Highlights
- The year 2020 brought new virus and we were not prepared: Dr Kumar
- Government carried its duty responsibly and ramped up testing: Dr Kumar
- The country has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases since February
New Delhi: Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr Sunil Kumar on Sunday (April 25) said that vaccine and COVID appropriate behaviour are two things that are key to break the chain of coronavirus infections. He made this statement while addressing a joint conversation on issues related to the COVID-19 situation with Director of AIIMS (Delhi) Doctor Randeep Guleria, Professor and Head of Department of Medicine AIIMS Doctor Naveet Wig, and Chairman of Medanta Doctor Naresh Trehan.
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Dr Kumar said that there has been a lot of rumour-mongering around vaccines. He said,
There is no serious side-effect attached to them (vaccines), rather it’s negligible. Vaccine and COVID appropriate behaviour are two things that will help us break the chain. The year 2020 brought new virus and we were not prepared. The union government carried its duty responsibly and ramped up testing capability. We must have faith that our government takes concrete and scientific steps with suggestions from doctors, microbiologists, epidemiologists.
He further said that people need to follow responsible behaviour and advised people to avoid forwarded messages on mobile phones.
Don’t focus so much on news, watch only select news. There is a WhatsApp university going on. Don’t pay attention to it. Follow responsible behaviour. This behaviour has to be followed by you, doctors, society as well as the media, Dr Kumar said.
The country has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases as the deadly second wave sweeps through the country. India had started the COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16 with two vaccines — Covishield (Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India) and Covaxin (manufactured by Bharat Biotech Limited).
India commenced its second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive to inoculate people above 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities against the coronavirus from March 1. The third phase began on April 1 for all above 45 years of age. In the next phase beginning May 1, all above the age of 18 would be eligible to receive the shot.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current 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 highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. 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 become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.
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