Maharashtra to offer COVID-19 vaccination to students going abroad for higher education

The state government said that from May 31 onwards, there will be a free walk-in vaccination drive for students who have received confirmation of admission in universities abroad & require vaccines for the same.

Moneycontrol News

May 29, 2021 / 08:59 AM IST

COVID-19 vaccine (Representative image)

Maharashtra has announced a special vaccination initiative for students in the state going abroad for higher education.

In a late night announcement on May 28, the state government said that starting May 31, there will be a free walk-in vaccination drive for students who have received confirmation of admission in universities abroad and require vaccines for the same.

Under this scheme by Mumbai's civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), students can walk-in at any of the three designated COVID-19 vaccination centres between May 31 and June 2, namely Rajawadi, Cooper and Kasturba.

For students who have received confirmation of admission in universities abroad & require vaccines for the same, the @mybmc has arranged free, walk in vaccination this coming Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (31st May, 1st, 2nd June) at 3 centres- Rajawadi, Cooper & Kasturba (1/n)

— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) May 28, 2021

This means that students will not face any delays in reaching their overseas destination for their higher education programmes.

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.

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