India has responded to the Covid-19 pandemic in a prompt & proactive manner. Besides maintainingcontinued focus on specific interventions to contain the disease, continued delivery of non-Covidessential health services was also ensured.
Simultaneously, development of safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 was also pursued. The challenge posed by the pandemic has once again proved country’s significant indigenous capability not just in terms of vaccine manufacturing but also research and development capacity.
With the availability of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, multiple efforts have been made to strengthen and equip our health machinery and delivery mechanisms for expeditious roll-out of the vaccine.
Although experts are still learning a lot about the COVID-19 vaccines, there are some clear benefits to getting vaccinated.
The vaccine reduces your risk of infection.
Once you receive your first shot, your body begins producing antibodies to the coronavirus. These antibodies help your immune system fight the virus if you happen to be exposed, so it reduces your chance of getting the disease. There are three vaccines available for use in the United States, and they are all effective in preventing infection.
The vaccine can help your unborn baby or newborn.
Studies have found that expectant mothers who receive the COVID-19 vaccine create antibodies to the virus and pass those to their unborn baby through the placenta. Mothers were also shown to pass antibodies to their newborns through breast milk. This suggests those newborns have some immunity to the virus, which is especially important as young children cannot get the vaccine.
The vaccine protects against severe illness.
During studies, the three vaccines — Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer — have shown to be effective at preventing severe illness from COVID-19. So if you are vaccinated and become infected, you are very unlikely to become severely ill.
The CDC tracks confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations by vaccination status. For adults 18 and older, unvaccinated people were eight times more likely to be hospitalized than fully vaccinated people. Among adolescents between ages 12-17, unvaccinated people are 10 times more likely to be hospitalized than fully vaccinated people.