HomeNewsTrendsHealthKerala ready to vaccinate children once Centre's approval is received: State Health Minister

Kerala ready to vaccinate children once Centre's approval is received: State Health Minister

Regarding the drive through vaccination centres, Veena George said its special feature was that people can get registered, vaccinated and also undergo observation without getting out of their vehicles.

August 19, 2021 / 16:00 IST
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The Kerala government is ready to vaccinate children against COVID-19 and will take steps as soon as approval for it is received from the Centre, state Health Minister Veena George said on Thursday.

The minister highlighted this aspect while speaking to the media after visiting a Drive Through Vaccination Centre at the Government Women's College.

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Regarding the drive through vaccination centres, she said its special feature was that people can get registered, vaccinated and also undergo observation without getting out of their vehicles.

In case of any difficulties faced by anyone after vaccination, necessary medical help would also be provided at the site.
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She said that if this project, which is presently launched only in the state capital, was successful, it would be replicated in other districts of Kerala.

She also said that the state government's aim was to vaccinate all eligible persons above 18 years by the end of September.

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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