Corona Vaccine: Everything that you need to know

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Vaccination campaign is going on in many countries of the world to control the corona epidemic.

The information and tips related to this may seem confusing to you at times, but there are some basic facts that will help you understand how a vaccine works.

What is Vaccine?

A vaccine prepares your body to fight a disease, virus or infection.

Vaccines contain weakened or inactivated parts of an organism that cause disease.

These prompt the body’s ‘immune system’ i.e. the immune system to recognize the infection (invading virus) and make antibodies in the body against them which help our body to fight the external attack.

The negative effect of getting the vaccine is rarely on people, but some people may have to face its side effects. Mild fever or itching are common side effects.

Shortly after getting the vaccine, you develop immunity to fight that disease.

The US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that vaccines are very powerful because they do not cure a disease, but prevent them from occurring, unlike most medicines.

Are Vaccines Safe?

An early form of vaccine was discovered by Chinese scientists in the 10th century.

But in 1796, Edward Jenner found that a single dose of a mild smallpox infection protected against severe smallpox infection.

He did further study on this. He also tested his theory and his findings were published two years later.

That’s when the word ‘vaccine’ originated. The vaccine was coined from the Latin language ‘Vacca’ which means cow.

The vaccine is considered one of the greatest medical achievements of the modern world. According to the World Health Organization, about two to three million lives are saved every year because of the vaccine.

The CDC says that the vaccine is thoroughly tested before it is brought to market. They are first tested in laboratories and then on animals. Only after that the vaccine trial is done on humans.

In most countries, people are vaccinated only after getting permission from local drug regulators.

Vaccination does have some risks, but like all medicines, it is nothing compared to its benefits.

For example, some childhood diseases that were very common until a generation ago have rapidly disappeared due to vaccines.

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Smallpox, which killed millions of people, is now completely eradicated.

But it often takes decades to achieve success. Nearly 30 years after the launch of the global vaccination campaign, Africa was declared the only polio-free country. This is a very long time.

Experts have warned that it may take months or possibly years to get enough vaccinations against Kovid-19 around the world, only after which we will be able to return to normalcy.

How are vaccines made?

When a new pathogen such as a bacterium, virus, parasite or fungus enters the body, a subset of the body called the antigen begins to produce antibodies to fight it.

A vaccine consists of a weakened or inactivated part of an organism that causes disease.

These prompt the body’s ‘immune system’ i.e. the immune system to recognize the infection (invading virus) and make antibodies in the body against them which help our body to fight the external attack.

Conventional vaccines develop the body’s ability to fight off an external attack.

But now new methods are also being used to develop vaccines. These new methods have also been tried in making some corona vaccines.

Covid vaccine comparison

Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna’s COVID vaccine are both ‘messenger RNA vaccines’ that use a portion of the virus’s genetic code to make.

These vaccines teach the body’s cells how to make the ‘spike protein’ found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19, rather than using a weakened or inactive part of the antigen.

The Oxford and AstraZeneca vaccines are also different. To prepare it, scientists have made some changes in a virus that infects chimpanzees and have also added a piece of the genetic-code of Kovid-19 to it. All these three vaccines have been approved for emergency use in some countries including America and Britain.

Nurse Monica Calzens found the country’s first Covid vaccine in Brazil

Are there other vaccines for Covid?

Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac has made a vaccine named ‘Corona-Vac’. The company has used the traditional method in making this vaccine. According to the company, inactivated parts of the virus were used to make this vaccine.

However, many questions have been raised about how effective it is. Trial of this vaccine was done in Turkey, Indonesia and Brazil. Scientists of these countries said after the final phase of the trial that this vaccine is only 50.4 percent effective.

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Two vaccines have been prepared in India. One is named Covishield which was developed by scientists from AstraZeneca and Oxford University and produced by Serum Institute of India. And the second vaccine is the Covaccine made by the Indian company Bharat Biotech.

Russia has prepared its own corona vaccine named ‘Sputnik-V’ and it was prepared by making slight changes in the version of the virus. This vaccine has been approved for use in India.

Should I get the covid vaccine?

It has not been made mandatory to have the Covid vaccine anywhere. But most people are advised to get the vaccine. However, there is an exception here in the case of people suffering from health issues.

The CDC says that the vaccine not only protects against Covid-19, but also protects others. Apart from this, the CDC also describes vaccination as the most important way out of the epidemic.

The World Health Organization estimates that to prevent infection, at least 65-70 percent of people will have to be vaccinated, which means that more and more people will have to be vaccinated.

It is true that scientists take many years to develop a vaccine, but the pace has been greatly increased to find a solution to the corona epidemic. That is why the World Health Organization is working closely with scientists, business and health organizations.

In short, immunization of billions of people will prevent the spread of Covid-19 and the world will move towards herd immunity. Experts say that the world will be able to return to normal life only through herd immunity.

Extended interval between two doses of Covishield to 12-16 weeks

The central government of India has changed the timing of taking the second dose of Covidhield vaccine.

The time interval between the two doses was from 4-6 weeks earlier to 4-8 weeks but now it is 12-16 weeks.

What is the ‘Double Mutant’ variant found in India?

Last year, a new ‘double mutant’ variant of the corona virus was detected in India. Such variants have also been detected in some other countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has named different variants of corona infection. The first variant found in Britain is now called alpha, while the variant found in South Africa is called beta and the first variant in Brazil is called gamma. At the same time, the first variant seen in India is being called Delta.

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A study by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has found that people who had received both the Covidshield and Covaccine doses were also found to have the delta variant for the first time in India in October, 2020. Corona virus can infect.

The Union Health Ministry had told that many ‘Variants of Concerns’ (VOCs) have been found in different states of the country. This means that different types of corona virus have been found in many parts of the country which can have harmful effects on health.

Actually, double mutant variant is that form of virus, whose genome has changed twice. However, it is common for the genomic variants of the virus to change. But according to scientists, the Covid vaccine will help in preventing the variants of corona.

India currently bans export of vaccine

India has currently banned the export of the Corona vaccine Kovishield developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca for some time. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, this step has been taken in view of the possibility of increase in the domestic demand for the vaccine in India.

It will affect about 190 countries coming under the Kovax scheme.

The objective of the Kovax plan, led by the World Health Organization, is to ensure the corona vaccine in all countries. India has so far sent 60 million doses of the corona vaccine to 76 countries.

A source in the Indian Foreign Ministry told BBC correspondent Soutik Biswas that, “The ban on exports has been imposed only for a short time and domestic demand will have to be given priority.”

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