HomeNewsIndiaGovt doctor on COVID-19 duty ends life in Karnataka due to alleged work pressure

Govt doctor on COVID-19 duty ends life in Karnataka due to alleged work pressure

Some of his colleagues alleged there was intense work pressure on him as he had been on COVID-19 duty.

August 21, 2020 / 07:41 IST
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Representative image
Representative image

A 43-year old government doctor on coronavirus duty died of suicide in Mysuru district in Karnataka with some of his colleagues alleging he was under work pressure. The state government said an inquiry has been ordered into the death of the doctor and advised those battling the virus not to succumb to any pressure.

According to police, Taluk Health Officer Dr SR Nagendra was found hanging at his quarters in Alanahalli where he had been staying alone. Nagendra's family was residing in another area in Mysuru district and he chose to stay alone out of fear of contracting the virus and spreading it, they said.

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Some of his colleagues alleged there was intense work pressure on him as he had been on COVID-19 duty.

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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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