70% of population in Puducherry has been vaccinated against COVID-19: CM N Rangasamy

Speaking after unfurling the tricolour at an event to mark the 67th Liberation Day (De Facto Merger Day) of Puducherry, which marked the French colony’s merger with the Indian Union, the Chief Minister appealed to the people to get vaccinated so that they could protect themselves against the pandemic.

PTI

November 01, 2021 / 13:06 IST

Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy on Monday said that the Department of Health here has so far covered about 70 percent of the population in the union Territory under the vaccination programme against coronavirus.

Speaking after unfurling the tricolour at an event to mark the 67th Liberation Day (De Facto Merger Day) of Puducherry, which marked the French colony’s merger with the Indian Union, the Chief Minister appealed to the people to get vaccinated so that they could protect themselves against the pandemic.

Rangasamy also stressed that the people should not lower their guard against the pandemic particularly during the forthcoming festival season.

"All should adhere to COVID appropriate behaviour," he said.

He also highlighted the steps taken by the government and the schemes implemented since he assumed office as chief minister six months ago.

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