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COVID-19 vaccine shortage | Vaccination for 18-44 group remains suspended for 4th day in Delhi: Atishi

She appealed to the central government to immediately approve vaccines such as Moderna, J&J and Pfizer which have been approved for use by around 60 countries.

May 27, 2021 / 08:39 PM IST
A healthcare worker gives a dose of Covishield, a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India, to a woman at a hospital in India (Representative image: Reuters)

A healthcare worker gives a dose of Covishield, a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India, to a woman at a hospital in India (Representative image: Reuters)

Around 34,000 people were vaccinated in Delhi on May 26 and the majority of jabs were provided by private hospitals, AAP MLA Atishi said on Thursday, highlighting the acute shortage of vaccines the city government has been grappling with. She also said 42 per cent of the people (24.32 lakh) in the 45 plus category have received at least one dose of vaccine.

"This is the fourth consecutive day that the vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group has remained suspended," Atishi said. It's a cause for serious concern. Delhi has not received any more doses from the manufacturers so far. The makers have made it clear that they have been supplying vaccine to states according to the directions by the Centre, she said.

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"As many as 34,147 people got vaccinated on May 26. Of this, most of the jabs were given at private hospitals," Atishi said. She appealed to the central government to immediately approve vaccines such as Moderna, J&J and Pfizer which have been approved for use by around 60 countries.

A total of 52.25 lakh doses have been administered in Delhi so far since the inoculation exercise started on January 16. As many as 11.79 lakh people have received both the doses.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

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How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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PTI
first published: May 27, 2021 08:39 pm