Protection from COVID-19 vaccine possibly lasts 8-10 months: AIIMS Director
The COVID-19 vaccine should be able to give good protection from the infection for eight to ten months or even more, AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Guleria said on Saturday. He also said that no major side-effects of the vaccine have been recorded. He was speaking at an event organized by the IPS (Central) Association. Here are more details.
Change in attitude biggest reason for latest surge: Dr. Guleria
Dr. Guleria said that the biggest reason for the surge in cases is that people feel the pandemic is over and they are not following COVID-19-appropriate behavior. "There are multiple reasons for the surge, but the main reason is that there is a change in people's attitude and they feel coronavirus is over. People should restrict non-essential travel for some more time," he asserted.
Vaccine can break the chain of transmission: Dr. VK Paul
NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr. VK Paul said that the chain of transmission has to be stopped and for that vaccine is one tool but another is containment and surveillance strategy. "Not following protocols and laxity is the major reason for the surge," he said.
Limited number of vaccines reason behind prioritization: Dr. Paul
Responding to a question on vaccinating more people, Dr. Paul said, "The issue is vaccines are limited and that's why prioritization has been done." "If we had an unlimited supply, we would open the vaccination for everyone. That is the reason not everyone is getting vaccinated. Most countries in the world are not able to go beyond priority groups," he said.
COVAXIN, Covishield produce equal antibodies: Dr. Guleria
Talking about the effectiveness of the available COVID-19 vaccines, COVAXIN and Covishield, Dr. Guleria said, "If we look at the two vaccines, they produce equal antibodies and are very robust." "We should take the vaccine available to us because both are equally effective in terms of efficacy and long-term protection," he added.
