Administering second dose of COVID-19 vaccine priority in Pune: Ajit Pawar

The state government is taking efforts to get maximum number of vaccine doses for citizens, Pawar said, after holding a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation in Pune district.

PTI

August 20, 2021 / 15:37 IST

Maharashtra FM Ajit Pawar.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday said the authorities in Pune have decided to complete administering the second dose of COVID-19 vaccines, following which the first jabs will be given to citizens.

The state government is taking efforts to get maximum number of vaccine doses for citizens, Pawar said, after holding a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation in Pune district.

Currently, there are 898 government-run vaccination centres and 440 private ones in the district, he said.

“Many are waiting for the second dose of the vaccine. According to experts, if the second dose is given late, its effect won't last for long. Hence, we have decided to first complete giving the second vaccine doses. Once that is completed, the first doses will be administered,” said Pawar, who is also the guardian minister for the district.

The district administration has approached private hospitals, where some vaccine doses are remaining and some of these doses will expire soon, he said.

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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