Coronavirus pandemic | Delhi eases lockdown; plumbers, electricians can return to work

Apart from the services of self-employed persons, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority has allowed clinics, pathology labs and dispensaries to operate, and supply of medicines and vaccines.

Moneycontrol News

April 28, 2020 / 01:33 PM IST

Representational Image (Wikimedia commons)

After the Ministry of Homes Affairs’ nod for relaxation of lockdown in safe zones, the Delhi government allowed plumbers, electricians, academic book shops, veterinarians, etc., to operate from April 28.

The Aam Aadmi Party government headed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the National Capital announced on April 27 that certain economic and non-economic services will be now be allowed.

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Apart from the services of self-employed persons such as water purifier repairers, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority has allowed clinics, pathology labs and dispensaries to operate, and supply of medicines and vaccines. Shelters for children, disabled persons and senior citizens have also been allowed to operate, reported NDTV.

The Delhi government has additionally allowed inter-state movement of all medicos and vets, scientists and laboratory technicians, among a host of medical and hospital support services.

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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