Teens heave sigh of relief as wait for Covid vaccine ends

"This was long-awaited. The third wave is already here and considering how aggressive the second wave was, we were all afraid," said Ritesh Ghosh, a 17-year-old student.

PTI

January 03, 2022 / 18:36 IST

COVID-19 vaccination for children in the 15 to 18 age category began today. (Image: ANI)

Amid rising cases of Covid and its variant Omicron, teenagers heaved a sigh of relief after they received their first dose of vaccination as the inoculation drive for the 15 to 18 age group began in the city on Monday.

The national capital reported 4,099 new Covid cases on Monday, 28 per cent more than on Sunday, and one death due to the disease as the positivity rate rose to 6.46 per cent, according to data shared by the Health Department.

The vaccination drive for the 15 to 18 age group began at 169 vaccination centres across Delhi on Monday. "This was long-awaited. The third wave is already here and considering how aggressive the second wave was, we were all afraid," said Ritesh Ghosh, a 17-year-old student.

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Reema Dutta, a 15-year-old girl said, We can heave a sigh of relief and can go outdoors while following Covid protocols once we have received the vaccination. The Omicron wave is already scaring us."

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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