The vaccination drive that has become a “Sanjeevani”
23rd January 2021. I have a reason to remember this date. As I sat down to take the first jab of the COVID-19 vaccine at Ruby Hall Clinic Pune, I sensed the beginning of the end of a battle. A long drawn battle where humans were emerging winners and where science had once again proved its mettle. In India, we had all the more reason to celebrate. The day had arrived when two home-grown vaccinations had been approved — Covishield, manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, and Covaxin, developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech. We had reason to be joyous.
The process was simple. We were pre-registered and prioritised as per our age, profession and overall well-being. A perfectly rolled out exercise involved an identity check at the counter and every person in queue received the jab perfectly. As a doctor myself, I had no reason to doubt the the quality of the vaccination. To be honest, I expected the usual symptoms of fever, body ache, headache, local pain in the arm to pull me down. Those doses of paracetamol were ready to be used as and when necessary. Three days later, I can say I am as fit as could be and haven’t had any side-effects whatsoever.
It was indeed heartwarming to know that healthcare workers and frontline staff were being taken care of. In fact, within 24 hours of being immunised, we all received calls from the Health Department at PMC who noted down our concerns, if any. In fact, the central authorities weren’t too far behind in collecting data too. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also got in touch with us individually, wanting to know our experience, concerns and overall health.
When Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi asserted that the Made-in-India vaccines being rolled out will ensure a “decisive victory” for the country over the coronavirus pandemic — I knew the choice I made to get myself vaccinated was the right one. In fact, I can proudly say that some of our most senior doctors at Ruby Hall Clinic who are septuagenarians and octogenarians led by example and took the jab themselves. I tip my hat to their vigour and drive!
When I posted a picture on social media after being vaccinated, I was surprised to see questions being raised, a number of doubts arose and there was a kind of indetermination amongst many about taking the vaccine. In an effort to normalise the hesitancy of taking a new vaccine, I have addressed some concerns here.
- What are the types of vaccinations available?
While everyone is aware about the various types of vaccines available — let’s clear the air here about the two vaccines that are home-grown in India. One is attenuated or the killed virus vaccine where it contains only the proteins which are antigenic or immunogenic. And the other is an attenuated live virus vaccine which can multiply in the body. After administration of both the shots, coronavirus will no longer multiply in the body. So there is no worry of contracting the infection in either types of the vaccine.
- Is the “effort” of taking a jab worth it if I have to undergo bouts of fever or body ache?
It is indeed astonishing that people in this time and age are questioning the viability of a vaccine. Would we stop immunising our children as per their schedule? Do we ever ask kids — would you like to get a MMR or BCG vaccine? The same rule applies for adults as well. Getting immunised is important for at least two reasons: to protect yourself and to protect those around you.
- If the vaccine provides only 60–70% of protection against coronavirus, should I take it?
The truth is that out of the population that gets inoculated, 70% of them will be immune. This is the only way we can break the chain of the virus. In the long run, this will reduce the spread of the disease.
- Can I go out without a mask after getting vaccinated?
The answer is a big resounding NO. As a vaccinated person, you could still transmit the virus and be a carrier. If you inhale the virus again, your immunity should identify and eradicate it before it multiplies in large numbers. But that doesn’t mean viral particles can’t briefly cling to your nasal cavity and replicate before your body’s alarms go off, creating a brief window in which you could transmit the virus to someone else.
- Since the vaccination is not hundred percent secure, why should I take it?
There are numerous studies which have shown that people who have been infected after taking the vaccination have had very very mild symptoms and did not require hospitalisation. They were under no serious life threatening condition.
- What is the schedule that must be followed?
The first dose needs to be undertaken on Day 1 while the second one on Day 28. Immunity would appear 2 weeks after the second dose. At present, we have two brands of vaccines available in India — if you have taken the first dose of a certain brand, you must stick to the same one for the second shot. If you have another vaccine due, for example a flu shot or pneumonia vaccine — under no circumstances must it be taken along with the coronavirus vaccine.
- Who all can take the vaccine?
There are very clear cut guidelines issues by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Anyone above 18 years of age is eligible. People who are senior citizens, diabetics, hypertensive or with any other co-morbidity are going to be benefitted the most with the vaccine. For those with autoimmune disorders, it is safer to take the killed vaccine.
However, women who are pregnant or not sure of their pregnancy or lactating should not take the vaccine. Those who have a history of anaphylactic of an allergic reaction to a previous dose of vaccine and even those with a bleeding or coagulation history must not take it.
I highly recommended all those eligible to take the vaccine. In the long run, everyone who wants to travel internationally will require a vaccination certificate to avoid quarantine of any kind.
It is a matter of pride that India has already breached the 2 million-mark in the vaccination of healthcare workers. As per the provisional report available with the Union Health Ministry, a cumulative 20.29 lakh vaccinations have been completed so far through 36,572 sessions. In fact, the six days that it took India to administer more than one million doses of vaccines against Covid-19 made it the fastest rollout of a million vaccine shots against the pandemic among other countries. Our capability in mass inoculation has been built on the back of a very successful polio vaccination programme, which caters to almost 2.6 crore newborns and approximately three crore pregnant women every year.
Reaffirming the Indian philosophy of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the world is one family), we have also gifted five million doses of the vaccines to our neighbours under the #VaccineMaitri programme. Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka Bangladesh and Afghanistan have so far been beneficiaries. Even countries like Morocco and Brazil have benefitted from this social cause. As our Prime Minister rightly said — “India is ready to save humanity with these vaccines.”
As a doctor, I have seen the roller coaster of life, in the past year more than ever. I know fighting this virus takes extraordinary energy and renewed resilience. With this vaccination drive that is bound to take superhuman effort, let us all take a small step towards doing our bit.
Let’s save ourselves, let’s save our community!
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