The second wave of the coronavirus is not so casual to take, people are suffering more in numbers. There is an ongoing debate on a second lockdown to combat the spike in coronavirus cases in the state. Maharashtra reported nearly 50,000 new cases on Saturday – around 60 per cent of all cases reported from across the country on that day. On Friday the state reported around 48,000 cases.
State capital Mumbai reported over 9,000 cases on Saturday – the most in a day since the pandemic began in December 2019. On Friday the city reported over 8,800 new cases. Pune, one of the biggest cities in the state, has also reported distressing figures; finally, the district administration ordered a 12-hour night curfew and the shutting down of shopping malls, religious places, and hotels and bars for a week, as well as that of public buses.
According to the centre, eight of the top 10 worst-affected districts in India are from Maharashtra. The state’s medical infrastructure – decrepit after earlier waves of infections – is under more pressure. There is increasing daily demand for oxygen cylinders would soon force him to divert those meant for industrial use as well.
Last week the Mumbai civic body warned of a shortage of beds as it prepped for a potential 10,000 new cases per day. Just blaming the government in such a scenario is not enough to counter COVID but we all the responsible citizens should know the fact that the government cannot protect us from microbes. It is impossible to know what is happening in this second wave.
Vaccinations have rampant while some prevention measures will continue to be necessary regardless of vaccination status, fully vaccinated people without immunocompromising conditions that may reduce their response to vaccination may be able to engage in some activities with low or reduced risk of acquiring or transmitting COVID-19.
A vaccine’s success and efficacy are two different things. As per experts, efficacy refers to how well a drug works under controlled conditions such as a clinical trial, while efficiency refers to how well it works in the real world.
A high efficacy rate does not always mean a high level of effectiveness in the real world and vice versa. Most of the time effectiveness of the vaccine does not match its rate of efficacy due to variables happening in the real world. This simply means that there is a still chance that even after getting the dose a person may get.
As per clinical studies and testing, AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccine has 62 and 72 per cent, while Covaxin has an 81 per cent rate of efficacy. In the case of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, the efficacy rate is 94 and 95 per cent respectively.
The benefits of avoiding disruptions such as unnecessary quarantine and social isolation may outweigh the residual risk of becoming ill with COVID-19 or transmitting the virus to others. The ability of vaccinated people to gradually resume some aspects of normal life will optimize well-being and may help improve vaccine acceptance.
Vaccine effectiveness refers to how well a vaccine performs in a cautiously controlled clinical trial, whereas effectiveness explains its performance in the real world. Evidence demonstrates that the authorized COVID-19 vaccines are both efficacious and effective against symptomatic, laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, including severe forms of the disease. Also, a growing body of evidence suggests that COVID-19 vaccines may also reduce asymptomatic infection, and potentially transmission.
For each authorized COVID-19 vaccine, the overall efficacy was similar to the efficacy across different populations, including elderly and younger adults, in people with and without underlying health conditions, and in people representing different races and ethnicities. People need to have patience and self-care.
The vaccines that are available right now are all two-dose vaccines. After the first dose, good resistance develops that kicks in within about two weeks of that first dose. And it’s the second dose that then boosts that immune response and we see immunity get even stronger after that second dose, again within a shorter period after the second dose. Many people are opting for a third vaccination.
We don’t know yet how long immunity lasts from the vaccines that we have at hand right now. We’re following people who have received vaccinations to find out whether or not their immune response is durable over time and the length of time for which they’re protected against disease. So, we’re going to have to wait for time to pass to see just how long these vaccines last.
The COVID vaccine shot can surely prevent you from the many worries associated with the virus that’s still surging across the globe. However, if you think the jab would also suffice complete protection against the newer, deadlier COVID strain. Even with the best vaccine shot, there still would be a marginal chance that one can get infected with the virus. With the newer coronavirus strains in circulation, there still exists a high risk of infection. However, as scientists are observing, there may be a difference in the way you develop symptoms.
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