Coronavirus 2nd wave: Indian armed forces recall retired medical staff to work at COVID-19 facilities

Oxygen cylinders available with armed forces in various establishments will be released for hospitals, CDS Bipin Rawat said.

Moneycontrol News

April 27, 2021 / 08:46 AM IST

Other medical officers who retired earlier have also been requested to make their services available for consultation through medical emergency helplines (Image: Reuters)

As India battles the second COVID-19 wave, the armed forces have asked retired medicos to resume work in COVID-19 facilities nearest to their present place of residence.

All medical personnel from armed forces who have retired or taken premature retirement in the last 2 years are being recalled to work, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat told Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as per a PMO statement.

Track this LIVE blog for latest updates on coronavirus pandemic

Other medical officers who retired earlier have also been requested to make their services available for consultation through medical emergency helplines, the statement said.

Rawat briefed Modi about this decision as they reviewed preparations and operations being undertaken by the armed forces to deal with the second wave of the pandemic raging across the country.

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.

Show

Invest in bonds online

Coronavirus 2nd wave: Indian armed forces recall retired medical staff to work at COVID-19 facilities

Oxygen cylinders available with armed forces in various establishments will be released for hospitals, CDS Bipin Rawat said.

Other medical officers who retired earlier have also been requested to make their services available for consultation through medical emergency helplines (Image: Reuters)

Related stories

Invest in bonds online

Coronavirus 2nd wave: Indian armed forces recall retired medical staff to work at COVID-19 facilities

Oxygen cylinders available with armed forces in various establishments will be released for hospitals, CDS Bipin Rawat said.

Other medical officers who retired earlier have also been requested to make their services available for consultation through medical emergency helplines (Image: Reuters)

Related stories

Trending news