India’s Fight Against Covid-19 The Success Story

-- Liya Jancy, 3-B, Indian Learners Own Academy

Thursday, January 12, 2023

On January 30,2020 India confirmed its first coronavirus case in Kerala, but until the beginning of March, the Indian people hadn’t paid much attention to the virus. India announced a nation- wide lockdown on March 24th, India had reported 536 cases in several states, including Delhi, Telangana, Rajasthan and 10 deaths.

The world health organization [WHO] had gotten in touch with China, and soon the world learnt that corona virus- which affects many different species around the world- had made the jump from an unknown animal species to humans once again. Worst of all, the novel virus, known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome – coronavirus 2 was different from the coronavirus that had spooked Hong Kong in 2003. But patients were isolated, and the disease was brought under control. In 2012, another coronavirus, identified first in Saudi Arabia had jumped from bats to camels, and then passed on to humans. So far MERS- CoV has infected 2,400 people. One – third of them have died. Then, came the novel coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, which turned the whole world upside down as we know it.

A new book, called till we win; India’s fight against the Covid-19 Pandemic co- authored by three medical experts- Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, an epidemiologist, Dr Gagandeep Kang, a vaccine expert, and Dr Randeep Guleria, head of the National Expert Committee on Vaccine administration for Covid -19- serves as a handy guide to understanding what exactly has happened over the past nine months.

This book focus on explaining us about washing our hands regularly, wearing a mask and practicing social distance. These preventive measures have become a way of life now today the various approach that are being considered for covid-19 vaccine development rang from vaccines based on weakened living viruses, so they can’t cause the disease. Inactivated viruses, viral -vectored vaccines and protein vaccines, among others .The Serum Institute of India and Indian Immunological Ltd, both Indian companies, are developing vaccines based on the first approach ; the Indian Council of Medical Research is working with Bharat Biotech on a vaccine using the second approach; and the University of Oxford vaccine, which is developing a vaccine with AstraZeneca and the Serum Institute of India, is using the third approach.

“Without equity, we cannot end COVID 19,HIV or any other pandemic.”