Worth the shot?

Dr Aruna Muralidhar discusses all you need to know about COVID vaccination

- Dr Aruna Muralidhar

The COVID pandemic is spreading unabated, causing a flood of chaos, gloom, melancholy, grief, and most of all, anxiety and stress. However, many vaccines that have been administered, have given us all a glimmer of hope. Ever since vaccines were rolled out in various parts of the world, there has been an avalanche of information, presumptions and myths, floating around the internet and social networking platforms. We at M&B aim to sift through the chaos, debunk certain myths associated with vaccination in women, including during pregnancy.

Studies from all over the world have shown that pregnant women are not necessarily at increased risk of getting infected. Also, just as in the general population, COVID-19 has a self-limiting mild or even asymptomatic course. However, mamas-to-be are more likely to require hospitalisation and intensive care. Hence the general preventive measures of SMS (sanitisation of hands, mask, social distancing) must be followed more stringently in pregnancy.

COVID VACCINES

The government rolled out the emergency vaccination drive with vaccines approved by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) of India in January 2021. The vaccines currently available in India are Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik. The registration process is centrally controlled through the Co-Win app which allows registration, allotment of centre and provides certification. From 1st May, all citizens over the age of 18 were considered eligible for vaccination, if there are no contraindications. In the world’s largest vaccination drive, India has vaccinated more than 15 crore people, of which more than two crores are fully vaccinated.