Health minister assures people on safety, efficacy of Covid vaccines

NEW DELHI: Vaccination against COVID-19 will lead to people not transmitting the disease and its eradication in some time, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday as he unveiled IEC posters to address the emerging issue of vaccine hesitancy in some sections of the population.

Commenting on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, he said, “The paradox is that countries across the globe are asking us for access to the vaccines, while a section of our own is fomenting misinformation and doubt for narrow political ends.” More than eight lakh healthcare workers were vaccinated against COVID-19 in the country till 7 am on Thursday, according to the health ministry.

Vardhan reminded everyone of the achievements of India, the second-most populous country in the world, which is seeing a steady decline in the number of active coronavirus cases.

“The elimination of polio and small pox was made possible by large-scale immunisation. Once immunised, not only that person is not capable of catching the disease, he or she is also unable to transmit the disease to others, thus passing on the social benefit to the larger society he or she interacts with. This was also the logic of undertaking mass immunisation of women and children against 12 diseases under Mission Indradhanush.

“The vaccination against COVID will similarly create persons incapable of transmitting the disease and eradicate the disease altogether in some time,” he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the health ministry.