The common people of India will have to wait until 2022 to get the shot of Coronavirus vaccine said the director of AIIMS Rajdeep Guleria. According to Guleria the Coronavirus infection will not vanish even after the vaccination, he claimed.
AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Guleria, also a member of the national task force on the coronavirus management in the country, has said that common people will have to wait till 2022 for a shot of the coronavirus vaccine. The AIIMS director said it will take “more than a year” for a coronavirus vaccine to be easily available in the Indian markets.
According to Rajdeep Guleria, the vaccination for the common man will take longer in our country as the population is very large. “In our country the population is large; we need time to see how the vaccine can be bought from the market like a flu vaccine and take it. That will actually be the ideal situation,” Randeep Guleria said in an interview to CNN-News 18 channel.
When asked about the challenges India would have after a coronavirus vaccine is available, the AIIMS director said the prime focus would be its distribution so that it reaches every part of the country. “Maintaining the cold chain, having adequate syringes, adequate needles and being able to deliver it to the remotest part of the country in a seamless manner is the biggest challenge,” he said.
According to Guleria the there is a possibility of a second vaccine coming into the market which will be more effective than the first one and that will be a major challenge he stated.
“So if we have a vaccine that comes out later and is seen to be more effective than the first one, how do we position it? How do we do a course correction? How to then decide who needs vaccine A and who needs vaccine B? A lot of decisions need to be taken as we go along,” AIIMS director said.
Another thing that Guleria asserted is the vanishing of viruses, according to him the “Virus Will Not Vanish” with the vaccination.
Meanwhile, India on Friday conveyed to several countries that it will use its strength in vaccine production and delivery to help humanity in fighting the coronavirus crisis.
The message was delivered by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla during a briefing organized for more than 190 heads of diplomatic missions and international organizations and their representatives.
“Several countries have been approaching us for receiving vaccine supply. I reiterate our Prime Minister’s commitment that India’s vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in fighting this crisis. India will also help interested countries in enhancing their cold chain and storage capacities for the delivery of vaccines,” Shringla said.
(With the inputs from PTI)
