Punjab bans entry of non-fully vaccinated persons in public places from Jan 15, no mention of poll rallies

Those who are not jabbed with both the dose of COVID-19 vaccine will be banned from "entering public places with large gatherings like sabzi mandi, grain markets, public transport, parks, religious places, malls, shopping complexes, haats, local market and other similar places", an official order said.

Moneycontrol News

December 28, 2021 / 20:37 IST

Representative image (Source: Reuters)

Amid emerging risks posed by the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the Punjab government on December 28 issued an order making full vaccination mandatory for entry of people in public places. The order will come into effect from January 15.

Those who are not jabbed with both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine will be banned from "entering public places with large gatherings like sabzi mandi, grain markets, public transport, parks, religious places, malls, shopping complexes, haats, local market and other similar places", it said.

The government, however, has exempted those persons who are not due for a second dose as per the health protocol.

The order, issued by the state's home department, makes no mention of political rallies which are currently underway. Punjab is among the five states where elections are expected to be held early next year.

Also Read | PM Modi, govt to decide on banning political rallies, we will abide by decision: Congress

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.

Show