COVID-19 Vaccination | All Indians will be vaccinated by December 2021, says Union Minister Prakash Javadekar

The health ministry has given a roadmap for producing 216 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine by then, the minister has said.

Moneycontrol News

May 28, 2021 / 03:48 PM IST

New Delhi: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar

All Indians will be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus by December 2021, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar has said in response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s questions about India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive, News18 reported on May 28.

Rahul Ji [Gandhi] you must understand that you were the one who protested against the vaccine. After looking at your [Rahul Gandhi] today's comment, it has become clear that the toolkit was prepared by you: Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister. pic.twitter.com/n4ApmhC5Dz

— News18 (@CNNnews18) May 28, 2021

The health ministry has given a roadmap for producing 216 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine by then, the minister said at a press conference.

“India’s vaccination program is robust; by December we will be able to vaccinate over 100 crore Indians. Rahul Gandhi should focus on what is happening in Congress-ruled states,” the minister said.

Speaking to media earlier in the day, the former Congress president said that India would be hit by multiple COVID waves if the government fails to get its vaccine strategy right.

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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