Covid 19: Mock drills begin in Delhi hospitals to test Covid readiness

Real-time data on the availability of beds, oxygen cylinders and ventilators will be available for the public on a Delhi government portal from Tuesday,officials said.

Moneycontrol News

December 27, 2022 / 11:05 IST

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Mock drills will be conducted on December 27 across Delhi to assess Covid-19 preparedness in hospitals. Availability of beds and manpower are among the key parameters for measuring Covid readiness in case of a surge in cases, according to an advisory issued by the Centre.

The drill will take place at hospitals run by the Delhi government such as the LNJP Hospital and other private hospitals such as Apollo Hospital in South Delhi's Sarita Vihar.

Delhi's deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia will also be present at the state-run LNJP Hospital when the mock drill is conducted to ascertain Covid preparedness of the facility, official sources said.

Any gaps would be addressed immediately by the health department officials', said Sisodia, who holds the health portfolio.

Also Read: Mumbai hospitals to conduct mock drill to check health infrastructure preparedness for COVID-19

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

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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