is indispensable and everyone should take this seriously.

Saahil Hans

Fake news will act as a deterrent

Many people may not go for vaccination thinking that they do not need it, posing a risk to themselves and their acquaintances. People who can’t afford the vaccine might be left out of the mass drive. Considering the country’s mammoth population, it will be a tough task to vaccinate the masses. Fake news regarding the Covid-19 vaccine on social media may also deter people from getting vaccinated.

Jatinderpal Singh Batth

First make efficacy data public

Preparations are in full swing for the Covid vaccination drive. But apprehensions of the side-effects of the vaccine prevail among medical personnel. The death of a trial participant in Bhopal and some utterances by the highbrows has given rise to scepticism over the Covid-19 vaccines, particularly Covaxin and Covishield. AIIMS (New Delhi) chief Randeep Guleria has called Covaxin as a back-up shot. Acclaimed Prof Gagandeep Kang asserted a few days ago that she would not take Covaxin as a vaccine until its efficacy data is made public. The SII Chief Executive Officer’s statement a few days ago that vaccines other than those of Pfizer-Moderna and Oxford-Astra Zeneca ‘were just like water’ has queered the pitch. A serious allergic reaction to the vaccines has also been reported from Alaska. Even nurses and medical staff are expressing wariness about actually showing up for their shots. They are sceptical if it will work and are worried about unfounded side-effects. Of course, everybody wants Covid-19 to be over for sure but nobody wants to get a vaccine so hastily. Obviously, a muted response to the vaccine is a knotty problem and to unravel it all the nitty-gritty of the safety and efficacy of the vaccine ought to be discussed threadbare. We trust our scientists and their work but we cannot trust political statements. Also, can a vaccine developed within a few months be deemed safe as vaccine trials usually stretch over many years? The government seldom tells the truth. Even if it is pushing for a good vaccine, there are still some lurking lies. Why is the PM pushing it? Why does he not let the doctors do all the talking? People should not be used as research subjects for the sake of the protagonists who are clamouring for administering the vaccine.” Since the development of vaccines against the virus has been tardy with partial success, the above enlisted apprehensions over the Covid-19 vaccines must be addressed to allay the fears of the people and to raise their hopes.

Tarsem S Bumrah

Beware of active cyber criminals

As the Covid vaccination drives are being held in various parts of the world, the country seems to be dealing with the problem of fraud messages. People are scared due to such messages and other reasons. With the first vaccine getting the go-ahead for emergency use anytime in India now, the cyber safety wing of the Union Home Ministry has issued a warning against fraudulent offers on vaccine. Any fraud link, email, message or phone call offering priority to receive the Covid vaccine is fraud. As per the Centre, owing to apprehensions associated with the vaccine, cyber criminals are playing various tricks. They may offer to pay and register in getting priority to receive the first corona vaccine through fraud link, mail, message or phone call. People should remain alert otherwise many of them may fall prey to fraudsters.

Akshar Kumar Singla

QUESTION

How can health infrastructure be upgraded to tackle health emergencies like Covid-19 and avian flu in future and how can it be made affordable to all sections of society?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to amritsardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (January 21).