The daily count of coronavirus-related deaths in India touched a new high on Monday, with 4,529 deaths being reported from across the country, making the vaccination drive more critical. Starting May as the Centre announced vaccinations for 18 years and above, the number of administered vaccines, on average, is hovering around 1.8 million doses a day.
As India continues on its road to procure as well as administer COVID-19 vaccines to its population above 18 years, it becomes important to understand what is it exactly that a vaccine is and what it does to one's body. India has so far approved three vaccines against SARS-Cov-2. The Oxford AstraZeneca's Covishield produced by Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research, and Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.
Now that we know what a vaccine is, let's find out what it does to our body. There are some common side effects of the vaccine-- such as fever, nausea, body ache. However, some of the symptoms are rare. Dr N Kumarasamy, Chief and Director, VHS-Infectious Diseases Medical Centre tells us why the Covid vaccine is safe to take. Watch it here.
So, can you take the Covid-19 vaccine? There are some things you need to know about who can take the vaccine immediately and who have to wait for it.
Sources:
WHO Vaccine Safety e-modules
Comparison of current COVID vaccines
How vaccines work
WHO advice on who can get vaccinated
CDC about COVID vaccines and guidelines
CDC principles of vaccination
UNICEF COVID vaccination FAQs
FOGSI statement on pregnancy
Intro to immunology and immunopathology
Hetvi Jethwani is an undergraduate at IIT Delhi, majoring in Mathematics and Computing. She writes, doodles, and co-runs hariandhetu- an art newsletter. You can check her art here.
