Mansukh Mandaviya visits Safdarjung Hospital, reviews Covid mock drill

Amid a spurt in COVID-19 cases in some countries, the Centre has asked states and union territories to conduct mock drills at all Covid hospitals as part of precautionary measures.

PTI

December 27, 2022 / 12:47 IST

Mansukh Mandaviya

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday reviewed the Covid response mock drill at the Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital here to check its readiness to deal with any increase in the number of coronavirus cases.

Amid a spurt in COVID-19 cases in some countries, the Centre has asked states and union territories to conduct mock drills at all Covid hospitals as part of precautionary measures.

"I reviewed the Covid response mock drill at Safdarjung Hospital. This mock drill was necessary to know how prepared our hospitals are," the minister said.

"Covid cases are rising all over the world and India might witness a spike in cases too. Hence it is important that the entire Covid infrastructure in terms of equipment, processes and human resources are at a state of operational readiness", he stated.

Clinical readiness at hospitals is crucial, Mandaviya said while noting that government as well as private hospitals are undertaking mock drills.

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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