HomeNewsIndiaCoronavirus pandemic | Delhi private lab offers drive-through testing for COVID-19

Coronavirus pandemic | Delhi private lab offers drive-through testing for COVID-19

Two-wheelers and taxis are not permitted at the testing centre

April 06, 2020 / 11:48 IST
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Dr Dang’s Lab (DDL), a Delhi-based private laboratory, is offering drive-through testing for the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, according to a report by The Indian Express.

DDL began the drive-through testing on April 6 morning at West Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh, the report said.

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“At the central market in Punjabi Bagh, there is a 30-40 metre-long stretch that we have turned into the drive-through premises; only one car is allowed inside at any given time," Arjun Dang, chief executive officer (CEO) of DDL, told the paper.

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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