HomeNewsPolitics'True leader' would be focused on averting crisis to be unleashed by coronavirus on India: Rahul Gandhi

'True leader' would be focused on averting crisis to be unleashed by coronavirus on India: Rahul Gandhi

"There are moments in the life of every nation when its leaders are tested. A true leader would be completely focused on averting the massive crisis about to be unleashed by the virus on India and its economy," Gandhi tweeted.

March 03, 2020 / 14:18 IST
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Raising concerns over the detection of fresh coronavirus case in India, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said a "true leader" would be completely focused on averting the massive crisis about to be unleashed by the virus on the country and its economy. Gandhi's remarks came after India on Monday reported two new cases of the novel coronavirus, including one from the national capital.

"There are moments in the life of every nation when its leaders are tested. A true leader would be completely focused on averting the massive crisis about to be unleashed by the virus on India and its economy," Gandhi tweeted.

He also tagged his February 12 tweet in which he had said the coronavirus is an extremely serious threat to "our people and our economy".

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"My sense is the government is not taking this threat seriously. Timely action is critical," he had said.

India had earlier reported three cases from Kerala, including two medical students from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the deadly novel coronavirus. They had self-reported on their return to the country and tested positive for the infection. They were discharged from hospitals last month following recovery.

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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first published: Mar 3, 2020 02:12 pm

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