Coronavirus pandemic | Cops over 55 years can stay home, says Mumbai Police after 3 die of COVID-19

According to a central health ministry advisory, those above 55 are more prone to the Covid-19 infection and come under the high-risk category

Moneycontrol News

April 28, 2020 / 02:28 PM IST

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Mumbai police personnel over 55 years of age have been told that they can opt to stay home after three of their colleagues died of the novel coronavirus infection.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh has sent a communiqué to all 94 police stations in the city stating that police personnel, who are above 55 years in age, don’t need to report to work till the second phase of the ongoing nationwide restrictions. The second phase of the lockdown ends on May 3. The communiqué has been sent after three Mumbai Police personnel died and 55 others contracted Covid-19.

Pranaya Ashok, Deputy Commissioner of Police (operation) and spokesperson for Mumbai Police, said the decision has been taken to minimise exposure of police personnel to the disease. According to a central health ministry advisory, those above 55 are more prone to the Covid-19 and come under the high-risk category.

The order states that police personnel suffering from ailments such as hypertension, diabetes or any other major disease can feel free to go on leave.

"Health of police personnel is our priority. Besides, we are also conducting regular tests in order to detect positive cases early. For this, dedicated hospitals have been set up across city," Ashok told Moneycontrol, adding that Mumbai Police has also set up a helpline.

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.

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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.

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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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