Take your booster shot if you haven’t already

Highlights-

Are you vaccinated?
How to book your booster shot?
Why is vaccination important?

The recent news from China and around the world has been alarming at most. With China reporting more than 37 million cases in a day, the fear has resurfaced in people’s minds- Are we going to see another wave of Covid? Is there going to be a lockdown?

Another question that is also arising is- Are you Vaccinated?

The Chinese Government had vehemently opposed any help during the vaccination phase and instead relied on their indigenously produced vaccine. Some experts feel that there might have been better options than their vaccine. The rise in cases of Covid is now proving this. The BF.7 variant has been quick to spread across the country. The highly transmissible strain is also feared to be less effective against the present antibodies.

Anand Mahindra tweets regarding this- “Clearly, their vaccines have not provided the necessary immunity. Can we demonstrate how to be good neighbours and offer to supply vaccines from @SerumInstIndia & @BharatBiotech? We currently have sufficient capacity to supply.”

Clearly their vaccines have not provided the necessary immunity. Can we demonstrate how to be good neighbours and offer to supply vaccines from @SerumInstIndia & @BharatBiotech ? We currently have sufficient capacity to supply. https://t.co/rgoTSfLUeH

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) December 23, 2022

Being a neighbouring country, India is supposed to offer help to China. We must do what we can. But we also have to know that we are at a high risk of the virus crossing the borders and spreading in our country. In such a situation, we need to be better prepared. Our citizens must be proactive and ensure they have taken all the vaccines.

A total of 12 vaccines were approved in India. However, the maximum administration was seen of the two indigenously developed vaccines- Covishield by Serum Institute of India and Covaxin by Bharat Biotech.

The latest intranasal vaccine- Incovacc by Bharat Biotech, has also received a nod for administration. The vaccine will not be injected but taken through the nasal route. It can be taken as a primary dose as well as a booster dose.

How many shots were administered?

Two shots of vaccine were necessary to get the “I am Vaccinated” badge. A booster dose was also provided later, but many people failed to take that.

According to the Government portal, a total of 2,20,02,99,901 vaccine doses have been administered in India.

Which booster shot to get?

It depends on the vaccine you have taken. You will get a booster shot of the same vaccine you had taken at first.

Where can you get a booster shot?

Any Government or Private hospital that has a stock of the vaccine can provide a booster shot. You must take your final vaccination certification and use the same mobile number and ID card.

You can also book an appointment from the CoWIN website or the Aarogya Setu app.

What is the status in India?

India has not seen a surge of cases till now. Whether we will have a complete lockdown is also being contemplated but has been largely dismissed by most.

Dr Anil Goyal, Indian Medical Association, says- “There won’t be a lockdown situation in the country since 95% of the people here are vaccinated. The immunity system of Indians is stronger than that of the Chinese…India needs to go back to COVID basics – testing, treating, tracing”

#COVID19 | There won't be a lockdown situation in the country since 95% of the people here are vaccinated. The immunity system of Indians is stronger than that of the Chinese…India needs to go back to COVID basics – testing, treating, tracing: Dr Anil Goyal, Indian Medical Assn pic.twitter.com/4VNiwJbBZ0

— ANI (@ANI) December 22, 2022

The vaccination program was a massive success in India, and we did manage to vaccinate a large chunk of the population. This does give a sense of safety, but it is not a guarantee that the variant will not impact us. The new strain has seen a lot of mutations, and 100% protection from vaccines alone cannot be guaranteed. We must go back to the basics- masks, washing hands, social distancing, testing, and treatment. But being vaccinated will protect from severe symptoms and fatality.

So, if you have not gotten your primary dose or booster shot- Now is the time!