WHO’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan emphasized the importance of mass vaccination against COVID-19 through easy availability and accessibility. Swaminathan on Thursday said that even though vaccines may not be able to offer absolute protection against various variants of SARS-CoV2 but it can certainly reduce the risk of death and complications.
There will be a need to be on guard in the months to come as well, said the World Health Organisation’s chief scientist.
She had a meeting with Jitendra Singh the minister of Science and Technology when they discussed on various aspects of the current COVID-19 pandemic as well as a wide range of other issues.
A statement quoting Swaminathan said, “Even though the vaccine may not be able to provide absolute protection against different variants of virus, it can certainly reduce the risk of death and complications.”
In a country as diverse and heterogeneous as India, with multiple beliefs and faiths, it could not have been easy to task on such a massive vaccination drive, Singh said.
“What is important to note is that India under Prime minister Narendra Modi showed a remarkable capacity to rise to the occasion and despite the constraints of resources, within one year, we are in a position to dispense more than one vaccine and other countries of the world are also looking up to us,” the statement quoting Singh said.