HomeNewsIndiaCoronavirus update: 20 cases at IIT Kharagpur campus since August 19, institute issues list of dos and don’ts

Coronavirus update: 20 cases at IIT Kharagpur campus since August 19, institute issues list of dos and don’ts

About 20 COVID-19 cases have been reported from the campus since August 19, an official said on Saturday.

September 06, 2020 / 12:05 IST
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With several COVID-19 cases detected in the institute, the Indian Institute Of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur authorities have directed its employees staying in the campus not to venture out, unless it is an emergency, between September 6 and 13.

However, the faculty members will continue to conduct classes online from home, the institute said in a notification.

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About 20 COVID-19 cases have been reported from the campus since August 19, an official said on Saturday.

In the notification, the institute issued a list of dos and don’ts which also include a ban on entry of outsiders, except those attached to essential services, during the period when all offices inside the campus will remain closed.

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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