Srinagar, Jan 20 (UNI) Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Wednesday said vaccine is the only way to stop COVID-19 pandemic.
'Vaccinations would bring an end to this ongoing public health crisis,' DAK president and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan said.
'In order to get back to normal, we need enough people to get vaccinated. The sooner we get more people vaccinated, the sooner we start reliving our lives. If people want business as usual, their kids to go back to school and play sport, they should roll up their sleeves and get COVID-19 vaccine,' the DAK President said.
He said that COVID-19 vaccine is the biggest gift science has provided to humankind. 'The discovery of a safe and effective vaccine in less than a year is an extraordinary achievement in the history of science,' he said.
Dr Hassan said vaccines are one of the great modern triumphs of public health and are the best tools to prevent disease and death. 'We have seen how vaccines have eradicated diseases like smallpox and polio,' he said.
He said COVID-19 has infected millions and claimed so many lives, and is still raging. 'We have the vaccine now. We can breathe collective sigh of relief,' Dr Hassan said.
He said vaccine would protect people from getting COVID-19 infection and prevent them from getting seriously ill even if they do get the virus. 'Getting vaccinated will also protect people around you, particularly people at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. We need to build trust in people about the safety, effectiveness and importance of the vaccine,' he said.
He said thousands of healthcare workers in Kashmir have received the shot and no major adverse effect has been reported, adding authorities need to crack down on those who spread rumors and misinformation about Covid-19 vaccine.
'People need to be booked for promoting anti-vaccination propaganda and there is an urgent need to penalize social networking sites for uploading false information regarding the vaccine. Misinformation has the potential to create public skepticism over Covid-19 vaccine which could undermine our fight against the coronavirus pandemic,' he added.
UNI ABS SV 1641