Meet The Vaccine Heroes: Insights From Medical Experts On Immunization

New Delhi: Humans have forever searched for ways to protect themselves against deadly diseases. This quest led to the invention of vaccines.

From early experiments to the creation of the first vaccine in the eighteenth century to the global rollout of a handful vaccines during the recent pandemic, immunization is a remarkable success story.

Vaccines have been saving millions of lives annually.

Also Read: Vaccination Saved Billions Of Lives, Key To Fight Infections: Doctors

In this week dedicated to immunization, we bring you special messages from three vaccine superheroes.

Dr. Sheela Murali Chakravarthy, Director of Internal Medicine at Fortis says Immunisation is the most important aspect when it comes to improving healthcare infrastructure. .

Ms. Murali further urges adults to get vaccinated for the three most common diseases: Influenza, Pneumococcal, and COVID.

Dr. Priya S P Patil, a Consultant Gynecologist at Altius Hospital, emphasises that prevention is better than cure, especially since there are inadequate cures for many diseases. She says,

Immunization is the best way forward.

Watch: WHO’s Soumya Swaminathan On Learnings From Pandemic And Efficacy Of COVID Vaccines

Dr. Umang Agrawal, Infectious Diseases Consultant, P. D. Hinduja Hospital, highlights the power of vaccination by pointing to its role in fighting COVID-19,

The only intervention that helped us overcome the pandemic was vaccination.

At present, we have vaccines that can protect against more than 20 life-threatening diseases. Immunization is vital in averting around 5 million deaths each year from diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza, and measles, as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO).

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.