HomeNewsIndiaMansukh Mandaviya asks people not to let guard down against COVID-19
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Mansukh Mandaviya asks people not to let guard down against COVID-19

"The fight against COVID will go on in future because coronavirus is still amongst us. Coronavirus is certainly under control but it has not gone away," Mandaviya said at the launch of COVID field hospital here.

October 11, 2021 / 07:50 IST
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Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said it took 85 days to inoculate 10 crore people against COVID-19, while due to the "vaccine for all, free vaccine" campaign, it took only 24 days to reach 30-40 crore vaccination coverage.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said it took 85 days to inoculate 10 crore people against COVID-19, while due to the "vaccine for all, free vaccine" campaign, it took only 24 days to reach 30-40 crore vaccination coverage.

Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday asked people not to let the guard down against COVID-19 as the disease is under control but it has not gone away completely.

"The fight against COVID will go on in future because coronavirus is still amongst us. Coronavirus is certainly under control but it has not gone away," Mandaviya said at the launch of COVID field hospital here.

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He appreciated the Karnataka government for its preparedness to deal with any health emergency caused by COVID-19 in future.

"Dealing with an outbreak of disease depends on the thinking of the government. The Karnataka government has decided to set up dedicated field hospitals in remote areas, which shows how prepared it is to deal with the outbreak in future," Mandaviya said.

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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