The Final Stretch : Covid-19

Finally, the country’s wait for the vaccine to immunise against Covid-19 may be over within the next few weeks. At present, Indian scientists are hard at work in at least five laboratories to develop the vaccine. According to AIIMS, at least one of the five vaccines is expected to get emergency use authorisation from the drug regulator by the end of this month or early January. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has interacted with the scientists and after deliberation, the Prime Minister informed that Indian scientists are confident of developing the elusive vaccine soon. Moreover, foreign manufacturers are also showing interest in sending vaccines to India. If everything goes according to plan, the corona menace may be over soon.

But discovering the vaccine does not mean that we’ve won the battle. The vaccine will strengthen us with the most potent weapon to fight against this lethal virus but as history shows even the most potent weapon can turn ineffective if not used properly. So to avoid any chance of failure in utilising the vaccine against Covid-19, the country should be well prepared before the arrival of the vaccine. In this context, the all-party meet called recently by the Prime Minister was a welcome and timely step. In the all-party meet, Modi asked the states to prepare proper plans to distribute the vaccine so that it can effectively curtail the threat of this infectious disease. The Prime Minister also stressed the need to give the all-important shot to health workers first as they are the frontline warriors in this battle. Modi has raised many important points and urged the states to formulate a policy to ensure that every single dose of the vaccine is properly utilised.

The task may sound easy, but is undoubtedly a difficult one to perform. There are plenty of reasons to be apprehensive about the proper use of the vaccine. India has the second largest population in the world. Naturally, it needs a huge number of vaccines even if it adopts a very selective and strict approach to determine the first user. So, acquiring such a large number of vaccines is a challenge. Secondly, who will be in-charge of distribution? In the all-party meet, it was evident that the Centre wants the states to take up the responsibility. But, clearly the states do not have enough resources to prepare such a big distribution network in such a short time period. How to create the required infrastructure within the stipulated time? Will the government be the sole authority to procure and distribute the vaccine or will private players be allowed to enter in the process? Without wasting any time, we will have to find answers to these questions as that will determine how quickly we are able to get rid of this menace. The best possible way for both the Centre and the states to uproot the lethal virus forever is to work in unison, just as they did during the peak of the pandemic. And as always it is our responsibility as citizens to give our support and cooperation to the fight against Covid-19 by accepting the vaccine when it is ready.