HomeNewsIndiaCOVID-19 second wave | Two flights carrying aid to India delayed till May 5, says US Department of Defense

COVID-19 second wave | Two flights carrying aid to India delayed till May 5, says US Department of Defense

Prior to this, a flight carrying 1,000 oxygen cylinders, regulators pulse oxymeters and N95 masks landed in India on May 1, while another flight with 1.25 lakh vials of Remdesivir landed on May 2.

May 04, 2021 / 18:04 IST
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COVID-19 medical supplied from the US arrive at Delhi on April 20 (Image Source: ANI)
COVID-19 medical supplied from the US arrive at Delhi on April 20 (Image Source: ANI)

Two flights carrying aid material from the United States are delayed due to maintenance issues and will reach India only by May 5, the US Department of Defense’s Transportation command said on May 3, ANI reported.

This comes even as India's total tally of COVIVD-19 cases crossed the two crore-mark with 3.75 lakh new cases in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry. Though a big number, it is the lowest in the past seven days.

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The flights are carrying aid material promised by the US for India’s second COVID-19 wave. Prior to this, a flight carrying 1,000 oxygen cylinders, regulators pulse oxymeters and N95 masks landed in India on May 1, while another flight with 1.25 lakh vials of Remdesivir landed on May 2.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had expressed “welcome” for this support from the US.

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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