Universal vaccination, expediting first dose drive need of the hour
The Hindu
Even a single dose will quickly bring down the susceptible pool of potentially infected people, says health expert
Public health experts are now pressing for a ‘Universal COVID vaccination drive’ just like the universal immunisation drive for childhood immunisations like DPT, measles and polio to quickly contain the transmission spread and vaccinate more people. About 140 million doses were administered but we don’t know what proportion of the population has been vaccinated as the strategy was to offer the vaccine to priority groups. But, “in the face of a horrendous second wave gripping the country a strategic plan is necessary to quickly immunise the vulnerable, high-risk groups and others to control deaths and transmission”, asserted Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH)-Hyderabad Director G.V.S. Murthy. “Even a single dose gives an efficacy of 65-70% within 2-3 weeks of the vaccine dose and this will quickly bring down the susceptible pool of potentially infected people. So, the first dose should be administered at the earliest to flatten the curve quickly,” he said, in an exclusive interaction on Tuesday.More Related News